[IC] inSINerate - Our Unending War

[ERode]

“Move move MOVE!”

Bearing bags full of their metallic bounty, six men rushed out of aboveground factory with as much speed as they could muster. Their leader, graying underneath the bright yellow hardhat he wore, constantly looked up towards the clouds, as the dreary gray gained a tinge of scarlet. They were running out of time. It had been a surprising treasure trove, that unmarked factory, and he had been the one that decided to take such a risk, but now…

“Almost there, lads!” he shouted, catching sight of the inconspicuous piece of rebar they had used to mark their entrance point, “Pick up the p-”

His breath caught in his throat suddenly, feet skidding on cracked pavement.

The building that lead to the sewer system had been reduced to rubble, the Tyrant that caused such wanton destruction nowhere to be seen. One by one, his fellow scavengers stopped, grim expressions forming on their faces, some of them collapsing onto their knees in exhaustion. The man’s beady eyes turned towards the sky once more, as the Scarlet Moon rose over a veil of clouds.

Callused hands tightened the filters of his respirator, an old model that had saved his skin much too often. Would it do it again, long enough for help to arrive as immortal monsters began their hunt? He breathed deeply, sweat trickling down a creased forehead. His men, some of them still childless, looked at him with uncertainty, hoping that he had a plan.

He didn’t.

But it was the task of a leader to pretend otherwise.

Those that could no longer move, paralyzed by their mortality, would be left behind. Those that still followed him will do so without any words. Stalwartly, he turned towards the largest building nearby, and marched on, thumbing the transceiver pinned to his chest.

---

Even far underground, the force of the Tyrants could be felt, occasional quakes sifting plates on tables, children coming to the sides of their parents for comfort. The rise of the Scarlet Moon may have been a daily event, but it was nevertheless unpleasant for all involved, especially in a community as small as Bosesa, one that persisted mainly because it served as a convenient location for traders and messengers to rest. With multi-level clay buildings and a well that tapped into a large reservoir of water, the town had no real form of agriculture, leading to only a small population.

For all its failures as a self-sustainable town, however, it served very well as a temporary home for many, a gathering point for those travelling out from the Lastlights. Wicks of flame lit the way inside buildings, while more sustainable forms of illumination brightened the pathways formed from years of travellers coming in and out.

However, on that particular day, the town of Bosesa was not just a traveller’s rest stop.

It was the closest point below ground that a distress signal was detected at. Within half an hour, five Daybreakers converged upon the spot as they responded to the call for help.

The Scarlet Moon was up, and the number of scavengers were low, but, nevertheless, the Council within the Lastlights had deemed this as an important enough assignment that multiple Daybreakers were assigned to it.

While humans cowered within their fragile buildings, the monster slayers stood outside. It would take five minutes to reach the surface. After that, it was just a matter of aiding the escape of the scavengers who were caught under the gaze of the Scarlet Moon, while destroying all Tyrants nearby.

Nothing too out of the ordinary.

[Flamelord]

Lenier

Bosesa. Not anything particularly special, in Lenier's experience. It was another town trying to mete out an existence amidst the threat of the Tyrants from above. It was a bit smaller, but ultimately unexceptional as far as humanity was concerned.

Lenier's gaze swept the town as he walked through, headed to the meeting point. In his hand he clutched a green apple, which he occasionally took a bit of as he moved along. The taste exploded across his senses, while a crunch rose in his ears. It was nice, having something to munch on as he neared the meeting spot. He was going to need the energy fairly soon, if he had to guess.

Fufufu, fun.

The voice was like a shadowy whisper in the back of his mind, a soft caress that sought to pull him into doing what it wanted. Not that he would give in so easily, but that was no concern. They both had all the time in the world, so long as he endured. So she would entice, and he would chart his own course.

Arriving at the center of town, he looked around with a dull expression, to find that he was the first one there. That was fin, he decided as he took another bite of his apple. He would give it a good five minutes or so to see if anyone else showed up, and then he would head on his way. He was perfectly ready to handle this by himself, but having someone else along while the Scarlet Moon was out couldn't hurt. So for now he waited.

