Drako and Claw

[CrypticAsterisk]

Radian was completely out of breath, shaking like a leaf, and deathly pale. He looked like he was about to pass out from fright! Sure, he'd had some close calls with the officers before, but they never lasted long, and his encounters were never with more than one officer at a time. This... This was something different. He barely even heard Mina's question, and even then, it took him a good ten seconds before he could finally muster a response. "I...I think I will, uh... Head to my quarters now..." he muttered, trying to keep his voice as steady as possible. He then began dazedly wandering off in the direction of the base, trying his best to stop shaking.

Edited December 20, 2013 by Drako_tamer

[shadow_claw]

Alright then. We could all use some rest after all this

 

---

 

Cyrus watched as Radian left with a blank expression before wordlessly following him inside the base and to the barracks. He was tired and neeced time to recharge his batteries. Not all the energy in the world could replenish what was lost when he socialized. He glanced about t all the unclaimed beds, settling on a lower bunk in the furthest corner. It would make him feel safer if he felt more alone, so a corner was a perfect option. Mina too joined the men in her own quarters. All it took was a leap and she hauled herself onto her own bed. G'night boys. We got plenty t' do tomorrow.

[CrypticAsterisk]

Radian wandered aimlessly around the room for a bit before settling on sleeping in the bottom bunk adjacent to Cyrus'. Not because he felt more secure around the energy-draining sociopath, but because it was the furthest one back he could find that was both a comfortable distance from the subject, as well as a fair distance from Namina. She seemed to have good intentions, she truly did. But she had a strange, borderline scary way of expressing them.

 

Worn out from his day, he crawled into the bunk, turned so his back was facing Cyrus, and began to calm down. It had been a long time since he had slept in a bed. The last time he did, it was an abandoned mattress, and it was infested with bedbugs. Stifling a yawn, he took off his glasses, pulled their case out of his coat pocket and quietly slipped them inside, sliding the case back into his pocket before giving into sleep's ever-strengthening pull.

 

((Timeskip?))

[shadow_claw]

Mina was up and moving long before just about anyone else was. When Cyrus had awoken, she was sitting above his bunk, eating a can of spaghetti-o's for breakfast. She grinned at the sociopath. Mornin' sweetheart. Sleep well? She greeted cheerfully. Cyrus glared at Mina in cold silence, clearly irritated with the smuggler. Hungry? Food's in the cafeteria.

[CrypticAsterisk]

Radian had woken up soon after Namina had and was sitting within the shadows of his own bunk, eating a can of tomato soup he had managed to snag from the cafeteria. When Cyrus' subconscious murmurs began to turn into loud, rather pointed thoughts, he looked over at the sociopath's bunk, giving him a nod of aknowledgement before continuing on about his buisness. He had made it a point not to mess around too much with the former subject, especially since they barely knew each other. If he wanted his space, the scientist had no qualms with offering it up. Mina, though...

[shadow_claw]

((I ship it.))

 

Cyrus stood up and walked out of the room, shooting Mina a cold look before leaving. The shifter merely chuckled and shoveled another spoonful of food into her mouth. She glaced across the room at Radian's bed and smiled. Radian isn't your real name is it? Man, that'd be a weird name. My real name's Alice Cooper, but I ditched that a while back. Didn't want folks going after my family, y'know? Mina wasn't really one for secrets, which grew more and more obvious the longer one stayed around her. She paused to pull the Dogtags over her head and toss them at the other person in the room. Sure enough, there was one with her real name on it, and another with her pseudonym. Always told folks Alice was my sister. My sister's name was Becky. Was. The sadness on her face was just what her expression held. Her thoughts became a swirling wreck of guilt and anger and regret at the mention of her sister.

[CrypticAsterisk]

((Ship what? Cyrus and Radian?

Also, I have a character named Cyrus... What if Cyshipping? A pyromaniac and a sociopath night be able to help each other out. Also, I probably shouldn't be writing at 1 AM.))

 

Radian caught the dog tags, albeit after fumbling them a fair bit, and studied the engravings on them. Huh. So she was part of some sort of special forces operation? That would explain quite a lot, actually. When the angered, guilty thoughts began to seep into Mina's mind, it was clear that Radian was affected by them, as was shown by his sudden break in eye contact and shift in expression. He felt her pain; his alibi had not been enough to save his family after he jumped ship, and when he arrived home to try and get them out of the government's sights, he arrived too late...

