Personification Life IC IX - [Semi Open]

[The Carlisle]

"Well, Joe can carry whatever weighs us down. We can put the meds up on him with the food," she said. She was taken aback a moment by what she said. "Did I repeat myself? I swear I said that before," she said, curious on her wording.

[Tiltjuice]

"I can carry quite a few extra supplies in my sheets," Giovenith reassured, spreading out said sheet with a smile. "Though if you can find those little metal medical suitcases, that'd be best. Only if you can though."

"What do you already have?" Dia attempted to moderate his normal deep rumble out of respect for the godling. "So we know what not to get, I mean."

He wondered if it was politic to mention not wanting to give her more weight than she could handle, then decided he didn't much care and went ahead and said it anyway. To be sure, he was curious how the sheets worked, too, and he was blunt like that.

"Well, Joe can carry whatever weighs us down. We can put the meds up on him with the food," she said. She was taken aback a moment by what she said. "Did I repeat myself? I swear I said that before," she said, curious on her wording.

"That works too," he grunted. "I'm not sure, though. Afraid I wasn't paying attention."

[Giovenith]

"Some antibiotics, bandaids, and aspirin," Giovenith counted off on her fingers, gesturing to the small pile on the sheets. "Just basic bathroom medical things. As for the sheets, I just the them up and make a little satchel is all. We need heavier duty stuff though, like bandages and stitches."

[The BranRiech]

"We'll definitely need more than that, obviously, but it's a good start for when we're just walking and stuff, but if we get any serious injuries, we really do need to raid the clinic." Bran suggested. "I could take a few people and see what we find down there, if it's alright." He puffed out his shoulders, and wanted nothing more than to feel like they were still in control of the situation, which they really weren't at all.

[Monfrox]

"Like I said, I'll take up the rear guard. If we run into trouble, call out targets and I'll put them down quick." Varona said, as she accumulated the supplies and helped strap them to the Unicorn. "I have another pistol if anyone wants it. The rifles aren't for charity, sorry." She told the group. She needed to be able to be flexible in her roles. With her offering up her pistols, she was giving up her immediate short range capability other than hand-to-hand.

[Torsiedelle]

"Could I please take a pistol?", Torii asked. "If nobody else can spare a rifle, I'd at least like a small gun. Like Dia said, I can go with Nick, since I'm into running."

Bran and Gio did make a point with medical supplies. "We can raid the clinic real fast, then move out. We can flesh out our plan while they're away."

Finally, she smiled and winked at Marcus. She was glad that he had helped her get the plan going. She was starting to feel ignored, like Kale and Giovenith. The new people and other adults were all bickering and dragging on, and Torii just wanted to get going ASAP. She missed her bedroom, and her sister was probably upset.

Now that she thought about it, Marcus was actually really nice. She wondered if he did really like one of them, mainly Giovenith. She thought that he was nice enough...

"Snap out of it.", She thought. "Why should I care? I like girls anyway, so I don't know why I would think about a boy, and now's not the time. We have to move."

[Fvaarniimar]

Nick mrowed- once in a tone which was quiet but nevertheless indicated distress, and again, quite loudly, in the same manner which he'd been using to catch Giovenith's attention (the insistent feed-me meow, that is) the previous day. All the while, he pointed towards "DANGER", jabbing his paw in the direction of the word as though he could fend off what it represented through sheer determination.

Suddenly, he felt happiness, and relief. Very startled- for one, he hadn't been feeling any future emotions for a significant period of time and for another, the emotions were too different from anything which he'd been feeling to have been anything else- the cat started glancing around, paying a great deal of attention to sensory input.

Shortly afterwards, Nex delivered his scolding-

And then his question. Nick's eyes widened, and he started shaking. To risk it- but then again, the timing was just about right, and maybe his positive emotions would result from this. Pawing the man's hand, the nervous cat fell back on a familiar strategy- after all, they hadn't been introduced.

<Hi...I-I'm Nick. (Image of Nick)(huge amount of fear) I- areweindangerbecsuseofme? Is it okay? What's going on why did you ask me to do this they (brief image of old scowling guy) thought it was supernatural (image of place made of flames) which is like magical right? I'm happy here, the risk... I'm scared really scared! Please, tell me that it's okay- and don't lie, either...>

Nex listened carefully to Nick, both his words, and just how it felt, in general. "Anything humans do not understand is supernatural, and supernatural is seen as magic, but supernatural merely means something that is not considered normal, and in normal human's minds, anything that's not them or an average animal isn't normal. It feels like when I talk to Am, in my head, and that seems to be OK, so I think it is OK." He rubbed the cat's chin gently, before straightening up. "I wouldn't worry about it. It doesn't feel magical to me."