Just another ordinary day

[Patches]

Io

Io marched towards the meeting zone, with a hurried pace. Those who looked at her from the various buildings were met with a foul gaze from her single eye. While her body was petite and she appeared to be quite young, couldn't have been older than 20, the way she carried herself was like that of a jaded warrior.

Bosesa... Dusty old town, I'll make you know who I am. The girl thought to herself. Looking into the windows of one of the buildings. Soon, this will be my turf. To her, it was but a overblown rest stop, falling apart day by day. But for her goals, she had to make her name known all over, a place where many people stopped at was a good choice.

As she marched, Io's missing eye stung with excitement. A sharp pinching feeling, like something was prodding at where her eye once was. Almost like a rather sadistic child, having fun with it but not quite understanding the pain and damage they were doing. Io adjusted her eyepatch in response.

At her locations, she looked around, waiting for the others, noticing that there was another there. Was he a boy or a girl? Io couldn't quite tell from the hair style and outfit. It didn't matter. Only if they were strong did they garter any interest from her, which she didn't quite know yet. You're the only one here so far? She asked, ...Or are the others on their way?

[Mogwar]

It was fortuitous that Abraham had been on mere minutes away from Bosesa when his transceiver activated, spelling out in morse code the two digit identifier for the little town. He had just come from a nearby Lastlight, having responded to Scavenger rumors of a Tyrant roaming the surface uncomfortably close to the hidden city. It had turned out to be a false alarm. A group of rogue Scavengers had been pillaging the area without Council authorization. Such activity so close to one of the greatest havens humans had left was very strictly monitored, as a slip in security could result in a Tyrant discovering the location of one of the Lastlights.

Though Abraham had been the one to discover the scoundrels, he was not the one to exact justice upon them. Some Daybreakers might dabble in peacekeeping from time to time, but Abraham's emotions were conflicted on this matter. He may indeed have been able to capture the rogues without killing them, but there was no guarantee. Even if he had managed to round them all up himself and drag them kicking and screaming back to the Lastlight, Abraham knew their punishment would be death. In the end, he simply reported on his findings to the authorities of the Lastlight and left them to deal with rogues. Abraham did not believe he had the right to enact justice upon humans. Hell, he was barely human himself anymore. Still, the rogues would likely be dead in a day's time. It was only the smallest of consolations that their blood would not be on his hands directly. He expected he'd see their faces again soon.

Abraham was ushered through the gates of Bosesa with great haste by the guards stationed there after he identified himself as a Daybreaker. It seemed word of trouble had traveled fast as a guard informed him that he heard tell of other Daybreakers already in the small settlement. He spent little time dawdling, stopping only to fill a canteen with cool, fresh-tasting water. Every time Abraham passed through Bosesa, he made a point to take some of the well water with him. Its taste always reminded him of days long past, and a well in a small city not unlike Bosesa...

There was little time for reminiscing. There was trouble afoot, and every moment he spent idle could be a life lost under the light of the Scarlet Moon. He strode through the town with purpose, straight to the center, where he knew other Daybreakers, if there were any others here, would congregate. They would not wait for long, but only the most prideful or powerful Daybreakers would completely forgo assistance when it was available. The more force they could bring to bear upon the monsters of the surface, the better.

Daybreakers were not difficult to identify if you knew what to look for. To Abraham's eyes, they almost radiated their individuality. Though he dearly loved humanity, Abraham could not help but think that the average human bore more resemblance to a dull grey automaton who simply acted out the motions of life. A Daybreaker, on the other hand, had a sort of spark to them. A little wonder, a little hope, and a little insanity wrapped up in a familiar package. They were more like children who had yet to be broken by the weight of the world. Dangerous, unstable, monster killing children.