 

Shaking the memories from his head, he held his composure. All he had to do was ignore the thoughts as if they didn't sound like they were speaking right next to him. No biggie. "You would be right," he murmured, his tone soft-spoken. "My real name is Rodrick Orion Baxter. It's funny, really. I haven't heard my own name in so long, I barely recognize it." He cracked a smirk, though it was moreso to keep himself from slipping into a state of depression than anything else.

[shadow_claw]

((Mina and Radian. But a Cyship sounds good too. BRING HIM IN. They could meet up when dragged to a pysch ward or something.))

 

Orion. Like the constellation. That's cool. I named my dog Sirius after the star. The story of Orion was the only one I remembered that my parents used to tell me about. Mina remarked. Her eyes flickered an icy blue as she spoke, but then dulled to a softer color. She stared down at her hands, a bitter chuckle escaping her. I joined the rebellion for Becky. I was a guard for some pretty top-secret stuff and a military engineer, just about as loyal as you could get. But then Becky, my sweet little sister in the science branch was carted off somewhere when some kinda radiation got to her. Changed her up real bad. I went and visited her one time and- Mina choked on her own words, her eyes filling up with tears. She wiped them away with the back of a hand and inhaled a couple times before continuing. Half of her face had morphed into something horrible...that eye turned a sickening yellow. She had claws and fangs and bloody, scaly patches of skin. I looked past that and insisted on being allowed inside her cell. Mina had started crying by now, speaking in shaky breaths and wiping fat tears from her face. It wasn't Becky anymore. I didn't know that until a hand was digging into my chest where my heart was...I-I...I still remember the look in her eyes when I-I shot her...

Edited December 21, 2013 by shadow_claw

[CrypticAsterisk]

((Later, maybe. I have plaaaans.))

 

Radian couldn't help it; he was still a huge softie at heart. When Mina started crying, he set the can of soup down on the floor and walked over to her, hesitating for a moment before pulling the shifter into an embrace. It was a bit awkward considering his distrustful nature, but He seemed to be able to put it aside, or at least for now.

 

((Tired. Night!))

[shadow_claw]

((Do you have a Skype? I could IM you drawings of Mina I did.))

 

How pathetic of her! Mina mentally cursed herself for being unable to keep a lid on herself. She was supposed to be able to stay strong! But here she was, bawling uncontrollably! She instinctively drew closer when she was hugged, trying to get something so she could get a grip on herself. Wh-who does that? What k-kind of person sh-shoots their own sister? If I-I wasn't so damn stupid I wouldn't have had t-to kill her! she blubbered. The rest of her time was spent hiccupping and trying to calm down, only to break into hysterics as soon as she had began to settle. Clearly Mina had kept this heavy on her heart for a while or her breakdown wouldn't have been so explosive.

[CrypticAsterisk]

((I don't have a Skype. I have a LINE account though.))

 

Radian let Namina release her anger and stress, keeping quiet throughout most of it and stroking her back. By now, there were a few tears forming in the scientist's eyes as well. Her thoughts were so vivid, so mournful, so furious, he could practically see the memories through her eyes. And that hurt him. It hurt him to see just how much his research had impacted families like hers, and to see that his work had torn lives apart.

 

He had to fix this as best as he could. He knew that he couldn't bring people back from the dead, but he would do the best he could to make things right again. "No," he whispered, his voice trembling slightly. "I know the Core. I've studied it inside and out, radiation and all. In your sister's case... It sounds to me like she died long before you pulled that trigger. Ok? What you killed wasn't your sister. It was a monster wearing the skin of the fallen. Don't be sorry. Even if there was still a minuscule remnant of her conscience inside of her, it would have stood no chance against the radiation. What you did... It was an act of mercy."

 

~~

 

Meanwhile, in the underground, three ruffians were surroundin a strange, doctor-type man. He had short black hair with a small piece sticking up in the middle, a pale complexion, a plague doctor's mask with a shattered left lens, and what appeared to be a scrap-built robotic left hand, as well as some sort of strange contraption built into his chest. The ruffians likely wanted to kill him off, to sell the metal scraps for profit. Still, the medic seemed strangely confident. "Hm," he murmured, looking up at the three men. "Very well. If you wish to fight, so be it."