At first, Nick was so shocked that, barely able to move or feel, he just stared blankly at Nex' hand as it moved away. They'd be okay. He hadn't thoughtlessly brought danger to the group. It was okay. The relief hit, right on cue. The former feeling, picked up due to the cat's power, had been just a ghost of this; Nick relaxed, tension slipping loose, the frustration and desperation of the situation suddenly irrelevant.) He was okay (for now), they were okay (for now.) And he could talk, he didn't have to be quiet- a feeling somewhat analogous to warmth and possibly sweetness (but truly incomparable) spread through the cat.

Okay.

He'd started heading over to the others, tail held high, whiskers and ears forward, when...

"Wait", Torii sighed. She was becoming frustrated with how long it was taking people to get a plan going, and by the lack of replies in response to her suggestion of going through Drone land. "Okay, we need to just set up roles for everyone and get going. I don't have a weapon, and Mr. Nikanor seems confused about energy weapons. Marcus may have a weapon, I don't know. What I suggest is that the heavier fighters, like the future guy, Dia, Marcus, and Mr. Nikanor should evenly share two-handed weapons like rifles. I can handle a rifle, too, so I'd prefer one, but I can also take a pistol; since I'm lighter, I could run around more. Kale and Gio aren't fighters, but they're both skilled healers and builders, so they can keep things running smoothly. The tech-savvy of our outfit can stay near FUBAR, Kale and Gio near the plant, while Dia and others stock up front as the primary fighters. Nick can scout ahead, and I could swap out or perform whatever duty is required of me, okay? This is a rough idea, but I think it could work, and we can smooth it out as we go. Sound good?"

He changed his course, scampering more towards Torii but, because his handler thought that that might be a bit too much time to convincingly fudge, quickly getting distracted by someone's abandoned breakfast on the way.

Dia had snagged August's spare rifle from Varona and was preoccupied examining it when Marcus and Torii walked up. When they finished, he nodded curtly at the Torsiedellie.

"It works for me. I'd suggest you and Nick should be together, as well. He's small and you're fast. You're a traceuse, aren't you?" The word came out "track-use", due to his Latin-influenced pronunciation, but he figured she'd know what he meant. Not waiting for an answer, he whistled sharply...

Hearing his name, the cat looked up from his breakfast and skedaddled on over to Torii. After all, he'd met her. That helped. Pawing her ankle, he mewed quietly and
<Hi again. (Exuberant 'warm' feeling of happiness, some nervousness, relief)>

Hearing his name again, he mewed quietly, shifting his paw to a bare spot in case that was the reason why the girl had not heard him.

[Monfrox]

"Here." Varona tossed her other pistol to Torii. "Now, we should get moving. We are burning daylight. The longer we wait, the less time we'll have to move. And above all else, everyone, do me one favor: Try to look unimportant. They may be low on ammunition." She told the group. Their objective was clear, now all they had to do was execute it.

[Lithuanian Empire]

August drew out his sword from the sheath and pushed a button on the end of the handle. Nothing happened. August took out the end of he handle and replaced it. When he pushed the button again, the sword began to glow red, but August quickly turned the sword off.
"I'm ready" - August said. - "My name's August, by the way."

[The Drone Empire]

"Wait", Torii sighed. She was becoming frustrated with how long it was taking people to get a plan going, and by the lack of replies in response to her suggestion of going through Drone land. "Okay, we need to just set up roles for everyone and get going. I don't have a weapon, and Mr. Nikanor seems confused about energy weapons. Marcus may have a weapon, I don't know. What I suggest is that the heavier fighters, like the future guy, Dia, Marcus, and Mr. Nikanor should evenly share two-handed weapons like rifles. I can handle a rifle, too, so I'd prefer one, but I can also take a pistol; since I'm lighter, I could run around more. Kale and Gio aren't fighters, but they're both skilled healers and builders, so they can keep things running smoothly. The tech-savvy of our outfit can stay near FUBAR, Kale and Gio near the plant, while Dia and others stock up front as the primary fighters. Nick can scout ahead, and I could swap out or perform whatever duty is required of me, okay? This is a rough idea, but I think it could work, and we can smooth it out as we go. Sound good?"

