A breakthrough. Lucifer inclined his head in a respectful nod in response to his track record before he spoke.
"I and Clare were on our deep-cover mission, tracking illegal Umbrella bioweapons trafficking. We had just finished a routine sweep when....This light brought us all in. Last I saw of you I could recall, was at the Torch alongside the Commander. Do we have any communications with the Torch?"
"I think it is clear that Handsome Jack is NOT the one who brought us here." Mystique replied. "His messages through the radio and the statements made by his minions indicate that he doesn't want us here and wishes to kill us. He and his minions seem to regard us as intruders. So it makes no sense that he would be the one to bring us here."
Ellis just listened to Carol, not really saying anything. It wasn't a good time to open his mouth, Ellis knew that. As they walked, they made contac with he Resistance, and Ellis would recognizes one of the members, Ocelot. Not that Ocelot recognized him.
"We've met before, sir. You met with my boss Cosmo, remember? I spilled some coffee on ya. Sorry 'bout that again. Anyway, I still remember the way you like it, black."
Ocelot shook his head, folding his hands behind his back.
"Unfortunately, any means of communication to any Coalition outpost is impossible. Without technology less primitive than what is provided here, it is difficult to send a signal, though I have reason to suspect that Handsome Jack is in possession of such a device that would be able to get us out of here, as he was once a part of us. That is, the group of people consisting of myself, the two Reynas, Caira, and others" Ocelot spoke, explaining the situation as he would cross his arms, "For now, that belief is our best bet for escape."
"If I may be blunt, I care little for how you got here. If you mean to help us, then your presence will be treated as more an unquestioned miracle. For all I know, he could have accidentally brought you here by fiddling with the aforementioned device, but I would not dwell on such topics when it's more important to think of how to get out of here."
...
And then Ellis showed up.
And as he started talking, Ocelot's expression changed from a neutral one to a somewhat annoyed one as he recalled the incident that the redneck recalled. He was just lucky most of his clothing was dark, so the black coffee blended in, though on the other hand, that made it quite a bit of trouble to clean out.
"... Yes, I remember now. I was discussing with senior member Cosmo about... sensitive material concerning the girl, before our conversation had to be interrupted."
He let out a sigh.
"Well, I suppose three Coalition agents are better than two in any case."
While McCree's shots, boosted by Mirei's music, would be unable to penetrate the Neko-Arc's skin, the shots bouncing off as though the creature's skin were made of tough metal or so, the mere impact of them would at least be enough to make it spiral out of control, before it would land into the ground, slamming down with Samael in tow.
When Ty Lee would shoot a bolt at the now damaged Neko-Arc, its entire body would surge with the power, shocking Samael as well if she were still holding on.
"GNYAAAAAAH! THIS CAN'T BE! HOW COULD I BE DEFEATED SO EASILY-NYAAAA?!"
Koff koff.
Suddenly, it would begin convulsing about and coughing violently, until it would spit out... a hairball!
... Ew.
Still, upon closer examination, that is, if you even wanted to examine the hairball, you would find that there was something underneath that flashed red every now and then, as though it were... a recording machine?
Oh, and yeah. The Neko-Arc was out. Done like dinner.
Regardless, he flicked a black key in hand and moved away the hair, to examine the recording device with some degree of speculation. Afterwards making sure it was reasonably clean, he then picked it up and activated it to see if it still worked.
Mirei gives a thumbs up to McCree and Ty Lee, before turning back to the situation.
While Lucifer would tend to the odd device that Neko-ARC spewed from its innards, Mirei tends to a fried Samael. This snake wasn't getting into any boots, but she sure did get booted. Hard.
"Samael? Are you alright? C- can you stand?" Mirei hangs her shoulder over Samael's body, helping the serpent in humanoid form off the ground. For Samael to survive such a thing, she sure was one hell of a solid snake!
"Wadanohara, I might need your assistance here!"
"So... that's it? I can't say it was worth the trouble, but it was worth the trouble. What's next?"
The demon would stop dead in its tracks at the sound of Jesse's words. A look of surprise and a terrible grin came up on its face as it carved flesh piece by flesh piece a path to its heart. And then pushing inside with its hand the Butcher would give a squeeze and-!
Discomfort and blood from its wound, but it was still standing. A demon created from a patchwork of numerous demons has organs to spare.
Now its eyes glared squarely at Jesse. A demon that only knew how to butcher it might have been, but it knew when it was being controlled.
It's scythe would slowly come up to its ear and it pushed inside piercing the eardrum. It did the same for the other ear. Blood pouring down it's head and now deaf, it still had its eyes and with a roar it would charge at the duo its weapons held high.
"Alright guys, let's see what the other guys are up to!" Mirei smiles towards her comrades as she moves to what Symmetra calls 'a new position'. Turning towards Kana, she sighs.
"I- I'm sorry about your cat friend... he... he's..." Mirei couldn't directly say to Kana that the Neko-ARC was dead as she places her hand on her shoulder, "... sleeping soundly. I don't know if you we will meet him again, but someone will."
As the group had started moving on once again, Wadanohara decided to keep pace with Winslow for the time being, taking his actions as acceptance for her to keep him some company. Kana and Mirei would be looking for her later, but they were still all grouped together. She glanced at him curiously, wondering about his thoughts as he had also decided to approach Samael, the angel. Miss Samael seemed relatively nice, and looked young enough that they looked close together in age.
She had noted with a hint of sheepishness the way Winslow glared down at the Neko-Arc. That small feline had really caused them some trouble, jumping around like that earlier. Why was it trying to turn them against each other? It was relieving to see the group had stopped fighting each other, at least. Though... She averted her eyes as McCree and Ty Lee, along with Mirei, directed their ire on the cat. Nope, not looking at that. Poor cat...
Seeing as Winslow wasn't able to say anything to her yet, the witch continued, "I have my ocarina with me. Can I play a piece for you later, Mister Winslow?"
As the Neko Arc crash landed into the ground, Samael lost her hold, spinning off due to the impact and flying a good few feet away. Ouch. On the bright side, though, she was no longer hanging on to the Neko Arc when it got zapped and barbecued like bug. Nothing more than a few bumps from the crash landing. This serpentine angel wasn't getting fried just yet. Though in the end, it seemed the "cat" wasn't made of anything edible anyway. As Mirei offered to do her a solid, Samael rose to her feet with her assistance and gave her a bright grin.
"Hehe, don't worry. It'll take more than that to kill me."
After that little fiasco involving her holding onto a rocket cat, Samael patted at her clothes. They were a little dusty given the whole crash landing thing, but otherwise it didn't seem like it was too bad. As Wadanohara began to speak, she remembered that she was supposed to say something for Winslow. Whoops. Well, better late than never.
"Oh yeah! Wada, right? Um, Winslow here wanted to ask what kind of music you like."
The rest of what Winslow had thought seemed to be more directed at herself than the witch, so she decided to not say anything past that.
Well, what had just happened hadn't exactly been the most ideal of situations. But at the very least Winslow was glad that the cat had finally been struck down. Tapping it's prone body with the heel of his boot, Winslow turned towards Wada as she approached him. Perhaps now was a better time to speak now that they didn't have flying cats to worry about.
