The squeal of tires was hell in her ears, almost nostalgic. Nenshou Mouko peeled around another corner in the Mephisto, the sporty vehicle cornering like a fine-tuned instrument. Her civilian clothing belief the stalwart look in her onyx eyes, the red slip-on dress hugging at her hips lightly with a simple leather jacket to protect her from the winter sting.
Rubble strewn about the streets broke like so much nothing against its reinforced chassis. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see the first beginnings of a relief squad on this particular site. Bringing the vehicle to a dead stop, she exited swiftly and made for the nearest Orpheus agent.
Trembling and head darting around wildly, the young man almost jumped when she addressed him. "Corporal! SitRep, now."
"Ma'am!" He seemed to straighten under her gaze. "We uhh- we have two squads counting on search and rescue, one on transport."
A grim look crossed Mouko's face, and she patted him on the shoulder before passing him. "Communications down, active enemy contacts in the city, and growing casualties... seems like a bad situation, doesn't it?"
He looked down, unwilling to answer.
"It's these scenarios we were trained for, Corporal. Head up, chin out. We were ready for this." Mouko announced, before immediately surveying the area.
Vermilion energy peeled from her form, full of life and warmth that furled outwards into the form of great cats! The twin tigers, Ryou and Ishi, immediately searched amongst the rubble. In an instant she was dashing about, the Major moving from person to person. Rubble was shifted, limbs freed. Coughing, choked thanks from between lungfuls of dust and ash.
Towards the center, she could see thick plumes of oily smoke wafting into the Tokyo skyline.
Edward was lucky enough to be bringing home some equipment from work to do some training. Then the explosions struck. Getting the heavy flak jacket on seemed like a sensible thing to do after that. Now his rifle, with his father’s silver pendant fashioned into the stock, was slung over his shoulder and loosely wrapped with his coat. The rubble wasn’t light enough for him to move on his own, but with the training Avelina had been hammering into his head his senses were getting sharper.
“There’s someone under this slab, if you would”, the half-German boy directed one fellow soldier to a block of rubble that was then easily moved. His attention turned to a woman garbed more for a fancy dinner party than what was strewn about. One of the other Orpheus men regarded her as a superior, perhaps it was time to officially check in.
Gathering energy from around him to the soles of his feet, Edward easily covered the distance with a single Hirenkyaku.
Skidding to a halt, Ed stood straight before the woman who had just summoned tigers out of thin air, “Corporal Suijinja, reporting in! Where would you have me help, Ma’am? I’m sort of new at this whole thing, technically still in training.”
A giant bird soared over the fancy car and landed on the ground. The bird looked something like a massively oversized eagle and was carrying an equally unusual passenger. It looked at the soldier-woman rather intently as the unusual girl riding it dismounted.
The unusual girl had a big, bushy fox tail and browinish red fox ears poking out of her messy auburn hair. She was probably in her late teens or very early twenties, but she had a childlike energy as she bounded off the back of the bird of prey, wearing a light jacket with fur lining and a lilac shirt beneath it. Her pants were the blackish color of the jacket, but her whimsical expression was far more the nature of the lilac shirt. Sticking out of the pockets of her jacket were paintbrushes, none of which had any color dabbed into them, and all of which were slightly oversized and extremely bushy, clearly being more ornamental than functional.
The eccentric Kitsune was told by an exasperated Cerberus official that she could spot who she was looking for by the tigers in her company. Safe bet this was Moky-something-or-other. “Mystery Man said I could come to you in order to help out?”
205 Words
205 Total
NPC Annika Reynolds
Annika Reynolds Cerberus Corporation, Manga Artist
Reiatsu: 16150 Art Imitates Life: 17765 Life Imitates Art: 23095 Magnum Opus: 25404 Combat: 1150 Agility: 5000 Resistance: 10000
Appearance: Reddish brown hair falls downAnnika's back and her eyes are the deepest crimson ever concieved, but these are far from her most distinguishing features. She has a fox tail and fox ears resultant from her painting them on with her abilities. She doesn't act twenty, and probably doesn't look it either, so is often confused with being far younger than she is.