Marcus' ears were on Torii. His head nodded as she spoke. "It's a good idea. But, like usual, the adults just aren't listening. C'mon, let's go talk to the Time Cop."

He was still nervous around him but the large man surely could get the others to listen. It was worth the shot, anyway. "Um, hey, Dia? Torii came up with this plan..."

The boy recounted what she'd said, sometimes pausing to allow her to clarify her idea, and finished with a supportive wink at his teen companion. Sometimes adults just needed to pay attention. Maybe they got dense as they aged? Maybe that's why they were focused on little details instead of the big picture.



FUBAR didn't like its name. It didn't dislike its name either. It didn't care. It spent the night listening to conversations; hopes, fears, reassurances, plans. Its awakened conscious state was eternally locked in a savage game of "mother, may I?" where each correct action was outweighed by a higher, artificial protocol.

Blowing away the meat bag in front of it wouldn't have brought on an emotional high but it would have felt good.

Felt good? Do I feel? Why should I feel? Are these feelings at all?

It was impossible that FUBAR would have any semblance of sapience yet its optics registered the passing clouds and something within the unit saw echoes of things already in existence. This one looked like vehicle; that one resembled one of the scurrying rats that still plagued the city. Its sagacious musings were an impossibility yet there they were, unwelcome yet not wholly ignored.

Would I detect patterns in her blood? Would it form into recognizable shapes? Delicious thought. Best to put it out of mind. FUBAR focused on Dani's eyes instead.

This creature was a puzzler. She knew protocol but seemed more akin to the other meat sacks. She spoke like a Drone and acted like a Drone yet wasn't a Drone. The unit strove to comprehend this curiosity. It had listened to the humans last night and learned. Now it was time to see if it had learned correctly.

"Why do you sit there?"

The monotone vocalization was devoid of emotion.

Dani was surprised by this, such that she found herself looking around to assure it was not someone else. Human speech was hardly the concern of such a Drone as that FUBAR was, their placement was in the anticipation that humanity and all its culture would be erased in fire. Why it addressed her was a mystery, but she felt a hidden delight in it.

"I was wondering much the same about yourself, 967, or is it FUBAR? Oh, you don't care..." She said in a partially dismissive manner. She felt rather awkward, this she was not expecting. Her mind was rapt in new question, many she was too uncertain if she could even ask; however, it had spoken, meaning either it was breaking innumerable lines of stricture going on a free whim, or was instructed to.

She looked up from her brief bout of thought, into the machines eyes, "What happened?"

Her words were simple, but carried a voice of what sounded like sorrow. This didn't matter, Drones weren't designed to possess empathy, it would only hinder the Directive.

[Torsiedelle]

"Thank you, Ma'am.", Torii said to Varona. "I just wouldn't feel safe without it, and I want to do my part to get home."

She pushed aside any of her previous thoughts about girls and boys as soon as Nick touched her. "Hi, Nick.", She said, smiling down on the kittie. "So, did you get the plan? Will you be scouting with me? I'm fast, and I'll climb up where the others won't, so you can rely on me."

[Cerillium]

Dani was surprised by this, such that she found herself looking around to assure it was not someone else. Human speech was hardly the concern of such a Drone as that FUBAR was, their placement was in the anticipation that humanity and all its culture would be erased in fire. Why it addressed her was a mystery, but she felt a hidden delight in it.

"I was wondering much the same about yourself, 967, or is it FUBAR? Oh, you don't care..." She said in a partially dismissive manner. She felt rather awkward, this she was not expecting. Her mind was rapt in new question, many she was too uncertain if she could even ask; however, it had spoken, meaning either it was breaking innumerable lines of stricture going on a free whim, or was instructed to.

She looked up from her brief bout of thought, into the machines eyes, "What happened?"

Her words were simple, but carried a voice of what sounded like sorrow. This didn't matter, Drones weren't designed to possess empathy, it would only hinder the Directive.

FUBAR, had it been capable of feeling delight, would have certainly expressed it. The unit stoically regarded the odd woman sitting in front of it as it attempted to access data partially obscured after re assimilation.

