[IC] Shots in the dark (Sci-fi/fantasy) a noir sandbox RP.

[deadpixel101]

It drifted higher and higher, casting it's shadow over the faces of many. A transport vessel containing workers, tools and building materials. All in black it would be hard to notice at night, but right now mid-day, it stuck out against the clear blue. Another transport pod floating up to the veiled bundle of odd shapes in the sky. No longer an odd sight to anyone living in the city, the Modacci's new pet project was no secret. It would be hard after all to hide something being built in mid air. Especially something that massive. Not many could tell what was under all those night colored tarps, but most could assume it would be making money, or causing trouble. Likely both. One soul who did in fact know what was being built there, sat on the railing atop a sharp turn, in one of the more oddly terrained parts of the city. His legs hanging off the flat concrete drop, Vati pumped his foot back and forth absentmindedly, his usual grin on his pale features. Not far off behind him, a bus had recently been commandeered. A band of nearly a dozen masked men was holding the vehicle at gun point, an odd symbol glowing faintly on all their necks, they raced with all their passengers through the busy streets. It veered behind him dangerously, threatening to fly over his perch. Staying to the road by some miracle, the long metal transport raced down the hill, heading deeper into the heart of the city. Closer and closer to the even larger and taller buildings. Whether it had a target or not was questionable. Vati regarded it speed by with little change in his demeanor. Yet another day in Pyrrhic... Across the city at any one moment, an ancient pact was about to be re-made, a stealth bomb was being installed, and a new masked vigilante was making their way to hunt evil. Though this is all (possibly) unrelated, to you.

[cuttlebones]

Peering down the barrel of a gun was hardly the most relaxing start to the day for Benjamin. The bus he was on was had been boarded by some less than friendly passengers, who were driving it down town at break neck pace. The men, who's features were obscured by masks, had wasted no time in baring their weapons at each and every one of the passengers. Normally in this kind of situation getting away from the bus would be the centre of Benjamin's attention but, true to the nature of Pyrrhic city, this was not your 'normal' hold up. Everything about it was strange. First, why drive away a bus you're holding up, people are unpredictable, and would become more of a liability to the criminals. The sensible thing to do would be take their valuables and high tail out of there. If the vehicle was transporting an expensive cargo this might make sense, but as far as Benjamin knew this was just a bus. Secondly there was some sort of glowing mark on their necks. This could indicate cult membership, but Benjamin's current favourite theory was that they were 'zombies'. Probably not dead technically, but the mark was holding sway over their will. It was too soon to make a move, he was simply to curious about what was going on here to make a break before he had any facts. His mind told him he was making a mistake but his heart and his gut were urging him to stay put. For now he simple concentrated on the gun in front of him. He was so close to it that the cold smell of steel filled his nostrils and he could make out the scratches on the inside of the barrel. Should the man with his finger on the trigger move even an inch Benjamin, would attempt to drop his body below the line of fire and spring back up with a sharp strike to the neck. It wasn't a sure fire plan but it was for the worst case scenario anyway. For now he was happy to wait and see.

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

Public transport. Crammed into a metal box with a dozen other people driven by an incompetent over the bumpy, poorly maintained roads of Pyrrhic. Bumped up against others, sharing their space, having to listen to whatever sort of sound they decided to make. Lily Carnation did not relish this. But she didn't have a car and it was too far to walk to work. Sometimes she considered just living at the morgue. She stayed late enough, and got there early enough, that no one would probably notice. Except today, that is, the day the bedraggled old alarm clock in her apartment had decided to die. So now not only where there more people than she was used to dealing with, but the driver was even more of an incompetent than usual. She done her best at the start of this hellish ride to tune out everyone else and start intently out the window, but even she was noticing that this idiot was going to be giving her some work if he didn't stop joyriding around. Blissfully, though, the rind was almost over. She reached up and pulled the yellow cord above her head as her stop came into sight. Then she pulled twice more as the stupid bastard didn't seem to be slowing down. Then she stared, mouth agape, as they rolled past the morgue and away around a corner, nearly trashing a newsstand in the process. She stood up. "Hey! What the...." She started, then became aware that this was a situation and slowly sat back down. She looked around, confused. How the hell had she missed this? Why hadn't anyone told her this was happening? Two things jumped out at her first off: first, the marking on their necks. Some bodies had shown up recently that had that same mark, carved into the skin. Secondly, she recognized someone. Recognized someone she had shot at once. She'd been tracking one of her bodies (Walden McMillan, age 34) and caught up to it just as this guy had finished devouring it. That was one of the few pages in her files that she'd had to leave blank. It wasn't a nice feeling when that happened. Not a nice feeling at all. She looked around at the rest of the gunmen and bitterly remembered that her weapons were still at the office. With no other options she hunkered down, tried not to draw any more attention to herself, and watched that guy in case he tried something and got shot.

