---

---

---

---

---

---

@Qia, @Wayward

---

---

---

---

After a hearty meal provided to them in the armory room, the administrator directed the trio to the showers, separated for girls and boys, where they could rinse off the sweat, fear, and residual chills of the surgery room. New clothes were provided for each, a dark skin suit with insulation that cooled in hot heat, and warmed in cool weather. It also provided some protection against the dust storms in the world they were being sent to.

The administrator only smirked when VV highlighted the strange use of words. Instructing the group to grab the rest of their gear, the administrator and her guards brought VV, A and D to a closed door. A single swipe of an ID card, and the door opened to reveal a small emergency eject pod, equipped with a view that told a million stories.



VV stared at the curvature of the world sprawled out on a ball in front of them, before she side-eyed the administrator.

“Always figured we were underground…”

The administrator only smiled. “This is why we were less worried about your ‘dastardly escapades’. Only so far you can get when you're out in space.”

The administrator clapped her hands together once. “Alright. Everyone single-file into the escape pod, please. We will be sending you down there right away.”

Before she held up a finger, and nodded to the guards standing by her. They approached the trio, before restraining them temporarily. When they were done, a titanium-cased anklet was locked around one of each of their ankles, with no obvious way to take off, and far too tight to remove.

“A tracker, just in case you get any funny ideas about heading off-course. Our space station is equipped with abyssal energy cannons that can and will vaporize you if you stray too far from Ehlm’s spectral woods.

“We will be dropping you at the outskirts of the City of Ehlm. Don't mess this up~!” The administrator said as the door slid shut, and she began to walk away.

Soon enough, the small escape pod began a countdown sequence, and detached from the space station. Slowly, steadily, it began careening towards the planet…

---

---

---

---

---

“I'm telling you, these streets are bone-dry. drier than the Ehlm riverbed.”

The boys sat around a fire in a half-collapsed building, sunlight streaming through parts of the room. They were nursing various flasks of Shiners, the alcohol one could make out of blue fruit found in the spectral woods.

All the men had grim looks on their faces. It'd been a week since anyone had wandered into their side of the city. Most of the locals knew enough by now that they were thieves at heart. Even the Wilds didn't dare to bother them solo.

It made making credits a sorrowful job. And they continued to eat from their coin purses, and the credits kept disappearing. They needed a break, and they needed it fast.

“Buck up, boys,” Vin said as he leaned against the nearby wall, armed folded across his chest. “Our luck will turn a corner. Benefactor-willin’.”

It was then one of the watchers standing by the cracked door gripped his gun tighter. “Boss? You're gonna wanna see this.”

Vin frowned, before moving closer to the door. The watcher pointed through the cracks towards the red sky, where a white streak broke up the red.

Indeed, there was a white streak that was incredibly noticeable. Whiteness of fuel, like a comet streaking down the sky, the head of it a small black speck.

Vin's jaw dropped. “Benefactor be! It's a supply drop! I haven't seen one of these for months!”

Vin spun towards the group, clapping his hands together. “Pack it up, men. We move in two minutes. That drop from the space station could be our ticket out of this drought.”

One of the boys raised a shaky hand. “Won't Umbra be pissed ‘bout that?”

“You let me worry about who'll be pissed, boy.” Vin growled, before turning back towards the door, staring at the comet with a hungry gaze.

---

@SporkoBug, @illirica

---

---

---

---

General Solen stood in the war room, hands leaning on the holo-table as he stared down at a 3D rendition of the City of Ehlm and its surrounding territories.

He pointed to a red dot on the map, south of the city by five hours of driving, or on horseback.

“This is where we've picked up the signal. Our scouts have marked the site as an abandoned Umbra Corp research facility.”

His hardened gaze lifted to the two Ghost Corp members present at his table, Ivy Tenebra and Wren. With a nod, he gestured towards Ivy.

“Miss Tenebra, I want you to scour the facility in search of the research within it. We have reason to belive they were working on next-generation technology that could elevate our own weaponry.”

Then General Solen's gaze shifted to Wren.

“Wren, I want you and a few of our men to accompany Miss Tenebra and ensure both of yours safety. Remember, acquiring anything that can help us is imperative to the mission.”

General Solen leaned back from the table, clasping his hands behind his back. “Good luck to you two.”

—



It was after many hours of driving in Ghost Corp's armored vehicle that Ivy, Wren, and three other soldiers made it to the abandoned Umbra Corp research facility.

The stone and cement building was ringed by sparse trees and dry grass. A staircase led to the main door, which was locked. There was a console on the left side for an access card.

Ivy, Wren and the men had the opportunity to hack into the console to gain access, or plant explosives and blow the door open. The choice was up to them.

Regardless, the moment they entered the vicinity of the research facility, the facility would begin to emit a unique, coded signal that could be picked up by most radars.

---

@Qia, @Wayward

---

The reverse thrusters kicked in as the escape pod made its descent. VV, like the rest, had strapped herself in one of the wall seats, staring through the window at the dusty, desert-like expanse unfolding below them.

The escape pod roared in a final hurrah before the engines died down, and they careened into the dust strong enough to shut off the internal lights.

Emergency red lights flickered on as the escape pod's overhead hatch opened up. VV was immediately hit with the suffocating density of dust in the air, and pulled out her rebreather mask from her pack. She attached it to her face, the abyssal energy compartment lighting up.

“Everyone alright?” She asked, eyes glancing to D and A as she carefully unbuckled herself.

Standing upright in an overturned escape pod, VV pulled at the ledge below the escape hatch, and a small rung ladder extended itself. VV gave it a test step before before being the first out of the pod.

D and A would hear the shocked dismay in her voice as VV swore aloud.

A worn jeep rolled up to the escape pod, men in tattered clothes and sun-leathered skin hopped out, holding all manner of rifles and pistols.

A man with spiked dusty blond hair stepped out of the passenger side, holding a different type of rifle. A rifle with pulsing light coming off of it. The same light that powered VV's abyssal mask.

The man whistled, taking a step forward. “Well, well, what have we got here? They sent people, not supplies. Means you must be pretty special, huh? Why don't you tell your friends to hop out, real slow?”

The men had spread out, raising their guns and surrounding the escape pod on all sides.

VV raised her hands placatively, never taking her eyes off the man. She spoke out of the side of her mouth, down the hatch.