The two Daybreakers he found looked young. Too young, he thought, to have to bear the burden of this tortured existence. Perhaps that was just the bias of an old man. Besides, one could never tell how old one of his kind truly were. It was entirely possible one of these "children" was older than himself. He was almost sure the younger looking of the two was male, but it was a little hard to tell. It hardly mattered, though. The other was quite obviously female, with dark hair and a patch over one eye. He hadn't met either of them before, but that wasn't uncommon. Abraham approached the two and introduced himself, his tone all business, "I am Abraham Blaser. Do either of you have any amplifying information about what is going on here?" He trusted that the two could readily identify him as one of their own, if not by intuition, than by the context of his question and transceiver hanging from his dusty black overcoat.

[Eleos]

Yui stared at the bowl with a curious suspicion.

A lanky figure towered over her, a soft musk filled her nose as he was very well in her personal space. His eyes were soft, and despite his devilish appearance, he gave off a very genuine aura. The distance between their two bodies was that of small metal sauce pan filled with a lightly colored liquid. She felt the warmth of its mysterious contents tickle her skin through the layers of bandages and mantle.

“You look like you can use a little pick me up.”

Her eyes rose to meet his.

“A friend of mine runs the inn, this is their specialty: stone soup. It’s on me.”

Truth be told, she’s never had soup before. Taking hold of the sauce pan with both hands, she peeked under his arm at a thin elderly woman and a young brat smiling at her.

“Do try it, dear. Darsan’s many thing, but surprisingly not a liar...” She clicked her sharp tongue, before cracking a wry, knowing smile.

The man hovering over her pulled back and tilted his head towards the frail elder.

“That’s Troma, she owns the building next door. The little man is Josh, her grandkid. Go on, try the stew.” He gestured a drinking motion and rubbed his stomach. He was mocking her almost clueless stare. Slightly embarrassed, the girl quickly raised the liquid to her mouth.
-------
Yui had done a fair share of traveling, and it wasn’t by chance she found herself in Bosesa.

It lacked the glamor of the Lastlights, and even compared to small towns it was definitely lack luster. But Bosesa meant travelers. Travelers meant traders and excavators. To her, those things meant family. Her thoughts danced back to earlier in the day...

"Same old same old, but recently, a real sketchy group of scavengers came by. Could tell by their faces that they were up to no good, but what could a frail lady like myself say against such burly, scruffy men, right?..."

The earth rumbled above her once again as she approached the small group at the center of the town. Pulling her receiver out from underneath her mantle as she came to a stop, Yui set the device gently at her feet. Looking towards the inn and the building next to it, she found the outline of three figures facing in her general direction.

Seemingly late, but with a lead, the girl opened her mouth.

"Sorry for takin' so long. One of the locals said there was a group of scavengers passin' by earlier in the day. I'm guessin' they got trapped up top. Probably shouldn't be waitin' too lon' since there's a good chance this is a rescue mission."

[CyanideSweetie]

---

Hikari Kibo

---

---

Kari bolted around a passing caravan, scraping her shoulder on the side of the tunnel. Cursing under her breath she was mentally kicking her own ass for taking the narrow back tunnels.  She had thought that she would be able to avoid the traffic that clogged the main tunnel,  and for the most part that was the case. But the little bit of traffic she did hit was a gaint pain in the ass to move around.

She felt a stirring deep down and she knew that the red moon was high in its full, bloody, glory. As she ran on she heard muted whispers just behind her; hissing in excitement, moaning in trepidation. She paid them no heed, they were familiar to her by now.  They were in her head. She picked up her speed, choosing to focus on the strain in her legs.

In no time she was crossing into the gates of Bosesa, she didnt bother slowing down. Darting past a cart loaded with goods, and the gaurd inspecting it, she payed his shouts no attention. She wasnt too concerned the guards would recognize her blurred pink form; there was an alert out after all, they would be expecting DayBreakers.

Jogging her way to the center of the town, she slowed down from her original speed to avoid trampling civilians. Kari approached a group that basically radiated power, it was bigger than she expected. She had heard that they sometimes sent out pairs or even a group of daybreakers on missions but she had never had the honor of working with one of her own before.

"Heyyoooo!~" she cried, waving an arm in the air. Skipping the last few steps she made it to the group, she pumped her fist into the air and hooted, "who's ready to kick some ass?!" Tossing her head back she cackled maniacally.

