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X-DREAMERS [mission 01: ash and sand]

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Stan -- Commercial District

 

"Ah, there she is," Lamar said to Stan, having noticed Lara first. The man was a good decade older than him, but he talked to him with the causal air of someone his own age. Stan turned to look at her as she climbed down and landed lightly on the ground. The Lara he knew -- stern, witty, and in control -- was back. He nodded to her, glad that she had returned.

 

"Suggestions, from you? My business is my business," Lamar retorted. He snorted, catching a chuckle before it escaped him. "Can't make decisions if you know nothing about the situation. But I'm glad she's safe, even if she has terrible company like you." He grinned. She said it was a bad idea to insult her when she was not too far away, but not when insulting her to her face.

 

Stan was about to question his relationship with Cam, but before he had the chance, two hundred pounds of man and armor came crashing down on him and pinned him to the cobblestones. Lamar winced visibly, sucking in a sharp breath in sympathy as he regained his footing against a wall, having stumbled backwards a little at Theo's appearance.  He lifted his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh, it's your other friend. I thought you were following the angel?"

 

Stan grunted. The hourglass rolled out of his grasp, though thankfully it was undamaged. He flexed his fingers, but some of the digits on his robotic arm didn't respond, crushed under Theo's weight. He had just repaired them, for stars' sake! His anger was exhausted already, so instead of yelling he simply sighed in defeat and slumped into the ground. "Hello, Theo."

Edited by TehUltimateMage

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Oh, it was over for this child. Nobody ever insulted Lara Croft to her face. “Oh, au contraire, I suppose she’d be in terrible company with you, with that temerity you have.” Lara purred back, the venom dripping in her voice as she did so. She didn’t care what sort of freaky powers he had, he was going down. This child was outnumbered, though she winced a bit when Stan was pinned down by the sudden weight of Theo, she even heard a bit of a crunch. “Stan? Please tell me you’re okay.” She glared at Lamar and prepared to pounce. “Because if you are, I might need help giving this child a beat down. Theo, you’re welcome to join me.

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Jowan [ don't scare us like that ]
 

Oh, oh no. Jowan hadn’t meant to put Grigor in danger, but the cube was no longer making the faint hissing noise it had made while the call was active. That meant that he wasn’t in contact with Stan anymore, right? If only he knew how to call him back, he would have been able to tell him to make sure that the four-winged guy (Arch, right?) to be careful. Not that he knew how much that would help anyway. Was it even possible for a winged man to be subtle? Might as well just add not thinking about the danger he was putting the rebellion in to his list of failures. 

 

He froze at the rattling of the door. His mind ran through a list of things that he had to hide (notes, books, wounds, knives, bandages) and he tugged down at the ends of his sleeves -- but why was the door rattling? The Circle didn’t have any locks outside of the Templar living areas. There shouldn't be any more warning than the sound of heavy footsteps. 

 

He didn’t resist as Grigor dragged him towards the window. Better to not struggle. Less punishment that way. 

 

It wasn’t until they reached the window and Grigor started shoving him out of it that he remembered and started to struggle, to little avail. Grigor was stronger and Jowan was too distracted to find proper leverage. “But Duke--” Duke was still unconscious and wouldn’t be able to defend himself at all. Jowan at least still had his mana, and even if he couldn’t fight very well in his current state he had to do something to protect Duke from whatever horror was coming up the stairs. “No, we have to--” 

 

Grigor suddenly stopped pushing him, and Jowan fell backwards unopposed. His back hit the ground with a thud and he scrambled to right himself to see what had entered the room. 

 

Oh.

 

He let himself slump back against the wall and tried to slow his breathing, suddenly feeling very tired in despite the adrenaline still running through his veins. Inhale, exhale. Arch was just standing there politely, as though he hadn’t just barged in and scared them half to death. “Try knocking next time, won’t you,“ he tried to snap, but he was too tired for his words to have much bite. He placed a hand to his chest and focused on the too-rapid beating. 

 

"Oh -- hi Arch,"

 

Duke! Jowan turned his head to look, and his eyebrows raised in surprise to see that Duke was already standing. “You should still be resting,” he said weakly. For someone who had just been dead to the world, Duke looked far too awake. Shouldn’t he still be lying down?
 

Edited by Zor

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b66ab1c5efcb9f5adfe252bf9169f6c7.png [ theo ; -- add. stan ; for. l & l ]

-- status.

legios ; dormant ]

grey ; knight of loyalty

--

 

Surprisingly, his landing is not nearly as disruptive as he would have assumed. Stan makes for a surprisingly good cushion, Theo thinks to himself as his fingers come up and adjust the fur collar pinned around his neck, brushing the soft black fur against his jawline as he fixes his clothes back to their previous arrangement.

 

"Hello," he replies to Stan, who sounds awfully content for their current predicament, and Theo decides -- if Stan isn't going to make a big fuss out of this, neither will he. "It seems like I've found you just in time. Do you know where my husband --"

 

Theo pauses, abruptly catching sight of the boy who had been talking to Stan and Lara before he had introduced himself to them via abrupt delivery, his eyes widening.

 

The angel?

 

"You know my husband?" Theo says, and he moves, quick -- he leaps off of Stan's body with nimble grace, his armour creaking a bit as he does so, and immediately grabs the shoulders of the boy. "I was following him," he confirms. "Where is he? Do you know? Let's go -- immediately, I don't have all day --"

 

He pauses then, looking to Lara with an indignant expression on his aristocratic features. "I'm not going to beat a child," he says, sounding positively appalled, and gives Lamar a shake as if to emphasize his point. 

Edited by Weiss

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#Theo, Lara, Stan#

 

The new man lunges for him and grabs him by the shoulders, much faster than what his armored form would have suggested. The teen felt a flutter of panic from getting surprised, but then relaxes once he realizes that Theo is not, in fact, here to punch his beautiful face. Lamar's attention at the time, he admitted, had been focused on the woman's aggressive stance and how she looked like she was ready to strangle him on the spot. It was a careless lapse -- but wasn't half the fun about the challenge of getting out of tough situations?

 

"Husband...?" Lamar answers, his brain feeling just as rattled as the rest of him from Theo's roughhousing. It was... reassuring? that he confirmed that he did not, in fact, beat children. "I followed him for a bit but I too lost sight of him." He pauses, but before anyone could get the wrong idea (and before Theo could change his mind about beating children) he quickly adds, "He had Cam, so I wanted to follow..."

 

"Right, right, we can go find Arch, Duke, and Jowan if we just follow the tracker. Also, I'm fine." Stan slowly peels himself off the ground and rubs his bruises gained from the fall. He dusts his clothes, shaking off the dirt that Theo accidentally sprinkled onto him. "You," he points to Lamar with a finger of his good hand. "You can come, but only because I have a feeling you'd end up following us secretly anyway."

 

"We ready to go? As a group this time?"

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He lucked out. Theo’s response made Lara chuckle a little bit. He didn’t want to beat up a child, yet he shook the child violently as he did so. But she frowned when Stan said that he could go with them. After all, she had disliked this boy from the very start, and at this point she wanted nothing more than to strangle him. But she had to hold back. She needed to be professional, especially after her little spat with Stan. Proving herself would probably be a good idea. Yet her frown did not change. Lara assumed the boy was smirking, but as she didn’t want to look at him, she didn’t know. For all she knew he was scared pantsless. Theo was a very intimidating person especially when Arch was not with him, she inferred. As he was knew, she could only gather from what she saw.

 

Lara sighed in defeat. “Yes, sir.” She chuckled at her own sarcasm. It was fun poking at him, but they needed to go. Lara corrected her still-aggressive stance, opting for a more casual one. “Anyways, yes. We should go as a group, Lord knows we have more Lamars running about. Off we go.” She took a step forward, a hesitant one, more than ready to get a move on so she could find the others and get the hell out of here.