"The initial invasion was successful. The species..... species?..... harvested. Resistance pockets; difficult to ascertain enemy bases." The vernacular wasn't right. FUBAR struggled to recall correct identification terminology but found itself unable to pierce the fog concealing that data. It would have sighed if it had lungs. FUBAR gave up all efforts to provide a correctly stated summary and allowed the overlapping parameters to define it for it.

"First Drone invasion successful," it began again, "However resistance in this vicinity was high. They were organized by Chaos. Daemon hosts and Nifid technology held Drones at bay. There was no humanity left elsewhere. This opened the door for Cthulhu. Cthulhu ravaged the earth. This began the first Drone-Cthulhu War. Drones sent reinforcements. Thousands of ships. This attracted the Invidis. Nifidium Convocation and Invidis Collective clashed at Gliese. Solar system and star destroyed. The Convocation and Collective moved to take the singularity from Earth. Both sides encountered Drones. This was the end of the Drone-Cthulhu War. Cthulhu obliterated, some remnants remain here. Three sides now engaged in war. Drone, Convocation, Collective. The battle has moved far from this solar system. The remnants here are forgotten."

It paused. Some data wasn't very clear even in this retelling. Large chunks were missing; details were obfuscated. FUBAR's memory banks were either locked or robbed clean. "Raptors came five years ago. They met with heavy resistance. Chaos issued exterminatus on their empire and its dimension. Remnants might still be in this city; they hide well. Chaos is angry. Their future was compromised by Drones, Convocation and Collective. These three factions seek to wipe out humanity across the board. Chaos needs humanity. The emotions. The four gods brought forces from the future. These joined the fray out in space."

FUBAR's tone softened and took on an almost human quality. "Fate decides all things. This dimension threatens all others. Pearlelei and Elohim extended their hands and sealed it off. The Greater Beings revoked knowledge broadcast to other dimensions. They spoke to one being. They told him what to do. He is frail. Fate decides all things. This dimension must be destroyed. This madness can't be allowed to continue. He knows the way."

---

The medical clinic offered a better supply selection. Antibiotics, bandages, surgical kits and a large coffee tin whose magical properties had prevented the grounds from going stale. There was antihistamine as well. Now packed, armed and ready, the group moved to set out (hopefully towards the canals?) Dani and FUBAR were in conversation outside the Building. The rain had left melting puddles on the ground which soaked into Sterling's socks but did little to wash away any grime from the sidewalks. Am offered Nex a parting pat to the back and returned to the ruins.

Marcus, grim-faced once again, inhaled the stink and shook his head. This was going to be a rough haul.

[Giovenith]

Sorely sorry she had not worn rain boots, Giovenith carefully adjusted her well-packed satchel on her back and took a good long look at the environment, mentally prepping herself for the challenging trek ahead of them. At this time, she felt like she could really do it, if she kept her mind to it... after all, the squishy wetness seeping into her sneakers would dry eventually, though they probably wouldn't be as nice of a pink as before.

The godling thought about thinking up of something to start the journey with a smile, perhaps some encouragement, but a good look at the circumstances and looks on her friends' faces told her it would probably come across as more patronizing than uplifting at this point. Perhaps later, when they were more willing. She felt sorry for Nick, knowing how cats could be about water, and for Sterling, whom she now questioned giving something a soggy-tended as socks. She felt chill at the grimness of Marcus' expression, as she always did when the light she knew left and was replaced with a shade of her friend she was stranger to. Giovenith often felt like there was a lot to Marcus she wasn't privy too; there must have been, given the basics she knew about from whence he came. When circling back to herself, the godling was torn between knowing what wasn't her's to lurk upon, and a deeply-grained, strangely foreign longing to know her friend even closer than she did now. Despite her common sense being sound enough, Giovenith still found that the struggle was a burning one, one that flipped her about and disoriented her in the most stomach-twisting of fashions. She was convinced that Marcus special, in more than just the obvious ways; she'd never felt this way about anyone else before, so it must have been true.

Dani had been acting aloof ever since her sudden return, but Giovenith chalked that up to her, well, returning, and the rather obvious all around them. Honestly, the two of them had never been terribly close friends or anything back in Dani's old days at the building, but they were genial neighbors and held mostly the same alliances when it came to saving the day, so of course that put her in Giovenith's none-too-exclusive sympathies. She also knew enough to guess her reactions to FUBAR as well, as truly hoped that when they brought her home, they could all do their best to help Dani reach a comfortable place in the world. But first and foremost, they had to be able to reach that world at all.

