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Post by David Hilm on Jun 3, 2016 16:14:53 GMT
Bunnie keeps her head on a swivel, looking around and listening for signs of the people who took her and Joe.
Thinking about Joe makes her chest tighten, and breathing becomes a chore for a few seconds. They had known each other all their lives, but she was always so cold to him. He was always just... There.
And now he's not.
She forces herself not to think about recent events and keep watch again.
Perception: 14
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Post by Slytherclaw on Jun 4, 2016 1:45:49 GMT
By the time they come to a stop, Amber is practically vibrating from nervous energy. She pulls them to a stop with shaky hands, amped up on nervous energy and worried thoughts. "I need time to work," She mutters, brushing her hair out of her face with a shaky hand and looking around. "...if this place is safe enough. I could maybe go on a bit if it's necessary..."
I|qUroDI4d6 Perception 3d6 Tech Edu4d6·3d6
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Post by Lockdown on Jun 4, 2016 1:53:38 GMT
As you get closer, all of you hear loud whooping laughter suddenly ringing out. The buildings make things echo, but it seems to be coming from the center of the town, near the clinic. There's some indistinct whooping and speech as well. Spoiler for Christine, Bunnie and Amber only Amber, Christine and Bunnie also make out three other sounds. One is a faint crackle of electrical discharge, and a loud chittering noise. The final noise sounds like this:
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Post by DataNinja on Jun 4, 2016 2:44:38 GMT
"Uh, Kat..." Christine asks, "I don't suppose that you happen to know the, uh, people who I'm presuming are making that laughter." She already anticipates a negative answer, though.
"And... anyone know what that screeching noise is? I've never heard anything like it." It worries her, though.
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Post by David Hilm on Jun 4, 2016 3:49:28 GMT
The sounds catch Bunnie off guard and frighten her initially. She steels herself and balls her hands into fists as a snarl takes over her face.
"Whoever they are, they'd better keep their damn distance."
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jun 4, 2016 9:23:37 GMT
She's changed. Cecil's thin lips drew into a tight line as his eyes settled on Bunnie's face. It wasn't the Pokerus that did it, but that ain't the same girl I left the vault with. His expression was passive as it shifted from her to his shoes. Eyes half closed, it seemed like he didn't even register the laughter, much less the noise accompanying it. Cecil was tired. This day felt like it would never end.
Skrub's got it all wrong. A long, nasal sigh escaping him as he shot Bunnie another sideways glance. Getting that shit going back in the vault ain't the worst idea he's had, but we're only doing it so they can hole up longer. Should be getting people acclimated and informed about what's up here. There are enough of them down there, be safe enough if they had more... Pokemon. A thoughtful blink, and a subtle shift of his expression, and the greaser began registering the other's reactions to the noise.
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Post by Slytherclaw on Jun 5, 2016 13:02:46 GMT
Amber licks her lips as she looks around, shoulders hunched and fingers white around the wheel as she holds tightly to it. "...it kind of sounds like a baby screeching...?" She says with narrowed eyes. "Or...an animal maybe?"
She glances back at Kat, waiting for the girls answerto Christine's question.
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Post by Seya on Jun 5, 2016 14:25:00 GMT
Kat is immediately on her guard when the whooping laughter echoes through the empty street, freeing her hatchet from her side and Rosco from his ball, who automatically assumes a copy of her.
But she frowns when the girls bring up a 'screeching'. "I ain't heard nothin' like that," she mutters, "But I don't recall havin' friends out this far... be ready for anythin'." Somethin' tells me this lot's gonna wanna play hero yet again.
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Post by DataNinja on Jun 5, 2016 16:59:13 GMT
"Didn't think so..." Christine says. Yeesh... I still can't get used to the fact that that little creature can look like anyone.