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b66ab1c5efcb9f5adfe252bf9169f6c7.png [ theo ; -- add. stan ; for. l & l ]

-- status.

legios ; dormant ]

grey ; knight of loyalty

--

 

Cam? Theo blinks for a split second before registering that the boy was probably referring to the girl Arch had been kind to, and had decided to take with them on their journey. Squinting at the boy before him, the knight briefly pauses. 


"Are you friends?" he asks, and there is perhaps a soft inkling of sympathy in his voice -- only because he knows what it feels like to spend eternity searching for someone you have lost. 

 

"Then you shouldn't have lost her," Theo says, almost as if scolding the young boy, and he releases one of the boy's shoulders -- still keeping his grip on him, because he knows street urchins and their tendency to flee from any authority -- and gives the other a light dusting like he has seen Arch do to worried humans.

 

Only perhaps he is a bit rough in his actions, but the boy is almost a man. He can handle it, Theo thinks, as he gives the other a rough shove in the chest. Exactly as Arch would do. His husband would be so proud. As Stan slowly makes his way up, Theo nods -- he knew the other was okay, but it still nice to receive reassurance. 

 

"It might take you 800 years to find her," he says to Lamar, imposing some of his life knowledge, "and when you do find her, she's being babysat by some demon wearing skimpy clothing, and in your haste to rescue her from the demon you accidentally shoot an angel out of the sky -- as you do -- and you try to catch him but whoops he falls too fast, and you really should have just dumped him on the demon cat man but instead you ended up taking him with you and then you have Angel God calling you a kidnapper, and the demon blood in your spears really doesn't help your case, but the question might be actually why the angel didn't kill you in the first place, but I suppose it's a good thing he didn't because you're legally married to him now --"

 

Theo shakes himself. He is normally not this talkative. "My point being," he says, facing Lamar. "You should rescue her quickly, or else said angel is going to adopt her. And then you'll never see her again because he's trying to protect her pure human soul."  He hums. "If you happen to have any demonic blood, he might try to kill you -- but you call tell me, I accept all blood types. And I'll try to talk him out of adopting her."

 

"Let's go," he agrees, letting go of Lamar -- but still keeping an eye on him -- and turns towards Stan and Lara, who had taken the first step. "Lead the way," he says, acknowledging them both. 

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Yusei | ATK 2300

 

I should leave. There's something wrong about this place.

 

He took a step forward....

 

It only lasted a moment but he heard the slap of rushing footsteps, the scrape of boots against the ground. Yusei whirled towards the sound, head snapping up to catch just a glimpse of a figure leaping. Dodging, he dove forward, hitting the ground with his shoulder to roll back to his feet. The figure sailed by, an ax slamming into the ground where Yusei should have been.

 

The figure rose from its crouch, ax hanging at their side. Yusei stared at their back, blue eyes narrowing and shoulders tense. He rolled them, feeling that tension fade away. Robes draped from the shoulders, dark spikes protruding from the back of their bald head. The duelist’s hands curled into fists and then loosened a heartbeat later.

 

He should run. He knew that. No, what did that matter? He didn’t stand a chance, couldn’t stand a chance. Just a single human being wi - Wait.

 

Yusei’s gaze snapped back up from the ground - when had it dropped? - and was met by the figure’s twisted features. The ax was swinging forward with deadly intent. When had they started moving? Ducking beneath it, Yusei turned his body into the Inquisitor’s torso, pushing the being sideways and sweeping out with his foot to knock the man - man? - to the ground.

 

His balance was off. Yusei’s jacket was snatched, crinkled within a tight fist as he stumbled. Pulled in a direction he didn’t want to go, Yusei wasn’t surprised by the Inquisitor’s strength all too much; the musculature not hidden by fabric had not bothered to lie. The man fell with his attacker, impact with the ground doing nothing to break the stranger’s hold that left them nearly tangled.

 

His blade… Yusei frowned at the ax, a simple weapon without much to distinguish it. He tried to squirm free of the Inquisitor, managing to untangle his arms and maybe a leg. For a moment, his muscles started to ease as the stranger’s weight almost melted away. I have to get -

 

Get out! Get away!

 

A shot of fear churned in his stomach, his chest tightening as his heart began to race. Movement in the corner of his gaze made Yusei turn his head. The stranger, with his eyes pierced through by metal spires, grinned sinisterly.

 

He enjoys killing, he thought with horror. Sweat streamed down his forehead, trailing along the side of his face. He shouldn’t have come this way. Why had he come here? Foolish. Thoughtless.

 

The Inquisitor was getting up faster than him, pressing down against Yusei’s side and taking advantage of the man’s disoriented state. He was going to die, wasn’t he? The ax came down and Yusei twisted his body as best he could, feeling the blade catch on his jacket. Fabric ripped from the motion, the obsidian edge somehow finding his chest and scoring across a lower rib.

 

I don’t want this. I’m tired of this. Did he just blackout? It was only a heartbeat, a flicker of… nothing.

 

Hissing from the pain and reaching up, he grabbed at the enemy’s belt that kept the folds of cloth together, hitching his left leg up to knee the being in the side of his thigh. Wrapping his leg up into the Inquisitor’s, he forced the monster back to the ground, bringing his elbow around to jab into his back. If I can just -

 

What? He’s armed and I’m not. The air trembled as it left his lungs, his chest rising and falling almost sporadically as he struggled. His duel disc was in the way but he couldn’t get it off fast enough. Yusei managed to land an awkward uppercut into the Inquisitor’s jawbone.

 

It didn’t really help his situation. Perhaps it only made it worse. The man was heavier than anticipated and stronger than initially expected. Yusei felt the tension start to ease again in his back, his eyes drifting away from the Inquisitor and towards the looming structure. I don’t think I can beat him. I - I’m -

 

Something’s wrong. I’m not thinking straight….

 

That flicker of clarity came back, lasting only a moment longer than the first time. It was enough, for now. Under the weight of his attacker, Yusei didn’t have much leverage to use. That ax was making another pass. Grunting, he caught the Inquisitor’s arm with both hands, straining as the blade loomed right above his face.

 

The Inquisitor shifted, requiring a different position for more force. Perfect.

 

The moment Yusei’s body was free, he jerked sideways, letting the ax slam behind him. He kept moving, fighting against the desire to rest now, rolling as the ax surged through hurriedly vacated space. Yusei leapt to his feet and attempted to block yet another slash. The force was more than he could hold off, the blow only muted by his arm. The blade struck the large gem on his shoulder, cracking the amber and knocking him sideways.

 

His shoulder vibrated from the impact, the ache gradually dissipating into a throb. He scurried away as he reached for his deck and the Inquisitor pursued. The ax found its target down Yusei’s back, causing him to stagger. Agony burned in his flesh, his Mark glowed bright, and he swiped the card into place on his disc just as the ax dug into his hip.

 

Pain raced up and down his side as his duel disc lit up. The Inquisitor was still too close, still attacking too quickly. A boot slammed into his stomach and Yusei lost the air in his lungs with a sudden rush. Almost doubled over, he tried to deflect the ax again as a translucent blue circle expanded into existence behind the being.

 

The blade crashed down on his right arm, tearing his sleeve and gouging his bicep. From the edge of his vision, Yusei watched a shape emerge from the summon circle, dark blue metal catching the light. He tried retreating but the Inquisitor managed to get a hold of his shirt, almost his throat, and lift him off the ground with horrifying ease.

 

The Inquisitor was grinning again, bloodthirsty etched into his tattooed features as Yusei hung his head. No. That wasn’t right. Lifting his head, he fixed the steel-eyed stranger with a level glare. I’m terrified… Before the ax finished its arc to his neck, dark steel fingers curled around the blade and handle, halting the attack entirely. Yusei looked past the Inquisitor, his gaze rising up to meet Junk Warrior’s red optics. But I’m never alone.

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#Arch, Theo, Badu, Jowan, Duke#

 

The Duke had stumbled to his feet. Even if the threat was a false alarm, Dynarst was amazed that he was already prepared to jump to their defense. Grigor had tumbled back into the room along with Jowan, hissing under his breath at the intrusion and staring at the angel with his characteristic piercing gaze, the corners of his mouth pulled into a frown. Of course, if the scruffy man could generate fire from nothing, it wasn't too much of a surprise to Grigor to see a tall man, blonder than any noble, with two pairs of white bird wings growing from his back. If only he'd given them some sort of warning instead of kicking down the door like that... But at least, he seemed apologetic. 