Persona: Annika has very little direction in life, simply going wherever her whims take her. She still behaves a lot like a little kid, mostly in regard to her reactions to situations displaying a decided lack of emotional maturity. She doesn't like using her projections, the creations she makes with her paintbrush, for violence, but she is willing to if she has to. She believes that art ought to exist only for art's sake, a point of contention between herself and her friend Fukushin.
Race: Advent Human
Biography: Annika was lost for some time in the wilderness. That was where her abilities first awakened, and one of her paintings came to life to protect her. After being alone for months, with just her drawings to keep her company, she encountered Fukushin. She was afraid, so fought him off at first, but he eventually befriended her. Eight years have passed, and in that time Annika completed her childhood education and simply disappeared again, this time to travel the world and find interesting things. However, its hard to make money doing that, so she wound up in Japan, seeking to become a manga artist.
Awakening: Art Imitates Life Realistic Depiction: At the cost of 5% Annika's reiatsu, a creature can be painted. Typically using a paintbrush for precision's sake, the creature must be outlined two-dimensionally in the air before taking three-dimensional form. The creature behaves the way Annika wants it to behave, and is able to be destroyed as per a normal reiatsu construct. No more than one construct may be created per turn, and no more than one per 20% Resonance may be maintained at one time. Annika must pay 250 reiatsu per turn upkeep to prevent 'decay', if she does not, the constructs decay at a standard barrier rate. Painted in Blood: When a construct would be destroyed per normal construct rules, Annika can pay an additional 5% to repair the painting, refreshing it to 'good as new' condition. This does not count against her Art Imitates Life creations for the turn. Resonant Attack: Performance Art: Once per turn, Annika can channel 10% of her reiatsu into one of her constructs in order to deliver a powerful attack in the form that makes most sense for that construct - a painted Dragon unleashing a breath attack, or a giant snake having a venomous bite for instance. Despite perceived versatility, this in fact can be quite limiting, because the Performance Art ability of a painted whale might be described as 'rather underwhelming'. True Awakening: Life Imitates Art Instillation Art: No longer simply limited to materializing living creatures, once her true powers awaken, Annika is able to maintain the creation of inanimate objects as well. Inanimate objects are not able to deliver Performance Art attacks and maintain their construct-like status under the provisions of Life Imitates Art. So Lifelike:Annika's creatures are more alive than ever, no longer subject to 'decay' and not requiring upkeep. They do more than simply prevent themselves from falling apart, however. While So Lifelike is active, the creatures projected by her art (not her Instillation Art), recover 3% of Annika's reiatsu per turn, divided among the current number of non-Instillation projections. Overdrive: Magnum Opus The Great Work: Art, like alchemy, is centered around the creation of a Great Work. By dispelling all current projections of art, expending her Resonance and at the cost of half her remaining reiatsu, Annika can create a work of art that stands the test of time. Magnum Opus projections do not count toward her total number of projections, do not require her concentration, act of their own free will, and are not subject to the rules regarding construct destruction, instead requiring the opponent to truly 'kill' them. Magnum Opus projections must be animate creatures (or Annika's augments to herself, as her ears and tail are manifestations of Magnum Opus) and she cannot communicate with or control them telepathically. They may expend their own reiatsu using a variation of Performance Art at a cost of 10% of the Magnum Opus construct's power once per turn, but if a Magnum Opus completely expends its reiatsu it ceases to exist. Although theoretically possible for more than one Magnum Opera to exist at once, with the exception of Annika's self-augmentation only one can engage any single enemy.
Loadout: 20,000 ₢ Bio-Augment: Dynoac
Bio-Augment: Chealon
Booster: Cybercell D
Booster: Cybercell D
Aerosol: Tethysane
Aerosol: Tethysane
Aerosol: Tethysane
Only minutes prior to the madness, Tama was on his way home from the store near the Bay. His mother had been complaining about having to make their hot chocolate with water, and so he went to try and appease her complaint. The plastic bag rustled softly in the breeze, carrying a half-gallon of milk and a few snacks with it. Even after all the time that had passed, the Native still found that he could never stop thinking about that encounter with the supernatural. His life had been unnervingly quiet ever since then, but it hadn't stopped him from following the instructions from his father's belongings in the hopes of putting his powers to good use. It was still difficult to convince himself that the whole night wasn't just a really lucid dream, but the powers he had acquired since then were more than real.