Winslow didn't want to waste his time trying to communicate 'normally' with Wada given he knew what would happen. But she had offered to play some music for him. Winslow had been cooped up in his room writing and writing and writing that he never had much of a chance to listen to others sing. Unless it was someone other than Phoenix trying to sing his beloved Faust. But somehow he doubted that's what this girl would be playing. Giving her the nod as a sort of 'go-ahead', Winslow kept moving forward.
But not before reaching out to affectionately pat Samael on the head. She had said exactly what he wanted and hadn't screwed with his wording this time. That was good enough on it's own. But adding in the fact that got out of this whole mess unscathed? It was another reason to be happy.
She actually...killed that thing. Incapacitating and killing were two different things entirely, and even if it were something weird like that...it didn't feel right. At all. Suddenly Ty Lee remembered why she didn't mind not being a bender.
With the switches now open and the watches leading them back to where they once were, the groups would soon enough find themselves at the center of Apollo Square once again. The arrows pointed towards a rather grizzly scene.
The gallows had still fresh bodies hanging from them indicating that they saw a lot of use. The radio would spark to life as both groups arrived. "You're almost there people. Look under the gallows to the left, you should find a piece of metal sticking out. Flip that."
Someone would oblige and go under the gallows and finding a very out of place piece of metal sticking out from the ground they'd proceed to flip it. The debris in front of the gallows would shake open leaving a secret passage that would lead them to their destination.
Once the last person stepped inside the door would close up behind them once again. "Okay, take the tunnel to the left until you get to a split and from there go right, forward, left and right."
Symmetra took the lead using her glove to light up area and followed Caira's instructions, the group in turn following closely. And then... Rumble rumble rumble.
Suddenly, a stroke of bad luck would befall the group, as intense vibrations could be sensed as they'd all be able to feel as though the structural integrity of the particular area they were in at the moment seemed to greatly weaken. Before anyone knew it, giant debris from the ceiling would fall down, hitting the ground with loud thuds, a small amount of water leaking from where the debris had once resided.
"Uh... I think it's time we move, guys!" Gwen exclaimed, and with that, your journey to wherever Caira was leading you to would become a lot more hectic all of a sudden as more and more heavy debris from the ceiling would fall onto the ground as you would all have to make a break for it.
Fortunately, the attack of the falling debris wouldn't last very long, but in the process, Sean Grant and Lando Calrissian would be crushed underneath the debris. Still, there was nothing you could do for them. The sudden abruptness of the debris falling and stopping made one wonder if this was actually a deliberate trap set by Handsome Jack, one of his many so-called "presents," but either way, maybe it didn't matter, as the damage was already done anyway.
With that, they would continue moving on. Soon enough they would find a heavy duty door in front of them. Symmetra would knock hard on the door until a slit opened up in it. "Finally!"
The voice they heard was a familiar one, even with out the static. As the door was opened they would stand face to face with Caira.
"It's an honor finally meeting you all in person! Come in, come in! Reyna's going to be happy to finally meet you guys!"
After closing the door behind them she'd lead the group through a corridor into a larger area with a number of tables and crates with supplies around the sides of the room that resembled a makeshift mess hall.
"Took your sweet time." They heard someone say.
"The name's Reyna, I guess you could say I'm the commander of this place." Some among the group would recognize her voice from one of the audio logs they had found earlier. "You've gone through a lot of shit, so I suggest you get something to eat and drink." She motioned towards the corner with crates filled with an assortment of canned food as well as some very clean looking water.
"I'll call over the rest once you'd settled down, but all I'm going to say is. Welcome to the Resistance."
"Indeed. So they're finally here."
"I'm almost impressed, but as Reyna said, doesn't look like you're all in very much of a hurry," Another unfamiliar voice, this time one belonging to a male, would speak out. From above, you would all be able to spot a blonde man standing atop a nearby catwalk, looking down at you with a stern expression. Lucifer, Ellis, and Clare would perhaps recognize him as a member of the organization that connected the three of them, and as for the others...
Clearing his throat, he'd speak up again.
"The name's Major Revolver Ocelot, though just Ocelot will do. That's all you need to know for now," he gruffly introduced himself, briefly directing his attention over to Reyna, "So they're our best bet at getting out of here? Hmph. I suppose we could do worse, at least."
"Make yourself at home. That is, before you help us help you get back to your actual homes."
Another young woman came out of a back room. She wore golden armor adorned with a purple sash. On her back was a golden spear. "I'm the other Reyna. Daughter of Bellona, and Praetor of the XII Legion. Though, I suppose none of that matters now." She said in an astute tone. She muttered something under her breath. She looked at the ragtag group gathered before her.
"Welcome, though. I'll let you get acquainted with everything. Feel free to ask me any questions." She said, leaning against the door.
"In any case, just rest up for now. We've been monitoring you for some time, and we understand that you've been through a lot, so just take a moment to catch your breath for now, and then we shall summon you for our next course of plan," Ocelot said.
Sigh.
Hopefully from here, things would start looking up, right?
"Our group looks smaller than before. I guess it's inevitable in a place like this..." Mirei sighs. "I doubt we can lose hope right now. Anyways, let's take a break. We've made a lot of decisions today, both good and bad."
Mirei was wary about the new people rolling in.
"Father Lucifer? You know these guys?"
Looks like these people, at least the 'Ocelot' guy could be trusted. Maybe. Maybe not.
More death. First, seeing those gallows, which looked waaaaay too worn, and then their group seemed smaller. And one girl,she looked so...so sad, like she lost something really close.
Giving the new people a nod of thanks, Ty Lee made her way to the food stash, taking for herself some water and a can of peaches and ate in silence.
Niko watched as Vanille called out to Wendy, who seemed to believe she was alright. Niko looked back over at Vanille. "Must you do that all the time, it's either greeting everyone you see, or intruding on other's business, you need some self control....Pinkie." Niko said, smiling slyly.
Vanille wa defiantly up there with Roman in terms of optimism and friendliness, which wasn't bad in itself, bu it could be exploited by some real shitheads.
Ocelot shook his head, folding his hands behind his back.
"Unfortunately, any means of communication to any Coalition outpost is impossible. Without technology less primitive than what is provided here, it is difficult to send a signal, though I have reason to suspect that Handsome Jack is in possession of such a device that would be able to get us out of here, as he was once a part of us. That is, the group of people consisting of myself, the two Reynas, Caira, and others" Ocelot spoke, explaining the situation as he would cross his arms, "For now, that belief is our best bet for escape."
"If I may be blunt, I care little for how you got here. If you mean to help us, then your presence will be treated as more an unquestioned miracle. For all I know, he could have accidentally brought you here by fiddling with the aforementioned device, but I would not dwell on such topics when it's more important to think of how to get out of here."
...
And then Ellis showed up.
And as he started talking, Ocelot's expression changed from a neutral one to a somewhat annoyed one as he recalled the incident that the redneck recalled. He was just lucky most of his clothing was dark, so the black coffee blended in, though on the other hand, that made it quite a bit of trouble to clean out.
"... Yes, I remember now. I was discussing with senior member Cosmo about... sensitive material concerning the girl, before our conversation had to be interrupted."
He let out a sigh.
"Well, I suppose three Coalition agents are better than two in any case."
