Infected

[Clown_of_God]

"If you have to ask, then he's doing his job."

 

TINA shifted on the pillar she had been leaning on, waiting as well for the invisible man to make some sort of appearance. Of course, if Phantom were so easy to be found his name would serve no meaning and he'd just be another nameless resident of the Wastes. Still, she had sat idly within the destroyed city, waiting for some source of identification, some sort of rumor to pop up that he was around.

 

"Are you the client who requested him? If not, then I must inform that his services are needed elsewhere after he's finished his job here."

 

------

 

It was nostalgic, sitting in the chair that he had sat in five years ago. Sitting in the seat where his previous life ended and his new life began. Blood had stained the floor from where his operation had taken place and he recalled the torment and excruciating pain that he went through. A procedure that nearly killed him on six different occasions. Still, this was one of the few locations within the Dome that he still considered home. Somewhere he felt safe, despite the horror that had occurred here so many years ago. Rose suddenly came through the door, a tray with two cups on it, and handed one to Phantom.

 

"I made it the way you likes it E... oh, that's right, you go by Phantom now. Sorry."

 

"It's fine. How are the kids doing?"

 

"They're doing well. James has pretty much taken your spot as the 'big brother' and helps keep the others in check. They miss you, or at least the ones that remember you do."

 

"And the baby? I remember you were still pregnant with it last I saw you."

 

"Her name is Eleana. She's a few months away from turning five. I was surprised she held out for three more months after your operation. Samuel did his best to help, but the poor old man was still so shaken..."

 

"How is the Dome holding against attacks and why did you call me out here?"

 

There was a pause and arose wouldn't talk for a while. Suddenly, a boy in his preteen or young teen years came bursting into the door with a little girl clasping onto his waist.

 

"Ma! Get her off! She won't stop clinging to me and keeps pretending to be a Sucker."

 

Phantom stared at the boy a moment and held back a chuckle that Rose couldn't even manage. Sighing, Rose stood from her chair and walked over to the boy and crouched down to be on eye level with the little girl. That's when the boy took notice to Phantom and a wide grin spread across his face.

 

"Big bro! When'd you get here?"

 

"Who's that?

 

"It's big bro, you dunce!"

 

"I not a dunce, you poopy head!"

 

This time, Phantom chuckled a bit before joining Rose next to the two kids. Patting the boy on the head, he observed the little girl for a moment before looking at Rose.

 

"She looks just like you. A bit prettier, but a spitting image. Just as spunky, too."

 

"Big bro, why you got the mask on? I almost didn't recognize you."

 

"It's so none of the bad guys recognize who I am. If they did, I wouldn't be able to visit. Now, I miss you kids, but me and your Ma gotta talk. Go take care of the others, alright? I heard you've been doing a great job since I left."

 

"You betcha! I'm the man of the house now!"

 

Before he left the room, the boy turned to look at Phantom with an inquisitive look before asking a question.

 

"Why did you leave?"

 

"I..."

 

"He had something very important to do. Now, run along Samuel, you can talk with big bro later."

[Totts]

ESPOIR wandered around, looking for this stranger that'd woke her up, after a while she decided it was futile and decided amplify her voicebox and do something that no other doll has ever done, she started singing.

 

#Who is this stranger, who is this stranger, the one that has brought me to life!?

#Well I wish to thank him whoever he is! Thank you for bringing me life!

#I wish I could serve and protect you, serve and protect you!

#But for now I must be content with being alive!

#Thank you stranger, thank you stranger, phantom in the night!

 

She then amplified her voicebox to the maximum level

 

"This is ESPOIR, I need a group of survivors, these are my coordinates" {Espoir emits a series of tones easily identified by even series I bots to display her location}

 

"Come and get me!"

[Thaelasan]

3 Hours Earlier.

 

"The hell was that?" Randall asked, confused. "Sounded like somethin' dyin'."

"I think that was singing." Alan chuckled. "Was sort of off key, however. Looks like a nearby doll is alerting for help."

"We don't have no room for random dolls." Randall grunted. "Just keep drivin'. They'll find SOMEONE."

 

3 Hours Later.

 

"That Omega turned this place into a nice piece of , didn't 'e." Randall stated, growling. "I remember designing this place to be safe, to be able to protect. I never expected that huge-ass son of a *."