It's been a few months since that strange monster came after me and the strange hybrid came to help... he mused. Am I truly going crazy? The spirits of the dead still roam the city and occasionally I still feel their presence, but the monstrous signatures have never stuck around for more than two hours before vanishing. Why haven't I heard anything about them?
Then the world exploded.
A few blocks ahead of him, a building simply erupted into little bits of rubble. The bag dropped to the ground as he watched and listened to the sound of his uncertain world being blasted apart. Screams began to sound out all around him, creating a dissonant din that served as a backdrop to the terror that now shook his earthen eyes. He was shellshocked, not even flinching at the wide assortment of spiritual power too far from his position. Neither part of his heritage, human nor archer, could have prepared him to witness the emergence of sudden chaos.
And so he stood, eyes wide, waiting for the nightmare to collapse.
WARNING: Determined casualties unknown. Local heat signatures oh-nine-six.
Half-stooped from shifting a larger piece of debris, Mouko pursed her lips. Greenhorns, why did she always get the greenhorns?
Repressing the sigh and giving a tight-lipped nod, she motioned to the distance, towards the epicenter of this particular blast. "Quincy? Good, you'll be useful. Clear the surrounding block, take him," she motioned to one of the tigers at her side, "and keep yourself clear of any contaminated materials."
Rushing back to her car, she withdrew a small roll of what appeared to be brightly colored tape. Tossing it to Edward, she continued in a rush. "Flag any hotspots. If it's still smoking, consider it hazardous. Locate casualties, help get them onto him. No time for confirmation, get going."
Of the other two, one was a complete mystery. Dressed in what appeared to be an overly elaborate costume, she nodded gratefully nonetheless. "We're setting up a first aid station centered here. For now, help me get a partition up - we'll need to start screening once casualties start coming in."
Without explaining, the Major popped the trunk. Withdrawing a small bundle from the back, she unrolled it into a ground sheet wide enough to cover a good portion of the disturbed concrete. Still inside the trunk, what appeared to be a pair of small folded cots and a first aid kit remained.
Turning back to the costumed woman, she spoke as slowly and carefully as she could manage. "There are gloves in the first aid kit. I want you to wear them, and check people coming into the station for infection. If they are infected, have them wait on this tarp. Use the cots if you need to."
A distance away, a small number of people stood transfixed. Among them, she could catch the distinct feel of spiritual energy lying within a small few. Chancing what luck she had, she approached one. Tanned and possessing a round face, Mouko placed a soft hand against the Native American's neck. "Sir, I need you to pay attention, okay?
"Can you walk?"
[ 339 / 631 ]
Notes
Resonance: 200/22,500 (1%)
Casualties will officially start to arrive next round. Use this one to set up any stations you can, because they'll be coming in quickly and Mouko can only heal one at a time for now. Resonance generated thus far is from Internalize.
“If he can’t, I can help him.” From behind Mouka a young man in his early twenties approached. He was dressed in black slacks and a plain white collar shirt, clean-shaven with black hair that was short and neatly combed to one side. Nothing else about the man stood out as note-worthy, and it was obvious the man hadn’t been around when the chaos broke out - a good Samaritan then?
“The name’s Michael Werner and I’m from Zeus. I can start helping direct more people, Major Nenshou, unless you’d rather I be doing something else.” Turning away from Mouko, the young man stared out towards the billowing plume of smoke.
“Clear the block, I can do that!” Edward caught the tape and sprung to action, the tiger beside him somewhat unsettling but easily keeping pace. His senses couldn’t quite make out what made up the explosives that had rocked this neighborhood, but the overwhelming feeling was just that of something wrong.
A few locations smoldered, with no other signs of life. Rather than getting close to whatever had caused this Ed tied a length of the warning tape onto some loose debris. With a lob in one direction to anchor the first end of the black and yellow tape he made crude barricades to ward off the gathering civilian crowd.