"Oh, and if we decide to go check this out..." she says sternly, looking at Cecil, "Don't go charging ahead alone, DeLoria."[/font]
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jun 5, 2016 19:57:58 GMT
"You promised to can it with ragging on me Christine." Cecil's retort was almost lazy as she roused him from his thoughts. "Kat and I will sneak ahead quiet like and see what we can see. I ain't stupid, and I've already dealt with enough shit today." Straightening his jacket, Cecil took a second to listen as he took a few short paces, as if gauging the sound it made. Nodding approvingly to himself, he waved Kat along.
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Post by Seya on Jun 5, 2016 22:08:06 GMT
Kat grimaces. Stealth missions are not her forte by any means, but if there's trouble she sure doesn't want the other girls to face it first. "Yeah. Aight. Roz, come along as y'are."The little transformed-Zorua makes a mimicking sound like, "Aiiighh," and then chirps in a rather inhuman manner, and sways to Cecil's other side with a too-cheeky, too-happy smile. "Quiet for now, pup. This ain't fun and games like normal.""Aiigh."Kat: 6TGnvc_A2d6 Perception 2d6 Stealth EDIT: 3d6 Pokemon Edu after hearing noise.
Rosco: Has Stealth Capability, so he doesn't make any noise. Regardless: 4d6+1 Stealth 2d6 Perception 2d6·2d6·4d6+1·2d6·2d6
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Post by Lockdown on Jun 5, 2016 22:33:07 GMT
The two creep forward, using the brush and broken shells of buildings as cover. The cackling and whooping laughter getting louder, and as you enter the ruined settlement proper, you're able to hear the noises that Amber, Christine and Bunnie had been remarking upon. You finally creep round a bend, finding an overgrown shell of a car for cover, and get a look at the source of all the noise. A group of men and women, about six all told, are gathered around a pair of stacked cages kludged together from scrap metal and what appear to be automotive parts, judging from the garage door that looks recently torn down.
The people are dressed in a mishmash of leather harnesses and plates of armor, all with nasty looking spikes and jagged bits of metal at angles to give them a fearsome appearance. Yellow paint has been slathered over the otherwise black apparel, and one has a crude image of some kind of insect carved into an armor plate on her back.
Inside the cages are two creatures. One is a blur of white, yellow and flashes of black, chittering and moving so fast that it's hard to get a good look at it, a situation made worse by the clustering men and women jabbing at it with sharpened sticks. Its also giving off regular charges of electricity, that are grounding into the conjoined cages, electrocuting the small animal below; which is the source of the crying noises. Cecil would compare it to a teddy bear, small, dewey-eyed and crying in pain and distress.
Lounging a bit further away is a lithe scarred figure of a woman, seated on a mound of tires and junk that have been pulled together into a sort of throne. Draped over the seat is the skin of something big and tan, with what looks like a silvery-white circle on what was probably the belly of the beast. Judging by the flies, the skin is fresh and hasn't been properly tanned yet. The paws were left intact, displaying fearsome claws, which match the size of the scars on the woman's exposed torso and face. She's smiling viciously as she watches the others torment the two mon.
They're all so caught up in their fun that no one seems to have noticed Cecil and Kat yet.
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jun 5, 2016 23:29:45 GMT
Fuck. On the list of things that makes me wish I hadn't rolled out of bed today, this is pretty close to the top. Tell the girls the truth and they might try to save the critters. Lie to em and catch hell for it later. Could try to be diplomatic, but Bunnie ain't likely to take well to someone jabbin' a captive with sticks right now. With a slow shake of his head, Cecil beckoned Kat to follow him back to where the others were waiting.
"Seven humans, six grunts and a ringleader. They're screwing around with two caged pokemon, one kinda looks like a teddy bear, the other's got some of the same colors as Amber's little rodent. The ringleader's mounted the pelt of something with claws six inches or better, looks like it took some pretty serious chunks out of her some time ago, old scars right? So she took a hit from it and lived. They've got gang colors going, black and yellow, with some kind of bug symbol, a bee maybe? Most of the outfits are slapped together from whatever. Some of it looks a little rad."