“Hey uh, guys? We have a problem…”

---

Wren watched the map flicker quietly, his eyes focused on the spot where the General pointed to before he looked up as the man spoke. He stayed silent, listening to his words.

The mere mention of Umbra Corp made his spine tingle, part of him was glad he didn't have any memories of that part of his life. He looked over to Ivy as she was given her orders before he tensed himself as the Generals' gaze moved onto him.
He gave a nod, but didn't speak.

---

Wren always felt cramped in the armored vehicle, but he knew that it was better than riding on Horseback. He stepped out of the vehicle last, allowing everyone else the freedom to go first before he stayed near Ivy for a second, looking over to the large building; his eyes slowly scaling up the building as he felt his stomach twist.

What could be in here? Could something he should know be here?
He looked over to the three other soldiers quietly, he still stayed silent before he looked over towards Ivy as if he waited for orders from her. The console glimmered near them, he wasn't the best at hacking and he didn't want to risk a large warning sound like one of the last facilities he had been at when he failed to hack.

He'd never be able to live that one down, he was sure. They lost some good men back then, the alarm had drawn the attention of Wild Ones, even some Lawless out there too. Part of him was glad he wasn't entirely human that day, but he still dreaded the feeling of letting a beast take over.

People? The scent flooded their senses as they seemed to focus, their purple eyes widening as their slit pupils adjusted in the darkness of the trees surrounding the facility. They clicked their paw together as they stepped along quietly, making sure not to rapp their claws on anything metal, least draw any attention close to themselves.

They lowered themselves in the shadows, peering from the shadows as they stared towards the group of five? humans in front of them. They tilted their head slightly, they could smell the faint scent of fear in the air - worry as well. They seemed to be paused in what they were doing, they weren't here to fight, hopefully.

Mimi inhaled deeply as they stepped closer towards the group, spotting the vehicle off to the side; their feathered 'ears'(Muscles that were covered in longer feathers) snapping up slightly before they continued to watch.
They heard a couple of the other soldiers talking between each other about the console needing an access card.
"Access Carrd." Mimi mimicked quietly, almost on instinct, the words feeling weird on their tongue as they tried to get the soldiers voice correct.

"Entrance." They spoke again, tilting their head as they clicked their maw together as a small whistle. "Door. Card. Access."

Mercy followed the trail in the sky with his eyes, tracing the path. It was a sign that he would be full again, soon. The ground rumbled as he followed, but not before he swallowed his fresh kill. A thick sludge of gore spilled from his mouth, as he carelessly swung his head in the direction where more corpses were to be made.

He knew this, for the humans were always fighting over every little thing, and it was beautifully frequent too, for this world had very, very little. There were worse worlds to have been dragged into, Mercy always told himself, particularly on days where he fed well.

Eventually, he made his way to the outskirts of the erstwhile home his kind had found themselves in, and he stared at what he saw, his fiery mouth flickering in the shadows as he licked his lips. The humans were holding those things tightly, tiny fingers itching to deal death at every given moment.

Whatever the outcome, there was bound to be a body left behind. After all, the thorn-headed one and his group were just about as hungry as the Wild Ones were, when it came to bloodshed.

Mercy watched and waited, from a good distance, though his heft meant that he wasn't hiding either. There was no need to hide - even just the sight of him coaxed the tantalizing energies of terror and despair to pour out from many of the humans. And he was hungry, always hungry.

---

"Thank you, Mr. Solen." Ivy smoothed a restless eyebrow that had raised only a fraction, stilling her features back into careful neutrality. General Solen, she supposed, but the military titles had never seemed to stick - or, rather, she had never cared about them enough for them to stick. She was hardly a soldier, so she supposed it mattered very little - or perhaps it mattered quite a lot, but not to her.

Her smile was distant, faint, and cordial, reflecting her feelings entirely - or, rather, her lack of them. Ivy had worked for Umbra Corporation for five years, after all. She knew how necessary it was to be able to maintain self-control when working with the Abyssal. The things they did - the things she had done - they left an imprint. It wasn't just the test subjects that attracted the Wild, if they weren't careful. Everyone around them - doctors, scientists, engineers - were it not for the beacons provided by the test subjects, a number of their handlers would have ended up haunted as well. Umbra Corporation had realized that some time ago, and continuing education on dispassion became required training.

Wren beside her had been on of Umbra's for a time, though she had not known him then. Different pathways - she wondered what sorts of trainings he had undergone. He was quiet, which told her less than Ivy would have liked, but at least he would have some idea of what they might find in this research facility.

Ivy had felt the little thrill of excitement about the idea when General Solen had told them; that had been the reason for the minor quirk of the eyebrow, for only an instant. Places like this could be a trove of resources or information. Perhaps there would be something they could use inside.

If not, at the very least, they could ensure that it was destroyed to the point that Umbra could never return.

---

---

The ride to the facility had been quiet, for the most part. Wren seemed disinclined to speech, and the three other soldiers had seemed more focused than anything else. Ivy hadn't prompted conversation, choosing again to make sure her equipment was in working order. Her pack held mostly tools, in case there was something worth repairing or something that could be pried loose and taken back for further study.

Eventually the vehicle came to a halt, and she let the soldiers out first to do their job. She stepped out a moment later, checking the ambient levels on her capacitors to make sure they weren't too high. She wanted to have some energy to work with, but overflow could be a problem if it occurred. Moreover, sudden jumps in the abyssal energy that the devices were absorbing could be indicative that something else nearby was leaking enough abyssal energy to change the absorption rates.

For now, it seemed clear. The door was closed, locked, and ass soon as they drew near, they picked up an outgoing signal that seemed to have been triggered by their arrival.

"I suppose we can expect company." Who or what ended up attracted by the beacon was uncertain, but no doubt if it was being sent out, someone would hear it and wonder what was happening. This wasn't Ivy's preferred outcome. She tamped down on a hint of displeasure before it could blossom. Neutrality was all the more important in the field.

She approached the panel, contemplating it for a moment. A voice whispered something about an access card - one of the soldiers? But the direction wasn't correct. Ivy half-turned, not trying to catch Wren's eye - he would likely be scanning the area, as she was. She set her hand down on the panel, triggering a small amount of energy release into it. Sometimes the abyssal could screw the electronics into doing what Ivy wanted them to - sometimes not. If it didn't work, she was of the opinion that they should blow it open and get on with it. If a signal was already going out, there was no longer any need to be quiet.