“Get back!” he called to them with a strong sense of purpose in his voice. Hopefully flak jacket he wore would off-put the intangible tiger that kept pace. Luck was on his side, some of the rubbernecks put away their phones and moved quickly towards the odd block that didn’t have smoke rising upwards.
“My girl friend is under this beam!” one man cried out from within the tape.
Of course he was within the hazardous area, and barely a half a block in. Seeing the fear in the man’s eyes from both what was occurring and now a vermillion tiger striding towards him, the Quincy spoke softly, “Don’t worry, we’re here to help.”
“Too heavy for me,” Ed told the tiger after not being able to budge the concrete, head snapping towards the woman in red he yelled, "Major, I could use your cat’s muscle over hre!”
Setting up the triage station was simple work; it didn’t really require her constructs either. So, when she heard a call for assistance, she dispatched her giant bird to go and do a bit of heavy lifting. The bird could also bring wounded over to be assessed and treated. If need be, she could create more birds to carry the wounded to more intensive care stations than she could immediately provide. She was far from a doctor, and she barely understood how to patch people up more than just basic first aid.
Honestly she was more than a little put off by the assignment, mostly because she felt like she couldn’t do the job particularly well. She didn’t feel like she was capable of doing the most good for the most people this way. People might even die because she wasn’t a doctor. It was disconcerting.
Still, this was the most she could do apparently. She couldn’t countermand the orders she was given, she just had to do her best not to fail. And her art could be out there helping, even if she was only able to not negligently cause the deaths of hundreds of civilians. Do your best, she told herself. That was all she really could do.
Tama startled at the woman's touch, his earthen eyes quickly snapping toward the one who disturbed the tranquil breaking of his quiet life. He did not reply immediately, instead taking a moment to quickly observe his environment. The Native could feel her burning aura, somehow still tightly bound to her form despite the chaos surrounding them all. His eyes widened when he saw a flaming tiger accompanying her, rather ethereal in its appearance. It was unnerving being in close proximity of someone with such power and the ability to control it without so much as visible effort. Even after all these months of training, it still took him some level of concentration to control his newer powers.
He stepped away from her, shaking his head in sheer disbelief. So much was happening at once that it was all starting to blend into a slurry of confusion. For the first time, the Native spoke. Well, it wasn't so much speech as it was a series of questions pouring out before he could stop them.
"Who are you guys? Why did you come to me, of all people?" Tama asked quickly, his voice shaking with hesitance and fear. "More importantly, why am I the only one who seems shocked that things are blowing up with no explanation?!"
Pursing her lips, Mouko held up a placating hand to the panicked man. "There was an attack made on Tokyo by an unidentified terrorist group.
"I need your help." She said honestly. The shout of Edward distracted her briefly, and with a muted flare of energy, the tiger next to him burst into color.
The pool of energy that sat in its core spread outwards, flooding its extremities as the tiger lunged against the rubble. Its ethereal musculature snapped outwards like whipcords, a low growl slipping past its maw as frothing energy spilled over it. A moment later, the rubble parted, and the glow receded.
Another moment, and it returned as Ryou kneeled low for Edward to place the injured civilian on his back. With a single movement, she produced a small tube from her jacket's pocket. A small whine came from it as she flicked a switch on the side, gazing through one end and humming softly. She called back to Edward.
"We have six more casualties due North, Edward!"
A group of small pools of heat were strewn about the pavement, slouched against the side of a building that looked to have partially collapsed.
Mouko took a moment gather herself. Events were rapidly spiraling out of control. More and more was demanded of her, and frustration began to fester in her head like a dull ache. Turning to Michael, she motioned towards the first aid station that Annika was rapidly setting up. "Help her. Casualties will be coming in quickly, and until we can transport them to proper care we need to do all we can to keep them stable.
"Keep them safe, and be careful of contaminated substances." It wasn't fair of her, she knew. Throwing untrained people into the fray without the slightest ounce of support... but she was working with limited time and less manpower. Random humans approaching her in the streets.
Once more she turned back to the Native American. "My name is Major Nenshou Mouko, of Initiative: Orpheus. I'd like your help in rescuing these people, please."