"No one did." Alan shrugged. "It was completely and utterly surprising."

As he spoke, he stared at the new doll with curiosity. Her name, TINA, was emblazoned, as it was with all other dolls, on her chest, slightly covered up by what she was wearing. She was an attractive being, to be sure. Alan frowned when she said, "other services."

"Goddammit. How many things does that man have to do in one day? How can we convince him to just stay with us? I'm starting to think this is futile. That plane is gone in 7 hours and we're still stuck without his help." he groaned. "I don't suppose you have any sort of mechanical expertise?"

 

---

 

Audio Log - Caldium Testing Procedure - Recording made by Ivan S. Lander. Date Unknown. Time Unknown.

Today was marked as the second day of Caldium testing. Everything has gone smoothly, as was expected. However, something strange occurred during the testing phase with the mice. Richard said not to worry, as in the later phases it would be rectified, but I still have.. suspicions as to his allegiances.

The mice grew irritable, to say the least. At the beginning, they seemed fine. Yet, one of the mice, Boris, began to squeak loudly. At his call, two of the other nine rodents turned and grouped with him. We chalked this up to social instinct.

However, then they did something.. horrifying. Boris tackled one of the smallest mice, Alvin, and began to devour him alive. The other two mice joined him. We watched in horrified fascination as they left nothing but bone to show that Alvin had ever existed.

They most likely would have continued to do this if it hadn't been for Alan, who immediately shut Boris into a nearby solitary box. While in it, Boris grew docile, and the two other mice who had been with him - who were left in the other box - seemed to forget entirely of their cannibalism and socialize with the other mice.

It was frightening yet also interesting. Richard said that it was most likely the source of the mice. They were part of a cargo hold from a company notorious for dangerous rodents who were meant for extermination. We're going to try this on real, trained mice tomorrow.

- End of Log.

Edited September 23, 2013 by Thaelasan

[Clown_of_God]

"No, I do not. My parameters are in defense and attack. Only self-repair and basic engineering techniques."

 

TINA stared at the man who questioned her and stood straight, walking up to the man who was noticeably taller than she. Still, she didn't take her eyes off of his even when she was mere inches from being in his face.

 

"I don't appreciate the tone. What's so important about this plane you need him for and how far away is it?"

 

------

 

Phantom sat idly in his chair, unsure of how to respond to the request Rose had made. Albeit, it was a possible task to accomplish, but the risks and strains to accomplish it were high. Still, she had done so much for him and he owed her more than just his life. Sighing, he scratched the back of his head and leaned back, rocking the chair onto its back legs.

 

"You do know what you're asking, right? Besides, I don't have much equipment left and we know this place is a hellhole in terms of supplies."

 

Rose nodded and leaned forward, doing her best to peer through the dark lenses that hid Phantom's eyes. Wishing she could see them, but knowing all too well the reasoning behind keeping them hidden. Sighing, she sat back and began tapping her foot on the ground.

 

"I left your little lab the way it was before you disappeared. Nothing has changed and everything should still be there, well, except for her..."

 

Phantom let the front legs on his chair fall back to the ground with a loud thud, his motions replicating the emptiness that was brought on by this painful reminder. She had been special, someone unique to the world and a reflection of someone he once loved... no, someone he still loved. Not only had she disappeared, but another project he had been working on.

 

"Still nothing, huh? Even after five years. I guess she really is piled in there with the rest of them, another lost soul that no one will remember."

 

"I'm sure she's out there somewhere, looking for you as well. I mean, she was your..."

 

"Big bro, Ma, we have a problem outside!"

 

"What is it?!"

"What is it?!"

 

"There's a Behemoth not even a hundred meters from the front gate."

 

------

 

TINA looked at Alan for a moment before walking past him and towards the main gate. Something was coming and it was quite large. Even the ground shook as whatever it was got closer and closer to the Dome. Without a second thought, TINA scale up the dome wall until she was standing on top. There, staring her in the face was a tremendous monster, the origin of how it gots it's size was unknown, but the scale of destruction it caused could be measured on the Richter scale. As if that wasn't bad enough, TINA felt this penetrating sensation as if someone was staring her down, but couldn't pinpoint the source.