 

"R-right," Grigor stammers, running a hand through his dark hair to try and calm himself down. "You get that this is a safe-house, yes?" he said to Arch, not that the angel would care. "Surprise visitors that barge in are bad, most of the time. Good that you're not trying to kill us right here 'n now."

 

The woman in the brown hood and the birdlike mask had shuffled over and Grigor stepped aside. She had no interest in him, instead heading towards Jowan -- she tilted her head to one side, trying to properly examine the mangled wrist of his. "Tsk tsk. You went and tore your sutures. What are we going to do with you?" Ignoring Duke right now, since he was up and healthy (seemingly), the plague doctor had begun to unravel a segment of gauze as a temporary fix for Jowan's wound. They were returning soon, supposedly, and having it fixed back at the base would be a lot easier than trying to pick out the stitches right here and now. 

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#Arch, Theo, Badu, Jowan, Duke; Stan#

 

Dynarst gestures with his hands, then mumbles, "Duke is right... There's someone else coming, right? We should..." He scans the floor around everyone's feet, looking for the cube object that Jowan had held. It was there by the window, dropped in the chaos of Arch's arrival. He wings his fingers. He would like to have something to do other than stand under judgmental gazes -- even though, most people were too preoccupied with other things to look at him.

 

Jowan and the Duke did teach him one thing in the short time they've known each other. Swallowing his anxiety and trying very hard to calm his breathing, Dynarst takes a few steps towards the cube, surprisingly unopposed, and then crosses the rest of the distance with quick strides. He snatches the cube as if had just stolen it, but holds it lightly in his hands as if he feared he would crush it. It was hefty for its size and felt smooth like a material he had never felt before. Like polished stone, but not cold.

 

Pivoting it slowly around in his hands, he now understands Jowan's confusion at the time. The device didn't have any clues on its purpose, or what to do with it, and if he hadn't heard the voice come through it earlier he would have never thought that it was an object for speaking to. It was so entirely alien, more so than the four winged man in the room right now. The skaa slaps it on the top, gently, but only manages to make it show some red and yellow glowing dots that he could not hope to make meaning out of. He is ready to give up.

 

But perhaps he has touched it the right way at some point or another, because the cube suddenly crackles to life, its communication line open. Dynarst is at a loss on what to say to the man that they had talked to earlier. He didn't think that he would have gotten this far in his task. "Hel...lo? Um..." What was it that he needed to tell this man, again? He glances around the room, confirming everyone's presence. The single room is feeling very crowded. "The wing guy is here... The Duke is awake..." What else? "We should meet not here."

 

"Where?" comes the reply. Short, authoritative. Dynarst didn't think he'd get this far, either, and looks to the rest of the room for direction. "Um..."

 

~~~

 

#Duke, Arch#

 

Cam lifts her chin and looks Duke once over, holding his gaze with conviction. Those are the eyes of a person willing to stand up for those she cares about, unlike the worn down, slumped shoulders and beaten faces of the other skaa in the room. Even though she herself is convinced that she has nothing more to live for, she still stands steady. The time for crying has passed. She recognizes the house here for what it is; while much more modest than her own dwelling space, she knows that this room, in its own little way, is fighting against the suffering of the world. 

 

She doesn't know what to think about this Duke yet. This was the man that everyone kept talking about, but it was a little... underwelming? He didn't seem like he took anything seriously.

Edited by TehUltimateMage

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   A Brief Moment Where the Author Forgot What She was Doing

    "I see... Your friend. Is also a metal creature." The man that Fiddlesticks had met was wary. Typheus had alighted down in front of him, letting go of the Pusher model gently so she could stand on her own. She was distant as he scrutinized the man. He definitely fit Stan's definition of an Inquisitor, which truthfully, wasn't much. The only thing amiss at the moment is that the being was just aloof, not hostile. He even warned them that the area wasn't safe, although the words fell on deaf microphones. Typheus simply kept his hand on his partner, glancing over at her to see if she was even paying attention.
   "I'm sure we'll be fine," he said confidently. The man didn't even bother arguing with him, his attention listing as if he saw something. The machine briefly checked behind him, but the black, ash-dusted cobblestones of street and building alike were vacant, and eerily silent.

   "If you will excuse me, I have a duty which I must attend to," the supposed Inquisitor said. Before the mechs could object he suddenly turned and dashed off, moving unnaturally fast for a human. Fiddlesticks winced as Typheus tightened his grip in brief surprise.

   "See? Engineer," she said. The Superiority model narrowed his eye.
  
"It's called an Inquisitor," he corrected. "One of the metal-benders..."
   "Oh. So you're an expert on non-Zirhonian worlds, now?"

   "Ever since you learned to chase after shiny things and people who look at you funny."
   Fiddlesticks' ears perked at the reminder of her foolishness at the XDRE base, but she still didn't have a good excuse for it. Random, high-strung programming again; was that even an excuse? At least it wasn't a parent thread termination again... Typheus didn't need more reasons to cling to her... not that she really cared, but...

   "Where do you think he went?"
   The Pusher model came back to reality and simply shrugged. "Who cares? I want to know more about why he wanted us out of here."
 

   Typheus felt immediate conflict with the implication of going against the man's advice. There were too many if statements: what did the man know that they didn't, what was concerning about this place, should they listen to a supposed threat or not? Usually he'd let the logic lead him, but somehow he always played it safe and Fiddlesticks had a knack for sniffing out the most grossly over-guarded, horrifically-difficult, insanely-important things on the face of the galaxy; and it was his job to protect her.
   I guess subconscious longing for your pilot does that to you, he thought to himself. He looked over at the 56 model while she bopped in place to a nonexistent tune.
   Then he remembered: Yusei!
  
"We need to go," he said hastily, starting up a brisk walk and heading down the hillside. Fiddlesticks sent him a curious look.
  
"What for?"
   "I left Yusei behind. I need to check on him!"
   "Pffff! Right." She dismissively looked up at the immense palace beside them, more interested in jumping back up it and seeing if there was an entrance than to go looking for him, even though it was odd that Typheus hadn't just taken the spiky-haired man along with him. Quickly and begrudgingly though, she decided to follow him. She would be going with either way, whether she chose to or if he dragged her along by force (and it wouldn't have been the first time).

  
"...We'll come back if he's fine, right?"
   "Maybe."

   "Can I beat up the thing if he isn't?"
   "Sure."

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# Commercial District -- Stan, etc. #

 

Oh! We could always use the trackers to find each other,” came the angel's voice through the communicator. "Instead of going to a particular location, we could both just follow the signal on the trackers until we bump into each other. Finding one another shouldn’t be a problem at all. 

 

Duke's voice followed, and Stan admitted he did feel a sense of relief at knowing that the other man was okay enough to talk. "Absolutely. We'll use the cubes to run into each other as opposed to arranging somewhere to meet -- we can avoid confusion and directions that way. Stan, hear that?

 

"Got it," Stan replied through his phone. "Just head out our way and we can meet in the middle. See you soon! Over and out."

 

While it seemed like everyone was alright, Stan didn't quite trust everyone to not screw up the teleportation back to the base and so, it was probably the safest option to regroup before heading back together and solving the little problem Cistina had got herself caught in. Tightening his grip on the lantern-like hourglass and fighting his exhaustion, he continued forth with a new resolve to finish this without any more incidents. 

 

 

~~~

 

Lamar was seized with an overwhelming feeling of dread at the armored man's words. He was about to protest his accusation -- he didn't lose her, nor did he let her go! But the older man's words continued on an on in a single breath and had begun to spiral into a run-on sentence of the story of his life as his fingers dug in with increased strength into Lamar's shoulder.