Michael nodded, understanding what the Major wanted, and rushed over to Annika where he paused long enough to consider her unusual appearance.
Once he was over that, however, he smiled. It was an awkward smile, but a smile nonetheless. “Hi, my name is Michael,” he said. “The Major said I was to help you with the casualties.”
Looking around, his emerald eyes darted here or there. Never resting in one place for more than a second. His smile faded as he realized something was missing. “If there are wounded we’re going to need a couple things. Clean bandages and water. Maybe some blankets.”
His eyes came up and behind them were calculations and estimations. They met Annika’s face but did not see her.
“Do you know if there’s someplace close by? I don’t think any hospitals are that close, and they’re not likely to be here until it’s too late.”
Tama looked around, watching the humans who weren't panicking doing their best to help out. His body was shaking as he tried to reign his fear under control; every instinct he had was telling him to run away, just as he had when the beast chased him months ago. Something in him stopped that first instinct. It was then that he realized that he couldn't run away from this because there was nowhere to hide... not from something this big, anyway.
He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself, though his voice still creaked, "What do you need?"
Six casualties it was. Ed made his way north of the Major, trying to pick out the motes of life from the cacophony all around. Wasting the time of the tiger seemed like a foolish ploy, he needed a new plan.
The first victim of the bombings he found simply dazed and scratched up. His leg sat under a wooden beam that was luckily moved within just a moment.
“Make your way to the south, you’ll find first aid set up there,” he smiled at the man who looked beyond dazed. Still the man made his way towards the Major without question, only slightly limping. Upon seeing the second victim, and the crowd of onlookers, he had enough of the looky-loos.
“Alright people!” he shouted in his best commanding voice, “If you were not involved in these explosions, you must get clear! Remaining here will be interfering with federal efforts to control the situation. Ramifications will be severe!”
The crowd quickly dispersed with his bluff, leaving the second person he had seen stuck within a shell of concrete. Not so much pinned as trapped. Tracing some cracks what looked to be a wall, Ed found the most reasonable weak point that would only break the wall and not bring the whole thing crashing down.
“Stay back from my voice if you can,” he yelled through to the person on the other side. Taking his rifle out from the wrappings he first checked that no prying eyes could see him work. Then again, anyone who would see this had already seen Mouko’s tigers.
Channelling the energy around him Edward summoned forth the energy of his bow through the familiar comfort of his rifle. The whole concept was far more comfortable, even if Avelina had only called this a crackpot idea. Reaching forward to the forestock the half-German crafted an arrow of pure energy within the barrel. Drawing back to the bolt handle and aiming at the crack he let fly.
A single arrow erupted from the metal, crashing into the concrete and sticking fast in the crack. Seconds later the crack expanded, and debris fell far enough away for Ed to see the wounded girl within. No more than four or five, and with what looked like twisted ankle that swelled already.
“Ever want to ride a tiger?” he asked the girl, helping her towards the spectral tiger before them.
Accompanied by the wind, a being seemed to be walking on air. His steps were light, barely touching the small whirls of wind he was creating under his soles. By applying enough heat under his feet, he was able to create miniature tornadoes, which then vanished after a single step. The dark attire seemed to fit him perfectly, that black jeans as well as the muddy leather jacket. A rolled blunt hung between his lips, barely staying lit as the burning tobacco rose above him in a cloud of smoke.
He moved downwards, towards the rubble, trying to find some kind of heat signatures coming from them. As he descended towards his targeted area, he pulled his hand through his dark brown hair, and then the other one. Using the hairband he had around his wrist, he tied his ponytail just enough for it to stay afloat.
There were more people in the vicinity. People he could ignore for now. His orders were clear. Create chaos. Spread panic.
Landing lightly on the ground, he immediately tried to move one of the larger stones that were covering what was in front of him. Unable to even budge it, he slammed his hand on it. A crack appeared and in a second, the stone was split. Under the large boulder, he found a man, not many years older than himself. He didn’t seem breathe but there was still heat coming from him.
Another hand was placed over the man’s chest. He could feel the heart beat but barely. He’s alive.
Another second passed, and his hand had gone straight through the chest. The amount of head that he had applied almost seemed out of this world. The beating heart was no more.