That was a good stroke of luck actually. Four Coalition members, though Ellis was a surprise. Having learned what he wanted for now, Lucifer would incline his head in a respectful bow.
"By your leave then sir."
And leaving the conversation, he went to mingle- Or at least, that was the plan.
Someone was bleeding.
And by god, that was very, very distracting. Unbidden, he found himself standing before Gwenpool, looking at her shoulder as his more prominent nature came out and he cleared his throat and gestured.
"Were you shot again, or is that the old wound from before?"
And leaving the conversation, he went to mingle- Or at least, that was the plan.
Someone was bleeding.
And by god, that was very, very distracting. Unbidden, he found himself standing before Gwenpool, looking at her shoulder as his more prominent nature came out and he cleared his throat and gestured.
"Were you shot again, or is that the old wound from before?"
"..." Gwen sighed, rising up to a kneeling position with her lower legs tucked behind. The topic wasn't just going to be avoided.
"It is a new one. I got shot again. And this time it wasn't even an enemy. Not really. I know that it looks bad...but...I mean...okay, look. I admit it, I don't have any fancy powers. No Bruce Banner strength, no Pietro Maximoff speed, no Reed Richards stretching, no Tony Stark smarts, no Hank Pym size-shifting, no Lila Cheney teleporting, no duplication or laser eyes or invisibility or magic or mind control or telepathy or telekinesis...not even a Wolverine or Deadpool healing factor. I don't have any superpowers to speak of. I'm just a regular girl with cool parents and who reads too many comics and watches too many things. But that was before, you know? Then I ended up in the universe I read about for so long...and then Gravity Falls, you know? And then here too. I can't tell you how I got to any of these places but I'm here. I thought hey alright, so I'm not super...but maybe I can still be a hero. I know things like almost nobody else does. You know? Plus a costume and everything. It always seemed so easy on paper. But..." She sighed.
"It has become increasingly clear to me that I'm no hero. So far I've been barely above a hindrance, if a humorous one. I'm just trying not to get in the way or mess something up at this point. Sorry."
With the switches now open and the watches leading them back to where they once were, the groups would soon enough find themselves at the center of Apollo Square once again. The arrows pointed towards a rather grizzly scene.
The gallows had still fresh bodies hanging from them indicating that they saw a lot of use. The radio would spark to life as both groups arrived. "You're almost there people. Look under the gallows to the left, you should find a piece of metal sticking out. Flip that."
Someone would oblige and go under the gallows and finding a very out of place piece of metal sticking out from the ground they'd proceed to flip it. The debris in front of the gallows would shake open leaving a secret passage that would lead them to their destination.
Once the last person stepped inside the door would close up behind them once again. "Okay, take the tunnel to the left until you get to a split and from there go right, forward, left and right."
Symmetra took the lead using her glove to light up area and followed Caira's instructions, the group in turn following closely. And then... Rumble rumble rumble.
Suddenly, a stroke of bad luck would befall the group, as intense vibrations could be sensed as they'd all be able to feel as though the structural integrity of the particular area they were in at the moment seemed to greatly weaken. Before anyone knew it, giant debris from the ceiling would fall down, hitting the ground with loud thuds, a small amount of water leaking from where the debris had once resided.
"Uh... I think it's time we move, guys!" Gwen exclaimed, and with that, your journey to wherever Caira was leading you to would become a lot more hectic all of a sudden as more and more heavy debris from the ceiling would fall onto the ground as you would all have to make a break for it.
Fortunately, the attack of the falling debris wouldn't last very long, but in the process, Sean Grant and Lando Calrissian would be crushed underneath the debris. Still, there was nothing you could do for them. The sudden abruptness of the debris falling and stopping made one wonder if this was actually a deliberate trap set by Handsome Jack, one of his many so-called "presents," but either way, maybe it didn't matter, as the damage was already done anyway.
With that, they would continue moving on. Soon enough they would find a heavy duty door in front of them. Symmetra would knock hard on the door until a slit opened up in it. "Finally!"
The voice they heard was a familiar one, even with out the static. As the door was opened they would stand face to face with Caira.
"It's an honor finally meeting you all in person! Come in, come in! Reyna's going to be happy to finally meet you guys!"
After closing the door behind them she'd lead the group through a corridor into a larger area with a number of tables and crates with supplies around the sides of the room that resembled a makeshift mess hall.
"Took your sweet time." They heard someone say.
"The name's Reyna, I guess you could say I'm the commander of this place." Some among the group would recognize her voice from one of the audio logs they had found earlier. "You've gone through a lot of shit, so I suggest you get something to eat and drink." She motioned towards the corner with crates filled with an assortment of canned food as well as some very clean looking water.
"I'll call over the rest once you'd settled down, but all I'm going to say is. Welcome to the Resistance."
"Indeed. So they're finally here."
"I'm almost impressed, but as Reyna said, doesn't look like you're all in very much of a hurry," Another unfamiliar voice, this time one belonging to a male, would speak out. From above, you would all be able to spot a blonde man standing atop a nearby catwalk, looking down at you with a stern expression. Lucifer, Ellis, and Clare would perhaps recognize him as a member of the organization that connected the three of them, and as for the others...
Clearing his throat, he'd speak up again.
"The name's Major Revolver Ocelot, though just Ocelot will do. That's all you need to know for now," he gruffly introduced himself, briefly directing his attention over to Reyna, "So they're our best bet at getting out of here? Hmph. I suppose we could do worse, at least."
"Make yourself at home. That is, before you help us help you get back to your actual homes."
Another young woman came out of a back room. She wore golden armor adorned with a purple sash. On her back was a golden spear. "I'm the other Reyna. Daughter of Bellona, and Praetor of the XII Legion. Though, I suppose none of that matters now." She said in an astute tone. She muttered something under her breath. She looked at the ragtag group gathered before her.
"Welcome, though. I'll let you get acquainted with everything. Feel free to ask me any questions." She said, leaning against the door.
"In any case, just rest up for now. We've been monitoring you for some time, and we understand that you've been through a lot, so just take a moment to catch your breath for now, and then we shall summon you for our next course of plan," Ocelot said.
Sigh.
Hopefully from here, things would start looking up, right?
There were two Reynas? That sure was confusing. Why would they have such similar names? Then again, angel names always seemed to end with "el." Michael, Uriel, Gabriel, Camael, Abdiel, Samael, perhaps people just weren't very imaginative when it came to names. Questions on their naming conventions could wait, though.
Since she didn't really care.
The whole resistance thing and its specifics were just a pain as far as she was concerned. She simply had nothing to do, and fighting was always something at the top of the list when it came to fun stuff. For now, though, she'd just kick back, relax, and-
"Oh thank god, resting time." She remarked in utter relief, slowly exhaling and letting herself fall backwards onto the ground. "I really really really really needed this, there's not enough reallys I can shove into that sentence to properly express just how much I freaking needed it. That and a shower but that can wait I guess. Also!" She held her free arm up, waving from where she was lying down. "Miss Kind Healer who fixed me up last time, would ya mind uh...doing it again? Please? I'm sorry but it hurts. The pain of fools."