 

"He's going to adopt her? Never see her again?" the boy said, incredulous. His face scrunched, partly from disbelief, and partly because losing Cam forever wasn't particularly something that he liked to think about, even if in this world Mistings were found and killed every day. "Like, take her to Heaven?" he asked. It all sounded suspiciously like a euphemism for death -- though if it weren't, the whole... multiverse thing was so over his head that he didn't think it would be possible to ever pay her a visit.  Theo's voice sounded too serious. That angel sounded just a little out of his mind from the description. He became increasingly more nervous. 

 

Cam didn't need to be adopted. Cam had a mom and a dad who loved her. Cam had never been cast out to die just because she was never meant to exist. 

 

"No-- no demon blood," he stammers, lost in his thoughts and barely catching the rest of the words. "Just, skaa-- mostly. I guess I'm safe then?" He manages to laugh nervously, even if it lacked his usual lighthearted tone. Theo let go of him, but Lamar made no move to run. He then offered to talk to his angel friend to sort out the confusion.

 

"Thank you," he said, but Theo was already off following the other two. Lamar ran to catch up with them. 

 

~~~

 

# Grigor's House -- Dynarst, Duke, etc. #

 

"Got it," the voice answered through all the cubes present. Dynarst continued to stare at it, surprised at the vibrations he felt through his hands from holding it. "Just head out our way and we can meet in the middle. See you soon! Over and out."

 

"Sounds like a good way to do it," Grigor agreed. "I'll have to stay here, of course, but as long as you go in secret."

 

The man grabbed Dynarst by the arm as he was about to leave with Lefevre and Jowan. Dynarst turned to look at his friend, but could not muster the courage to make direct eye contact. He could never get used those piercing eyes that were of a nobleman's colors, light blue eyes that awoke some subconscious fear in him every time he saw them.

 

"You will join the rebellion," Grigor said. It was not a question. It was a statement that implied that Dynarst already had his mind set. He didn't. Not really. Seeing his hesitation, Grigor continued. "Your father fought and died trying. But things will be different this time." He subtly motioned to the otherworldly men with his chin. Though the Duke was still a little unsteady, the rest of them looked right and ready to fight the world once more. "I keep telling you this: how would he feel if he knew you just... gave up like this?"

 

Dynarst pursed his lips. His expression turned dark. "Aren't there tons of other skaa out there that are easier to rally than me? Why don't you ask them?"

 

He turned, then left down the stairs and out the door.

 

~~~

 

# East Hasting District -- XDRS Reunite! # 

 

With both anchors secured and everyone seemingly in one piece, this was the first real time Stan had the chance to properly observe his surroundings ever since his first scouting mission with Xker. His eyes had always been glued to the tracker and his attention was diverted elsewhere -- now he could freely observe how the city's small streets twisted and branched into darkness. Some roads were small and winding, others gridded and square, as if, curiously, they had developed independent of each other. It was safer to follow the major streets, but a part of him did long for the little bit of danger that came with wandering through sketchy alleyways.

 

He just refused to put others through those same risks. At least, not such a big group. Not Duke, not Cistina.

 

Not Lara.

 

There was nothing he could have done against the sand creature, and there was nothing he had done against that inquisitor earlier. Functionally, in the multiverse where people could move things with their minds, teleport, and nuke cities at the snap of a finger, Stan realized that he was more than useless. Not that he was one of the best space cowboys back in his world anyway, not by a long shot, but at least he could hold his own against people whose weapons stopped at 'guns' and 'bigger guns'. 

 

He could see that Lamar was eerily quiet despite his earlier bravado. He too looked around, but his relaxed posture almost seemed forced -- or was that just Stan's own imagination?

 

The two groups met around the same time in a clearing within the alleyways. Other than Jowan, who seemed to have bled earlier but was now bandaged up by Badu, Duke had one other companion in the form of the street worker he had spoken to earlier that day. That event felt like a week ago... Even if, according to the sun in the sky, their whole operation barely took part of the afternoon. (Then again, it was entirely possible, Stan acknowledged, that the days could be longer or shorter depending on the planet and the world.) Beside Duke and Jowan and the sweep man were Arch, Badu, and Cam, as expected. Everyone was here. Nobody was fatally injured or otherwise about to die.

 

It was the smoothest thing so far in this whole mission. Stan nearly expected something to happen to either his group or Duke's, as if this was a movie where someone were hell-bent on keeping them separated. Something was finally going right. No sort of unluckiness today! Seemed like the Lord Ruler wasn't a saturday morning cartoon villain with increasingly elaborate plans up his sleeves. He probably didn't even know the XDRS existed. Which was good. It was probably a good idea to keep out of the way of an all-powerful tyrant. 

 

"Duke," Stan said. His expression softened. He could finally relax. "It might be an unpopular opinion, but I'm glad to see you're alive."