Heretic; _{An Anchorite's Hideout.}

---

With each stroke of a key, an out of tune melody filled the room. Dust had settled in the cracks of the piano. But the tips of the keys were kept clean through Bastian's regular meditation. Slow and dreary like a nightmarish fiend, but the soft movement of his hands kept his mind's eye occupied and content.

Happiness; Just the way Jasper wanted it.

Was it really so wrong to allow a Wild to have refuge within his soul? Perhaps. But the priest allowed it, welcomed the entity to embrace him, despite the social impact. Though Bastian was content with his current situation, it was not enough. Not enough to feed Jasper fully. The Corvid had once given Bastian flight, but reality about his brother had finally struck. Resulting in a near wingless grounding.

Soft taps of several misplaced keys, followed by a mental caw, caused Bastian to finally open his eyes. Something was wrong? But what? Bastian looked down to the keys, then back up. The priest mumbled, "Curious, rather curious." The split mirror on the piano's mantle, told a very interesting story. Bastian eyed curiously, as the streak of fuel crept down below the crack, then disappeared out of his sight's angle.

Turned with a swivel on the bench, wanting to see for himself what the mirror had shown. The streak in the sky was still there, by the time he stood up and strolled over to the once stained glass window. The breeze was calm and the sky was clear... save for the fuel streak. Bastian mumbled again, "Maddox?"

With a bit of a sigh, he rubbed at his brow. A trip of, what looked like leaving the heart of the city, was in order. Bastian had all but given up hope on finding Maddox alive, but some sort of closure would be nice. But maybe his little brother was still alive? What type of brother would he be, if he didn't at least go check it out.

Previous bit of contentment that Bastian had felt, turned into a slight sense of anxiety. He tried to calm his nerves as he gathered his gear. He'd need every bit of Jasper's help, if he'd come across any Umbra or Ghost mercenaries. There would probably be curious Wilds surrounding the space guests too. With Jasper's assistance in full affect, Bastian pulled his hood and face scarf up. Then started outside. Happy thoughts of I've got this and Maddox allowed him to float gently along most of the river bank...

A little while later...

Not surprisingly, Vin and the boys were already at the crash site. Bastian listened quietly as the conversation unfolded. Keeping himself floating invisibly, off behind a group of rugged men. The sip of holy water was getting hard to hold and finally found himself catching his breath. Letting the swallowed abyssal purified water snap him back into physical existence once more, but he remained floating as he continued to listen.

Finally, he approached the pod a little further as Vin's boys started to spread out. Without a hint of fear or stuttering to his voice, "Vin, I want Maddox if he's with them." The loose fabric stopped flowing freely as his feet hit the ground. Bastian had stopped floating to help ease any tension Vin might be having about his Wild's connection, then added softly, "I'm willing to trade with you."

Sadly for the other passengers, Bastian really didn't care what Vin's plans were for them. The rather calm priest spoke clearly, as he looked curiously to the woman in the insulation suit, "MC-457-R2M-21. Is he with you?!" He narrowed his gaze, "Is he alive?"

It'd taken him years of dealing with greedy idiots and bartering with other Lawless, to even gather the ID tag number Umbra had given Maddox, but that was the only information he'd ever been able to find after the abduction. Little Maddie just had to be alive...

He isn't.

Izaac "Val" Valentino muttered a curse as he watched the strange object fall out of the sky, trailing smoke and the telltale flashes of reverse thrusters. Only Umbra would have the tech necessary for something like that and that meant one of two things:

Either it was an accident, in which case, Umbra was about to be all over this area and they did not care much for Lawless like him.

Or it was something happening on purpose, which meant literally everyone else was about to flood this area and cause the same problem.

And here he was, leaning up against the side of a ruined building on the border of the city of Ehlm, watching his peaceful afternoon of settling in to wait for the next poor sucker that looked like they were worth a payday to have the misfortune of wandering through his sights. He let out a deep sigh, reaching up and pulling his dust-stained scarf to cover the lower half of his face as he watched the object fall. Estimating it's landing point, not a hard thing to do with such a grand sight, Val muttered another long string of curses as he began to run.

As he reached top speed, he jumped, digging the tips of his hardened boots into the weakened structure and reaching up to climb up a few stories until he reached a small opening in the side of the building. Sprinting to the other side, he unlatched his rifle and headed to the closest hole that would give him a line of sight to the landing zone. Dropping to a kneeling position, he uncapped the scope and extended a small piece of metal he had tied to the top of the instrument to stop the sun from glinting off the glass when he sighted in on his targets. Scanning the area, it was easy to find the crashed object from the trail of smoke, and he adjusted the focus until the image sharpened.

"Wilds-damned Bears...," he muttered, his scope dancing over the figures doing a half decent job of seeking cover amidst the crater. He had always hated the Bears, and he imagined they weren't too pleased with him since they had found themselves in competition in the past. Still, maybe bygones could be bygones if the pay was-

His scope caught a glimpse of the figure stepping out from the pod, a woman in the black, tight material clothing that combined with her apparent means of arrival to this place marked her as Umbra. Or perhaps some kind of escapee, there had been a tale here and there of those before.

"Alrighty Vinny, how's this going to play out...," Val muttered to no one, his scope dancing once again from target to target. If this turned to violence, he would have to pick a side. "Only a matter of time before the Wilds show..."

_{Interactions: VV-@Estylwen, D-@WayWard}

---

@SporkoBug, @illirica

---

As Mimi watched from the shadows, a pale blue light grew behind him. Jumping off a path of stars and ethereal mass, a small Wild, no higher than up to a human's kneecap, came up beside Mimi.

“Aelir, faeí eínara aril adha e'thelyn, Fethraes Bestía. Ire shaey'an eil, sira talae efiná linna velethar. Aen shírae néol. Vel'kaí an ehlar aen áethila. (You look lonely here on the edge, Feathered Beast. Come join me, there are some souls that need to be drawn out here. You can witness it.)”

The Wild, Cercyes, jumped back on their carpet of stars, and shot forward, landing directly in front of Wren, Ivy, and the three other soldiers.