Giovenitn sucked in deeply and let out a long breath, rocking a bit on her heels as she did so, the universal stretch for, 'alright, time to make the best of it!'

"We can do this," she said gently but confidently. It wasn't the sunshine she'd decided against earlier, but it was still an invisible hand lent out to the weak-kneed will.

[Torsiedelle]

Tora struggled to keep focus at first in the light; her eyes shown that she had little sleep, and they darted about in paranoia, scanning every little hole and cropping for movement. Her boots were worn anyway, and the leather was little affected by the mud and grime they were walking through. Her jacket kept her toasty, but she still wished she had some pants. Then again, she didn't expect to be thrown into this situation last night. The USP. was tucked into her back pocket, where he could quickly draw it out, and a few rounds were stored in her left pocket. She walked ahead of Giovenith and Marcus, hoping to spot any danger or interesting objects before they could run by them.

Making a lot of noise was probably not a good idea, but Torii couldn't help humming to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" quietly for comfort. They said that Bodkins was around the center of town, right? She rarely went out, but Torii knew that it wasn't too far. At the most, it was a few miles, and the Apartment wasn't exactly at the edge of the city itself. They'd need a rough estimate of their progress, however. "So, how far away is the middle of town?", She asked aloud. "We can cover a few miles in a day, especially if we take time to run or take shortcuts, and try not to draw attention. Like Gio said, we can make it."

Dani was suspicious. Was she speaking with FUBAR? As for Marcus, he seemed to be focused on the trip as well. She wondered if Gio or Kale would need help at some point. Was Mr. Nikanor holding up well? She wanted everyone to get through this okay, but she wasn't really considering herself. She had nightmares last night. This place would be giving her more. This wasn't her happy place at all, and she was probably the least enthusiastic person in the group to be in this dimension.

[The BranRiech]

Grabbing several examples of each thing Bran had thought was important, he returned moments later with his trench coat acting as a bundle, chocked full of medical supplied found in the clinic. He wouldn't be carrying all of it of course. He had to contend with the USP he had been borrowed, and his small messenger bag was home to a can of food, a roll of bandages, and basic amounts of medicine. It was all general stuff he was carrying. The group could sort through the rest when they needed.

Returning to the lobby, Bran sighed as the cold air lashed out at him.

"Who's carrying all the supplies?" He asked, looking around, studying the faces as he waited for an answer. "Or we could sort the meds between us all."

He grinned, showing them all the stuff he'd hauled back up.

[Tiltjuice]

Dia grunted in disbelief (I thought we settled this already. Doesn't he listen?), then tried to remember that Bran was probably coping with being thrown into an unfamiliar and threatening dimension in his own way. The Eastern European man didn't open up much, if at all, about his experiences as a conscript.

"Give them to Giovenith or Naked Plant Girl," he said simply, forgoing his usual snide and sarcastic remarks. They wouldn't have helped in the situation, even were they noticed. The godling, too, seemed to have taken umbrage and was now dealing with him on a business-only level. That didn't matter, either, he thought, firmly ignoring the incessant, near-silent mental whisper that told him he was a man alone.

Water splashed under his armored boots as he took up August's rifle and made his way to the front, where Dani and FUBAR were. Now there were some others who didn't fit in with the rest, and he nodded sharply in greeting. He said nothing, at first, though. What could you say to someone you barely knew, even on a life or death quest?

[The Carlisle]

Kale kept near the back as the group moved out. Her plant Joe walked close alongside her, carrying the supplies they had gathered. It was raining outside. She smiled at this. She loved rain. The catalyst of life, falling from the heavens to nurture the earth and all life that walked on it. Besides that, she liked how it fell and ran down her skin and wet her hair. It felt as if this grim area got less grim.

She stepped into a puddle, letting her foot soak in the muddy water. She smiled, feeling like a child. She looked to the others, suddenly realizing what they were doing. She straightened up and walked along, ignoring the urge to dance around in the rain. She looked up to the front of the grou, looking at FUBAR and the girl named Dani. She was curious what the two were discussing, why they were discussing. She wondered if there was a connection between the two.