 

~~~

 

Cam lifted her head, looking forward to the approaching group they were about to meet up with again. When she caught sight of them, her expression cycled through disbelief, anger, sadness, then simmering frustration toward one specific member.

 

Before Lamar could open is mouth, she cut right in. "Laverne!" she shouted, accusation sparking through her voice and stopping Lamar right in his tracks. "You have the gall to show up now?!"

 

He forced himself to smile. He hadn't heard his old name in a long time. "Well, I didn't really believe the multiverse stuff, but I guess it was true." The boy raised both his shoulders and shrugged. "They really are weirdos going around, stealing back artefacts. Who would've known?"

 

Cam whined, too upset to reply; she buried her face in Arch's side, taking refuge under his wings and muscular physique. 

 

"Hey, hey hey," Lamar continued. He held his hands out in front of him to try and console her, even though they were standing far, far apart.  "Is this about...! Come on, I know I haven't checked in in almost a year, but if I stayed, I could have put you all in danger!"

 

"Father is dead, Laverne!" she screeched back. "You weren't there to save him from the sand!"

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Lara smiled warmly when she saw Duke. She knew for Stan’s sake it was a huge relief. But somewhere deep down, she knew she didn’t want to lose a teammate, even if that said teammate could be annoying sometimes. Wasn’t everybody just a little annoying from time to time? She waved.

 

Agreed, it is nice to see you alive and in one piece. Same to you, Jowan, Arch, Cam, and I suppose Badu as well.” Lara chuckled a little bit. She felt as if a weight were lifted off of her, Lord knew what would have happened if any of them died. Lara knew herself well enough to know that she would shoulder some of the blame on herself, since she felt that there was something that she could have done to help prevent that. But no, she was too busy falling into pits of weird sand. Lara frowned a little, reflecting.

 

She did feel awful that she contributed to Stan’s overall stress on this mission. He was usually such a light-hearted man, it almost killed her to see him in that state of depression and anxiety. That plus her little snap earlier, she was just a little surprised that Stan seemed to relax.  She supposed an apology was in order, but that could wait, couldn’t it? They had to get home, but first they needed to figure out what was going on between Lamar and Cam. 

 

That wouldn’t take very long at all. Lara noticed Cam’s facial expression as she yelled, “Laverne! You have the gall to show up now?” Her brow furrowed at the mention of the name. Going from “the forest” to “the ocean”, hm? I suppose it’s nature themed, but yet… What a strange name change- Lara stop overthinking it.Laverne…?” She leaned back against a building and watched the exchange take place. Not wanting to interject with a remark of her own, she decided to get whatever information she could from this conversation, or would it turn into a screaming match? She hoped for the former, considering she already had a growing headache from the events of the afternoon. 

 

Lamar seemed to be more casual with his approach. “Well, I didn't really believe the multiverse stuff, but I guess it was true. They really are weirdos going around, stealing back artefacts. Who would've known?” Lara narrowed her eyes at this. Something about Lamar just rubbed her the wrong way. Perhaps it was his approach to her in the beginning, how he bad-mouthed her earlier, or how he was speaking to Cam as if nothing was wrong. Something was a bit off though, he didn’t seem quite as relaxed as he made it appear. Lara may not have liked Cam at first, but the girl was beginning to grow on her. She certainly didn’t like to see the poor girl in distress, as she was just beginning to realize the severity of the situation and how it must’ve affected her. How it must’ve affected the residents here. Nothing about this world seemed particularly pleasant, so Lara took a moment, closed her eyes, and checked her privilege. 

 

Cam was very distressed, whining and hiding against Arch. She almost wanted to give the girl a hug, she knew for a fact that something was very, very wrong. “Hey hey hey, Is this about...! Come on, I know I haven't checked in in almost a year, but if I stayed, I could have put you all in danger!” Lara glared at him. He left her for a bloody year? She didn’t quite get their connection, but if they were close at some point and he decided to do this…! She felt her stance turn aggressive, as if she were going to strangle the boy right then and there. But Lara couldn’t do anything. It was as if she were frozen. Perhaps that was her self control holding her back, something in the back of her mind telling her that if she got involved, things would get much worse. Yet she still stood there, completely outraged.

 

Cam’s voice raised into a scream. “Father is dead, Laverne! You weren't there to save him from the sand!” Lara’s whole pose dissolved, her face changing to awe. She lost her father. Lara knew exactly how that felt. Her feelings of empathy came to her in waves, and she caught herself almost hugging her own body. Her shoulders were drooped, her whole posture had changed from just a moment ago. It was apparent that these two shared a father, or at least that was what she could infer. That would make sense as to why he started to question their intentions with her, and why he seemed dismayed at the thought of her being adopted by someone. It made some degree of sense, did it not? 

 

My God,” she murmured, “I…” She covered her mouth and took a couple of steps back. This was what the sand did. It ripped families apart, it destroyed lives, it… destroyed everything. She remembered how she lost her own father, how they couldn’t even find an identifiable body… She had known he was gone, and it felt that a part of her had died as well. Was that how Cam felt? Did she lose a piece of herself too? The pure grief that laced Cam’s voice made that even more apparent. That poor girl… And her own brother couldn’t be bothered to stick around. 
 

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# Yusei #

 

The inquisitor grins. A grand smile that goes right up to his eyes, forming wrinkles around the steel spikes. It seemed like the mysterious intruder decided to get serious at the same time he did. The obsidian of his axe was stopped by something solid, and the clash rang through his ears and through the hazy air. Fractures spread through the crystal of his weapon at the force, chipping the glass and destroying one of the edges against something it couldn't cut through. He whipped it to the side to throw off the stray bits. 

 

The creature that suddenly appeared out of nothingness was a bright blue blur in his vision. Human-shaped, all metal; under its outer shell was, like the other two metal beings, infinitely finer assemblies of smaller metal pieces that moved in sync to move the larger whole. It was nothing like them, however, both in shape and in its behavior, moving immediately to defend its master.

 

Yes... This man was one of those who had come from another world. A human with no exceptional abilities, except for making monsters appear. What did this mean? First the half-living corpses, then these repeated encounters with beings not from anywhere on Scadrial. The Lord Ruler was still frustratingly silent on the matter. The inquisitor grits his teeth, his smile transforming into a grimace. 

 

He jumps towards the monster, activating steel, and pushes against the heavy metal creature. The repelling force of the magic tosses him into the open sky and causes Junk Warrior to stumble; he rights himself in the air and waits until gravity overtakes him and he begins to fall. This time he burns iron and pulls, dropping -- feet first -- at an incredible speed. 

 

This man had put up a surprisingly good fight, considering his circumstances, but the Steel Inquisitor could not allow him to summon any further trouble.  

 

 

 

Edited by TehUltimateMage

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z575MKL.png 

Name: Lara Croft

 

[Players-- Stan, Duke, Jowan, Theo, Arch, Badu]

[Support-- Cam, Laverne Lamar, Dynarst]

[Status-- Seething and Melting at the same time]

 

~You had the gall~~

 

Lara snapped out of her stupor when she noticed Theo shove Duke, which made him slam directly into Stan. She glared at Theo, who seemed to notice nobody else but Arch. Gritting her teeth together, Lara shot them both a glance. It was just a fall, so it didn’t appear that the two really needed help, thank the Good Lord above. She didn’t think she could deal with any more injuries during this bloody mission. Her leg still ached a little from that god damned concoction that Badu shot into it. All Lara wanted to do was go back to base and recover, was that too much to ask?

 

What the bloody hell Theo, Jowan’s injured and your dumb ass broke Stan’s arm, hell-- even your bloody husband is hurt, can we avoid any more mishaps until we get back to base?” Of course, that never reached him, since her voice lowered to a mumble. He had the gall to do something like that? Had she had a spouse on the team, would she really have pushed everyone aside, risking injury, to reunite with them. She was Lady Croft, Countess of Abbingdon-- she assumed that she would have the manners to say “pardon me, my spouse is right there”, would she not? Did she really have the temerity to do that to people?

 

Perhaps there was something in her that would want to do that. Her mind wandered just a little, using Stan as a placeholder for her spouse without her noticing it. Right, if I were to make my way over to Stan, the two options would be to move around everyone else or politely squeeze through. Only in a large crowd would I resort to pushing through, right? I couldn’t go to that extreme, could I? Perhaps had Stan been gravely injured… Had he been dying and I needed to make my way to see him one last time. Yes, perhaps in that instance would shoving be anywhere near appropriate. Stan-- Stan??? Where the bloody hell…?

 