Taking a moment Cecil scrubbed at his face with a hand. "I don't like our odds of squatting here if we leave 'em be. I also ain't too keen on tangling five to seven, but we've got bio-weapons and they don't look to. Could try diplomacy, but they don't look like the type." Cecil shrugged halfheartedly. "Either way, decisions need to be made, and I ain't taking blame this time."
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Post by Seya on Jun 6, 2016 13:03:30 GMT
"Yellowjackets," Kat spits out as Cecil mentions the coats. They're... local enough. We... can prolly take 'em, y'know? Not such a fab idea on one's own, but we've got the advantage a'knowin' they're here. And no. No diplomacy on this shite." She ponders the situation quietly for a moment before lowering her voice. "Any you got pokemon with natural traps? I can set one up at the entrance all sneaky-like, but it won't do a helluva lot on its lonesome. Just get their defenses down a bit."
Rosco does a curious little soundless dance around the group, ever-grinning, and then another idea comes to Kat.
"Illusions, of-fuckin'-course! Roz, give 'em an idea," she says in an excited whisper. Her poke-copy smiles even wider if at all possible, and holds out his/her hands, from which a waterfall of coins suddenly appear and spill noiselessly towards the ground. "Anythin' small-- say, a foot and a half square-- but nothin' beyond an image. That could work to our advantage... somehow."
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Post by DataNinja on Jun 6, 2016 22:00:05 GMT
"I don't think we should go about getting involved," Christine says. "We've managed to come out of today... well, better off than we could have. I wouldn't want to push our luck right now. Better to just stay out of their way."
"Also... she hesitates a little, "Regardless of who they are or what they've done... they're still people. We shouldn't use the bio-weapons on them. That shouldn't be the first answer. Against other weapons - for protection against others of their kind - yes, that's... acceptable, I suppose. But these are people..." She sighs inwardly, knowing that her argument was likely to fall on deaf ears.
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Post by Slytherclaw on Jun 6, 2016 22:40:37 GMT
There is an expression of vaguely disgruntled irritation on Amber's face as Kat and Cecil wander off without actually giving her a choice in the matter, but she sets about looking at the jalopy in the meantime. Logically, she knows it's the best choice, but it would have been nice if he'd at least pretended they had input in his plans, instead of deciding and assuming what he said would go. She snorts to herself as she ducks under the side of the jalopy, and starts checking the damage.
UCK5xCx13d6 Tech Education - Is it fixable? How much effort? Any parts missing or needed? How long will this take?
She rolls out from under the vehicle as she hears the two return, peeking out at first to make sure it's actually them.
"That's...horrible," She mutters softly. Topaz's shocks were painful, and she was pretty sure it was just a baby and /not/ trying to hurt her. The poor bear must be in agony. A part of her is vaguely appreciative that Cecil is making this a group decision, though. She gnaws on her bottom lip as she thinks.
"...I want to help," She finally says, looking down. She shakes her head at Kat's question, though. No traps with her duo, sadly. 3d6
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Post by Seya on Jun 6, 2016 22:43:42 GMT
With the ongoing high turning quite drastically sour all of a sudden, Kat has to stop herself--with more than a little effort--at lashing out physically at Christine. She barely succeeds.
(Keep your voice down, at least.)
"This," she snarls, holding up her hatchet a bit too close to the medic's face, "--is a weapon. That--" she jerks her thumb over her shoulder to Rosco, who can't seem to drop the overly-cheerful grin for the life of him, "--is one've the finest fuckin' companions you're gonna ever know, human or otherwise. I get that your kind been livin' with yer heads in the mud for well over a century, so I'll excuse a bitta ignorance. But you might wanna take note that while your so-called 'bio-weapons' are as sharp and deadly as this here blade, they ain't cold hard steel all the way fuckin' through. They bleed just like humans, darlin', and most of 'em deserve it a lot less."
(Breathe, girl, breathe.)