-Heal people? "Healer" was an interesting way to refer to the angel of venom, but given their only meaningful interaction involved her healing her up, she couldn't really blame the marshmallow. Looking her over, it seemed this time it was her shoulder that had been injured. She really must have been soft as a marshmallow to keep getting hurt like this. Or was just travelling with a particularly unlucky part of the party.
"Woah, you tore yourself open again. Are you sure you don't want the fork surgery this time?"
Giggling to herself, she held her right arm out and casted her water magic again, healing up the injury and removing whatever foreign particles may have entered the wound. The blue aura fading from her hand, Samael gave a smile Gwen's way as the wound finished up healing.
"You sure get hurt a lot. If you're not super durable or anything, shouldn't your clothes be armored, or something? Though, then again, it's not like I'm wearing any myself, hehe. ...Armor, I mean."
"..." Gwen sighed, rising up to a kneeling position with her lower legs tucked behind. The topic wasn't just going to be avoided.
"It is a new one. I got shot again. And this time it wasn't even an enemy. Not really. I know that it looks bad...but...I mean...okay, look. I admit it, I don't have any fancy powers. No Bruce Banner strength, no Pietro Maximoff speed, no Reed Richards stretching, no Tony Stark smarts, no Hank Pym size-shifting, no Lila Cheney teleporting, no duplication or laser eyes or invisibility or magic or mind control or telepathy or telekinesis...not even a Wolverine or Deadpool healing factor. I don't have any superpowers to speak of. I'm just a regular girl with cool parents and who reads too many comics and watches too many things. But that was before, you know? Then I ended up in the universe I read about for so long...and then Gravity Falls, you know? And then here too. I can't tell you how I got to any of these places but I'm here. I thought hey alright, so I'm not super...but maybe I can still be a hero. I know things like almost nobody else does. You know? Plus a costume and everything. It always seemed so easy on paper. But..." She sighed.
"It has become increasingly clear to me that I'm no hero. So far I've been barely above a hindrance, if a humorous one. I'm just trying not to get in the way or mess something up at this point. Sorry."
He said nothing. Just looked down at her, with a thoughtful expression as Samael helped out. Then kneeling down to eye level, he considered for a moment before he spoke.
"No powers? At all? For someone who has none of what you mentioned and still jumps headlong into such things? That seems pretty heroic to me."
He nodded a greeting to the fallen angel, doubling as a thanks for the help rendered before smiling at Gwen as he rose and extended his hand to help her up.
"My name is Lucifer. I've yet to have the pleasure of your name."
That was a good stroke of luck actually. Four Coalition members, though Ellis was a surprise. Having learned what he wanted for now, Lucifer would incline his head in a respectful bow.
"By your leave then sir."
And leaving the conversation, he went to mingle- Or at least, that was the plan.
Someone was bleeding.
And by god, that was very, very distracting. Unbidden, he found himself standing before Gwenpool, looking at her shoulder as his more prominent nature came out and he cleared his throat and gestured.
"Were you shot again, or is that the old wound from before?"
"..." Gwen sighed, rising up to a kneeling position with her lower legs tucked behind. The topic wasn't just going to be avoided.
"It is a new one. I got shot again. And this time it wasn't even an enemy. Not really. I know that it looks bad...but...I mean...okay, look. I admit it, I don't have any fancy powers. No Bruce Banner strength, no Pietro Maximoff speed, no Reed Richards stretching, no Tony Stark smarts, no Hank Pym size-shifting, no Lila Cheney teleporting, no duplication or laser eyes or invisibility or magic or mind control or telepathy or telekinesis...not even a Wolverine or Deadpool healing factor. I don't have any superpowers to speak of. I'm just a regular girl with cool parents and who reads too many comics and watches too many things. But that was before, you know? Then I ended up in the universe I read about for so long...and then Gravity Falls, you know? And then here too. I can't tell you how I got to any of these places but I'm here. I thought hey alright, so I'm not super...but maybe I can still be a hero. I know things like almost nobody else does. You know? Plus a costume and everything. It always seemed so easy on paper. But..." She sighed.
"It has become increasingly clear to me that I'm no hero. So far I've been barely above a hindrance, if a humorous one. I'm just trying not to get in the way or mess something up at this point. Sorry."
Clare's gaze softened, not in pity, no, but to show she cared to a degree. She didn't talk to the girl much if at all, but her soft spot was being nudged at again because well, the girl was hurt obviously, for one, and two Clare told herself she'd protect the younger ones in the group. At least, those appearing to be younger than herself.
Clare wasn't much of a talker in some situations, she wasn't a leader or much when it came to words of advice. She tried to think of something to say to cheer the girl up, but couldn't and decided to leave that to Lucifer or someone else. Oh well, at least she had been doing good at socializing so far, at least a little.
He said nothing. Just looked down at her, with a thoughtful expression as Samael helped out. Then kneeling down to eye level, he considered for a moment before he spoke.
"No powers? At all? For someone who has none of what you mentioned and still jumps headlong into such things? That seems pretty heroic to me."
He nodded a greeting to the fallen angel, doubling as a thanks for the help rendered before smiling at Gwen as he rose and extended his hand to help her up.
"My name is Lucifer. I've yet to have the pleasure of your name."
-Heal people? "Healer" was an interesting way to refer to the angel of venom, but given their only meaningful interaction involved her healing her up, she couldn't really blame the marshmallow. Looking her over, it seemed this time it was her shoulder that had been injured. She really must have been soft as a marshmallow to keep getting hurt like this. Or was just travelling with a particularly unlucky part of the party.
"Woah, you tore yourself open again. Are you sure you don't want the fork surgery this time?"
Giggling to herself, she held her right arm out and casted her water magic again, healing up the injury and removing whatever foreign particles may have entered the wound. The blue aura fading from her hand, Samael gave a smile Gwen's way as the wound finished up healing.
"You sure get hurt a lot. If you're not super durable or anything, shouldn't your clothes be armored, or something? Though, then again, it's not like I'm wearing any myself, hehe. ...Armor, I mean."
Gwen breathed out in relief, the cool sensation patching her up once more. Hopefully the last time. "Thanks. I mean it. Really appreciated. And I should maybe bring that up with my designer. Kevlar or something...yeah."
He said nothing. Just looked down at her, with a thoughtful expression as Samael helped out. Then kneeling down to eye level, he considered for a moment before he spoke.
"No powers? At all? For someone who has none of what you mentioned and still jumps headlong into such things? That seems pretty heroic to me."
He nodded a greeting to the fallen angel, doubling as a thanks for the help rendered before smiling at Gwen as he rose and extended his hand to help her up.
"My name is Lucifer. I've yet to have the pleasure of your name."
"Yeah, nada. Nothing. Zilch. No heroic backstory, traumatizing childhood or superhuman ability. Unless you count learning things off the Internet as powers. But..." She smiled. "Thanks for that all the same."She accepted the hand, standing up herself. "And it's Gwen. Gwen Poole. Not to be confused with the one with spider powers."
-Heal people? "Healer" was an interesting way to refer to the angel of venom, but given their only meaningful interaction involved her healing her up, she couldn't really blame the marshmallow. Looking her over, it seemed this time it was her shoulder that had been injured. She really must have been soft as a marshmallow to keep getting hurt like this. Or was just travelling with a particularly unlucky part of the party.
"Woah, you tore yourself open again. Are you sure you don't want the fork surgery this time?"