 

((A challenger is approaching!))

[shadow_claw]

Cyrus weaved his way through the underground base searchingfor the cafeteria. He resented speaking with others, so of course he'd refrain from asking for directions. So imagine his frustration when he stepped into a dead end with what appeared to be the starts of a fight. Cyrus cursed under his breath, his green eyes flickering to the oddity of a man that happened to be surrounded. Oh Jeez, there wasn't a way to back out of this quietly, was there? Fine. The lights dimmed as Cyrus drew energy from them in case he needed to fight. He strode up to one of the thugs. How about you do this somewhere else?

 

---

 

When Mina calmed down enough, she decided to finish her story. She willingly remained in Radian's arms because she felt as if the support was still needed. Her claws had gotten to my heart. People rushed in at the sound of the gunshot and pulled the body off me. I don't remeber much after that, only waking up in a white room. They kept telling me how lucky I was to be alive. What they did to keep me alive is what made problems. Some idiot...used Becky as means for a blood transfusion. That's why my mutation wasn't extreme, because it wasn't direct. It messed wit my system and changed me up. When I found out about what they did, I was furious. And then I leaned of the why. Mina sighed and shook her head slowly, leaning on Radian slightly. I was a test. They didn't care if I lived or not. They wanted to see if the afflicted could mutate others if blood contact was made. So I slipped out when given the chance and signed up for the rebellion. The rest of the world needs light shined on the darkness we've shrouded ourselves in. That's what I do. I'm just a ray of light warming those who've gone cold. That's why I'm a rebel. It's my way of mourning. My form of revenge.

[CrypticAsterisk]

The thug subsequently wheeled around and tried to slug Cyrus in the throat. However, before he could even throw the punch, he froze, then dropped like a rock to the floor. Standing behind his limp body was the doctor, who now had blood on one of his left Hans's fingers. The tip of said finger was a hypodermic needle, and had a pipette hooked up to it that led into the main body of the hand. When the two other thugs tried to attack him, he kicked one in the chest, and shot the other with a gun that was built into the pinky finger of the metal hand, the shot nearly silent. Then, as the kicked man staggered back, he slit his neck with a blade on the side of his hand. Turns out, he only needed a distraction.

 

Turning to Cyrus, the man grinned, the light glinting off of his cracked lens. "Thank you for distracting him," he said, his voice rough with a thick German accent. "You must be new here. I'm just a visitor myself, just passing through. Ach! But where are my manners?" He stuck his hand, the right one, out to the subject, keeping the left hand behind his back. "I'm Dr. Waldemar, but please, call me Vinzenz."

 

~~

 

Radian nodded; he'd heard things about this experiment. However, at the time, he thought they actually meant they were using rats for testing when they called the subjects "lab rats." Oh, how naive and foolish he was then. "We all have different forms of mourning, I suppose," he started, looking down at the bed sheets. "You rebel, I wandered. After I found out what was going on, what they really thought of my research, why, I was devastated. I never once fathomed the core's power being used for war, to mutate men and women into unpredictable "supersoldiers" as they called them. Rather, I intended for the core to better the lives of, not just American civilians, but the whole world. I was played for a fool by, not just my government, but my friends and colleagues as well. I never wished for my research to aid in the suffering of others, and when I realized that the U.S was making plans to go to war, I ran. At first, I had a destination. Home, back to Atlanta to gather my family. But by the time I got there, well..."

 

He sighed; he hated reliving this part, and he had certainly never told anyone. "I was too late. It was all gone. My childhood home was reduced to a pile of smouldering wood and ashes, my family nowhere to be found. I looked all inside the smoldering remains of what was left, but there was nothing to tell me where they went or if they were even alive." Pulling away, the man seemed to be holding back tears as he slipped his hand into the inside pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a slightly-charred photo, one of him and his family. Looking at the cheerful man frozen in time within the paper, it was hard to believe that he and Radian were the same man. In fact, they weren't. Not on the inside, anyways.