It was just at this time that the doors had a positive response to being finessed with abyssal energy, and Ivy's strategy worked. The doors to the Umbra research facility hummed, before opening wide to accept its new guests.

Cercyes, twirling his blue-lit staff, gazed up at the humans standing at the gate to the facility.

“I smell the scent of Wilds on you…” He said in the common tongue, blue eyes resting on Wren.

The Wild didn't seem perturbed by the weapons the humans held, sizing them up as he stood, tiny and small in front of them. Before he decided, “You will do fine. Come, there are souls that are calling me here.”

As Ivy, Wren and the soldiers would look down the dimly lit hall, it would extend on for a ways before another door would open up. Behind that door was a large research room. There were glass tubes lined along the wall, holding long-abandoned specimens - human-like. The operating tables had the remains of dried blood and viscera. And, most curiously, containers of Wild hearts.

They were sealed and preserved, and were most coveted as the prime material used to power abyssal devices. The soilders’ eyes widened, doing little to hide their excitement behind their masks.

Whatever happened in this lab, the residents left in a hurry, leaving behind precious material, specimens, though taking all their research. If Ivy were to scan the console at one side of the room, the holo-screen would show that all flies had been wiped or corrupted.

However, among the trash and loose debris on the floor, there was a computer chip that could be plugged into the console. The shine of its metal meant whatever remained on it could be salvageable…

---

@rabidbacon, @Lexisheeps, @Qia, @Herald

---

As VV stood there, hands raised in the hot sun, she noticed what she at first thought was a mirage approaching from the city. Alas, she was wrong. It was as every bit real as she: a monster the size of a small building, haze of the sun seeping off him as his cragged jaw and eyes stared hungrily.

As far as she could tell, it hadn't made a move to attack. What on earth could she, A or D even hope to do if it did?

“Perhaps you can try swaying them to your side.” Said a voice in her head. The Wild she had subjugated in her running escapades on the Umbra space station.

“Now you speak up, of all times?” VV muttered in her head, eyes scattered between Vin and his goons, and the 25-foot monster.

“Work with me if you want to live. Speak this, and exactly this to them.” The shadow entity in her mind then uttered a sentence in a language VV didn't understand.

VV took a steadying breath, then spoke quickly, hopeful she wouldn't forget the words half-way through. Her enunciation was off, but it was understandable.

"Eldrin, shaen aen sin'ta ela'ra vel Thal'shael. Pelair, dẫneth aen thara faelin, eir shaen daen'el aen áth'winna humens. (Brother, we seek an audience with the Wild King. Please, guide us there safely, and spare us from these wretched humans.)

Vin stared for a long moment at VV, glancing for a moment back at the monstrous Wild staring them down, before he slowly, steadily approached VV. He stepped up the escape pod, looked down at VV for a moment, before a ringing slap struck her across the face.

“You think I don't know the basics of the Aes language, you little wretch? Trying to get the big boy to come save you, huh?!”

He turned to his boys, “Couple of you keep an eye on that one. A couple AE bullets will have him thinking twice.” He said, tapping his rifle.

VV, stunned, had fallen to her knees, holding her red cheek after the man had slapped her.

“Great plan, ghost.” She grumbled mentally.

“It's very uncommon for a human to know our language. This is strange indeed.” The shadow entity within VV muttered in her mind, perplexed but otherwise unbothered.

“Alright. We’re coming out.”

A joined them at the top of the escape pod, and Vin gave her a once over, eyes narrowing at her.

“No funny games, alright?”

As A tried to appraise her position and the position of the enemy, she would count five pulsing hearts spread out around them, all in fair health. The sixth heart, Vin's, was directly in front of her. Besides VV and D's hearts, she also noticed a strange rush of blood coming from the massive Wild watching from a distance. And, even more strangely, a beating heart where she couldn't see anyone…

Vin's gaze lingered on A, before his head snapped to the sound of another voice.

"Vin, I want Maddox if he's with them. I'm willing to trade with you."

Vin almost appeared like he saw a ghost at the sight of a floating Bastian, before he heaved himself off the escape pod and took a few menacing steps toward Bastian.

“You son of a bitch, you dare show your face here? After everything you've done?”

Vin growled under his breath, before he sighed angrily, and waved a hand at the girls. “Have at it.”

Bastian's next question was posed to VV and A.

"MC-457-R2M-21. Is he with you?! Is he alive?”

VV slowly got back on her feet, throwing a confused glance to A before she blinked. Realization hit, which quickly turned to sadness.

She spoke loud enough her voice carried across the dust. “M… He… He didn't make it. He died trying to protect me, to protect us.”

“He was tasty.” The entity within VV's mind chimed in.

“That's cruel.”

While Bastian got his information from the girls, Vin had retreated back to one of his men running some type of interference device by the jeep, holding a receiver up in the direction of the girls.

The man gave a yip and a holler, pointing enthusiastically to the girls. “The signature is a little off, but they got it, boss! They got Wild hearts!”

Vin suddenly looked at the girls a little more hungrily, already seeing the credits rolling in. “Well, well, ya don't say. Well ain't this our lucky day!”

He took a step closer to the girls, the men surrounding the escape pod still holding their weapons trained.

“So here's how this is gonna work, ladies. You're worth quite a shiny penny. We're gonna walk you into town and sell you to the highest bidder. They'll likely strip you for parts… but that's no concern of ours, is it boys?”

There was a hoot and a holler from the men surrounding VV and A. VV could feel her stomach churn, but refused to let it show on her face, instead aiming a glower at Vin.

Before the man standing by the jeep adjusted the knobs on his device, and shot a worried look to Vin. “Hey boss? We got some interference? Motion interference, just a blip, but it came from that building.”

The man pointed, and Vin looked. He looked carefully, but couldn't see a damn thing.

“Is it worth the bazooka?” Vin asked steely.

“I… I think so, boss. What with snipers, raiders and all.”

Vin growled, not taking his eye off the building, before he turned gruffly to the back of the jeep. Roughly slamming parts together and loading it, Vin knelt and spun in the direction of the building staring through the sight. He gestured to the escape pod without taking his eyes off the building, and one of his men jumped into action. They went straight up to A, grabbed her arm, and pulled her down. VV watched in horror as she was brought in front of Vin, acting as a barrier to protect Vin from Izaac in the building.