Giggling to herself, she held her right arm out and casted her water magic again, healing up the injury and removing whatever foreign particles may have entered the wound. The blue aura fading from her hand, Samael gave a smile Gwen's way as the wound finished up healing.
"You sure get hurt a lot. If you're not super durable or anything, shouldn't your clothes be armored, or something? Though, then again, it's not like I'm wearing any myself, hehe. ...Armor, I mean."
The talk of resistance movements was all well and good. Something Winslow might have stuck a hand up for given that he opposed people like Swan who tried to hog all the power to themselves. But everything was a bit much for Winslow to get too invested in. He had his own demons-literal ones at that to battle. Ones that when gone meant they'd be taking him with them. So to stand up for a cause when his own time was limited might not have been the brightest mood. Sticking close to Samael nevertheless as she was his 'voice' while he continued to try and seek out someone to fix his vocoder, he'd glance down at the costumed girl.
She claimed to be a superhero?
That was something Winslow supposed he should have respected. But he didn't really see himself in a similar light. He didn't wish to adorn the attire he had now. It's just that after everything else had been ripped from him kicking and screaming, there was very littler in the way of alternatives. But he was no hero. He was a Phantom, a stalker of the night who lurked in the shadows. Waiting to strike yet again. But this girl was trying to make something of herself and Winslow almost wished he could have asked her why she did it. Not through Samael or his vocoder but with his own voice. The natural voice of Winslow Leach.
"Yeah, nada. Nothing. Zilch. No heroic backstory, traumatizing childhood or superhuman ability. Unless you count learning things off the Internet as powers. But..." She smiled. "Thanks for that all the same."She accepted the hand, standing up herself. "And it's Gwen. Gwen Poole. Not to be confused with the one with spider powers."
She had a lovely smile. A little burned out, but that was to be expected given their surroundings. It was enough to reduce even the most grizzled agents of the Torch to weariness. That she could still smile and crack jokes showed off her resilience to the horrors they had already faced her up to this point. He found out he liked her immediately upon first impressions. Honestly? It reminded him....Of well....
Happier times.
Purple and blue eyes danced at him in the furthest reaches of his memories, of a world long since gone and friends long since lost. It would have been a moment of melancholy but for the fact that he had long, since come to terms with it. There was only the Hunt and it would end, one way or another. Either he'll catch up and get his answers.
Or he'll die and there it'll end for him after a long, long conflict of personal war.
He changed the subject as he gestured to her swords.
"So you learned how to use those off the internet? Interested in a few lessons from an actual wielder?"
The stream of similar names continued. People really weren't creative with names.
"I don't know too much about technology, but whatever stops you from being ripped apart like a piece of paper."
As Lucifer and Gwen conversed, though, she could hear Winslow's thoughts. They had a telepathic link, after all. Detecting his desire to know about her reason for heroics was like hearing her own thoughts, and despite her personal lack of interest she considered asking the question in her friend's place. Considered. She'd have to listen to whatever she said too, but then again Gwen had said there was no crazy backstory or anything, right? So it couldn't be too bad.
"Delicate body aside, though, why are you trying to be a hero anyway?"
Clare would give Ocelot a slight glance before following Lucifer, to make sure he didn't get...sidetracked like before when someone was bleeding.
She stood near by Lucifer as he checked on Gwenpool.
Clare's gaze softened, not in pity, no, but to show she cared to a degree. She didn't talk to the girl much if at all, but her soft spot was being nudged at again because well, the girl was hurt obviously, for one, and two Clare told herself she'd protect the younger ones in the group. At least, those appearing to be younger than herself.
Clare wasn't much of a talker in some situations, she wasn't a leader or much when it came to words of advice. She tried to think of something to say to cheer the girl up, but couldn't and decided to leave that to Lucifer or someone else. Oh well, at least she had been doing good at socializing so far, at least a little.
He made it seem easy. Seeing as Lucifer seemed to have things under control for now, Clare moved to stand by herself a moment and relax for now.
"..." Gwen sighed, rising up to a kneeling position with her lower legs tucked behind. The topic wasn't just going to be avoided.
"It is a new one. I got shot again. And this time it wasn't even an enemy. Not really. I know that it looks bad...but...I mean...okay, look. I admit it, I don't have any fancy powers. No Bruce Banner strength, no Pietro Maximoff speed, no Reed Richards stretching, no Tony Stark smarts, no Hank Pym size-shifting, no Lila Cheney teleporting, no duplication or laser eyes or invisibility or magic or mind control or telepathy or telekinesis...not even a Wolverine or Deadpool healing factor. I don't have any superpowers to speak of. I'm just a regular girl with cool parents and who reads too many comics and watches too many things. But that was before, you know? Then I ended up in the universe I read about for so long...and then Gravity Falls, you know? And then here too. I can't tell you how I got to any of these places but I'm here. I thought hey alright, so I'm not super...but maybe I can still be a hero. I know things like almost nobody else does. You know? Plus a costume and everything. It always seemed so easy on paper. But..." She sighed.
"It has become increasingly clear to me that I'm no hero. So far I've been barely above a hindrance, if a humorous one. I'm just trying not to get in the way or mess something up at this point. Sorry."
"Yeah, nada. Nothing. Zilch. No heroic backstory, traumatizing childhood or superhuman ability. Unless you count learning things off the Internet as powers. But..." She smiled. "Thanks for that all the same."She accepted the hand, standing up herself. "And it's Gwen. Gwen Poole. Not to be confused with the one with spider powers."
All aboard the pitying and life advice train, huh?
Like with everyone else, Gwen had decided to go ahead and rest up when they would manage to reach the resting base of the Resistance against Handsome Jack, believing that they had had enough excitement for one day. Of course, while everyone might be taking this moment to take a physical rest, it would seem that this place had taken a toll on some people's mental state, like the weeping girl in the strange black robes (Evie was her name? Hmm...) mourning her lost brother, and of course, the other Gwen facing some existential crisis.
Serves her right for telling ol' Spider-Gwen here that she was just a fictional character where she came from!
... Is what she would think if she wasn't a good person as she was. Welp. Time to pitch in her two cents then.
Hopping off the small corner on which she was huddled up on, landing next to Clare, Samael, and Lucifer, Gwen would put her hands on her hips, and then take a breath, ready to wing it. Or at least, she liked to tell herself so.
"Hey... Ah, Gwen? Can I... Is it okay if I call you Gwen? Well, I guess of course it would, 'cause I mean that is your name and everything, but uh..." She began. Well. What a way to start.
Taking off her mask, revealing her true face underneath that was strikingly similar to the other Gwen's, if not completely the same due to their... "relationship" to each other, Gwen Stacy, the Amazing Spider-Woman, tried to see if she could go ahead and give some good pep talk. Something like what Captain America would say.
"Hey... Look at me. You lookin' at me? I wanna ask you something as you're uh, looking at me... What do you see? Do you see a stranger, someone straight out of whatever fantastical story is being published or whatever from your world? Do you see a reflection like in a mirror that you feel obligated to live up to? 'Cause in the end of the day, either way, it doesn't matter. I'm me, plain and simple. And while we may be different people in the end with a fair share of similarities, it's the differences that you should really consider."