Edited September 24, 2013 by zakku_uchiha

[Thaelasan]

Alan almost fell over as the earth began to shake. Concerned, he immediately turned FIONA to active, retrieving his own weapon as he did so.

"Status report." he stated, turning to the broken wall of the Dome.

"It's a large creature. A behemoth." she responded quickly, without erring. She knew the species they had seen so far. Alan had only seen one behemoth killed before. The creature had taken three turrets, helicopter fire, and seven rockets to the face before finally falling down and crushing half of a settlement. The settlement had been military.

Here they were outmatched, outgunned, and out for becoming the next meal. His heart began to sink and his mind began to calculate some form of retaliation. There had to be something..

"The Dome's defense systems!" he said quickly, turning to Randall. "What did the Dome have?"

"It had your basic gunnery and such, some inactive explosive devices. Most of that was lost in the destruction... oh wait!" he snapped his fingers. "The Dome was special! There's a plasma ray device underground. You have to have the security codes to activate it, though."

"Do you think it's still operational?" Alan grunted, starting to run off.

"Well if it ain't, we're ****ed." Randall laughed. "That thing is far too dangerous to run from."

"Same codes as usual?" Alan was in a sprint now.

"Should be. It's in the center of the Dome. Better hurry though." Randall whispered the last sentence as he ignited a cigarette. Hell, if he was gonna go out, he wasn't gonna go out without one of his best cancer sticks in his jaw.

"Feels like a goddamn movie." he laughed mentally.

 

---

 

Alan rushed to the center of the city, running past the shelter Phantom was in without even noticing it. He had to hurry. He had to get that thing back up and running.

 

(( Zakku, if you had other plans, then tell me. I'm thinking Randall, with his attitude, would have attempted to build something with Caldium that was a little less than medical. He's one of those "if you can shoot it, shoot it big" kinds of men.

 

Also, does anyone else think

is a really good theme for this roleplay? I can't help it. I have montages with TINA, Walker, Alan, FIONA, Randall, and Phantom in my head when I listen to this.

Breathing in the chemicals (Caldium)

Sweat my rust (broken dolls)

It's just.. I can see it all. :3 ))

Edited September 24, 2013 by Thaelasan

[Clown_of_God]

Phantom remembered the first time he had seen a Behemoth. It had been shortly after he started his journey, after he had started his new life as the being called 'Phantom.' While scouring the Wastes, trying to find purpose and meaning to his new life, Phantom made a wrong turn and came face to foot with the gigantic being. Others were out there, already in a perilous fight with the being and all he could do was collapse to the ground in fear.

 

Now, faced with this monstrosity right outside his front door, Phantom couldn't show fear especially in front of those he called his family. Standing, Phantom slung his weapon over his shoulder and made his way up to his 'lab' on the top floor.

 

Scattered about inside was an array of various Doll parts, from arms to legs and various internal pieces all scattered about. In the corner sat his desk and right next to it was a tube that had held his most prized piece of work. A doll unlike any other, one that could function without limits and think freely, make choices and decisions on its own. She was the spitting image of the girl he loved, but who he had lost at the beginning of the infection. Now, that's all it was, an empty tube with empty hopes. Looking to the right corner, his eyes widened when he saw the other tube empty as well. Were it not for the looming doom standing just outside, he'd question Rose about where his other creation had gone.

 

Securing a few parts, Phantom tossed the devices into his pack before hurrying outside. Even with the limited number of people, the streets were bustling with frightened citizens and the few remaining dolls who rushed to protect what was left of the city. Groaning, Phantom chased after them and quickly began to formulate a method to force the Behemoth away. With limited firepower and not near enough ammunition, there was no way this thing was going to be brought down.

 

------

 

In the center of the city, where all the chaos was beginning to center, with people huddling together and others scampering about with no set destination, something was occurring several stories beneath their feet. A large weapon system, intended for a last resort use was awaiting its call. However, it's call was going to be postponed if not ultimately taken away altogether, as a mysterious entity stripped it of its wiring and removed couplings from its power grid.

 

Under a dark hood, a mischievous smile pierced in the darkness and then the entire entity just disappeared without a trace. Only a few magnetic sparks fluttered through the air when the fig a vanished. With the machine sabotaged, only madness could derive from this situation and it brought pleasure to the being responsible for it.