[Flamelord]

Lenier

Lenier noted the new arrival out of the corner of his eye, guessing that she was someone like him from how fast she was moving and her presence here in the first place. Either that or she was related to someone who needed to be rescued, but her words quickly ruled that out. Instead she seemed to wonder about the others, which he could understand.

It earned a shrug on his part as he finished off the apple, tossing the core away. "Only me so far. Dunno if anyone else is coming," he replied nonchalantly. Whether others did or did not show up wasn't his concern. He was sure that he could manage it on his own, or with her to help out as well.

And be the hero

He shook the whisper out of his head as others approached, creating quite the eclectic group. Which was fitting he supposed, given that they were all eclectic by the very nature of their existence. But with every person that showed up their chances of success skyrocketed, to the point where one had to wonder if they even needed this many. Surely this was overkill for a mission like this, right? But what did he knew.

"I'm Lenier," he said then, identifying himself for the others. "Ready to head out whenever if we think no one else is going to show up. But it might not hurt to wait." At this point there was nothing wrong with adding some extra security if more people were indeed going to show up. Those scavengers could make it a couple extra minutes, if he had to guess.

[ERode]

The sky was burning, a dark red light spilling over all that could be seen. Gigantic obsidian spikes pulsated with the glow, as if they had become living things, hearts made of black stone. The earth rumbled constantly, footing become unstable even though the pavement was relatively smooth. Tyrants were nearby. Out of sight, but still, nearby.

They had to get higher. For all the supernatural effects that the black miasma imparted, it was still heavier than air, a substance that would naturally descend. With front entrance of a multi-story building blocked off, all the men could do was balance precariously on one of the slabs of obsidian that diagonally penetrated their destination. The oldest amongst them, sure footed despite the looming threat and the possibility of detection, marched on. Behind, one man slipped, his worn-down sole sliding on the smooth material. His partner reached out, one hand hooking onto the fabric of his thick coat, but it was too late, and that man was too heavy.

A scream broke out instinctively, the fear of death overcoming rationality. With a crumpling snap, he struck the ground, his femurs breaking into each other.

And he still lived, agonized groans escaping from clenched teeth.

The rumbling increased in volume, hyenas descending upon injured prey.

Steely eyes glanced over his remaining men, gauging their resolve, their will to live, before the older scavenger pressed on. They were already too far up to make it down in time once more. Regardless of how close they would be to the Tyrants attracted by the pain of their fallen comrades, they had no option but to continue their ascent.

[Patches]

Io

Io narrowed her eye as the rest of the Daybreakers made their way to the center. A effeminate man, an old man, a average looking woman, and a vibrantly dress young girl. Appearances didn't matter too much. She had varying opinions on all of them but for now she had to take what she could get.

Observe them

That's what she would do. Keep an eye on them and see which of them is suited for her future in this world.

@Mogwar
What information is there to amplify? We go there, kill the Tyrant, and then we go. Save whatever survivors there are. Io said, casting a glance at him. Her voice, a contrast to her bossy and angry demeanor, did have a bit of a childish nasally pitch to it. Not too noticeable, unless someone listened close. There is little else to know, for now we need to save discussion for the battlefield, unless we want to waste more time.

@CyanideSweetie
This one bothered her. Too upbeat. Acted like a child. Still, optimism did have its place in the battlefield. Io spoke up to her in response, ignoring her question with a criticism. Optimism is good for morale. But it's distracting and could compromise the mission. Hope you understand this.

@Eleos@Flamelord
The woman was right... This could very well turn into a rescue mission. If they took even longer, it could be a clean up job as well. I'll be going then. If any of you want to follow behind, you're more than welcome. With that, Io began heading for the entrance to the surface. Tempermental, headstrong, and impatient. The makings of a fearsome Daybreaker.