[290/290]
Big baddy
Hello. Big baddy here. Heat is his power, miss it and it may turn sour. One target dead.
A distant explosion rumbled, shaking Mouko of her thoughts. Fresh smoke poured from a building, suggesting the group of rescuers wasn't alone. Lifting her Illuminator to her eye once more, she nodded with satisfaction as Edward began to evacuate the building. Her energy flared outwards, vermilion power furling outwards like a warm fire.
Ryou's form came to life, the intangible made real for a brief amount of time. With a bound, it was taking the girl back to the small outpost.
The casualty, already arrived, shivered and clutched at his leg. His eyes darted around, panicked, though seemingly unable to focus on any particular object. He stood mutely, teeth chattering and unwilling - or unable - to move.
Another sat against the curb near the wide sheet, staring blankly ahead of himself.
A flash of white in the Illuminator drew Mouko's attention back towards the epicenter of the blast. A distinctly human shape stood, glowing with more intensity than any ordinary human could. Finally, she turned back to Tama, motioning for him to follow.
"We have casualties arriving fast, and with varying degrees of injury." She spoke quickly, bending over to help support the man cradled against the curb. Leading him numbly to the sheet, she ran a quick hand over him, healing energies pouring forth in a soft glow of orange. The man sighed, before laying back. The ground was uncomfortable, but necessary for their lack of supplies.
Approaching Michael and Annika, she nodded as their small group rendezvoused, with Edward's swift return from his swift work. She nodded in appreciation, still moving from patient to patient. Wounds were stitched swiftly, sloppily, but left them stable. "There are potential hostiles in the area. Confirmed one abnormal human presence due East, towards the center of the affected area.
"You," she pointed to Annika, "are on triage until I can better attend the people here. Don't do anything drastic, and don't worry about helping everyone. Just make sure to keep them orderly and calm, okay?"
Without waiting for a reply, she turned to Michael. "The nearest hospital is a district over, and the streets are in hazardous conditions. For now, we work with what we're given..."
Mouko gave a strange look for a moment, before blinking and finishing her sentence. "... I want you on triage with her. If any hostiles approach the station, evacuate to a safe point. Civilian casualties are priority, hostile targets are not to be pursued unless absolutely necessary.
"You two," she turned to Edward and the Native American, "are coming with me."
The two tigers grouped around the triage station, and Mouko made haste to the Mephisto. It seemed as though she would drive off..! Then, she simply drove the car in front of the station itself. Between the injured and that strange heat signature.
Opening the near doors wide, she laid the seats flat and removed the keys. She called to Michael and Annika, "Use the car for makeshift beds if you need to! We're moving further towards the center!"
One last step remained. She debated the action, before nodding. She turned to Edward. "One arrow, straight up. Make it big, we need a signal."
Reaching under the rear seat of her car, she withdrew a tightly wrapped package. Swaths of cloth obscured the bulky form, a single metallic handle sticking from the top. Wordlessly, she motioned for the pair to take after her and moved towards the heat signature.
Michael had since begun moving among the casualties shortly after asking Annika the question. He looked for the worst of the wounds first. His emerald eyes scanning and weighing each person’s life against another’s. It forced him to move around Annika’s work as she went about her own methodical routine, dressing whatever wounds needed dressing, and comforting those that she could.
By the time Mouko pulled her car around for them to begin moving casualties he’d already identified two more who suffered from burns and broken bones, and was working on a man he believed had suffered a blow to the head.
“I don’t know what more I can do for these folks,” he said to the cat-girl. “Limited water, ointment, and bandages... And then there’s all those people still out there.”
One of the men tried to get up. It didn’t look as if he was wounded, but Michael didn’t appear look like he was going to take chances. He moved to help the man and started walking him to the car, all the while talking quietly until they were standing next to the Mephisto.
Ignoring the malicious reiatsu that he could feel, Edward moved along as best he could in the bulky armor. Who ever was over there had the attention of the Major which meant that saving people should be his only focus at the moment. Well, that and following the orders of people much more acquainted to these sort of situations.
