Darwin's Soldiers: Disruptive Selection

MrDrake · **Reply #4480 on:** October 02, 2011, 06:26:56 AM

(Deadwood Facility)

As Kiara had finished with the guard in question, she was about to walk away from him when he uttered something "If you kill Famine....Death....wont be pleased....at all...." he coughed as he just remained against the wall.

Kiara stopped in her tracks and glanced back at the guard "Death? Death is just a metaphore for someone dying" she sneered back at the guard "But this Famine....he's going to die regardless.....even if I do have to do it myself"

"I....warned you...." the guard coughed back as he watched Kiara simply walk off without another word to him.

Kiara made her way down the hallway, ignoring the face that the others weren't all that far away from her. After all, she just did not trust them one bit....

***

(Las Vegas)

As Aimee remained behind a slot machine, she glanced out again to see that Neku had arrivied on the scene "What the hell is he doing here?" she asked as lightning struck around nearby "He must still be pissed off.....geez, how long does he need to cool off?"

Although, she was at least glad that he was, for the time being, keeping Hailey at bay as Death reappeared once again beside Aimee with a dark chuckle "This can all end with a simple yes on your part. As you may have guessed by now, your little friend cannot die, and she will continue to hunt you down and she will kill you. Your other friend there, the one with the lightning, he is nothing more than a temporary inconvinence to Hailey, and will soon be dealt with. You cannot win this battle, no matter how hard you try"

Aimee glared at Death for a moment, but in her heart, his words were sinking in. It was impossible to kill Hailey, as even if Hailey did die, she would just get back up again and continue her pursuit on Aimee.

"You know that it is true, that there is only two ways out of this, say yes to myself and become my new Horseman, or, allow your friend to kill you and in turn, join my side involuntary" Death replied rather simply as he just looked at Aimee, awaiting an answer from her.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #4481 on:** October 03, 2011, 04:12:08 AM

"Kiara!" Masters hissed. He saw her moving away from them.

"What now?" Asked Mongoose.

"Chase after her. Figure out what she's doing, leave signs for me to follow. I need to grab Shelton and Gustave," he ordered, with a sinking feeling that he'd only find one of two.

Mongoose nodded and continued after Kiara. Masters ran back the way they came.

------------------------

Shelton noticed someone was poking around his relay shutdown. A quick IP search told him it was nobody dangerous.

<ROSS, stop looking at that. >

<Oh, can you speak to me again? I'm delighted,> groaned the AI.

<Don't draw attention to my override,> Shelton chastized. <I've spent this whole time trying to get up here to make that, and a team of men risked their lives and are currently in danger on basement floor three because of it.>

<But now that they've done their job, they can evacuate, right?> noted ROSS dismissively. <I assume the first thing you did was inform them their job was done.>

<Actually,> Shelton realized with a sudden jolt. <None of them have thought chips. They're the only people who don't know.> He looked nervously at the ceiling. There were still strange noises filtering from above. <I have to go tell them, don't I?>

<Well, I'm not making you do anything,> ROSS responded, still only half paying attention. <If you want my honest opinion, considering what this base has stored on that floor, I would write them all off as dead and find your way to a different group.>

But Shelton was already starting back to the stairs.

Serris · **Reply #4482 on:** October 04, 2011, 07:27:18 PM

"Roux, have you picked out a weapon yet?" Dr. Zanasiu asked.

"Guys, need I remind you that we are on a schedule," Zachary said tersely.

StarfallRaptor · **Reply #4483 on:** October 05, 2011, 02:15:25 AM

Roux smiled and twirled her knives, holstering them and hugging Aisha.
"Oh, my knives should be able to take care of things. Teleporter, remember?"
She teased the others, grinning laconically...
_________________________________________________________________________

Neku didn't even glance over as several lightning shots hit Death. Neku looked over at Death, eyes flaring bright blue.
"You won't touch her. I already let you kill one friend...but no more. Hailey will stop...once you're nothing but ash!"
He said angrily...

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #4484 on:** October 05, 2011, 03:37:59 AM

Masters walked in to the room and saw Kagetora and Gustave fighting. "'What the hell are you guys doing?" he snapped, almost losing control himself. "Are you both crazy‽ Everybody in this base is trying to kill us, we only trust our fellow team members to help us out!"

He took a deep breath. "Clearly, something down here has been messing with our minds. But you guys need to fight it! I'm not letting it control me! Come on!"

--------------------

Mongoose caught up to Kiara, plucking hairs and leaving them for Masters to follow. "Kiara! Wait! Where are you going?" he asked.

MrDrake · **Reply #4485 on:** October 05, 2011, 04:01:38 AM

(Deadwood Facility)

Kiara narrowed her eyes at Mongoose for a moment before speaking as she continued to walk onwards "To find this Famine character and have a little chat with him, if you get in my way, I will shoot you" she seemed to sneer at him.