 

"This was all I managed to recover... You know, when I left Atlanta, I didn't know where I was going. I just went. I walked across towns and cities and states, never once stopping to think of a reason why or where I was walking off to," he looked up at Mina, his misty golden eyes alight with a new flame. "Now I know. After all this time, I finally get it. Whichever paths I chose lead me here, and here... Here is where I will stand."

[shadow_claw]

The lights in the room returned to their usual strength as the attackers were dispatched. Cyrus watched with mild curiosity as they were all creatively slaughtered. What an interesting contraption that hand was! And people thought Cyrus was crazy! He turned and regarded the stranger in silence before hesitantly shaking his hand. It obviously had nothing to do with fear; Cyrus was wearing the same indifferent look he always did. Cyrus. Why did they want your head so badly? Are you a thief like all the others here and picked the wrong pocket? he asked calmly.

---

Gloved hands held the delicate paper was it was offered. Her fingers were exposed, but the leather for her palms made certain tasks in her job easier. Mina traced her fingers across the family photograph, a wistful look in her eyes. How happy they had been. It was a tragedy all of this happened. She wriggled from Radian's embrace and crawled to the pillow of her bed. She pulled out a few different photos-all of which in a wallet. She hadn't just escaped with nothing but a hospital gown. That would've been stupid. No, Mina stole it all back.

The first picture was of two women-one of Mina, and another, more petite girl with crystal blue eyes and curly brown hair. That's Becky about three months before what happened. Even Mina looked different in the picture. Her hair was short and in a ponytail, and she dressed in a much more civil fashion. It wasn't combat boots, raggedy jeans, and a tank top that was for sure. She changed pictures to show Radian a tall blonde man with a crooked smile. He stood beside Mina in the picture in a desert. This...is my husband Nick. Was. He died in the war with France, had been drafted. Mina flipped to the final picture of the three of them, along with the smuggler's parents. You're welcome in the Pit as long as you want. There's always room for people like you. Y'know, good people. The ones that aren't thieves or scumbags.

[CrypticAsterisk]

Vinzenz released Cyrus' hand, shaking his head. He knew why they were after him, and it had nothing to do with grudges. "Nein, I hadn't stolen a single thread from these people," he said tapping the strange object built into his chest. It had a screen on it and, at the time, it was only showing a scrolling, pixelated image of a genome. The entire contraption seemed to be built into his chest, and was not meant to detatch. "They want my resources. I'm a walking piece of scrap metal, electronics and medical supplies. This thing in my chest? It's a life support system. They want it, probably to sell to other forces. Plus, I have ammunition. A gun. I'm practically a supply cabinet on legs to those-"

 

Suddenly, the German seized up with a sharp gasp, an audible bolt of electricity shooting off of the power generator on his back and through his body. Once the shock had passed, he bent over and put his hands on his knees, sparks still arcing off of the pack. "I... I really need to fix that blasted thing," he panted, blinking the spots from his vision. After the momentary lightheadedness passed, he stood up straight again, shaking his head. "I should probably get going. I've been searching for some new circuits and wires, but this place is like a labyrinth."

 

~~

 

Radian gazed down at the pictures in Mina's hands. If it weren't for the Core, they would still have all of this. A family, friends, a normal life. But then, he began thinking about Cyrus. He had said that he was kept in the labs his whole life. What if the war had never started? What if he had never gained his powers? He would still be pent up in a cage, being poked and prodded at with needles of all sorts. And, besides, without the Core, they would have likely never met. Perhaps this storm had just the slightest silver lining. Giving Mina a soft smile, he took one last look at his own family photo before tucking it away. It was time to move on to new beginnings. "Thank you, Mina," he said, pushing his glasses back up onto his nose. "I'll do the best I can to help out with anything you may need me for."

[shadow_claw]

That made sense. He did appear to be made of mostly metal. Cyrus looked him over curiously. It was all very interesting. Cyrus thought to himself for a short while. The spark had the young man recoiling as if he had been shot at. For a few brief moments, he looked truly alarmed. But once Cyrus realized what it was, he seemed to relax. I could, um, fix it. If the problem is the power system, I can fix it. He offered after a while. Jeez, what was with him?! Suddenly being nice?