[Thaelasan]

(( Ah. I see. :3 ))

 

Alan dashed into the center. Out of the corner of his eye, he could have sworn he saw a black figure dart out, something in its hands.

Frowning, he brushed it off and ran down the steps, his sniper rifle in his hands. He couldn't let the dome fall even further into hell. Everyone that had decided to squat in the Dome was in peril now. A few of them were already running into the wastes, most being eaten by the behemoth as soon as they stepped outside.

It was horrific and bloody. Alan tried to push it out of his mind. He continued down the spiral staircase that.. wait..

It was already open. Randall had said it was locked. The staircase that had been the centerpiece of the city's underground fountain had already locked into place, leading down into the cannon. That..

He turned. The last glimpse of the figure caught his eye. A mere glimpse, then it was gone. Had it been a trick?

No. No. Not here. Not now.

He ran down the steps, a cold sweat covering him in its grasp. He knew it couldn't be true. Why. Why would they have done that?!

Finally he reached the bottom of the staircase. The vision that assailed him almost broke him. He fell to his knees and grabbed his hair with both hands, crying uncontrollable. Their one chance of sure survival - shattered.

The beauteous cannon, crafted with love and glory by the hands of one who had created things for so many years, stood before him. He could see a vision of it in its prime, before this. Before all of this.

But then it began to fall apart. Someone had ripped the plasma phasing device from the core of the cannon. They had also removed the Caldium, the wiring, and most of the magnetic devices.

He began to fall into despair, punching the ground. What sort of.. sick *** in this sort of event would have done such a thing?! This is where he died, he knew.. he knew..

But... but there was..

His mind began to flash. Would it work?

He jumped onto the device, immediately trying in desperation to fix what had been broken. Randall was now behind him, gasping. That's all he could do.

The two looked at each other. They didn't have much time left. They looked around the broken mechanics and frowned.

"There's parts here. Parts we threw away." Randall said bluntly, grabbing a few. "There's gotta be somethin' we can do. Goddammit where's that Phantom when you need him?"

"Don't worry about that. Hand me your rifle. Sacrifices must be made."

"Are you serious?!" Randall held his rifle tightly to his chest. "This is the only weaponry we have!"

"Well we'll be too dead to use it if we wait any longer." Alan began to dismember his own gun, using the parts from it to power up the cannon. It had to run off the same technology..

[Clown_of_God]

Sitting atop an old tower, miles from where the Behemoth was no wreaking it's havoc, a lone cloaked figure watched the events unfold with a wicked grin spread across their face. Suddenly, another figure appeared out of thin air just behind them and placed a hand on their shoulder.

 

"Did you see him in there?"

 

"Yes, Master, he was with Rose and the other kids. Alan and Randall were there too."

 

"Is that all?"

 

"Big sis was on top of the roof, but that's pretty much it."

 

"Well, when they take out the Behemoth, I give you permission to go have a little fun."

 

"Really, Master?! I can go play?!"

 

"Yes, yes. Just, don't kill the important people. It'd be troublesome for later. Anyway, I've gotta leave now. A little base down South needs some attention."

 

Standing, the former figure removed their hood to reveal a young girl with pure white hair, silver eyes, and a child-like gleam across her face. She watched for a moment as the other figure vanished and returned her attention to the Dome.

 

Come on, Dr. Alan, surely you can get that big ol' gun operational before that Behemoth tears down your front door. If not, I won't be able to have so much fun with so many people already dead. I guess if big brother were helping, they'd get it running sooner, but where would the fun be in that?

 

Smirking, the girl twirled around and vanished just as her master had. Not a trace was left except a few sparks of magnetic energy that quickly dispersed through the air.

 

------

 

Meanwhile, Phantom was beginning to bark orders at those who were trying to hold the Behemoth back. At the same time, he popped off a few shots that grounded some of the smaller forms of infected trying to get in. This wasn't a randomized attack by no means, this was planned, but who could do such a possible thing? For the moment, Phantom didn't have time to think about it. Rather, he was trying to see if he could knock the monstrosity off its feet.

 

"Try to take out its sight and aim at the back of the heels. If we can't push it back, maybe we could push it over!"

 

Some debated on this sudden leadership, but they wouldn't second-guess someone who sounded like they knew what they were doing. So, while some ran up to the rooftop to try and take out the creature's sight, Phantom remained with the others on the ground and tried to shift the monster's balance. For now, this was the best thing he could come up with.