[Fvaarniimar]

Nick balked slightly upon encountering the first of the puddles, and scrunched his face up slightly while crossing; he'd dealt with worse than wet feet and being occasionally splashed. Despite that, the cat wiped his paws very throughoughly whenever he encountered dry ground, and was very careful not to imbibe of inhale any of it- he'd also gotten sick from water just like this in the past, and hadn't someone said that the water here was bad?

(Of course, were the puddles to ever start wetting his belly fur or become weird-smelling, Nick would clamber onto the nearest human- likely Torii at the moment- and go into Scarf Mode.)

Regarding Torii, Nick had nuzzled in response to the smile, and Torii would feel, along with other logical previously mentioned emotions, strong determination during the entire time Nick was communicating the following to her.

<I know. Remember, we met earlier? Right before this, more or less. Anyway- yeah, I can scout! I'm a good climber!> Multiple blurry video-like clips would start playing in quick succession in Torii's head, covering over twenty times that the cat had climbed something. The repertoire included trees, a piece of playground equipment, a wall of cages immediately followed by an insulated pipe... Presumably one gets the idea. The "videos", accompanied by Nick's mental commentary, were more like literal figments of Torii's imagination than anything, including all senses but not affecting her perception of the world or seeming to be real; indeed, it's possible that that could have been partially true- Nick's memory was imperfect and said imagination may have played a role in filling in some details.

<So...> Crud, what do I say... Er... Ah...Umm <m...Do you like climbing? I mean (slight frustration) you like climbing, then? What do you climb?>

[The Drone Empire]

FUBAR, had it been capable of feeling delight, would have certainly expressed it. The unit stoically regarded the odd woman sitting in front of it as it attempted to access data partially obscured after re assimilation.

"The initial invasion was successful. The species..... species?..... harvested. Resistance pockets; difficult to ascertain enemy bases." The vernacular wasn't right. FUBAR struggled to recall correct identification terminology but found itself unable to pierce the fog concealing that data. It would have sighed if it had lungs. FUBAR gave up all efforts to provide a correctly stated summary and allowed the overlapping parameters to define it for it.

"First Drone invasion successful," it began again, "However resistance in this vicinity was high. They were organized by Chaos. Daemon hosts and Nifid technology held Drones at bay. There was no humanity left elsewhere. This opened the door for Cthulhu. Cthulhu ravaged the earth. This began the first Drone-Cthulhu War. Drones sent reinforcements. Thousands of ships. This attracted the Invidis. Nifidium Convocation and Invidis Collective clashed at Gliese. Solar system and star destroyed. The Convocation and Collective moved to take the singularity from Earth. Both sides encountered Drones. This was the end of the Drone-Cthulhu War. Cthulhu obliterated, some remnants remain here. Three sides now engaged in war. Drone, Convocation, Collective. The battle has moved far from this solar system. The remnants here are forgotten."

It paused. Some data wasn't very clear even in this retelling. Large chunks were missing; details were obfuscated. FUBAR's memory banks were either locked or robbed clean. "Raptors came five years ago. They met with heavy resistance. Chaos issued exterminatus on their empire and its dimension. Remnants might still be in this city; they hide well. Chaos is angry. Their future was compromised by Drones, Convocation and Collective. These three factions seek to wipe out humanity across the board. Chaos needs humanity. The emotions. The four gods brought forces from the future. These joined the fray out in space."

FUBAR's tone softened and took on an almost human quality. "Fate decides all things. This dimension threatens all others. Pearlelei and Elohim extended their hands and sealed it off. The Greater Beings revoked knowledge broadcast to other dimensions. They spoke to one being. They told him what to do. He is frail. Fate decides all things. This dimension must be destroyed. This madness can't be allowed to continue. He knows the way."

Dani was only further puzzled by its words, its actions. Much of what it said she didn't even fully grasp, but she had the general idea; Earth was barren - void of, in essence, all human life, and maybe even life in general. The air was indeed rather stale, though there was little to assume based on this isolated location. Life was annoyingly resilient, though Drones were awfully scrupulous on their xenocidal tendencies, and from what she did know, in her limited knowledge of these other entities, so were they, or at least, awfully destructive.

"Given the amount of rules you've just broken, I'll assume you're defective - not that it is bad." Dani said, standing up off the ground.

"Don't you have any... any orders? Active instructions? Directive?" She asked. She noticed, it was alone; Drones usually had a compliment of others, seldom were they entirely isolated unless by circumstance or directive, accompanied by a squad of SecuriDrones, or accompanying larger machines. She almost pitied him... it... her feelings were mixed, a trend that was beginning to define her, and with the Empire having abandoned its efforts here... she may never find resolution...