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Cerise~

@Patches

---

Oranges were delicious. Such a citrusy-sweet flavor she absolutely loved. To her, oranges were the best fruit in the world. Conversely, Bossea was decidedly not a place she'd ever find attractive for any reason. The dusty, streets low-lifes and other low-class, uneducated heathens made her skin crawl. She didn't even want to breathe the same air as them. The old, run down streets were not her style by any means - she'd much rather prefer being in a Lastlight. At least they had some semblance of decorum and elegance, unlike these rundown hovels. Simply being here made the orange in her hands a bit less delicious, but it at least made her time walking through Bossea a bit more tolerable.

Yet, despite the delicious treat her stomach growled, though any who heard it might assume it was some creature growling. An odd thing for a daybreaker, probably.

She sighed, quickly devouring the orange - all of it. Peel and all. So violent and insatiable it was, yet there was a subtle beauty to its want. It was tolerable though. After all, she didn't need to really eat like other humans after all and as long as she kept that in mind and didn't go overboard with her own indulgence or go too long without giving it something she'd be fine. Not like she could really run out of food anyways, heh.

Right, she should stop thinking about that. She was here for a reason. A message on the transceiver indicated she should likely be meeting some more of her day-breaker 'allies' here.

Haha, that was funny. She doubted any of them were good enough to be with her.

She quickly made her way to the center of town, easily noticing a number of individuals that were likely other Daybreakers talking among themselves. Odd. They had a mission, didn't they? Sitting around talking about it wasn't going to get results. Though, she supposed there was some merit in getting to know your 'allies' before the fight. Could make results better. That said...she turned her head, spotting another woman heading away from the group and likely up towards the surface.

Now that was a girl she could tolerate.

Stuffing her hands into the pockets of her white jacket, the Conceited one smirked and walked after Io.

"Someone's confident." She chuckled as she approached, matching Io's stride and walking next to her. "The Scarlet Moon is out and the tyrants are thrashing like petulant children yet you don't seemed fazed at all, heh." She smirked, chuckling again. "Exciting, isn't it?" Depending on her response, Cerise would either continue walking and ignore her or at least deem her tolerable to be around...

[Mogwar]

Abraham couldn't help but be surprised when no fewer than six Daybreakers gathered in but a few moments. At first this gave him some pause. If someone believed this many Daybreakers were necessary, what exactly were they about to face? Logic, however, soon overshadowed these thoughts. Those gathered had arrived within moments of each other, so they were all in Bosesa to begin with. It was probably nothing more than a lucky coincidence that a force of this size could be mustered, and the call would have gone out to them regardless. Besides, it may not have even been the Council who ordered this mission. Some scavenger teams were equipped with transceivers, so it was very possible this was a distress call directly from those in danger.

Looking over the rag tag group of warriors, Abraham was again reminded of just how different most Daybreakers were from the rest of society. Their eccentric clothing, brazen attitudes, and air of confidence was such a stark contrast to the drones who milled about in these dark anthills. One of their number almost immediately took off for the surface, not waiting for the others. Abraham couldn't fault her, since they had dawdled far too long. A particularly smug sounding girl quickly followed.

"I believe our compatriots have the right idea." Abraham said to the remaining three. "I wish we had more time for introductions, but every second spent below ground people could be dying on the surface." At the thought, Abraham's countenance shifted, becoming harder, angrier. "There will almost certainly be Tyrants above. With this many Daybreakers, we will crush them underfoot." Abraham turned in the direction of the two who had already departed, and began to run after them, up to the surface.

[CyanideSweetie]

---

Hikari Kibo

---

---

Optimism is good for morale. But it's distracting and could compromise the mission. Hope you understand this.

Kari looked at the woman her eyebrows high. With a wide grin she took a deep breath and then made a long, loud, extremely obnoxious fart voice. She then saluted and winked at the woman. Eesh. Maybe she wasnt missing out not working with other day breakers. There were plenty around but the few that even dignified her with a response were all sorts of ' responsible' and kinda 'holier than thou', what a bore!


"There will almost certainly be Tyrants above. With this many Daybreakers, we will crush them underfoot.

"Yes!" She shouted loudly pointing at the older man. "Thats what im fucking talking about!" She turned on her toes and followed after the women that had already headed out.

The whispers were getting louder every step that she took towards the surface. As did her blood lust. She was itching to wipe some tyrant scum off the face of the earth.