"When you look at a hero, what do you think is the coolest thing about them? Their out of their world powers? Their spunky costumes? 'Cause no, see, its as Mr... uh, Satan says. Or... Sorry, your name was Lucifer, right? Anyway, it's like he said. It's the will to jump headfirst into danger, look it in the eye without blinking, and do what's right. Anyone can be a hero. It's just a matter of if they choose to be one or not. I... learned that the hard way."
Phew. Here we go.
"See... I guess you'd already know about this if my life story is... just a comic to you, but when my close friend Peter died, a death that I could have prevented if I took things more seriously, it was only then that I realized that... These great powers I have aren't a luxury. They're a responsibility. But... They're just tools, things that help me whoop the bad guy. It's my will to fight the baddies and save the day that keeps me going in face of them, but... I didn't learn about what I had until one of the most important people in my life was taken from me, an event that was my own fault. So I atone for what I did. I'll work my behind off for as long as I can to protect those who can't protect themselves, like Peter once was. Not just because it's the right thing to do, but because I made a promise forged from guilt."
"Sometimes, I wonder what he's thinking up in Heaven. If there even is a Heaven. Buuut I just hope for the best, y'know?"
Sigh.
Gwen took a small moment to catch her breath. Some water would be nice, though F.F. would probably drink it all up before she'd be able to get the chance to.
"You, on the other hand, you... you, you, you... uh, what's the word, not altruistic, uh..." Gwen mumbled to herself, trying to gather her bearings, somewhat awkwardly snapping her fingers as she did so, "Well, what I'm trying to get at is that a tragic backstory isn't a necessity for superheroics or whatever you wanna call 'em. My little backstory spurred me into really getting to fight crime, but it also haunts me. It's something I'll never forget for the rest of my life. You, on the other hand... You're untouched by that stuff. Someone like me... I feel like I have an obligation to do what's right, but you... Well, I dunno if it was at first because you thought it'd be cool, but the fact that you want to do right by people, even without some other motivation like you wanna avenge your parents or--or like uh, you're obligated to by something like a job or moral code, the fact that you wanna do that stuff for the sake of other people, assuming uh, you had other people in mind, without any big catalyst other than getting the opportunity, means that you have it in you to be a better hero than me and uh... Well, I dunno about Jessica and Cindy, they're pretty good heroes, but I'm willing to bet that you'll be able to get up there if you put your mind to it and uh... Yeah!"
...
She idly wondered if Gwen Poole was still even listening.
Having run out of things to say, Gwen would decide to put her mask back on, letting the two of them proceed to be what seemed to be potentially sword training, but not before changing her focus to Lucifer.
"Yo, uh... So what's the deal with the Ocelot guy? You guys know him from somewhere?" She idly questioned.
Had he made a noise without meaning to? Or had Gwen simply been made uncomfortable the six foot bird man was staring at her? Either one seemed perfectly valid. Though just as Winslow was about to try and have Samael explain for him, the angel had already made the question for him. With only his thoughts to go off and he hadn't even needed to word it into a sentence this go around. That was nice enough of the angel and somewhat unexpected. Was this what it was like to become friends with someone like her? Or was it her more mature side showing through the facade once more?
Winslow would have requested if she could ask any of them if they knew how to fix his vocoder but then another person approached. It was the girl in the costume who had accompanied Winslow before. She seemed to go on quite the spiel. Not that Winslow wasn't interested of course. It just kind o f derailed his train of thought.
Once the other girl finally finished, Winslow blinked and recalled what he'd been going to 'ask' Samael to tell the others. He appreciated her giving him the gift of allowing to hear his own natural voice again. But he knew this wouldn't last forever. Nothing ever lasted forever for Winslow Leach.
"He's among the line of command for the organization me, Clare....And Mr. Ellis apparently works for."
He said, indicating each one in turn. Giving it some thought, he added.
"We are the best kept secret on many earths. Our mission is to monitor and act against any unlawful interdimensional threats. We are your best, last and only line of defense. We work in secret. We exist in shadow. Some of us dress in black."
Beat.
"Or something like that. Just think of us as a quasi-military-slash-investigative-force against threats that threaten other worlds and dimensions. Some are recruited directly from their worlds like Clare here-"
He gestured to his partner.
"-Or end up joining after experiencing world-hopping of our own, like myself. For me.... That was over five years or so ago."
The stream of similar names continued. People really weren't creative with names.
"I don't know too much about technology, but whatever stops you from being ripped apart like a piece of paper."
As Lucifer and Gwen conversed, though, she could hear Winslow's thoughts. They had a telepathic link, after all. Detecting his desire to know about her reason for heroics was like hearing her own thoughts, and despite her personal lack of interest she considered asking the question in her friend's place. Considered. She'd have to listen to whatever she said too, but then again Gwen had said there was no crazy backstory or anything, right? So it couldn't be too bad.
"Delicate body aside, though, why are you trying to be a hero anyway?"
"You're no good at the cheering people up thing either, huh?"
"No. Where I am from, humans usually fear my kind. Since I've started working with Lucifer, it's only been recently that humans have bothered approaching me before we ended up here. He is more accustomed to dealing with these sorts of things than me myself." the Claymore replied simply.
As Spider Gwen landed nearby and said all she needed, she'd get a brief glance from the woman before the blonde returned her gaze to Samael.
"He's among the line of command for the organization me, Clare....And Mr. Ellis apparently works for."
He said, indicating each one in turn. Giving it some thought, he added.
"We are the best kept secret on many earths. Our mission is to monitor and act against any unlawful interdimensional threats. We are your best, last and only line of defense. We work in secret. We exist in shadow. Some of us dress in black."
Beat.
"Or something like that. Just think of us as a quasi-military-slash-investigative-force against threats that threaten other worlds and dimensions. Some are recruited directly from their worlds like Clare here-"
He gestured to his partner.
"-Or end up joining after experiencing world-hopping of our own, like myself. For me.... That was over five years or so ago."
At the mentioning of her name, the Claymore's eyes moved to Lucifer and Spider Gwen calmly and she gave a slight nod of her head before returning to Samael once more.
There was a disorientation to the flies now, from a hive mind attack to a mindless swarm. Down below, the bugs stopped and dropped dead in droves as they twitched and were squashed underfoot, like a rain of filth. Though it did nothing for the various wounded by those who had thought to fire guns at them. Upstairs, Jack roared.
The shadow of Jack the Ripper loomed large as he struggled to retain his form.
"YOU CAN NEVER ESCAPE ME! I'LL FIND YOU! I AM NOW ETERNAL AND IF IT TAKES ME TILL PERDITION TO RID ALL OF YOU FRYE'S FROM EXISTENCE, I WILL SELL MY SOUL A THOUSAND TIMES AGAIN!"
It was a blood-curdling scream, borne of hatred as Jack's old mask burned and Jack himself, was once more removed from the world as his bugs died and dissipated into a mass of dead flies. He was gone.
But he'll be back.
The switch would be found in the Dark Room on the third floor, where all the bodies were laid out and used as maggot fodder. Food for the flies, though all the maggots were dead too. Also located was another audio recording, which when played would produce the following.
Static at first echoes loudly, before the rasp of heavy breathing follows. The voice is that of a young woman, laden with pain and terror to the point of exhaustion. What nightmares she must have seen since coming is unclear, but they have exacted a heavy toll.