[KyzeRUndecided]

Today officially sucked. 'Suck' was a bit of an understatement, really, but at the current moment, it seemed to be the best way Emily could describe being held at gunpoint by hostile men in a speeding bus. Really, officially sucked. Emily fidgeted in her seat, eyeing the gunmen warily. Masks, weird markings, passenger stealing -- they might as well have been carrying a sign saying, 'We eat puppies! We kick old people! We sacrifice thousands of souls to resurrect the lost god, Hergoruth!'. Something along those lines. Her hands reached up towards her neck, gripping her invisibility charm. It became a habit for her to toy with it whenever she was nervous or lost in thought. The charm's odd symbols, deeply carved into the ivory griffin bone, gave the elf a small bit of comfort whenever she traced them. Emily's fingers held tight to the charm, her gaze flickering from it to the exit. Maybe, just maybe, she could turn invisible and sneak off the bus. She could even try knocking a guy out and looting the body if she had time. A small smile tugged at her lips before disappearing. There were two things keeping that plan from working: sneaking past an armed group in a narrow walkway wasn't going to be easy at all, and the bus was moving. Fast. She sighed, her grip slacking. "And to think that I woke up on the right side of the bed," Emily said to no one in particular, huffing in annoyance. Hopefully, the other passengers would prove to be wonderful cannon fodder just in case all hell broke loose and Emily had to go.

[Mr_pink]

Jefferson looked up over his overtly stylized glasses. The bus was moving much faster now and the armed robbers seemed a lot more nervous than they did when they had first pulled out their weapons. He could feel the cold steel of his revolver on the inside of his suit jacket. It would be suicide to just whip it out in a futile effort to kill them all. At best he'd probably only be able to get one and even then he might hit one of his fellow passengers. He decided to just let the situation happen, he wasn't really fond of dying and if he was to die he wanted a good looking corpse, not one riddled with bullet holes. Jefferson eyed the armed men carefully. They had some sort of tattoo on their necks, probably some sort of gang marking. Everything else about them was nondescript. A small grin grew on his face, but quickly retracted. He was the only journalist in the city who was on the bus, it wasn't going to be a slow news day after all.

[deadpixel101]