[Patches]

Io

Io looked to the woman on her right, Cerise. Someone was going with her rather than standing around? Someone who was quick to get started just as she was? Looks like she knew how to get on Io's good side. That was the first thing she picked up about her. The second thing? The orange scent in her breath.

Confidence is what we should be built upon, without it nothing will get done. Plus, no one would want to look up to someone without confidence or belief in themselves, would they? As Abraham and Kari followed as well, Io silently congratulated herself on rushing ahead like this, believing that she had set an example. As she walked with them, she was already making mental notes on her allies, who she wanted in her future and who she would set aside.

Whatever number of Tyrants it is, it doesn't matter. Nothing more than a nuisance. she said. Rubbing at her eyepatch with her middle and index finger, calming the stinging sensation she felt, she got ready to ascend Don't get in my way, don't lag behind, prove yourselves.

[Eleos]

Yui felt a tickle in her nose.

She held her tongue, internalizing the desire to carve some sense into some of the other Daybreakers that rushed ahead. Their decision and actions were true, but the path they took to arrive at their decisions gave her nausea. She tightened her hand into a fist, cracking her knuckles in the process. This was no place to lecture anyone.

Why’d you do that? You know it weakens your grip, child.

“Name’s Yui, I’ll be countin' on ya and the old man if things get sticky. I 'ppreciate your level headedness.” She smiled at girl who identified herself as Lenier.

She actively ignored the voice. Refusing to be agitated anymore, the girl started after the old man, aiming to trail several feet behind him. Frustration was a fuel that burned out too quickly, blood thirst too imprecise, and confidence...she rolled her eyes. Confidence as a foundation? A sad laugh echoed in her mind mirroring her own feelings. The source of the confidence determined its true worth.

No matter how common the situation, no matter how trivial the task…

Never let your ego get the best of you. It’ll always be the things you take as certainty that ruin you, drive you to your knees…

Good girl.

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Cerise~

---

Her head quietly turned to someone who'd she never be associating with - that neanderthal who made an incredibly uncouth and unrefined fart noise. How classy. For a brief moment, there was small compulsion to scrub the filth from this cave...but she suppressed it, focusing back on Io.

"Well...I'm not particularly keen on being a role model," The redhead replied with a light chuckle. "I could care less what people think of me. I'd rather not have the uncultured and cowardly swine that lock themselves up in Lastlights or live in these little hovels have anything to do with me." So far Io seemed fairly tolerable. That last part though - the bit about being a role model didn't sit well with her. Cerise wasn't looking to be a role model - far from it. She didn't care one bit what everyone else thought of her in the long run. They likely weren't going to amount to anything she'd ever want to associate with anyways...

"Oh," She gave Io a hard pat on her shoulder as she passed the other woman. "The names Cerise." She felt at least it was somewhat necessary to introduce herself. Building a little trust and familiarity with the others wouldn't be too terrible of an idea and this woman felt like she could be easily used in some manner. "And just FYI, the only one who's going to be lagging is you." She stuffed her hands back in her jacket pockets and quickened her pace towards the surface.

Oh what fun this was going to be...such a delightful feast.

[Flamelord]

Lenier

Lenier watched out of the corner of his eye as several of the Daybreakers headed off, eager to get to the surface and to the fight. He couldn't fault them for that, since he had done the same thing plenty of times. It seemed he was just in a charitable mood today, when it came down to it. Not that Nirema approved, in all likelihood.

After a few moments he joined the others in heading towards the surface, not moving to overtake those who had gone ahead but keeping roughly near the middle of the pack. If they were so gung ho about saving those people then they could be the first into the fire. He wasn't going to stop them from doing what they wanted as long as they held the same courtesy.

There was one thing that occurred to him as he moved along. "So, what do you guys do?" he asked then. He didn't mind if they wanted to keep it a surprise, but if Lenier could also keep them from killing him - accidentally or otherwise - while fighting a Tyrant then he would be very much appreciative.

Well, he'd see how they responded to that.