"My watch has broken and there is no day or night I can measure. How long I've been down here, I'm not sure. Even if no one will ever hear this, I will record this so as to keep what sanity I have. I must not succumb. I must not let my mind fade.
My name is Sabrina Spellman. I was born a witch, my coven is the Multiverse Emergency Unit. In my bones, I can sense it. The corruption of the city they call Rapture. Its a corpse, full of pus and maggots and my magic is reacting to it. And like a corpse, it attracts... Scavengers."
An empty sob echoes and she continues.
"I can't sleep. I dare not sleep. All I can do is run, when the drums begin. Oh god!"
The recording ends there.
In terms of loot, the party would find a strange artifact. Apparently, it was something Jack was guarding.
It is a rare, momentous occasion for an Inquisitor to be elated for what seems a typical task, vanquishing a daemon. True we are a hardened and morose lot, and we venture upon many an adventure to accomplish a goal of varying degrees, but here in the now? I recognized how easily we all could have died, the severity of the situation we had found ourselves within starkly emblazoned within my mind's eye. I propped myself against the wall adjacent to the ruined phonograph where the now vaporized mask of cloth once lay, my breaths shuddering and heavy as the adrenaline passed. The pain of the stings, the bites, the gnaws, the tears, the rotting corpses of the nurgle flies embedded within my flesh grew in intensity as my body's sympathetic response died down. I would have to divest myself of my clothes to rid myself of the lingering pests, the first of which was my longcoat, suit-jacket, then the unbuttoning of my shirt beneath as I ferreted out their bodies. As for the rest, they would be removed at a later time. The situation became more bearable, manageable for now and I adorned my clothes anew. I took a moment to ponder the state of my stately attire, noticing the tears within the suit's jacket and dark red shirt. A scoff and chuckle in one left my mouth as I scrutinized in detail dollops of blood that blended nigh evenly within the color. At the least, I still look personable. Albeit as personable as an Inquisitor who had just gone through a war. I buttoned now my long-jacket as I turned to depart this Emperor-forsaken place now, looking to see to the others' condition.
In a moment, I found myself staring upon the Frye sister cradling her brother's body, tears streaming down her freckled cheeks in true sorrow. They had been close, no doubt, and the scene was affecting so that I paused. I allowed her a moment to herself out of respect, my heart going out to her; loss was a everyday, common occurrence whence I hailed. You simply became nonchalant to the fact, inured to the sensation of despair and loss. It eventually became a numbers game, knowing precisely the details in and out the ongoings of the Imperium on the galactic scale. Instances like these? These were intimate and often re-instilled in me the vestige of my humanity yet not entirely gone, my sympathy and more. While I had no love for the late Jacob Frye-- I'd considered strongly and decided to introduce him to the wrath of an Inquisitor crossed so that he'd understand well to not do so-- I did feel a pang of sympathy. No man should ever die by the grotesque hands of Chaos lest their soul be devoured.
I stared Evie Frye a while longer, uttering inaudibly the words to the Litany of Salvation in Jacob's name, before I moved for the artifact. Rude as it may have seemed, there were matters of greater importance at hand. I understood well the worth of subjectivity and would say nothing of it, working in separate fashion from the ongoing of her mourning. I filched the artifact from where it lied, having noticed it amid my brief scan of the room. I overlooked it with a cursory glance, making out the intricate markings that surely had their origins in matters related to the arcane. I sensed nothing of ill will from the perfect cube of dark brown and tan. I peered to the newcomers to the room, consisting of Owlman and Scott, and grunted my acknowledgement of their presence while pocketing the cube nonchalantly. The daemon we'd vanquished had it within its possession; I had my suspicions and determined for myself that no one but I was fit to handle it. It was a shame, there were artifacters dedicated to the summary collection, study, and destruction of objects like these. I would have to make do for now.
I did not want to consider the thought that the daemon once renowned as Jack the Ripper would stalk these halls or the galaxy I called home in due time as was the nature of daemons. They never truly stayed banished lest you annihilated them. I absolved myself of these thoughts, deciding for now I'd other matters to attend to.
In the sudden deep silence that followed Jack's screaming, Evie would continue sobbing desperately, her eyes tightly shut as she keeps her arms around her brother. Everything around her was calmer now, but in her head, things were still a mess. She still heard Jack's insane laughter, messing up her thoughts. Every time she made a sound or inhaled, a flash of pain would run through her chest.
"He's back..." she mumbled softly to herself with a hoarse voice, "I'm sorry Jacob... I'm so sorry..."
I turned to depart the room, following after the others, as her words reached my ears. I paused abruptly, glancing to her briefly as she caressed still her brother's body. Without realizing it, I conferred the dead man a courteous nod and continued on my way.
With the switches now open and the watches leading them back to where they once were, the groups would soon enough find themselves at the center of Apollo Square once again. The arrows pointed towards a rather grizzly scene.
The gallows had still fresh bodies hanging from them indicating that they saw a lot of use. The radio would spark to life as both groups arrived. "You're almost there people. Look under the gallows to the left, you should find a piece of metal sticking out. Flip that."
Someone would oblige and go under the gallows and finding a very out of place piece of metal sticking out from the ground they'd proceed to flip it. The debris in front of the gallows would shake open leaving a secret passage that would lead them to their destination.
Once the last person stepped inside the door would close up behind them once again. "Okay, take the tunnel to the left until you get to a split and from there go right, forward, left and right."
Symmetra took the lead using her glove to light up area and followed Caira's instructions, the group in turn following closely. And then... Rumble rumble rumble.
Suddenly, a stroke of bad luck would befall the group, as intense vibrations could be sensed as they'd all be able to feel as though the structural integrity of the particular area they were in at the moment seemed to greatly weaken. Before anyone knew it, giant debris from the ceiling would fall down, hitting the ground with loud thuds, a small amount of water leaking from where the debris had once resided.
"Uh... I think it's time we move, guys!" Gwen exclaimed, and with that, your journey to wherever Caira was leading you to would become a lot more hectic all of a sudden as more and more heavy debris from the ceiling would fall onto the ground as you would all have to make a break for it.
Fortunately, the attack of the falling debris wouldn't last very long, but in the process, Sean Grant and Lando Calrissian would be crushed underneath the debris. Still, there was nothing you could do for them. The sudden abruptness of the debris falling and stopping made one wonder if this was actually a deliberate trap set by Handsome Jack, one of his many so-called "presents," but either way, maybe it didn't matter, as the damage was already done anyway.
With that, they would continue moving on. Soon enough they would find a heavy duty door in front of them. Symmetra would knock hard on the door until a slit opened up in it. "Finally!"
The voice they heard was a familiar one, even with out the static. As the door was opened they would stand face to face with Caira.
"It's an honor finally meeting you all in person! Come in, come in! Reyna's going to be happy to finally meet you guys!"
After closing the door behind them she'd lead the group through a corridor into a larger area with a number of tables and crates with supplies around the sides of the room that resembled a makeshift mess hall.
"Took your sweet time." They heard someone say.