***

(Las Vegas)

Death just chuckled at Neku's little threat "My dear fleshling, there is much more at stake than you can possibly grasp, your friend here, she will be joining me, one way or another, but of course, it's up to her how she wants it to happen"

His gaze then shifted to Hailey for a moment before glancing back to Neku "You do not have the strength, nor the power to destroy me, and to prove such a point, you will die here, Hailey....kill him" Death ordered.

Hailey's gaze in turn, left Aimee alone as it moved towards Neku, fists clenched up before she swung a firey fist at him in order to strike him across the face.

Death then glanced towards Aimee "So, do tell me, what will it be? As I will, if need be, have Hailey turn on you again in a blink of an eye"

Aimee just looked at him, still contemplating it as she did glance over towards Neku. At least he was trying to prevent it all from happening, but that was just it, even she was unsure if he would be able to kill Hailey properly.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #4486 on:** October 08, 2011, 03:57:36 PM

Sharon checked her gear. She also clipped a wrench to her belt in case she found some machinery that needed tinkering. "So, what are we trying to do now?" She said. "Clearly we know this is a Dragonstorm base."

"We could blow it up," Alfred suggested. "Not sure how though."

--------------------------

"What are you talking about?" Mongoose asked. "We're on the same team here. I want to kill Famine too. Masters will hopefully be on the way soon with Gustave and Kagetora. Will you calm down?"

Cancerian Tiger · **Reply #4487 on:** October 08, 2011, 11:55:16 PM

"You'd think they'd have explosives around here," Dr. Williams thought out loud in response to Alfred as she began to scavenge the area for explosives.

Serris · **Reply #4488 on:** October 09, 2011, 02:18:55 AM

The group headed down the stairwell until they came to an unlabeled locked door.

Dr. Zanasiu quickly used the stolen key card to unlock the door.

Sharon realized that she had a stolen taser clipped to her belt. She handed it to Dr. Williams. "Here, you might need this," she said.

The group then stepped through the door, revealing a hallway that was well lit but completely deserted.

Zachary's ears swiveled as he picked up a faint sound. "Guys, do you hear that?"

"I don't hear anything," Spc. Crota said.

"It sounds like voices but I can't tell who it is" Dr. Zanasiu said as he strained his ears.

Sharon's ears pricked straight up and she held a finger to her snout. "Guys, it's Sgt. Masters. It sounds like he caught two of our team members trying to beat the crap out of each other."

Alfred facepalmed. "Great, wanna bet Gustave's responsible? Come on, let's go help the guy before Gustave literally rips him a new ass----."

----------------------------

Gustave stopped from his fight with Kagetora. "He started the fight. Now let me rip him apart!" he growled, waving his chunk of electrical conduit menacingly.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #4489 on:** October 09, 2011, 04:08:43 AM

Masters threw his hands in the air. "Will you stop acting like a four year old? come to your senses!"

He switched gears to Kagtora. " And as for you, Kagetora, frankly I can't believe you've let Famine get you as badly as you have. You're a ninja; you're supposed to be a master of self-control. Look at me, I've only had basic military training and I managed to shut him out completely! Remember your training and stop performing at the same level as a drunken barbrawler!"

-----------

Sharon pinpointed the source of the sound. "Its coming from the floor below us, she said. " We'd better hurry."

MrDrake · **Reply #4490 on:** October 09, 2011, 04:16:17 AM

"Calm down? No, you want to know why I wont simply "calm down"? Because while you lot are running around freaking out and all that jazz, no one's getting the goddamn job done, and someone needs to tak charge!" Kiara snapped back at Mongoose as she started to walk off again "No, you either shut up and help me out, or stay out of my way"

StarfallRaptor · **Reply #4491 on:** October 09, 2011, 08:50:37 PM

Neku dodged Hailey's attack by simply dissipating into a cloud of electricity, her fist passing harmlessly through him as he moved over towards Death, engulfing him in a storm of electrical strikes.
_________________________________________________________________________

Kagetora stopped, lowering his swords.
"I...hadn't realized that he had begun to influence me. My apologies..."
He said dejectedly...

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #4492 on:** October 09, 2011, 11:34:30 PM

"All right, fine, you're the boss," Mongoose conceded, trying to stay on her good side. "But wouldn't it be easier to fight Famine with an entire team helping us? Masters will be here soon with the others."

--------------

"It's all right," Masters sighed with relief, thankful to finally get through to someone. "Look, Gustave, he's not fighting you any more. There's nothing to fight over. Now, could you direct your anger towards Famine? He's the reason you're so riled up right now."

He looked at Kagetora, hoping for some backup."

-------------------

Before he got very far, Shelton realized he should check to see if James' team was closer to the others than he was.

<Hey, where are you guys in relation to my team?> he asked the four people with thought chips.

<We're actually about to meet up with them,> Sharon thought back.

<Oh,> Shelton realized. <Let them know about the relay being down. They don't know yet.>

<Only if you say my name correctly.>

<Uhh, Shirley?>

No answer.

<Shannon?>

<Sharon,> ROSS helpfully informed.