With a human shield covering him, Vin yelled at Izaac through the space between them.

“Whoever you are, we don't take kindly to sneaky little thieves! Exit the building and come face us, or I'm blowing up the building you're in until there's nothing left!”

---

Mimi's feathers twitched as they felt the presence of another Wild, they turned to face the small Wild in mild confusion. They were so... Small?
Mimi lowered their head down to the creature's eyeline to listen to them quietly, They tilted their head as Cercyes hopped back onto their carpet and headed towards the humanoids.

They thought for a moment, but the mention of joining the other Wild- Who seemed friendly rather than the others that they had met- seemed very interesting to the Mimicraptor. They stepped out slowly after the Ferryman of the dead, walking calmly past the soldiers before pausing in front of Wren and Ivy.

Wren could sense something else here, the wendigo spirit within him seemed to tense before Cercyes stopped in front of him.
"Hello?" He asked with a tilt of his head before the Wild spoke about sensing the Wilds within him. He gave a weak smile, he didn't know if Ivy was told about what he had within him, but his attention was suddenly drawn away as Mimi walked out. "Whoa." He said, instinctively stepping back, "That's... That's a dinosaur."

Mimi looked to Wren then to Ivy and the other soldiers before moving to follow Cercyes. "Wilds on you." Mimi repeated as they looked back to Wren as he started to move towards the building.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Wren spoke softly, looking around the building as they walked along.

"Horrible Human things." The Wendigo spoke to Wren mentally, "Horrible.. Horrible humans."
It's okay. Wren said quietly, There's no one left to hurt you.
"Shame, I'd love to get revenge on whoever did this too my brethren."

"Shiny, Shiny." Mimi spoke out loud, their normal voice vaguely gruff and crackly, almost as if it was like tv static. They walked around the area and nipped at some of the blood and viscera. "Shiny, shiny, shin-" They started before they spotted the computer chip and quickly fluffed their feathers and quickly darted towards the computer chip and picked it up gently with the front of their maw. "Metal, Metal!" Mimi spoke with a sway of their tail, seemingly prancing around with their 'prize', seemingly ignoring the Wild Hearts in the containers.

Val watched events unfold, his finger slowly sliding over the trigger of his rifle. This was escalating too fast for his taste. Already the bears were redeploying to face the incoming Wild. More power to them, as far as Val was concerned. If they managed to down the Wild, then maybe he could pick off a few of the survivors. If he was real lucky he might be able to walk away with everything-

“Whoever you are, we don't take kindly to sneaky little thieves! Exit the building and come face us, or I'm blowing up the building you're in until there's nothing left!”

"Dust me," Val muttered, swinging his scope back towards Vin. Instinctively, he started to carefully control his breath, bracing himself against the blow out window frame to help steady his shot. Instead of Vin's ugly mug, his scope sighted in on the woman he had seen exit the pod. His sight slid over her eyes, and he hesitated, recognizing the fear or at least surprise in her eyes. At this angle, with the velocity of his rifle, a human shield wouldn't mean much unless both targets were wearing body armor.... but just because she might be Umbra was not reason enough to risk her life, even if it meant possibly wounding the old bear himself. His finger slid off the trigger, cursing himself for a fool. "Wilds-damned Dusting coward bear."

"Easy Bears, just a scav looking for scraps. Nothing worth blowing up a building over," Val called out, "definitely not while you've got that Wild lurking over your shoulder."

"I'm coming out!," Val shouted, stowing the rifle and sliding down through a hole in the floor to the ground level. He kept his hands wide at hip level, showing that he wasn't currently holding a weapon, but still keeping them near enough to draw his sidearm and knife if things escalated. Not that it would mean much against so many soldiers, but he'd never been the type to consider going down quietly.

"Vinny, always a pleasure," Val said, tilting his head towards the man, "your boys look a bit nervous today... need a hand with that Wild? I'll take an even share this time since I'm already here... you know that's a damn good deal."

"Then again, maybe your tastes are running a little less moral than the last time I saw you," he added, risking a glance at the captives from the pod. Of course, Val calling Vin a little less than moral was definitely a case of the pot calling the kettle.

"Welcome to the Dust, Ma'am," Val said, tilting his head again towards VV.

Brother?

If Mercy could laugh, he would have. Instead, a low rumble of confusion and bemusement rippled through his throat. Why did that human know to speak those words? Tricks, they were full of them - where the Wilds had fangs, so did the humans have their ideas, and their scavenging, crawling, wanting little fingers. It was most fascinating; Mercy often lingered on the crunch of the hands as he crushed them up with his mouth.

The brewing tension and worry was a nice little whiff to feed on, at least. He chanced a step forward, then another, before stopping again, as soon as the weapons came into full view. A threat - Mercy had nearly been killed by those once, many, many moons ago. But he was a tiny thing, then. Now was a different story.

As he watched, he sensed a difference from the other humans, too. They may not have spoken the same way the woman had, but there was something familiar about their bodies. They were... tasteless. They could not be fed from. Mercy growled in frustration - though the growl eventually turned into a rather unsettling chirp as the situation devolved further. The humans were shouting. Shouting always meant blood would soon flow.

But then, the humans stopped shouting for a moment, and eventually, they watched him the same way he watched them.

Zat is limina unity rema speak emen? abandon se humans, demant phe-remlit sotan split se feud (What is this unity you speak of? Abandon the humans, and we can split the food together.)

So he said to the ones he understood to be subjugated by the hated order. Mercy could not fathom being bonded to one, willingly... though it has been harder to feed as of late. As he grew, so was he harder to kill, but feeding this way was becoming troublesome. In time, he would starve.

Perhaps he needed to keep one, for himself. His glowing eyes pored over the humans, a deep rumble of discontent as he saw those who had been bound to the feeble bags of flesh. It was appalling, but he hungered, and he sought out the darkness that lay in all their hearts. Of them all, both the one called Vinny and the one called Val appeared to leak out a tantalizing amount of pain. But Mercy saw how Vinny was quick to turn the cannons against him. All Val had was a long, shiny stick with useless things stuck onto it. And he had foolishly tried to make peace with a man who cared only for himself.