[Thaelasan]

Alan grunted as he worked. How he was going to repair his gun, he didn't know. All he knew right now was that one of the biggest species of infected was smashing down the front doors of the Dome and they were going to be dead in mere minutes.

But still, just as Phantom had thought, he knew this had to be planned. He had to show Phantom this little piece of work when all was said and done, so he could see that someone had interfered.

It had been too precise to have been a human - he knew that much. The person had SEEMED to rip out random things but he/she had ripped out only the vital parts - something a human normally would not have known of. The Caldium supply, the atomic dispersal unit, the particle acceleration systems and then the metal used to keep the Caldium from flying everywhere, focused in a single area.

"There. It's finished." he said breathlessly. He had never worked so hard on something in all of his years but as far as he knew the gun should work. He had taken every bit of Caldium from his and Randall's weapons as well as their own firing mechanisms. It was a bit of a makeshift repair - about as good as duct tape on a broken claymore - but it would do for about three or four good blasts.

He just had to make them count. He pressed a few keys and watched as the ceiling began to open up again. It cracked, having been covered in wreckage and ruin. Alan feared it would not open fully.

Yet, his fears were unfounded. Wreckage fell from the ceiling in small amounts as it opened to the sunlight. The floor shook as the ground began to spin clockwise, the gun rising to take its place in the center of the city.

Randall leapt onto the back of the gun as the floor ring he was on stopped moving, only the center rising now to the top of the Dome.

Back in the past, before the Dome had been shattered, the ceiling would have opened slightly to allow the gun to come out, so it could fire at anything outside of the Dome and defend it. Even now, some of the gears that had been made to do that still spun in silence, unable to do their duties. It was slightly depressing to think of, yet Alan was too preoccupied to do so.

"I'll set up the targeting systems." Randall stated, beginning a diagnostics check. He grinned, nodding to Alan.

"We're good?" Alan asked, turning the cannon so that the face of it was right on the Behemoth's body.

"We're good... in a way. You better make those shots count, buddy." Randall responded, typing in a few keys. "We've got enough Caldium for exactly five focused blasts. We just have to hope that's enough to weaken that son of a *."

"Not just weaken. Hopefully kill. If only we had enough of it.." Alan grunted.

Below him, he heard Phantom yelling about aiming for the heels. The idea hit him as a good one and he turned to Randall.

"Can we do that?" he asked.

"I think.. maybe from this vantage point. Not sure. I'll set it up and see." Randall said. Alan could tell the man was having fun with this.

"Alright, we're targeted on his heels. Better fire soon. He keeps moving his feet. I'm timing it at a five seconds interval." Randall grunted. "They keep shooting his feet. It takes ten seconds to charge.."

"Aim for the right foot. Now. The left just moved." Alan aimed the gun, charging the blast.

"Alright. It's ready when you are." Randall held up his thumb.

 

----

 

The cannon fired an array of plasma bursts. Alan had expected a focused blast but was pleased with this result. Seven shots of plasma, rotating around a pillar of the same, were fired directly at the Behemoth's right foot, right as it began to descend.

[Kjakings]

Walker had collected his payment for destroying the Digger, when he registered a horrific sound. It sounded like an old Doll singing before its vocal centres had properly activated. He quickly found the thing and saw it was alone.

“This is not a good place to do that, child. Many bad men live here who would harm you. I can offer you safety, protection, and purpose. You have only to choose to take it.” He told the Doll, a series IV from the looks of her. He extended his hand, but suddenly his radio went wild: several of his contacts were reporting massive movement of a Behemoth and a subservient horde moving towards the Dome. “Child, I must take my leave now. There is important business. You may come with me if you wish.”

 

Walker reached the Dome just as the battle began, arriving from the opposite side as the Behemoth. The Humvee slid down a precarious and shifting slope just as the plasma cannon fired at the monster. He slid to a stop at a jumble of rubble that formed a pretty effective barricade, but he heard somebody issuing orders. Gathering power, he launched into a superhuman leap and landed a few yards from Phantom.