The speeding bus zigged and zagged in between cars. The masked man who had grabbed the wheel was doing a surprisingly good job of keeping his vehicle safe, despite the break neck speed they were going at. The bus driver, who had been promptly knocked out, was tied to one of the poles running from floor to ceiling. The old lady sitting near him seemed quite off-put by this, and kept a handkerchief at the ready, in case he slipped a little too close to her. One of the marked and masked men, was holding his gun quite close to one of the passengers. A young man with suspenders and a bracelet. Unlike quite a few of the hostages, he seemed more interested and curious, then worried. The man holding him at gun point, was trying his best to not show how he actually felt. Sweat was dripping down his features, his hands were forcing themselves not to shake as they should have been. His eyes darted from face to face. The longer they drove, the more and more he seemed desperate for them to stop. A wave back from teh driver, and the man took his finger off the trigger. Switching to a sudden slow, everything jerked a bit. The masked men, who had apparently been ready, made sure not to let off any accidental shots. The bus was still moving. A masked assailant, who had been sitting calmly up until now, stood up and turned back to face all of the passengers. He was blocking the front door. "Alright folks." He started, finally giving perhaps some notion as to what was going on to all aboard the bus. "What we have here is a change in course. You will all still be dropped off, safe and sound. The location in which you are deposited, may have changed slightly." He dropped the clip from his large silver pistol into one hand, checking it's contents. "If you all comply, none of you will be hurt. You can all go on to live another day..." He loaded the clip back into his weapon. "You are all lucky enough, to be chosen, chosen to join our cause. The wonderful cause of-" A sudden complete stop of movement, made him dip back, almost falling. Looking back angrily to the driver, the speaking man was faced with what was ahead on the road. A large police blockade. Cars turned sideways across the entire street, with men and woman on duty, crouching behind their vehicles with guns at the ready. Sure, the police force in Pyrrhic was rarely successful in stopping large calamities. But they had to deal with things like this every week. They were fast, they were ready. And it seems today they weren't bribed. They were going to do their job. The sudden block seemed to have caught the entire group of armed men off-guard. They looked at one another, their weapons seeming to have passed their minds, along with their hostages. The old lady pushed the portly bus drivers head away from her knee. Throwing the cloth out the window as soon as she was done with it.

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

"Yes, yes, wonderful cause of...?" a voice cuts through the silence. Lily lays her head against the window, watching the men closely. "Come on," she says, "Before you all get snipered and I have to figure it out the hard way." She takes her hand and taps two fingers on her neck, right where their marks are. "What's that? And if you would all share your names and medical histories right now it would save me some time later." She locks eyes with the one of them, the ball of nerves that had been sweating and shaking moments earlier, and very pointedly says, "I'm a coroner, you see?"

[cuttlebones]

The situation had developed rapidly but unfortunately it looked like it was about to dissipate in as little time. The bus had juddered to an unexpected halt, jerking the masked men off balance. The Pyrrhic city police department was out in full force. The police force didn't see much major activity due to the fact that most big problems were either way out of it's scope, or were protected by the Modacci. It wasn't often that the department got to show off, and it seemed like they were taking full advantage of it today. It was just then that a girl, who Benjamin immediately recognised as the coroner Lily Carnation, spoke out. She spoke professionally, asking all the right questions. However the masked men, who had already been jumpy, must now be hitting new heights of adrenaline. Hopefully they wouldn't get trigger happy. Either way, better safe than sorry. Benjamin, using the distraction caused by Lily, managed to subtly down a shot of good luck potion he had prepared earlier. "In addition to the coroner's questions why don't you drop the weapons, no point getting shot over nothing. Also I hope you'll appreciate me telling you the more cooperative you are, the more lenient the police are going to be." If she's being bad cop I guess I'll be good cop, thought Benjamin.

[deadpixel101]

"Pyrrhic city police department. Step out of the bus with your arms up!" A commanding voice shot from the megaphone. A man with graying hair and a well kept beard barked the order. He seemed to be the one in charge, as he donned the trademark hat, with the crest of his outfit. "If you act peacefully, the situation will be much easier for you." He was calm in his words, apparently confident that the situation would go his way, however that was. "Uh..." The nervous man looked at the woman with red hair. He didn't seem to have any answers at the top of his head. He placed a hand over his neck as to cover the mark, but after a millisecond, took his arms back up, pointing the weapon directly at the coroner. "Don't say a d-damn thing..." a slight shake to his tone, but there was a very real danger to his words. A second voice off to his side asking more questions, and the nervous man's expression faltered back to it's less than threatening one once more. "C-coroner?" A bullet breached the ceiling. The man who seemed to be the leaders of the bus-napper, was holding the pistol high above his head. "Pyrrhic city police department. If you do not move, we are not afraid to drive right on through you. A bus is a hell of a lot heavier than your cars. And trying to shoot us may hurt one of our civilian friends here no?" A silence loomed in the air. Just as the leader was to once again speak, a hissing sound filled the metal compartment. A black sort of wispy gas was flowing through the windows. The armed men trained their weapons at what appeared to be nothing. "Police chief." The leader yelled out once more. "You've wasted our time too long." A loud and heavy sound echoed through the vehicle, a scream followed and in an instant, the black gas was too thick to see through. A few gunshots could be heard coming from outside, confused shuffling followed. Then it was done. Whatever event had just transpired, was over in seconds. Men were on the floor, pale as pale could be. Their weapons lying next to them, the criminals, were done. The marks, had noticeably left their necks, and if one were to investigate, their pulses, would have too left the men. If one were to look at themselves instead though, they would fine a memorable symbol, located on their own necks. A man in a suit, with slicked hair, and a fixated grin, leaned against the back of the bus. Wisps of black smoke retreating up through his sleeve. "Not this time either eh..."