 

---

 

Any time. Sometime folks need to hear about other people before they can move on. Mina replied. She hopped from the top bunk and landed gracefully on the floor, pausing to stretch afterwards. There were audiable snaps as she cracked her neck. She started to head out, but stopped at the door and turned towards Radian. And, thanks for hearing me out. I've never told anyone that stuff before. Around here...you can't trust folks. This means a lot to me.

Edited December 23, 2013 by shadow_claw

[CrypticAsterisk]

Vinzenz seemed startled by the offer, mainly because it was coning from another guy in the Pit. The doctor hadn't been there long, but he knew that the people here tended to be thieves, muggers, or worse. This man... He actually seemed decent in comparison. "You would do that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as a small aftershock ran through him. "Nngh... If you would like to try, be my guest, by all means. But be quick about it. Once you shut off that power supply, I only have ten minutes to live."

 

With that, he sat down on the floor, allowing Cyrus to walk around behind him. It was clear that his life depended on that machine's functionality, otherwise he wouldn't be letting a practical stranger fix it.

 

~~

 

Radian smiled the first real, full-fledged smile he had in what felt like an eternity and hopped off the bunk himself. His landing wasn't nearly as graceful though, and he had to stick his arms out to hold his balance. "Any time. Now, we should probably find Cyrus. I don't know much about him, but I know enough to know that he can be dangerous towards those around him. I don't hear his thoughts, so I guess he's wandered quite a ways."

[shadow_claw]

Cyrus examined the generator on his back before stooping to get a better look. It seemed as if he had set all this up in a haste. Well, it was a life support system. I won't need to shut it off. That was all Cyrus said until he pried the metal case open. As he expected, it was a tangled mess of wire. But, it wouldn't be that hard to fix. Cyrus was put on a timer, however. All that electricity had to go somewhere. In this vase, it was the young man himself as the receiver. You know, if it's organs that have shut down, I can get them working on their own. He offered as he worked. Fusing and re-arranging wires wasn't all that hard when you were a living battery.

 

---

 

A bit prickly, ain't he? He couldn't have gotten himself into that much trouble, it's only been about twenty minutes. Mina remarked with a grin. She stuck her hands in her pockets and strolled out of the room. He probably was looking for the cafeteria, but she hadn't given directions. Their best guess seemed to be to run around aimlessly in search of Cyrus. Whee.

[CrypticAsterisk]

Vinzenz shook his head, deciding now that he should probably explain how this happened. He wasn't too secretive of a guy. "Actually, they didn't shut down, you see," he explained, the flashbacks making him freeze for a moment. "You see, I used to be a combat medic for the army in France. I was on the frontlines, right in the thick of the war. So, I wasn't too surprised when I saw a man dragging himself towards me with his hand over a gaping wound in his abdomen. Naturally, I pulled him aside. But when I flipped him over to see what was the matter..." He trailed off for a moment, forcing the fright away from his voice. "He blew up. He was a suicide bomber in disguise, and had pulled that just so he could eliminate the doctors. When he blew up, he knocked off my left hand, took a huge chunk out of my chest, and severely damaged several of my vital organs. Thankfully, I came to in time to slap together a life support system from whatever was lying around."

 

((I guess we'll have them find him in a while.))

[shadow_claw]

Hm. This was the only response to Viznez's story. Cyrus was too focused on his job at hand. It didn't take him more than ten minutes to have everything rearranged in a much safer manner. He finished fusing the last wire (directing heat to his hands in order to do this) and snapped the plate back onto the generator. Hold still a moment Cyrus channeled his excess energy back into the generator and then took a step back. That should do it. Not much could have that thing messing up any time soon.. Edited December 23, 2013 by shadow_claw

[CrypticAsterisk]

The patchwork wasn't done a moment too soon. Two minutes after Cyrus had drained the power from the generator, the screen on Vinzenz's chest had began displaying his vital signs, and he had started to experience some pain. This pain was nothing less than the pain of his vital organs beginning to fail, his damaged heart struggling to keep pace as its much-needed energy was kept away. When the power was restored, the pain disappeared almost immediately, and the screen returned to its idle state as his vitals stabilized and returned to normal.