The Wild fixed its sights on the human and opened its mouth, as if to speak. Then, without warning, he rushed straight into the fray, intending to damage the building and force a rout so they would all scatter. There would be no food to be had if the humans kept on talking. Talking quietly meant peace, and peace was useless to Mercy. Tasted terrible, absolutely turbid.

Changer of Forms drank slowly, tasting the pain that flowed from the gasping figure lying on the makeshift bed. The fear that rose in great bellows. She felt restored. She felt renewed. She felt stronger.

However, she was not Changer of Forms. She was another. She wore a different form. She had a different name.

---

She was Teresa. Doctor of the dusts. Kindhearted idealist. She had been summoned. She had been found by the poor woman’s friends. Sarah was dying. Teresa knew. Not now. Not for some time. But it was unavoidable. Infection had already set in. The wound was festering, her blood boiling. The bullet had not passed cleanly through her shoulder. Another pointless squabble. Another wasted life.

Or it would have been. Had Changer of Forms not been able to feed. It was a small consolation to the Wild. Sarah’s life would not be wasted in full.

Teresa would help. She had pills. Helpful pills. Antibiotics. Rare enough in the world of the Dust. Driven by an impulse. Guided by Changer of Forms. There would be a future. Hopefully an interesting one.

"Give here these, twice a day, until they run out," Teresa said, holding out the small bottle of pills to the suffering woman’s friends.

"Please, we don’t have much, but take this," one of her concerned companions said, perhaps a brother if the similarity was anything to go by.

Teresa refused at first, knowing the expected pattern, eventually she accepted stashing the packet of coffee in her traveling pack. It would allow her to replenish some of the supplies she had spent.

She heard the sounds of shouting. Distant, but not distant enough.

"Teresa, there’s trouble," one of the settlers said. "Vin and his boys were spotted in the area. Something fell from the sky. You should go. There'll be trouble."

"Of course," Teresa said, offering a smile and kindly words to her patient, as she left the crumbling shack.

---

Straightening to her full height, Changer of Forms smiled beneath her mask. The noise that reached was promising. It was interesting. And she had a mind to see what was happening. Let the poor doctor find herself in danger. Changer of Forms was curious.

She would find more pain before the horizon.

@SporkoBug

---

“This Wild… I've never seen anything like it.” One soldier muttered to the other, as the trio of masked men stared on at the feathered dinosaur-like Wild with the chip in its mouth, looking mighty pleased with itself.

“One of us has to get that chip.” The other muttered, not taking their eyes off the Wild. They elbowed one of their companions, pushing them forward.

“Hey, don't push me-” The solider complained, trying to step back.

“Just got and get it-”

“It's gonna bite my hand off, I swear-”

“Just go!”

Reluctantly, the chosen solder took a hesitant step forward, than another. They raised their hand up, removing it from the trigger of their pointed down gun. Gently, they clicked their mouth, like coaxing a deer, or a horse.

“Hey, buddy I'm not gonna hurt you. But I really, really need that chip you got there. Whacha say you hand you hand it over, huh? …Come on, we really need it.”

Before the soldier had the bright idea of unbuttoning a flap in their vest, and took out a small protein bar. Unwrapping it awkwardly while still holding their gun, they offered it to the Wild to take.

“Here, this would suit you much better, lil fella’.”

Meanwhile, Cercyes had a little talented hand pressed up against the lower half of one of the glass tubes, staring up at the specimen within.

“These humans… I can't call them human anymore. The Wilds claim their own.”

Cwrcyes glanced back at the Feathered Beast and the Ghost Corp crew.

“Those Umbra changed them. Forcefully. Whatever they did, it didn't work. They didn't survive. But their hearts…”

With a wave of his staff, blue flame erupted in the air. In unison, the chests of each specimen began to glow, pulsing with unnatural light. A pull of his hand, and glowing blue lights escaped the chests, circling around the Shepherd of the Dead. Their souls.

“These are the hearts, the souls, of a Wild.”

---

@rabidbacon, @Qia, @Herald, @Abstract Proxy

---

"Vinny, always a pleasure. Your boys look a bit nervous today... need a hand with that Wild? I'll take an even share this time since I'm already here... you know that's a damn good deal.”

“Keep your hands right where I can see ‘em, you slimey son of a gun, Val.” Vinny said gruffly, standing. One of his men took the bazooka off Vin's shoulder, while some of the others kept their pistols trained at Val's head.

Vin pulled A closer to him, wrapping an arm around her neck. She'd be able to smell the sweat and mild alcohol. He growled in her ear. “No funny games, eh? Don't care you're Umbra's lackeys, ain't no one going easy on you, sister.”

Then he passed her over to one of his men, who held her arm tight while pressing a pistol into her back.

Meanwhile, Vin set his sights on Val, and curled his hands a little tighter around the rifle in his possession.

“Already demanding a share… You really have no idea what position you're in, do ya? I still have half a mind to blow that look right off your face, right here and now.” Vin responded, annoyance wrinkling his face.

"Then again, maybe your tastes are running a little less moral than the last time I saw you."

“That ain't none o’ your business, Val-boy.” Vin responded curtly, rolling his eyes.

"Welcome to the Dust, Ma'am.”

VV stiffened from where she stood on the lip of the escape pod, hands still raised. Immediately, her red eyes glared.

“Quite the welcome…” She said sarcastically. At least her would-be captors were polite about it.

Zat is limina unity rema speak emen? abandon se humans, demant phe-remlit sotan split se feud (What is this unity you speak of? Abandon the humans, and we can split the food together.)

“You know I can hear you?” Vin spat, face contorting in the direction of the massive Wild.

He jerked a harsh finger towards VV, “Pin her down, so she doesn't get any funny ideas.”

Immediately, men moved towards VV, tearing her down from the escape pod and throwing her to the dusty ground, jamming a knee in and a gun in her back. VV grunted, but otherwise remained silent.

With the entrance cleared, one of the men scanned the inner part of the escape pod, and pulled out the last straggler within: D. D didn't resist as he was dragged out a ways, pistol pressed in his side.

Vin surveyed the terrified, angry and watchful faces surrounding him with impunity, patting his rifle as he savoured the grip of control he held.

“Now, here's how things are gonna work. One of my men are gonna shove a bullet between your eyes, Val. And we're gonna walk off to the markets with three whole hearts all to ourselves-”

Alas, it was not meant to be.