[ERode]

Regardless of their varying states of preparation, the group of Daybreakers eventually travelled towards the surface, their eyes set on the goal. As they neared one of the entrances, a cold wind blowing in, transceivers were uniformly removed, placed in a well-hidden spot within the tunnel to retrieve later. Those who had yet to don their Cowl and Crown did so as well, not a single one of them foolish enough to enter a world illuminated by the Scarlet Moon without all their blessings in place.

One by one, they ascended a rusted ladder within a now-empty sewer. Pushing open the manhole cover, the six Daybreakers were now properly within the Ashen Lands, the crimson radiance dying everything a uniform color. Within this world of shadow and redness, it was difficult to remember that other colors did exist. The clouds were burning and the earth constantly trembled, but for the time being, there appeared to be no Tyrants nearby. Tall buildings and cracked pavement greeted them instead, the rusted chassis of automobiles rattling like tin cans with each echoing boom in the distance.

For all the destructive tendencies that they supposedly held, the immortal beasts that ravage the world were more interested in the living instead of the inanimate, and it wasn’t all that difficult to find above-ground metropolises untouched by the Tyrants. Whether or not those ruins remained untouched by Scavengers, however, was another thing altogether.

In the distance, the more keen-sighted amongst the Daybreakers would spot one building collapsed, the rubble obscuring another entrance way into the Catacombs of humanity. That would, at least, explain why the distress signal was fired off to begin with.

A howling wind passed through, dust and ashes stirring like ghosts rising from their slumber.

They were in the area of the distress signal, but with no obvious convergence of Tyrants to point them in the right direction, what were the Daybreakers to do?

[Eleos]

Climbing the rusty ladder, the old man above her and Lenier beneath her, Yui instinctly mumbled to herself.

"We march forward not because we're oblivious of what's to come, but because we fear not the oblivion that follows; that is my promise to you, for I am Yui..."

"The Demon of Progress"

A deep heat rose from her chest as those words rolled off her tongue. Her skin flourished a shade of creamy gray. Her dusty mantle dissolved, giving way to her Cowl, a thin cloth layered several times around her torso and arms. Black metal curved from the small valley of her chest, climbing along her collar bone and encompassing her neck like a skin tight brace, before twisting over her ear to form a pair of small horns. The sound of black leather gloves rubbing against rusted metal was soon replaced with the soft chime of hollow pipes banging into each other, as her arms were now encased in a long, black gauntlet. Looking down to Lenier, her normally warm orange eyes were replaced by a sea of cold blue.

"I'm a walkin' prison cell," she swayed her hips from one side to another, a bright red chain dangling from her waist wagged a few feet above Lenier's face.

"Let's just say people tend to get too attached."

As they made their way to the surface, Yui felt the ashe and dust dance across her face. Taking a deep breath, the Daybreaker scanned her surrounding. The low skyline of a city long forgotten was painted over with various hues of red; a monochromatic eulogy of what once was. The scene never got old for her. Every time she emerged to the surface, she couldn't help but wonder what once was in the hollow land. As the wind picked up, the empty tombs of civilization let out an eerie whistle. The chains by her side rattled restlessly to the cold tune.

As the others placed down their transceivers, the girl silently threw out her chain which magically attached itself against the side of the old living complex. Checking to see the connection was safe, the girl ran up the wall effortlessly using the chain as a sort of rope, before pulling herself over the top. Surveying the land, her eyes managed to barely make out a few collapsed buildings off in the distance. Given the likelihood of this being a rescue mission with group of scavengers missing from town, those spots were a smart place to start looking.

Descending the small building, the girl landed near the group before walking up to the old man and Lenier, ash and dust rising in her wake. She pointed off into two separate locations.

"There's a few collapsed buildin' a bit off both ways. We could send a group off to check those areas and have one or two Breakers watch over the escape route here. If either group runs into somethin' they can't handle alone just make a loud noise."

Looking over to the group of girls that had originally charged ahead, Yui spoke up in a respectful tone.

"I don't mind stayin' behind if ya really itchin' for some action. But in case this was a rescue mission; try to find and save the scavengers first before you get caught up in all the fightin'."