 

Flexing his left hand for a moment to make sure it had power, he stood up, looking up at Cyrus. It took a lot of willpower not to tackle-hug the man, and yet, he couldn't stop the giddy grin from spreading across his face. "Danke, Cyrus!" he said, clasping his hands together. "I don't know how I could ever repay you for this, but for a start, would you like to come with me back to my base? I'm a part of a rebel militia group now, and they've been needing people like you around. I mean, I assume those abilities of yours aren't just used for making repairs, ja?"

 

((For the mods: Danke means thank you, and ja means yes.))

[shadow_claw]

((Oh wow, you're up at a normal time in the day!))

 

Cyrus arched an eyebrow at Vinzenz as he folded his hands behind his back. Like usual, his expeession was blank minus the usually cold look in his eyes. No, I usually do not use them in anything other than combat. Your offer is one that would be beneficial to a plan of mine. Currently, I am travelling with a Doctor in search of a rebel base. We have information, you see. We are currently here contacting a different rebel. he explained. The white lines that appeared along his body slowly began to fade.

Mina weaved through the labyrinth of a facility, pausing wen she recognized a familiar voice. Her speed picked up from a walk to small jog. When she caught visual of Cyrus and Viznez, she broke into a run to hug the Doctor.

Viznez! How come ya didn't tell me you were coming?

[CrypticAsterisk]

((I know! I'm just as surprised as you are!))

 

The next thing Vinzenz knew, he was being nearly bowled over by Namina. He wasn't very tall, only standing at 5'2, but with his metal parts, he had enough weight to keep his balance. Nevertheless, he seemed glad to see her. "Mina!" he yelled, hugging her back and somehow not slicing or stabbing her in the process. He seemed ecstatic, though, there was something else there too. "Oh, mein Gott, you're okay! Ever since that last invasion happened in the Pit, everyone's been thinking you were dead! Ha, I should've known that you'd be alright. Still, I need to be heading back soon. To tell you the truth, I was never given permission to leave R-7 in the first place. Oh, the sergeant will be furious! But you can come back if you like!"

 

Radian walked over to Cyrus, a bit stunned by the doctor's excessive amount of talking. Man could this guy run his mouth! "Was he this talkative when he was with you?" he asked, pushing his glasses back up onto his nose.

[shadow_claw]

Mina laughed as Viznez stumbled, hugging him tightly. It was an awkward hug, with her being so tall and him being moderately short. Are you kidding? I was the one that ended up stopping that skirmish! she replied cheerily. She let go of the German to beam down at him. It's about time I go back. I just got back from a big job. Aw man, you should see all the medical equipment! She slung her massive backpack off her shoulders and opened it up. Assorted bottles of medication (mostly antibiotics), a case of surgical tools, and a first-aid kit was her haul. For even a smuggler, this was worth more than gold. Sarge can take it up with me. After all, I'm not all that far behind him.

 

Cyrus glanced over at Radian and sighed. Sadly. he answered with ansmall shake of his head. He watched the two with little to no interest in his eyes, deciding to continue speaking to Radian instead. We've been invited to a rebel base.

Edited December 25, 2013 by shadow_claw

[CrypticAsterisk]

((Think I found this RP's song.))

 

Vinzenz sighed out of relief, giving Mina a small smirk. As he calmed down, the whirring of his electronic parts began to quiet as well. He seemed rather secure around Namina, and it seemed as if they had known each other for a long time. "Oh, thank you Mina. I knew I could count on you! But, um, I should probably warn you..." His voice dropped to a whisper, his tone shifting to a more worried state. "He's gotten worse, I'm afraid. We've been under fire lately from small, pro-government militia groups, and he's been under a lot of stress trying to keep them out of the base. Mindless worms, they are. But I digress; he's picked up heavy drinking again and, last I saw of him, he wasn't a pleasant man. You knew him more than anyone. Please, try to talk some sense into him when we get back. I tried, but he's as dense as a neutron star."

 

All the while, Radian listened in. Who had gotten worse? Was this something he needed to be concerned about? And what of the pro-government militia? He'd never heard of such things! Remembering Cyrus' statement, he snapped out of it. "Hm?" he said, breaking away from his shared thoughts. "Oh, right. The rebel group... I suppose it would only be beneficial if we went. He seems well off, perhaps they have a proper base over there. Y'know, one not filled with thieves and thugs."

Edited December 25, 2013 by Drako_tamer