The massive behemoth of a Wild charged forward, striking the crumbling building. It was enough to knock out a weighted pillar, causing the building to collapse in on itself. Immediately, a heavy dust cloud erupted, coating everything in a near-unbreathable smog.

VV raised her head from the ground as Vin's men shouted. Her rebreather filtered the air, allowing her a moment to think. A moment to act.

The massive beast was… helping them, wasn't it? Then there was no time to waste. In VV's next breath, a surge of darkness exploded from her, blowing back the man holding her. She scrambled to her feet, calling out for A and D in the dust. Eventually, she reached the edge, and saw the city ahead. With only a moment's hesitation, she took a few steps ahead, looking back to see if A and D had managed to free themselves. D was the first to break out of the dust cloud, moving to stand beside VV. Now it was just A…

A's attack had been successful. The man holding her cried out in pain, letting go of her to instead grip his head. With the heavy dust cloud encompassing him, it would be an easy enough effort to avoid the rest of Vin's men, and make it out.

Vin himself was scrambling with his men. “Don't shoot! Ya wanna hit each other?! Get out of the dust cloud, we're killing that Wild and finding those Umbra brats!”

Vin coughed, before he shouted again, his voice raw from the dust, hoping his voice could be heard by Val. “We ain't gonna kill ya, Val, we just playin’! Help us recapture them and you'll get your share!”

The few men that had managed to make it out of the dust cloud immediately found Mercy, and began shooting with their AE pistols.

---

Mimi seemed focused on prancing around with their little metal object for a bit, circling around Wren for a moment before stopping as they heard the Soldiers talking between themselves.
"Go!" One of them whispered to the other one, catching Mimi's attention more than the sounds try tried to coax them forward.

They tilted their head almost completely sideways, staring at the soldier and their offering of a protein bar. Mimi stepped closer to the soldier, they could smell the fear on them as they watched him carefully as their feathers fluffed up just a bit. "Lil' Fella." Mimi chirped back without moving their mouth from the metal chip, but their eyes moved down to the protein bar for just a moment.

Wren watched Cercyes' do his word, eyes widened in wonder as he listened to his words. That's what the Umbra did to him, but they succeeded; did that mean his soul would belong to the Wilds now?
"Those Umbra Bastards. Killing their own to attempt to harness out power." The Wendigo spirit hissed through Wren's mouth, before he lifted his hands up to cover his mouth - Hoping that Ivy or the soldiers didn't hear them.

When the Shepard of Souls moved to do his 'magic', so to speak, Wrens' eyes were pulled away from the floor and his panic suddenly disappeared as he watched the souls move from their bodies and float around the little humanoid.
"Whoa." He said softly, almost wanting to try and touch one of them, "Does... Would mine look like that?" He found himself asking.

The souls being pulled caught the mimicraptors attention away from the soldiers protein bar, they had been so close to doing the trade before they turned tail and walked softly over to where Wren and Cercyes was.
"Lights!" Mimi croaked happily, circling around Cercyes excitedly before looking to Wren and walked over to him, sniffing at him quietly. "Smells like Wonder!" They said to Wren with a wag of their tail, moving to circle around the male almost excitedly. "Haven't tasted for years!" They chirped happily, moving to press their head into Wrens' arm, causing him to flinch before Mimi moved it to rest over their shoulders.

"Uh... Ivy?" Wren said, looking over to his companion, "What were you once saying about what Wilds feed on?" He asked with a bit of a chuckle at the beastial Wilds' sudden kindness towards him.

Can't say I didn't warn ya, Val thought to himself as the Wild charged. He ducked as the dust cloud enveloped them all, moving a piece of the scarf around his neck up to cover his mouth and nose as he held his breath. The first few moments of the dust were always the worst... and the best for those who know how to exploit it.

He drew his combat knife, moving carefully through the dust and keeping his breath light and even.

“Don't shoot! Ya wanna hit each other?! Get out of the dust cloud, we're killing that Wild and finding those Umbra brats!”

Val began to stalk along the ground in the direction of the shouting, watching the dust stir as the bears tried to make sense of their surroundings. Hearing the click of a boot heel on the ground just a few feet away, Val swept in low and hard, lashing out with his knife and slicing through the back of the man's knees where there was little to no armor. As the leg folded from lack of support, Val snapped the butt of his pistol into the man's wrist, keeping the pistol pointed away from him as he rolled on top of the man and the knife flashed once more, piercing through his neck and severing the arteries. He held the handle of the knife against the man's mouth, stifling his dying gasps as Val listened, prying the pistol from man's grasp and checking it's magazine out of habit before readying the weapon.

“We ain't gonna kill ya, Val, we just playin’! Help us recapture them and you'll get your share!”

Always did talk too much Vinny, Val though, putting three rounds with practiced precision in the direction of the voice. He began moving again an instant after the rounds were discharged, fully expecting a return barrage of firepower. But he was alone as far as he was concerned. That meant they had to watch where their bullets flew. Him, not so much.

He stalked through the dust, doing what he could to disable any bears he found while trying his best to stay away from the Wild. He figured he had maybe another minute or two before the dust settled enough that he would have to find some cover. If he stumbled across any of the Umbra that didn't try to kill him immediately, he'd hold a finger to his lips for silence, then throw a wink their way to indicate that at least for now, he had as much to lose if the bears won out as they did. They could always talk payment afterwards.

Oh, he so enjoyed it when the humans did the work for him. Soon enough, there were bodies on the ground. Unfortunately, it came at a cost, and that cost was being shot at. The forces that struck at his skin, even when hardened, was nothing like the useless things most carried on their shoulders. It hurt; molten ichor fell, starting embers as it dripped from the freshly formed wounds on the Wild's body. He was far from dead, though. And most of all, he was still ravenous.

Ignoring the danger - for what more could he do at this distance - Mercy hardened his hide and went in for the felled body, his maw darting in and out with a speed that one would hardly associate with his heft. The torso snapped and crackled between chitinous fangs, blood and guts dripping every which way as Mercy shook his head in dissatisfaction. One wasn't enough.

Through the dust, he searched for the one whose darkness teemed with promise. The one who had unintentionally fed him. His feet stalked the earth like a predator, but Mercy could hear his heart crackle with hate and goodness in equal measure. The Wild knew that such a man would be capable of just as much hurt as he was of aid.