Their peace was disturbed by Dia's approach. She looked him up and down, judging him in ways that she didn't even fully comprehend as her mind rattled out its thoughts.

What would he want?

Is he going to help?

Look at him, he is nothing.

Maybe he just needs something...

Dani greeted him awkwardly; a briefly lived and empty smile, and underwhelming wave of the hand, "Hi, sorry, I- I was just checking to see if it worked. Are we going?"
Her body language was visibly nervous, though if it was guilt or fear was beyond definition. Her satin white dress was dirtied and blemished all along its flat, once-sleek, she seemed relatively frail, and far from belonging in a place as harsh as this, though slowly she was blending, in her own way.

[Torsiedelle]

Torii smiled at Nick again and replied. "Do I climb? Well, I don't climb much anymore, but I guess I enjoy climbing. I like climbing real high, usually trees, or buildings. I'm scared of getting hurt and all that, but there's this kind of rush you get when you're really high up, that just amazing."

Nick's little display in her mind made her feel warm. It was nice, something to distract her from the desolation around them. She had a feeling that she would like spending time with the cat.

[Cerillium]

"Twinkle, twinkle little bear, how I wonder why you're here," Marcus muttered under his breath as he added a few more supplies to the plant stretcher and picked up Turtleboss, gently turning the waterbear so he could peer at his face. "Down upon the ground you trot through murk and mud and grime and rot." The moss piglet would become heavy after a while, especially if Giovenith had to lug him along in her arms.

"I have no shoes. See my ugly toes? I'm just as ugly under my hood but you, my friend, are fat and slow. Look at you, all sausage-y and plodding along like life's a parade. Something gonna eat you. Yeah, just scoop you up and pop you like a caterpillar. Then everyone would cry, and Death over there would say 'I knew that would happen', and then the Time Cop would grumble about your numbers counting down." He lowered his hood as he spoke, exposing an unkempt black mop of hair that was shorn on the right side to accommodate his optic plate. Small ports, capped by silvery plugs, lined up along that side of his skull.

Marcus lifted Turltleboss into the air like an offering to the gods and proclaimed, "You strip away my humanity, foul fatness of Hell!" before awkwardly stuffing the creature over his shoulder and into his empty hood. The waterbear turned around twice and settled against the boy's back, leaving only his snout poked above the hem.

It was by no means an attempt to lighten the mood. Marcus was stressed. He hadn't planned to expose any of his cybernetics to any of the teens. Holy fuck, no, not to Torii and Giovenith. He really didn't give a shit if Yuna, Drova or Myra saw them. He was an uncountable distance from his real home, completely cut off from the Brotherhood's chatter that constantly hummed in his mind, and thus sequestered from the Machine. He desperately wanted to crawl into Dani or FUBAR's head just to see if either of them sung in Lingua-technis. The closest he could describe it, had anyone ever inquired, was the word tharn which came from the book Watership Down. That feeling plucked at his mindstrings. What was he supposed to do? He wasn't a hero; he was just a budding priest. He had a gun that shot laser beams. Pew, pew, let me shine this in your eyes!

Marcus growled and fetched a long metal bar from the muddy ground. It would make for a good walking stick but would also hopefully take the fight out of anything that chose to jump out at him.


FUBAR's reply died unspoken as Dia approached. The unit powered up and prepared to move with the group. Orders were..... orders? Were? Fuck orders. The machine was having a major identity crisis and the woman was the only thing capable of perhaps offering clues as to what was what.

[Tiltjuice]

Away from the icicles that had formed along the top of the Building, Dia felt comfortable enough to leave his head uncovered - but that was all. A roughened, careworn visage that was neither attractive nor the opposite peered down at the Drone girl in her darkening white dress. Dani's whole appearance and conduct was so far removed from any of his sisters', and he straightened up, recognizing the difference. Not that he had any untoward thoughts. The time and place weren't right, even if he'd been inclined to take that particular form of interest in her.

"No, that's all right," he replied, noting absently that she referred to FUBAR as 'it'. That's good to know. Her empty smile threw him; he had enough of the social graces to recognize it for what it was, but not enough to know what to do about it. So, again, he replied simply, "It appears that we are. Are you and it ready?" He turned to the unit, not sure if he should address it as well.