But it was too late. <I'll tell them,> Sharon replied, annoyed, and ignored his further apologetic messages.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #4493 on:** October 09, 2011, 11:35:17 PM

"All right, fine, you're the boss," Mongoose conceded, trying to stay on her good side. "But wouldn't it be easier to fight Famine with an entire team helping us? Masters will be here soon with the others."

--------------

"It's all right," Masters sighed with relief, thankful to finally get through to someone. "Look, Gustave, he's not fighting you any more. There's nothing to fight over. Now, could you direct your anger towards Famine? He's the reason you're so riled up right now."

He looked at Kagetora, hoping for some backup.

-------------------

Before he got very far, Shelton realized he should check if James' team was closer to the others.

<Hey, where are you guys in relation to my team?> he asked the four people with thought chips.

<We're actually about to meet up with them,> Sharon thought back.

<Oh,> Shelton realized. <Let them know about the relay being down. They don't know yet.>

<Only if you say my name correctly.>

<Uhh, Shirley?>

No answer.

<Shannon?>

<Sharon,> ROSS helpfully informed.

But it was too late. <I'll tell them,> Sharon replied, annoyed, and ignored his further apologetic messages.

Serris · **Reply #4494 on:** October 09, 2011, 11:49:09 PM

Some of the anger seemed to flow from Gustave's face. He took his piece of electrical conduit and crumpled it up into a ball. He then smiled. "All right, let's rip this 'Famine' character to pieces."

--------------------------

Sharon led the group down the stairwell and into the hallway. Strangely enough, this hallway was deserted like the previous ones. They then turned down the right wing of the T-shaped hall.

"Sarge! Where are you?" Alfred called out when they entered the hallway.

Dr. Zanasiu tripped over something as he stepped forward. When he looked at it, he noticed it was a double barreled shotgun. Only one member of their team used such a weapon - Gustave. He then picked it up with a grunt. Thanks to the powerful loads it fired, Gustave's gun was very heavily built. As a side effect, the gun weighed over twenty pounds. Gustave's extreme strength counteracted its great weight and recoil though. "I think this is Gustave's gun."

Alfred picked it up and examined it. "It's his all right."

"But where is he?"

"Turn around," Zachary deadpanned.

Everyone did, and sure enough, Gustave, Kagetora and Sgt. Masters were in the left wing.

Nick22 · **Reply #4495 on:** October 10, 2011, 10:08:44 PM

So This Famine character is the one we are going after huh.. Landon said.. " We should be very cautious when dealing with hi, as he appears to be very good at manipulating our fears emotions, in short all the things that make us flawed..

Serris · **Reply #4496 on:** October 10, 2011, 10:18:29 PM

Dr. Zanasiu facepalmed. "Great, so we're facing someone who can make us kill our allies," he said with a sigh. This was something that frightened him. As brave a fighter he was, he was helpless against a foe that he could not see and one that preyed on each individuals' flaws and weaknesses.

"We'll just have to resist it as best we can," Dr. Wayne said, hefting her shotgun.

"Listen, this isn't a movie, it's not as easy as you think," Cobalt Leader said.

StarfallRaptor · **Reply #4497 on:** October 10, 2011, 11:40:53 PM

Kagetora smirked.
"It actually is not nearly as difficult as you'd think. In order to shut out any external influences, the easiest method I know of is to focus your mind on a single point. One thought, one person, or one objective. I think that, if we attempt to do that, we can override Famine's control on us."
He said coolly...

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #4498 on:** October 10, 2011, 11:42:26 PM

"Cobalt Leader is right," Masters said, chiming into the conversation as the others reached them. "Famine wreaked havoc on our team, without us even reaching him. Kiara doesn't trust us anymore, Gustave and Kagetora each tried to kill a fellow team member, and Shelton is still MIA."

"He reached auxiliary control and shut down the relay," Sharon told him.

"Oh, excellent." Masters seemed surprised to hear this. "So our team's part of mission was a success?"

"Not until Famine's dead," growled Gustave. He took his shotgun back from James. "You got my backup ammo, Al? I need it."

------------------------------

Mongoose's radio cackled. "This is Masters. As you can see, the relay is down. Where are you?"

"Following Kiara," he whispered. While he was putting all his effort to remain calm, fragments of the fear from before were threatening to break his psyche again, now that he was so close to the source. "We're getting dangerously close to Famine; we've eluded several patrols already."

"We're on the way, just don't engage until backup arrives. Stay out of trouble. Masters out."

Serris · **Reply #4499 on:** October 10, 2011, 11:54:15 PM

Alfred nodded and tossed Gustave a bandolier and a belt full of shells of 4 gauge ammunition. "This is all we have left. Don't waste it."

Gustave caught it and donned it. He now had two bandoliers - one of them empty - draped across his broad chest. He then donned the belt and slid two shells into his shotgun. "Let's rip Famine apart!"

"It might work, Kagetora, but what if Famine takes control of that single thought and manipulates it against us?" Zachary said.

Dr. Zanasiu nodded. "True but it's a risk we have to take."

"So what do we do first? Look for Shelton or kill Famine?" Dr. Bailey asked.