"You will feed me," he whispered into Val's thoughts, in as much as a roar could be softened into a croon. "In exchange, you will have my strength." It was not an offering, but a demand. "So you can feed me more."

As Mercy called out to Val, so did he rake his claws against the forces that fired at him, sending up more dust in his wake. Such fragile orbs did the humans have, for eyes, full of fluids, and always leaking, whether in joy or in pain.

---

He had once been a man. A young boy, with a mother. They lived in a scrap-tent in an open space within Ehlm, near a skyscraper with a blue tree curling out of it.

That was before the raid. His innocence was shattered when he saw his mother shot before his eyes, and he was taken. A rough hand, needles. Darkness covering him like a suffocating blanket.

Now?

He was a man no longer. A young boy, no longer. Yes, he knew. In the in-between phases when his sedation would wear off, he could see. The tubes sticking out of him, the clear fluid, the suspension, the glare of lights. Muffled voices through the liquid.

He was a man no longer.

And his rage, his unfettered grief lay like a festering wound, waiting.

Waiting…

---

@SporkoBug

---

"Those Umbra Bastards. Killing their own to attempt to harness our power."

Cercyes stood there for a moment, the spirits causing his robe to flutter in the breeze.

“Whatever pain they suffered, whatever harm came upon them in this space…” He turned to look up at Wren, looking through him, to the Wild within. “It's over now. Where I take them, only joy remains.”

"Does... Would mine look like that?"

Cercyes eyed the man for a moment before he hopped over to him, stepping up on the struts of his staff to gain a little more height. The staff, curiously, was perfectly balanced.

He pressed a tiny little hand into Wren's chest, where his heart would be. “You're so shy about your rights. Hm? What thumps in that chest of yours is a Wild, and we will claim it when your time comes.

“To doubt the nature of your own morphed soul…” Cercyes said, trailing off as he leaned back, and dismounted his staff.

Cercyes moved back, making space for Mimi to cuddle up to Wren. He took a breath, sniffing the air under his hood. “Velaé, enen yûra thielles amarillia. Êthél rithiel esla, Fethraes Bestía. Maeléra las'ta méri? (Indeed, the notes of sweetness are quite rare. You are fortunate today, Feathered Beast. Aren't you glad you came with me?)”

"Uh... Ivy? What were you once saying about what Wilds feed on?"

Ivy watched, scientific intrigue veiling her face. “Human emotion. They emit a sticky fourth dimensional substance that Wilds can smell and, in some cases, eat. It's similar to what traces we found, in old research on the Perishing Event. Similar to a type of Abyssal Energy, or a residue of it.”

The soldiers looked among themselves, one staring dejected at their protein bar, before they gave each other a subtle nod.

With Mimi distracted, one soldier approached from behind, taking a deep breath, and practically pouncing around the neck of the Wild, hands aiming to forcefully swipe the chip.

---

@rabidbacon, @Qia, @Herald

---

“Aargh!” Came Vin's cry through the dust. It was clear Val's shot aimed true. How true, though, remained to be seen.

It came low, rumbling. Before it peaked, and the wind began to whistle and howl. Winds at high speeds out of the blue weren't uncommon in the Dust. It was an all-too-common weather pattern, and the dust storms had taken lives before, the winds causing the dust to whip and bite, and suffocate.

The dust from Mercy's diversion was quickly blown away, though the men still struggled with their eyes, squinting and moaning. The cleared outskirts revealed cloudy, muted red skies, and tell-tale lightning bolts crackling the clouds’ underbelly.

The cleared air, whipping wildly, also revealed a scattered battlefield.

“Val, you bastard!” Vin yelled, snapping his rifle at the man, no dust to cover Val this time. He had blood dripping from his arm from an obvious gunshot wound, but gripped his gun anyway. Vin glanced at the bloody maw of the massive Wild, the tell-tale signs of blood on the ground. Putting two and two together, his finger squeezed a little on the trigger, a hair's breadth away.

But everyone knew what the darkening skies meant, what the wild winds meant. A deadly storm would be upon them in minutes, maybe. If they were lucky.

With a huff, Vin pulled his rifle up. “This ain't over, Val. Mark me.”

He circled his fist in the air, and his remaining men, and Bastian, gathered, leaving VV, D and A, and returning to the jeep. A rev of an engine, and Vin and the remaining Bears drove at top speed back into the city.

VV breathed a sigh of relief, before glancing up at the sky, then the horizon. Sheets of dust were beginning to roll in, appearing like rain, except far more dense.

VV widened her eyes in alarm. “Hey, guys? We're gonna get caught in a sandstorm if we don't do something.”

Before her eyes glanced warily at the massive Wild, then to Val. Strangers, but perhaps they could be trusted.

“We're in your debt…” She admitted to both.

Abandoned Facility

---

The Wendigo watched the smaller Wild speak to him, glaring down towards the creature as he spoke about the humans. They narrowed their eyes for a moment before the Wild spoke about the spirits only feeling joy. The Wendigo only then seemed to be okay with being in the facility, if the Soul Shepard seemed to take the souls safely with them.

Wren flinched slightly as Cercyes' spoke to the Wendigo, before he seemed to climb his staff to touch his chest, he tensed as he watched the little Wild speak, all while the dinosaur-Wild seemed to cuddle into him. He felt his heart race as Cercyes touch his chest, and spoke about how his Soul was one of the Wilds.

Admittedly, he wasn't sure how to feel. He had a feeling that it would be the Wilds after everything that the Umbra Company had done to him; but part of him still wanted to think he was nothing but human. He blinked as Cercyes mentioned about doubting the nature of his own soul, he was about to speak until Ivy answered his questions.

Wren couldn't help but smile at Mimi's affection towards him, "I had a feeling it was emotion, but I thought it was solely negative ones?" He asked in confusion as Mimi seemed to sway their tail as they cuddled into him.
Mimi gave a small trill to Cercye's words, nodding happily as they snuggled into Wren before they seemed to pause. As the soldier leapt at them, Mimi tensed instinctively, rearing away from Wren to not harm him before letting out an angered rumble as they shook their body.
"Mean!" They chirped, a mix of fear and annoyance, "Not friend!" They tried their best to keep their clawed limbs down to not harm the soldier, they didn't want to cause fresh bloodshed in this area.