"The name's Reyna, I guess you could say I'm the commander of this place." Some among the group would recognize her voice from one of the audio logs they had found earlier. "You've gone through a lot of shit, so I suggest you get something to eat and drink." She motioned towards the corner with crates filled with an assortment of canned food as well as some very clean looking water.
"I'll call over the rest once you'd settled down, but all I'm going to say is. Welcome to the Resistance."
"Indeed. So they're finally here."
"I'm almost impressed, but as Reyna said, doesn't look like you're all in very much of a hurry," Another unfamiliar voice, this time one belonging to a male, would speak out. From above, you would all be able to spot a blonde man standing atop a nearby catwalk, looking down at you with a stern expression. Lucifer, Ellis, and Clare would perhaps recognize him as a member of the organization that connected the three of them, and as for the others...
Clearing his throat, he'd speak up again.
"The name's Major Revolver Ocelot, though just Ocelot will do. That's all you need to know for now," he gruffly introduced himself, briefly directing his attention over to Reyna, "So they're our best bet at getting out of here? Hmph. I suppose we could do worse, at least."
"Make yourself at home. That is, before you help us help you get back to your actual homes."
Another young woman came out of a back room. She wore golden armor adorned with a purple sash. On her back was a golden spear. "I'm the other Reyna. Daughter of Bellona, and Praetor of the XII Legion. Though, I suppose none of that matters now." She said in an astute tone. She muttered something under her breath. She looked at the ragtag group gathered before her.
"Welcome, though. I'll let you get acquainted with everything. Feel free to ask me any questions." She said, leaning against the door.
"In any case, just rest up for now. We've been monitoring you for some time, and we understand that you've been through a lot, so just take a moment to catch your breath for now, and then we shall summon you for our next course of plan," Ocelot said.
Sigh.
Hopefully from here, things would start looking up, right?
The switch was thrown and we were truly well on our way. We met up within Apollo Square. After further due information from the woman Caira on the radio, we made our way through a secret entrance. I admit, I think the notion of hiding in plain sight to be an excellent one but to take it a step further and utilize a grisly location such as the gallows? Brilliant. Sadly though, it seemed that we lost more of our numbers as we traversed the haphazard conditions of the tunnels. I had long since already asserted in my mind that Rapture was slowly transforming into something akin to a death world, albeit a pseudo one; death worlds were planets where everything upon its surface, be it flora or fauna or terrain, was designed to kill the common man. Prime Guardsmen material were recruited from hardened survivor colonies of these worlds for a reason. A shame the survivors of Rapture were already lost to their vices of splicing.
It was not long before we found ourselves before the pocket of survivors, the ones that called themselves the Resistance. It was there we met the Caira we came to know on the radio, alongside two hardened females that shared the same name, and a soldier dressed in similar fashion to I, color-wise at the least, by the name of Ocelot. The Reynas, one of which was the commander of the facility with the other had been a praetor of a twelfth region. The first was a hardened, battle-worn soldier with the experience to show and the second was a leader that was attired in clothing that would not be out of place whence I hailed, especially with the artifacts of old. I realized these were capable individuals and that I could, perhaps, rest easy. For now. My blank features stared each other in turn as they spoke the thought coming to my whether they noticed or not. Amusing as the notion was, it was a fleeting and unimportant fancy.
After all had been said, I simply uttered aloud toward one person in particular. "Executor Lucifer, I've need of you. It's an important matter." That said and done I stepped away for the stores of water and food, seeking to attain myself modest portions of each. It seemed that he would busy himself to matters relevant to himself. That would be fine...
"..." Gwen sighed, rising up to a kneeling position with her lower legs tucked behind. The topic wasn't just going to be avoided.
"It is a new one. I got shot again. And this time it wasn't even an enemy. Not really. I know that it looks bad...but...I mean...okay, look. I admit it, I don't have any fancy powers. No Bruce Banner strength, no Pietro Maximoff speed, no Reed Richards stretching, no Tony Stark smarts, no Hank Pym size-shifting, no Lila Cheney teleporting, no duplication or laser eyes or invisibility or magic or mind control or telepathy or telekinesis...not even a Wolverine or Deadpool healing factor. I don't have any superpowers to speak of. I'm just a regular girl with cool parents and who reads too many comics and watches too many things. But that was before, you know? Then I ended up in the universe I read about for so long...and then Gravity Falls, you know? And then here too. I can't tell you how I got to any of these places but I'm here. I thought hey alright, so I'm not super...but maybe I can still be a hero. I know things like almost nobody else does. You know? Plus a costume and everything. It always seemed so easy on paper. But..." She sighed.
"It has become increasingly clear to me that I'm no hero. So far I've been barely above a hindrance, if a humorous one. I'm just trying not to get in the way or mess something up at this point. Sorry."
I'd have taken my time to pore through the crates' selection. I set out apart some of the meals and drinks, separating those with high nutritional value and those with low value into their own respective quadrants. If anyone approached to perturb me in doing so?
I simply grunted, "See that the young get these." I gestured towards the the first quadrant of high nutritional packages and with that, I obtained for myself one of the smaller packaged foods from the second quadrant of the lower value, with an equally proportional beverage. I set myself on my way, pocketing my meager meal, moving for a location that was private as was possible and came across the girl in pink and white from earlier. Executor Lucifer seemed to be conversing with her and without a thought, I swerved toward their way. I managed to catch the gist of her words amid her conversation with Lucifer, especially those at the end. I stood there a good few paces away, staring down to her before glancing back to the Executor. I ruminated in the few seconds that followed and before either could prompt me anything, I retrieved the stubber pistol that Jacob Frye had loaded and returned to me, laying it across the flat of my palm. I glanced over it and down to her, my eyes stern and meaningful, "For your own personal protection, I offer this. A stubber pistol, the munitions are different but it should still work. I checked."
I glanced to the side, though, and nodded to Clare and the other Gwen, the woman with spider-like capabilities(?). I returned my gaze back to this Gwen, expecting an answer, fully aware that I was offering a fully loaded weapon to potentially an underaged woman from her appearance. Not that it mattered, the choice ultimately fell to her and it was hers alone that she'd make.
Niko watched as Vanille called out to Wendy, who seemed to believe she was alright. Niko looked back over at Vanille. "Must you do that all the time, it's either greeting everyone you see, or intruding on other's business, you need some self control....Pinkie." Niko said, smiling slyly.
Vanille wa defiantly up there with Roman in terms of optimism and friendliness, which wasn't bad in itself, bu it could be exploited by some real shitheads.
Niko, Niko... so pessimistic. Vanille wasn't one to outwardly be so pessimistic. Instead, she usually did her best to hide her sadness behind a mask by thinking of the possible "goods," and not the "bads." The Oerbian always tried to look out for others more so than herself. She was one to try and cheer others up when they weren't doing so well. The girl cared about a lot of the people she came across. And seeing others all happy made her happy. She smiled, smiled, and smiled throughout many of the troubles she faced.
Was there a problem in seeing the good instead of the bad of people?
Hearing how Niko criticized her for her actions made her kind of angry, and a bit hurt.
Well, he was right about her needing self-control when it came to talking to others, but she still felt hurt.
"There's nothing wrong with worrying about others, Mister Negative," she retorted.
"Besides... this is who I am. I can't stand seeing people sad, or anything but happy. It wouldn't feel right to just leave them be."