“Walker, advanced tactical Series IV. I have supplies in my jeep; most notable a powerful .50 cal with limited ammunition, and an RPG launcher with three rounds. Not much, but it could break the back of the thing, figuratively speaking. Although if we could break its back it would be a boon.” Walker greeted him, fist clasped over his right breast, torso slightly bowed; a standard warriors’ greeting. Looking out over the floor, Walker frowned.

“The lesser infected could be the true threat here. With the Dome in the condition that it’s in, we can’t bar their entry but we can stop them from killing others. Knots of defence there, there, there and there could defend the meat of the city, based on the intelligence of a networked horde of this size and they don’t do anything surprising. Give me a squad of Dolls, no less than a series II preferably, and we can act as a fire team if you give me a radio frequency to contact you on.”

 

[Thaelasan]

(( Look at Walker getting done. I MISSED IT. ))

[Totts]

After following Walker, ESPOIR decided to stop outside of the Dome. The Behemoth was wrecking the city, to be sure. She had to help SOMEHOW.

She didn't have a weapon but she did have her power core. Maybe just a bit of a jolt from that would do some damage?

She activated the core, causing instability within it, enough to generate some power. She then aimed for the beast, opening up a hole in the middle of her upper chest - right below the collar bone - from which to fire.

The beam shot forth, aimed directly at the beast's face. It slammed into its eye, doing minimal damage for its eye was the size of two small cars. Still, it seemed to jar it.

Edited September 26, 2013 by Totts

[Kjakings]

((Play nice, Thael. Not everyone is going to write exactly the same as you.))

[Thaelasan]

(( I'm not asking him to. I'm just politely asking that he stop using run-on sentences, misplaced modifiers, and comma splices. Those are the single most irritating things in the universe.

Besides not being descriptive enough. :I ))

[Totts]

((Sorry about my grammar, not the best atm, I've been ill and I've just got removable braces T_T they make me want to vomit ))

[Totts]

Reading text walls, ain't nobody got time for that!

[Kjakings]

((*puts up poster advertising for a lost Zakku*))

[Totts]

LOST

 

ZAKKU

 

MEMBER OF THE 'MURRICAN ARMY

 

PLEASE FIND

 

HE IS LOST COLD AND ALONE

 

GIVE HIM A HUG

 

REWARD : A HUG SO HARD INTESTINES SPLATTER OUT YOUR BUM.

[Thaelasan]

(( ...I don't think anyone wants that. ))

[Kjakings]

((How about a cookie? Also, zakku hates spam so I say we discuss random until he bursts in, full of righteous anger. Who wants to join the First Great and Glorious Doll Communist Revolution under the warrior-priest Walker?))

[Totts]

Spam Spam Spam, Sunday sunday ereybody lasy on shunday!

[Thaelasan]

(( I kinda like the roleplay idea of an alternate universe in which Walker in a dictator of a mass of dolls and people can choose to follow him or try to rebel. ))

[Clown_of_God]

((Sorry I haven't posted, I've just been drawing a blank on how exactly to respond to Walker. Also, my original concept of the Dome has been altered quite significantly, as it used to be a highly reinforced military railhead station that partnered with the subway system (obviously making it underground). Now, however, it seems to be an actual Dome constructed for the sole purpose of housing survivors and was built during the outbreak (which, don't get me wrong, is completely plausible). Anyway, I didn't quite plan out this Behemoth situation entirely, and I definitely wasn't expecting there to be a large plasma cannon in the center. It did help me introduce one of my main antagonists, though, so I'm grateful for that and yet I'm discouraged. Thael, I think you misinterpreted my characters means of entering the chamber and leaving. She didn't walk in or run out, nah, she has a piece of technology no other doll has that makes her really dangerous. Kja might remember what she was capable of, as Walker was one of the main combatants that went against her. To put it bluntly, she is capable of teleporting. I'll get down into the logistics and details in the RP, but she's the only one that will have this technology.))

[Thaelasan]

(( I guessed that later when she suddenly disappeared but at the time...

Anyway, I'm just happy you play along and don't suddenly go all "THIS IS MY ROLEPLAY THERE ARE NO PLASMA CANNONS."

I mean, I made it make sense, of course. :3 ))

[Kjakings]

((I remember that! That was a badass fight. She took out half of Walker's little legion of rebellious Dolls and he only just managed to damage her enough to discourage her from taking out the other half.))