Surely she didn’t see him as a possible husband, did she? No no no, she felt some sort of way towards him, but surely not a love like Theo and Arch seemed to have… Right? No, no, it wasn’t that deep. No way would it ever be that deep. He was a crush and nothing more. Lara imagined herself stomping her foot to that. She leaned back against the wall and looked back at the crying Cam, her eyes changing back from rage to dismay. What in the hell could she do to help this girl? There was nothing she could do, she didn't seem the least bit motherly on the outside. Lara was a woman, for sure, but she wasn't a maternal figure to anyone. Had she been her mum, perhaps she would have had that comforting aura that could have helped keep Cam calm. Some may have been concerned about the noises she made because they were irked, and under normal circumstances that would've angered Lara to hell and back. But her heart had melted. She had felt Cam's pain, or something quite close. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to scold herself for not knowing what to do. 

 

Lara heard Theo threatening Badu. She didn't quite like Badu either, but that was excessive. Still, this time her mood did not shift. What the hell was wrong with her? Normally she could throttle Theo for being so awful. Normally she would sit with a heart of stone in a situation like this. She normally refused to show emotion, but anyone who looked at her now could read her like a book. Her eyes told all, even when the rest of her face wouldn't, although in this case even her body told how she was feeling- tense, heartbroken, angry, and empathy. There were two people she wanted to give a hug right now, but she didn't quite have the arm's reach. Nor did she have the boldness to offer either or both of them a hug. Every ounce of confidence, for whatever reason, seemed to drain away for the time being. Ah yes, she was weak, but she refused to admit that to herself. 

 

Edited by Mikasa361

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 Yusei-Header.jpg

[ Ready Player -- Yusei Fudo ; Steel Inquisitor ]

Support -- Junk Warrior ;

Status ; Battle -- Engage ; Injury

Deck ; Standby }

 

Survival Mode -- Trust ; The Cards

 

Yusei fell to the ground as soon as the Inquisitor released him, his knees immediately buckling under his weight. Falling forward, he kept himself from completely falling by coming to rest against his forearms, head bowed as he sucked in a full breath of air for the first time in too long. His lungs ached at the relief, his marred chest burned. Metal shifted, a shadow flitted across the ground, and Yusei jerked his gaze upward. Blue eyes hardened, narrowing at the figure that plummeted. The duelist surged to his feet, staggering a step back and snatching at his side as the wound at his hip reminded him of its pressing existence. Blood coated his glove. 

 

Junk Warrior slid into position, drowning the man in its shadow as its arms came up, crossing before its helmeted face. The Inquisitor's boot made contact, a loud clang shocking the air from the impact. The force made the Warrior stumble, backing towards Yusei even as he hurried to move. Twisting, Yusei escaped from Junk Warrior's shadow. He had a decision to make: stay or take the chance to flee. 

 

He couldn't leave Junk Warrior behind, such a thing never felt right. It reached out for the Inquisitor, metal hand spread with curled fingers. A grating sound rose from the machine as it fisted its other hand, iron knuckles rushing forward. Brilliant gold light began to expand from its fist, an illuminated silhouette enveloping the limb.

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Jowan [ less than happy reunion ]

 

He’s glad when they finally meet up with Stan and the others again. His limbs feel heavy and there’s a persistent reminder about how nice sitting down would be in the back of his skull. They hadn’t quite made it back to the base yet, but surely nothing else of note would happen. It wasn’t as though he’d done much to be helpful, but his feet scuff against the cobblestones regardless. 

 

He stands off to the side when the two groups meet, feeling awkward. The walk had been quiet; he barely even knows Cam’s name, and he definitely doesn’t know anything about her family life or why Lara’s reaction is so extreme. Jowan’s not used to such outward displays of emotion. Not from adults, at least. Children were a very different matter. 

 

He should know how strongly children can react to losing a father. Cam’s reaction is fully justified, but that doesn’t explain Lara. 

 

He thinks for a moment that he should be comforting Cam, but a tall armored man with a furry ruff -- Theo, right? -- beats him to it. Privately, he’s relieved. He’d have probably just made things worse, and Theo seems capable enough. 

 

That thought is banished when Theo turns to him, all of the previous softness gone from his voice. 

 

His eyes widen and he glances at Arch, half convinced by the urgency in Theo’s voice that Arch is bleeding out. The only injury he could see was a gash on Arch’s wing, It had stained the white feathers brown and crimson, but the injury had been there before Arch had arrived at the safehouse and was already half dried. The volume of blood is somewhat concerning, but maybe wings just bled a lot, like head wounds? That would make sense, right?

 

Either way, he has no idea what he’s supposed to do about it. He’s never done first aid on someone else before, and he can’t see how one would wrap bandages around the wing with all of those feathers in the way. “I-” 
 

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   Distracted yet Again

   The two would originally be bickering by now. They were like two trains trying to outpace each other; one tidbit of conversation would spiral off into mild debate and the occasional splash of reality. Instead though, the two tall mechanisms walked down the street in silence, the architecture of the imposing buildings lining it echoing each whir of movement and every time their claws scratched up the paving stones.
   Fiddlesticks didn't care for silence. It was nice, but it forced her to entertain herself, and her head always sounded too loud to her. Plus she hasn't had the best experience with trying to work by herself.
   Typheus, on the other hand, was very accustomed to his head. A little too much. He couldn't help but sink into his thoughts and let his minor regret about abandoning Yusei turn into a gut-twisting - or rather, engine-pounding - worry.
   Fiddlesticks' engine though was always pounding out of built-in anxiety. So when a soft clang came from the distance, quiet enough to be dismissed, she perked up right away, swinging around and slamming her tail into her partner.
   "Fidds! Watch it!"
   "What's that?"
   "What's what?" Typheus' brief annoyance disappeared and he turned to where she faced.
   "I heard something."

   The Superiority model considered for second how likely it was that she was just finding ways to distract herself, until a much louder clang reached them through a nearby winding alleyway. He perked up, standing up a bit higher as if he could see over the buildings.
   "There it is again!"
   "It might just be civilians. Some you didn't scare away," Typheus reasoned. Fiddlesticks raised her microphone sensitivity, giving in to curiosity. Her partner watched her tilt her head with acute attention. "...What is it?"
   "I don't hear much," she admitted, "but there are scrapes and things."
   "It's probably nothing," Typheus said again, but he didn't leave. A thought had occurred to him: "Do you hear talking?"
   Fiddlesticks looked up, expecting to hear some, but quickly shook her head in the Xinschi-uual manner, dislodging a thin coat of ash that had settled on her. He subconsciously brushed the flyaway particles off his arms. "I'll take a look."

   "It doesn't sound organized," she said in a warning tone, backing off to give him some space. He crouched and fanned his wings, powering them on. In two seconds their whirs escalated into full thruster blast, launching him into the sky and scattering dust back onto the Pusher model. While she sputtered and flushed out her air intake he flew up several stories, up above the smaller buildings but still below the tallest ones, and panned around in a full circle, searching for anything amiss.
   There was nothing to see at this height. With the thruster fire he couldn't hear a thing any further than a block away. He could still hear Fiddlesticks' binary though:
   "I heard a shout! It sounded like pain!"
   Of course she would word it like that, the white mech thought, swiveling back where the noises supposedly came from. He watched the sea of rooftops for a second, but still spotted nothing. A civilian brawl, maybe. All it's doing is stalling us. He looked back down to join up with his partner but saw her rushing through the alleyway.
   "Fidds!" he barked, dashing down to her yet stopping just before his wings hit the close roofs. "FIDDS!"
   "It's a fight!" was all she yelled back. He groaned loudly, watching her thunder ahead before power-jumping over a home, not taking into account what might be on the other side.
   "Dang it! Why did I get the pugnacious one?" he muttered. He shot one last look out where he knew the canal was before following the mech. "Fidds!!"

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b66ab1c5efcb9f5adfe252bf9169f6c7.png [ theo ; -- add. d. b. c. l. ; for. s / l / j / a / t ]

-- status.

legios ; AAAAAAA ]

grey ; knight of loyalty

--

 

Theo whips around; the other man's manner disgusts him, with how uncertain he is in his actions and his words. Back in his day -- when the Grey Republic had been strong and proud and beautiful, orders were followed out without any doubt for their commander, with absolute order, because the slightest stray could mean life or death on the battlefield.

 

But he is not there -- not anymore, and he does not have the former status someone of his name would command back in the days of glory. Still this does not stop his anger from rising quick within his chest, the familiar stirring of a commander's impatience at the disorderly conduct of his teammates that would certainly cost them in war. Perhaps he is too used to a life filled with battle, but it is not a bad thing -- rather, it is precisely what he has trained for since his youth. 

 

The girl's voice annoys him, accusatory and rough in her words, and it is clear she has never seen the vestiges of war. Still, her voice lowers to a mumble and he does not find it worthwhile to pursue the matter further; he simply sends her a glare and allows the quick spark of lightning between his fingertips to be proof enough of his attention. He would not accept any words against him in such a cowardly manner -- not when she should say it to his face and fight him outright. He turns to her, prepared to speak as his thoughts stir him up to action.

 