Kat snaps her teeth together and whirls away, tugging out her trap kit with the delicateness of a sledgehammer. "I say we get rid of 'em. If not for the pokemon bein' tortured for show, just 'cause those scum of the wastes don't deserve the breath in their lungs." She begins to set up the trap-- quietly, but with harsh movements and angry gestures. "'They're still people,' she says. I say that 'people' who do that to pokemon that ain't hurtin' nobody are just practicin' for worse." She turns her stare--somewhat softer--to Bunnie, then drives it at Cecil with all the weight of her frustration.
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Post by Robot on Jun 6, 2016 23:05:27 GMT
"Christine." Cecil's tone was firm and warning. "I've been trying to explain this to you over and over. All of yous. You don't like it but it's a different kinda people up here. I get it, you don't want anyone to get hurt. You think they give two fucks if we have bioweapons or not? Their leader managed to kill one that's bigger then I am. You think they'd be gentle if they found us sleeping in the night? At best it might be join or die, at worst? They slit my throat and everyone gets a turn at what Bunnie got, with her going for round two." It was insensitive, but he was done with the naive bullshit, sugar coating it wasn't getting Christine's head out of her ass any faster.
"A fall kills, a pokemon kills, and a bunch of thugs with weapons kill. The difference between the three is intent. An accident there is none, for an animal it's instinct. Humans? Those people? It's rationalized. They have motives, reason, thinking! These aren't fucking children in the park playing dress up. It's a goddamn riot you can want safety and goodwill, and think the best of strangers, but the evil you know? No, fuck that. Come on Amber, you wanna help, let's make a plan."
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Post by Slytherclaw on Jun 6, 2016 23:31:02 GMT
Amber looks up as the conversation progresses, expression going blank as she sorts through the conflicting urges that begin to rush through her. She's still sorting them out when Cecil addresses her. She stares at him for a moment, expression still blank, before taking a step back.
"No." She says after a moment. "No. You don't get to talk to her like that and then get my cooperation." She finally says. "You /just/ said you didn't want to make the choice and take the blame--how dare you act all holier than thou now because Christine doesn't want to make the choice you apparently wanted? Either it's a group decision or it's not, Cecil!"
She turns on Kat, face bright red with anger. "And don't you pull weapons on her, either!" She hisses, shoulders hunching up. "Just because your /bioweapons/ are friendly and subdued doesn't mean that's not what they are!"
"/Her/," She points in Bunnie's direction. "Friendly pets were willing to fight for her too! Until those brainwashing balls of theirs were broken, and then they were perfectly willing to try to tear us apart. So don't you fucking-" The word sounds unnatural on her lips, but she continues anyway, "--dare talk down to us because we acknowledge how dangerous they are. You might be used to them, but that doesn't change what they are."
"I want to help, because I don't like anything being hurt when I can help it, regardless of the fact that it's still a dangerous living weapon. But Christine has the right not to want to without being belittled and /threatened/ for it!"
She narrows her eyes, glaring at the pair as she crosses her arms.
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Post by David Hilm on Jun 6, 2016 23:52:42 GMT
Bunnie clears her throat before joining the rest of the group, addressing Christine specifically.
"I know you don't want to go out there and hurt those people. It goes against not only everything you trained to do back at the Vault, but everything you stand for as a person. And sweetie, that is admirable as hell. But some people don't deserve the privileges of life. They have a world of opportunities out here, literally. And instead of trying to make people's lives better, they're out here hurting these animals."
She pauses, parsing through her thoughts on how she is going to say what she says next.
"I'm not asking you to help do what some of us are about to go do. I'd never dream of it. But I am going to ask that you don't stop us either. Because what we're about to do is for not only our safety, but the safety of an untold number of others. People shouldn't be allowed to prey on the weak."
She steps between Cecil and Kat.
"If they wont help, we wont make them. No one gets to force anyone to do anything. Not while I'm around, anyway. But we're going to need a plan. Bait, probably. Try and get them to come to us a couple at a time hopefully?"
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