A big arrow? How was that different from what he did before? Well, either way Ed didn’t want to disappoint. Pointing his rifle to the heavens Edward drew back an arrow as he walked. A single arrow of pure reiatsu formed within the breach, intensifying with every second.
A gnawing burn started at his fingertips that swelled up his arm towards his chest. When he could barely take it any more, Ed released the bolt towards the sky with a crack. As the arrow launched upwards the half-German sucked the tips of his right hand.
“Hopefully that does the trick, Major. Not sure I can get it much larger.”
[168/1035]
Arrow has 400 rei in it, 200 from Shuuhaku and 200 from next round. But he can't do much with it other than fire it straight up.
An arrow seemed to touch the sky as the wind walker moved from his now dead target. He could feel the gathering of spiritual entities around him, a few strong, a few weak. One in particular disturbed him a bit but nothing more than that.
The target that lay dead had been left there to rot, dismissed by the human powerhouse. A mass of spiritual power fell to the ground as the arrow exploded. It was a sign perhaps or even a flare. He knew that they would come. He was playing the waiting game now.
A few minutes away, another couple of powered up souls moved at high speed. Three of them to be exact, all clothed in the same wardrobe as they had been given when imprisoned. The tallest of them, standing almost a foot higher than the two, held a hollow pipe in his hand. It was almost a meter long, half the size of him.
The other two stood equally next to each other, one holding an axe he had found when escaping and the other bare-handed. They had managed to come upon a group of humans, terrified from the explosions that had gone off. The humans were gathered in a circle, all five of them, trying to keep an eye out for anything that came towards them.
One of the perpetrators swung the axe over his shoulder and licked his lips, moving first towards the group. Before he had a chance to reach them, a single human left the mass of people and tried to run off. His speed was nothing compared to the advent, who managed to reach him almost immediately. Stopping him in his tracks, he lifted the axe high as he grabbed him by the throat, almost lifting him from the ground.
Gazing through her Illuminator with a grim look spread across her features, Mouko motioned Edward to one side of the street and the Native American to the other. "Spread out, heat signatures are less consistent here. There's residual coming in from the... the bomb."
She had to grind the word out, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. Staring through the splotchy smear of colors in the small sights, the Major glimpsed a mass of huddled oranges and reds, one held aloft. A moment later, the suspended one jerked, and her eyes widened.
Dashing towards Edward, she tapped his shoulder twice and pulled him low to the ground. "We have hostiles due towards the center, Corporal. I want you to keep low, focus on pulling casualties. Open fire only if fired upon, you understand?"
It was a dangerous game, to allow any enemies the opportunity to strike first, but Mouko wasn't about to play Masato's game. She was here to save people, not kill them. She made her way across the street once more, and repeated the process with the Native American. "There are less-than-friendly -people headed the same direction we are. I want you to stick next to me, and focus on helping get people out, okay?"
A pair of people, unmoving and slumped beneath large mounds of rubble, were dragged from underneath them. Mouko's titanic strength easily dislodged them, and she frowned as she checked their vitals: gone. Taking only a moment to collect herself, the Major continued onwards.
Back at the triage center, the tigers dashed to and fro as Mouko's energy fed them from afar. Shifting forms stumbled towards the barely established medical center. The tigers guided them silently, their assistance unable to panic the already shell-shocked civilians. Quickly, the amount of patients numbered a couple dozen all standing before Annika and Michael.
If fired upon? Just what have I gotten myself in to! Edward mentally screamed at himself. His hands shook from the adrenaline coursing through his veins, stabilized only momentarily by balling them into fists.
“Understood, ma’am!” he nodded to affirm he heard her. Keep low, find casualties, and get them back to the car. That he could do.
Ducking low among the rubble Edward made his way back towards the north, away from the center where those hostiles were. He prayed that the flak jacket he now wore would stop an unfortunate visit to the morgue.
The first civilian he found was on the ground in the fetal position, cradling a broken arm.
“Hey, if you can hear me, I’m here to help,” he said soothingly, helping the man up, “see that car? If you can get there we can get your arm looked at.”
A quick peak over rubble to see if any of those hostiles were headed his way, then Ed made his way to the next person he could sense.