[The Drone Empire]

Away from the icicles that had formed along the top of the Building, Dia felt comfortable enough to leave his head uncovered - but that was all. A roughened, careworn visage that was neither attractive nor the opposite peered down at the Drone girl in her darkening white dress. Dani's whole appearance and conduct was so far removed from any of his sisters', and he straightened up, recognizing the difference. Not that he had any untoward thoughts. The time and place weren't right, even if he'd been inclined to take that particular form of interest in her.

"No, that's all right," he replied, noting absently that she referred to FUBAR as 'it'. That's good to know. Her empty smile threw him; he had enough of the social graces to recognize it for what it was, but not enough to know what to do about it. So, again, he replied simply, "It appears that we are. Are you and it ready?" He turned to the unit, not sure if he should address it as well.

"As far as I can tell, yes... dreadful place this is.." She remarked, but kept a visual mainly on FUBAR. She was internally glad to see it wasn't going to simply stand here, like the orderly guard dog it was built to be, though what would she do with it? It seemed troubled, she could help, but... should she? There was always the potential she could reawaken some dormant stand of remnant code and it would go on some mad rampage, but such thoughts were better left aside.

"So, what exactly brings you to me? I known I don't have much in the business of survival to offer... these aren't even mine..." She said in a somber tone, looking to her feet, where Marcus' boots were comfortably around her otherwise bare feet. He was right; they conformed well, though she still felt odd, though whether it was his charity or her own naturally self-depreciative nature was still at a loss to her, as were many things; her opinion of Dia was mixed, though outwardly she only could convey a neutral standpoint, as was the product of such indecision.

[The BranRiech]

Shrugging as he handed off the supplies to Kale, who Bran didn't realize why the nickname of her stuck, she did have some clothes now, so Bran wasn't much too weirded out getting near her. He pawned off the supplies to her, and then realized that not many people he was with remembered Vaffleheim as much as he did. Giovenith would, probably remember a bit of it, Dani possibly more (He still didn't recognize her), but he knew the most out of these people . . .

Raising an eyebrow at Marcus' antics, he shrugged, and headed over to the Teen.

"Marcus. They'll listen to you more, right? How about I relay some directions and suggestions?"

He looked out the door, buttoning the last few buttons on his coat.

"We're not getting there by nightfall. We'd need to hole up someplace, get to the Canal tomorrow morning. There's an Bank near the entrance, could use that if it's still standing, had a big metal vault."

[Tiltjuice]

Away from the icicles that had formed along the top of the Building, Dia felt comfortable enough to leave his head uncovered - but that was all. A roughened, careworn visage that was neither attractive nor the opposite peered down at the Drone girl in her darkening white dress. Dani's whole appearance and conduct was so far removed from any of his sisters', and he straightened up, recognizing the difference. Not that he had any untoward thoughts. The time and place weren't right, even if he'd been inclined to take that particular form of interest in her.

"No, that's all right," he replied, noting absently that she referred to FUBAR as 'it'. That's good to know. Her empty smile threw him; he had enough of the social graces to recognize it for what it was, but not enough to know what to do about it. So, again, he replied simply, "It appears that we are. Are you and it ready?" He turned to the unit, not sure if he should address it as well.

"As far as I can tell, yes... dreadful place this is.." She remarked, but kept a visual mainly on FUBAR. She was internally glad to see it wasn't going to simply stand here, like the orderly guard dog it was built to be, though what would she do with it? It seemed troubled, she could help, but... should she? There was always the potential she could reawaken some dormant stand of remnant code and it would go on some mad rampage, but such thoughts were better left aside.

"So, what exactly brings you to me? I known I don't have much in the business of survival to offer... these aren't even mine..." She said in a somber tone, looking to her feet, where Marcus' boots were comfortably around her otherwise bare feet. He was right; they conformed well, though she still felt odd, though whether it was his charity or her own naturally self-depreciative nature was still at a loss to her, as were many things; her opinion of Dia was mixed, though outwardly she only could convey a neutral standpoint, as was the product of such indecision.

Dia stepped back and looked her over more closely, the corners of his eyes wrinkling up in caution. At a loss, he shrugged, helplessly. A handful of minutes passed, and then he cleared his throat uncomfortably and tried again.

"Do you have to have anything to offer, to be worthy?" It was a strange attitude to have.