"Unlike some, I'm only taking action on the iss --"

 

He is interrupted in his thoughts, however, when a sharp voice cuts through the air; Theo jerks in surprise at the sound of Arch's voice, firm and biting, and the knight looks back at his husband, meeting his eyes. 

 

It is clear that Arch is angry, but Theo does not fully understand why -- he is threatening their allies, true, but out of good will, and it is not something he is not used to. Even on the same side he would expect others to be on their feet regarding certain issues, and Theo cannot guess why Arch is scolding him instead of the people that fail to act. 

 

Regardless, the other's words sour his mood and Theo's gaze flickers away, not wanting to meet the other man's eyes when he is angry, not like this. He knows of Arch's dedication to the humans as a whole, does not necessarily disagree with his love for the people -- after all, he was a knight sworn to protect the citizens of his nation. But the citizens of his nation were completely different from the men heading into battle, and he cannot understand why those that should justifiably be left at base would come and freeze in the line of battle. 

 

But perhaps he is thinking too deeply into it -- because he is not in the Grey Republic, and he is not the superior command here. The superior command, it seems, is buried under the man with the tattoo and the white cloak, and Theo glares at the two as they struggle and talk among themselves, obviously joking around. 

 

"Forgive me," he says instead, stiffly to the man he had threatened only moments earlier to murder. "I seem to have forgotten my place." He speaks with a sideeye at Arch, who he is aware has his lips downturned into a frown, the human girl pressed into his side, and Theo scowls, only realising he is now glaring at the bandaged man he was apologising to only a moment prior. Schooling his face back into order, Theo blinks at the nervous man and turns without waiting for a response. Arch has spoken to him before about keeping calm, but Theo finds it frustrating in that it seems no one can understand his motivations behind his words. With a sudden urge to kick the two men still tangled up on the ground, Theo turns and brushes past his husband, briefly faltering as he came into contact with the other man. Theo looks at Arch, his eyes suddenly regretful for a split second, before he heads a little while away from the ground and stares up at the sky.

 

He's thinking too deeply about it. 

 

After all, he was never one to anguish about the past -- only to move on. 

 

Summoning a spear of lightning between his fingers, Theo pauses briefly, thinking to himself. So perhaps he had been a bit harsh in his words -- or perhaps he should not have spoken so callously with his husband nearby. Arch was still injured, and Theo is not going to let his anger distract himself from getting his husband proper medical care. 

 

"AAAAA," he screams instead, throwing the conjured weapon straight into the sky; Theo watches as it soars upwards, into the thick ashy dust up ahead, and a brief spark of red lightning is barely seen through the haze as he disintegrates it and watches the effects ripple through the sky.

 

Then, he spins around and glares straight at the brown-haired girl and the bandaged man. He doesn't say anything, but the implication is clear. Smiling, Theo heads back to Arch's side, quiet and satisfied with himself. 

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OMSBY9o.jpg

 

Name: Lara Croft

[Players-- Stan, Duke, Jowan, Theo, Arch, Badu]
[Support-- Cam, Laverne Lamar, Dynarst]
[Status-- Recovering]

~~Welp.~~

 

Lara’s blood pressure and heart rate greatly escalated when Theo’s lightning formed at his fingertips. She was lucky Arch was there to stop him, but she swallowed. If anything, that was her only physical reaction besides a change of stance. She was ready to do a dodge roll if Theo’s lighting was sent her direction. Lara secretly thanked all the gods she knew of for sending this angel on the mission with them. Her life was made just a little bit longer thanks to him.

 

Still, yet, he summoned a spear of lighting. But instead of sending it at her, he sent it at the sky, much to her relief. He screamed, glared, smiled to himself, and skulked back to Arch’s side. Well, she thought to herself, Now I know to leave it to Arch to keep him in line. Hopefully I don’t go on another mission with this one without the angel. She leaned back against the building and focused back on Lamar and Cam. With Theo’s little tantrum out of the way, she had time to think and reflect.

 

She didn’t want to let his outburst affect her too much. Instead, she had to hand it to him. It did seem to knock her out of her pathetic little sad-fest. Remembering her mistakes did her no good here. Instead, she walked to the Stan and Duke dog pile. Carefully and with a gentle touch she lifted Duke off of Stan and placed him on his feet. 

 

Oi. You alright?”  She glanced him over for a second. She gave him a gentle smile. “You appear to be, but just checking.” She glanced at Stan. “You as well.” While still concerned for Duke, she offered her hand to Stan. It felt weird to her, the idea of picking him up. Maybe it was how she felt about him? Maybe it was simply the fact that he just got rekt and he might not like it if she touched him? Who knew. They both seemed alright, much to her relief.

 

Edited by Mikasa361

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Stan - East Hasting District

 

The other man looked as if he had something to say, but had instead chosen to relax his shoulders and smile. Dumb Duke. Stan thought he saw a ghost of himself in that younger man sometimes; he could see in him that reckless, carefree boy who laughed to hide his own feelings. 

 

"Sometimes it be that way," he answered him as he approached with his small talk. "You get used to it after the first ten hours. And if we were stranded, we could probably pick up a few dudes and start a potato farm or something..." The man trailed off, his attention pulled towards the little explosive meeting between Lamar and his... ward? He didn't quite care for Cam's family drama. While it did stir emotions with him, he chased them away. People who were off-world were none of their business, unless they related directly to the mission. In a way, it did -- and it was a grim reminder that the sand was surely still accumulating in the city's water supply.

 

Hm... He had an easier time banishing his compassion when he was younger. What had happened?

 

His balance was suddenly thrown off -- with an unexpected force, Duke had fallen towards him. The two men toppled and only when he hit the floor did Stan process what had happened. (Theo happened.)

 

Lying on the cold hard ground for the third time today, he groaned and threw his head back, sighing in defeat as he felt the weight of another man on top of him. Sometimes... it be that way. The younger man's chest felt firm against his own, but his buttons and ornaments pressed uncomfortably against him. At least, unlike Theo's two hundred pounds of armor, all Duke wore was the crisp fabric of his uniform and the light material of the cape covering them both. Stan's nose pressed into his shoulder and, closing his eyes, he noticed that Duke smelled far cleaner than he himself did. It made him self-conscious, even if he himself had the excuse of being in the land of ash and dust for twice as long.

 

"Duke..." he muttered. He lifted his chin to move his lips closer and scrape his stubble against his soft cheek, whispering his deathbed request into Duke's ear.  "Tell everyone... to use their cubes... before it's too late..."

 

Lara was quick to call out his melodrama, of course. She forcefully pried Duke off of him and, expression unreadable, offered him a hand. Stan gladly took it without hesitation this time. Back on his feet, he held her hand for a touch too long -- savoring the moment and giving it a gentle parting squeeze -- before letting go. "Thanks," he sheepishly added, looking down and trying not to have his shame show when she stared at him. The man with the face tattoo was probably one of the only people that made Stan feel like himself again, but... he couldn't help but feel a little judged.

 

 

#The Whole Gang #

 

Theo's words do little to calm the storm welling in Cam's chest, and while in the moment she can't accept what he said about forgiving those who leave for long periods of time, she understands that, considering all things, his words are correct. She does not want to accept them as correct, and instead steps back, wordlessly, and lets the others argue amongst themselves on their own. That man -- Theo -- was not as tender as soft as the man with four wings... But that moment had an uncharacteristic softness to it, and it was very brief. He had now returned to his usual yelling, ending in a crescendo where, echoing Cam's own feelings, he tossed his weapon straight up into the sky with unimaginable force.

 

Dynarst watched the spear fly from the man's hands and pierce the dusty heavens and explode into a crack of red lightning. He gapes with his lips parted, horror slowly seeping through him as he realized the consequences of the thunder strike.

 

Surely, the inquisitors would be distracted enough to not investigate the strange occurrence, right?

 

"We should move," he says, eyes still in the sky. 

 

"Is as good a time as any to head back, then. " The man in green looked into the sky as well. Dynarst watches as he flipped open his handheld device to input a code and paused, then added a few heartbeats later: "Grab our guests too. Wouldn't want them caught in the crossfire. We'll talk at base."

 

A blue light envelops him, and he begins to count down seven seconds. Stan clamps his phone between his teeth and grabs Lamar by the shirt collar before the youth could protest. "Rehall opshun shood be on he cube, heck the cube n hrab on!!!"

 

In hindsight, it might have been smarter to explain it first before initiating the warp. All he could do now is pray that the veterans were sensible enough to not leave anyone behind on accident, because the last thing they needed now was another rescue mission.

 

Hold on... He only had one hand, and that was the one holding Lamar.

 

Where was the--!

 

His eyes zeroed in on the fallen hourglass, and he frantically yelled through his phone to call attention to it before he was warped away.  "Alho!!! Hake the hanc--"

 