[Patches]

Io

Call me Io. She said, giving her name with a nod. Cerise was beginning to get on her good side. Not easy to get it so quick; thus Io made a mental note to observe her further. I'm not exactly looking to be a role model, that's just part of it. Being a role model to the people living down below matters little. What matters is being a role model to other Daybreakers. Makes sense? Io said, explaining her goals a bit further.

Outside, Io took a deep breath, slowly removing her eye patch, revealing a small mass of white feathers, growing out of the socket. Some sort of bizarre mutation as the result of becoming a daybreaker? Must have lost her eye before she become one. Feeling the dust and ash on her now exposed eye socket, she breathed a sigh of relief. It was strange... Only when she was outside, did the stinging sensation seem to go away.

Donning her crown, her weapon took the form of a small, stiletto knife, giving off a bright orange glow. Then, several more spikes began to appear around her, each just a bit bigger than a sewing needle. The needle began to converge around the knife, bunching up together, all until they were all gathered together. With all the needles gathered, the knife took on the form of a large lance, almost as big as its wielder, made up of thousands and thousands of needles, formed together to make one weapon. Lenier was it? You were wondering what I do? She said, having ignored his question earlier up until now. Well I like to demonstrate rather than tell, so here it is.

Io, watching the so called "demon of progress" observe the surroundings Don't boss me around... Io thought to herself. But now wasn't the time for arguing. Fair enough...

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Cerise~

---

Cerise smirked at Io's response. Well, she could care less about the other Daybreakers as well, but she supposed as far as others went they tended to be the most tolerable. At least they didn't cower in their homes and didn't constantly worry about the roof caving in over their heads because a tyrant was throwing a tantrum. Still...it seemed as though out of most of the others Io was going to be the most tolerable for now, so she'd stick with the other woman as long as her own agenda permitted...and as long as Io didn't try anything funny.

For the rest of the trip up, Cerise was silent aside from humming a quiet tune to herself. As the others handed over their transceivers, she set about donning both her cowl and crown. She was no fool, and going to the surface unprepared would surely be a terrible idea. So as waited to hand over her own transceiver, she sighed.

"Like conceited roses they put themselves on a pedestal, thinking their beauty will never wilt nor will their thorns harm. Even a short lived, brilliant beauty that destroys the future for everyone else but them. I will carve my own beauty upon the world even if it means nothing is left. For like them, I am a Conceited Flower and I will take what is mine."

Cerise's jacket immediately dissolved into nothingness as it was replaced with a long, flowing white sleeveless dress that fell to just below her knees. The dress was definitely likely wasn't what one would call monstrous in any form. The elegant looking garment was embroidered with various elegant pale gold designs, with the back of the dress revealing quite a bit of her back. Long, elbow length gloves covered her arms and thigh-high boots of similar design formed on her legs. Her eyes, had gone form a bright blue to a deep, emerald green.

The crown formed in her right hand next. Vines grew from Cerise's hand, coiling together and writhing until they formed an equally elegant blade that matched the Cowl. The blade itself was long, coming up to Cerise's chest and seemed to be made of a some sort of white metal. The guard of the sword was shaped like a bell - seemingly imitating some types of flowers. In the center, was a section of a dark green color. Oddly, the blade seemed to have grooves built into it as if it was sectioned.

"I have to say, I do quite so enjoy this dress." She chuckled, continuing the trek up to the surface. Once there she let the cool wind and ominous light of the moon wash over her. There was nothing quite as exciting as this, was it? The only issue was that there were no Tyrants trying to skitter around like the vermin they were.

Boring. She was already feeling a bit agitated.

"Rescue mission?" Cerise said with a clearly derisive tone towards 'The Demon of Progress'. "I'm only here to clean this world of the vermin known as Tyrants." She observed the eerily silent area for a few more seconds as a gentle breeze blew her dress. "Ahh...seems as though they're running scared." She laughed with a small smirk. "Guess we'll just have to hut them down like the mongrels they are, then." She turned her head towards Leiner.

"And if you're so curious, maybe you should show us what you can do first, hmm?" She asked.