~~~

 

 

# Yusei #

 

Yusei is lucky. Lucky enough to half a deck full of friends willing to defend him.

 

The punch from Junk Warrior sends the inquisitor tumbling and for a split second, shock registers on the creature's face. He rights himself in the air, landing nimbly on his feet, the only visible sign of his pain showing through a sliver of gritted teeth. 

 

He stumbles backwards one and a half steps, then decides that it would be wiser to deal with the spine-haired man on another occasion. The inquisitor has reason to believe that this man might be related to all the strange happenings around town and that, in retrospect, it was wise to not kill him on sight.

 

And perhaps -- the inquisitor continues to muse to himself -- his rather unique abilities could be stolen for the inquisitors' own use? It would be a shame to treat this otherworldly traveler like any other human and merely steal his strength. A voice in the back of his mind almost seemed to hum in agreement at the thought.

 

The steel-eyed man stands perfectly still, staring back unnervingly at Yusei from thirty paces away. And then, he turns and leaps away, up and up, disappearing among the pointed rooftops of the nearest buildings.

Edited by TehUltimateMage

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   We Found Each Other Quickly

   It doesn't take long for a two-ton machine to barrel through alleys toward conflict. The slowest part was picking up speed; once Fidds had it she just threw herself over obstacles, drifted corners, and jumped over walls, repeatedly dinging things up on the way. None of them screamed though so it was okay, right?
   Typheus cringed every time she hit something. She was going too fast to notice - or care - what they were, he knew. That's why he bothered letting her come here though, was for a good fight and provide incentive to help the X-Dreamers; and the Pusher model seemed to have already forgotten the disappoint of realizing this wasn't Zirhon.
   She sure can be daft, can't she? The irony is she can have strokes of brilliance, they're just very selective. She must have firmware corruption somewhere... but she won't let him dive into her mind that deep.
   He flicked his eye back up ahead to avoid flying into any buildings. Maybe once she's calmed down, he thought, without a shred of hope of it ever happening.

   Fiddlesticks twisted to kill her speed when she burst out onto a wider street. She dug in her claws and left long scratches behind on the paving, kicking up loose sand and ash in the cracks. She had almost hit the home on the other side of the street before she had broken enough speed to move again.
   The scene! All she caught from it in two seconds was that there was a shorter person standing in front of a big one, which was closer to her size. Typheus slowed down above the scene, caught by surprise. She automatically charged forward.
   Five steps in she spotted the bright yellow streaks on the small one's head.
   "Fidds!!"
   She belly-flopped on the ground to kill her speed seconds before Typheus could intercept her. The Superiority model dashed past her but gracefully twisted it into a landing, skidding out in front of the metal humanoid in preparation of an attack. He stood there for a minute, meeting its red gaze.
   This... wasn't the attacker. Yusei was behind it, not in front of it, and it hadn't turned around. He heard a nasty hiss from Fiddlesticks as she picked herself up to challenge it.
   "Fidds wait! It's Yusei's!" he shouted. The hiss died in the mech's speaker.
   "What's Yusei's? The drone?!"
   "It's not attacking him," Typheus reasoned. Fiddlesticks grumbled something in Xinschi.
   "Where's his foe?"
   Typheus darted some glances around him, a bit concerned about the shorter construct in front of him but also remembering that Yusei could somehow summon things. He didn't see anyone around... He looked back at the machine, still posed defensively but with his blades sheathed. Maybe he should hack it first?

   He heard the distinctive purr-growl of a Xinschi-uual, coming from Fiddlesticks. He circled around the machine and spotted her going down on all fours, crawling toward Yusei. With eye contact broken, the unknown machine immediately spun around and knelt to catch the engineer as he stumbled into it.
   "Ty... he's hurt."
   He didn't really need his partner to point it out to him. Yusei was favoring the side away from him, face puckered from withheld pain. Alarm bells went off in the mech's head, and he looked around more thoroughly, but still didn't see anyone else around. Fiddlesticks pushed her head into his hurt side, giving him a bit more support. It was the least she could do since she couldn't beat up his assailant, but it still didn't feel like proper payment for repairing her earlier.
   "What happened?" Typheus asked, finally approaching the engineer, "We heard noises, but-" he paused to look at the blue machine again, "-where did it go? What did it look like?"

Edited by skwerl56767

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 Yusei-Header.jpg

[ Ready Player -- Yusei Fudo ; Typheus ; Fiddlestickes ; ]

Support -- Junk Warrior ;

Status ; Battle -- Disengage ; Injury

Deck ; Standby }

 

Regroup -- Take Stock ; Return Home

 

Junk Warrior struck the being, red eyes tracking the human as he righted himself in midair and came to land upon the ground with practiced ease. The metal beast watched the enemy as he steps back briefly. Yusei studied the nailed gaze of the Inquisitor, moments ticking past while silence stretched out. Finally, the Inquisitor turned and fled, disappearing from sight beyond the buildings. Yusei's narrowed his eyes. A heartbeat after, his shoulders sag. 

 

Staggering, Yusei pulled his hand away from his side, briefly glimpsing the dark crimson coating his glove. Grimacing, he looked up as Junk Warrior came close, its round silver faceplate filling the duelist's vision. "You never fail me," Yusei breathed out. Gingerly, hoping to maintain his balance, he brought his other hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose as he shut his eyes. Something was making noise in the distance and it was coming closer. Fast.

 

Junk Warrior stood, metal shifting and cloth scarf swaying with its movement. The being stepped to shield Yusei, even as it took a few steps forward. Searching, Yusei's gaze swept across the cityscape, vision growing hazy and forcing him to squint in an attempt to focus it. He heard the clinking metal, the rush of a thruster. "Typheus." The mech's name fluttered from his lips with the rush of recognition, urging his feet into motion again.

 

"Fidds!!"

 

Despite himself, the corner of his mouth ticked upward slightly. Fiddlesticks slammed into the ground, front plating scraping up dirt and gravel, even when she began to hiss while Junk Warrior stared at the silver machine. "Fidds wait! It's Yusei's!" Typheus was faster, the sharper observation giving Yusei time to get near as Fiddlesticks responded.

 

"What's Yusei's? The drone?!"

"It's not attacking him." The man couldn't decipher the strange sound that followed but maybe it didn't matter.
"Where's his foe?" Right then, Junk Warrior turned away from the mechs, snatching Yusei just as he knee buckled under his weight. 

 

"Ty... he's hurt." 

 

Fiddlesticks was next to him,  her brilliant eye staring steadily. Flicking a reassuring smile across his face, Yusei attempted to stand better, pushing against Junk Warrior's forearm for leverage. Adrenaline was fading. He needed to move faster before he crashed."I'll be okay." Admittedly, he wasn't certain if that was true or a lie. Still, the bronze mech nudged him, clearly intending to support him. Unfortunately, the impact of solid metal jarred against his offended body, electrifying his nerves with a bolt of pain. Involuntarily, he jerked and uttered a strangled grunt. 

 

He nearly missed the end of Typheus's questions. Taking a moment to breath in and find his voice as the fresh throbbing eased into something more bearable, Yusei turned his blue gaze upon the other mech. His lips curved downward. "Inquisitor, a human with nails skewering its body. He ambushed me with a double-ended ax," he managed to grind out. 

 

The land was starting to tilt. Sucking in a sharp breath, Yusei let go of Junk Warrior and pitched sideways, quickly shoving his free hand into his pant pocket. Before he could hit the ground, Junk Warrior snatched his elbow, arresting his fall and allowing the man to fish free the small device he needed. "Home. Quickly," he gapped. The white surface of the device was already smudged with red. Faintly, at the recesses of his mind, Yusei wasn't surprised that virtually everything on his person would end up soiled somehow in his present state. 

 

"I activate this, we'll return to base in a few seconds." He was dizzy and briefly he wondered if his words were coming out right or slurred. Yusei was going to have to recall Junk Warrior, return the creature to his deck. "You need... contact." Inhaling deeply, he tried to steady himself as best he could, shifting his hold on the palm-sized device so he could swipe Junk Warrior's card off his duel disk. Immediately, the being pixilated and vanished into nothing, its card seamlessly mixing in with the rest of the deck. 

 

With Fiddlesticks still crouched beside him, Yusei reached over and grabbed onto one of the mobile spires that sprouted from her head. "Hold tightly," he instructed, catching sight of Typheus's movement. As soon as the silver mech had a hold on his friend, Yusei pressed the button. For more than one heartbeat, worry slowly crawled up his flesh as exhaustion tickled his muscles, making him fearful of his grip. Grinding his teeth together, he curled his fingers as tight as he could around Fiddlesticks's spike. 

 

Again, the world tilted. Or maybe it never stopped. Funny, he couldn't remember the last time he felt nauseated by a shift. He had to shut his eyes against the ashen landscape -

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