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

Lily's reaction when the smoke dissipates and she gets a good look at the scene before her is immediate, almost automatic. It's like watching a sleepwalker suddenly awaken. She stands, walking over to each of the hijackers in turn to make sure that they're dead. After ascertaining that they were, in fact, deceased in the traditional sense she picks the leader and tears off the mask covering his face, opening up his eyes, peering down his throat, and generally checking over his body for wounds or any sort of identification. While studying the corpse in front of her she says to the air "Someone make sure the cops know what's happened, they don't get many chances to show off so they might still be really eager to storm this bus." (Can Lily determine cause of death from a cursory examination of the body?)

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

She goes to each of the men in turn, quickly and roboticly. Works over each one, giving them the same treatment as she fishes a tape recorder out of her coat pocket. She flips it on and begins speaking into it. "Party of 11 men, ages mid teens to early forties, predominately human, with two elves and an orc. State of the eyes indicate cause of death is suffocation." She quirks an eyebrow, leans down, and takes a huge whiff of the nearest body. "Days ago." She continues. "A little less than a week." She goes again, checking the smell of each one, looking closer for signs of decomposition. "This entire group was undead. No open wounds found on subjects nor any form of identification. Strange markings present on subject while they were animated have disappeared. Unable to accurately determine cause of second death at this time."

[cuttlebones]

When Benjamin saw the gas he went into an almost automatic state of alarm, though managed to restrain himself from reckless action due to a combination of risk of getting shot and the knowledge that the police department were above gassing citizens. If they didn't care about the citizens inside they would have just blown the bus into the after life after all. He covered his face and weathered the panic. According to the Lily, who was now examining the fallen criminals, he was right, they had been zombies. However there was something not quite right. He felt like all his hair was standing on end. He had fallen out of his equilibrium. It was then that he noticed that while the glowing marks had vanished from the mens' necks (not surprising if they were 'reanimated'), they had been almost transferred to the necks of the passengers including, even more worryingly, his own. 'Excuse me coroner, do you have any idea what these marks could be?' He asked in a quiet, tone, with only the faintest note of worry tinging his voice. If she didn't know he'd take it to the voodoo queen, in Pyrrhic city problems are scientific or magical, luckily he was now in contact with an expert in both. 'Also, should I see an doctor about exposure to that gas?'

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

"No idea. I've seen them before, but they were carved not glowing. They've disappeared though, so-" It is at this moment, ignoring the bodies for the first time and actually looking at someone else, that she noticed the marks hadn't vanished. She covered her face with one hand and made an angry little sound at the back of her throat. She had one. She didn't even have to look, she just knew. "Oh you bastard." She said to the orc corpse. "I told you to tell me what this was, but nooooooooo, you had to pick that moment to flop over. Couldn't just make this easy, huh? Could you!" She leaps up and swings her leg back to kick the body, but then catches herself. She diverts course and slams her boot into the underside of someones seat. Once. Twice, Three times. Then she growls, then she sighs, and hangs her head and counts to ten. There had been so much she planned to do today. Regaining her composure she looked up again, rubbing her temples. "If you're worried about that smoke I'd go to a Thaumaturgist before a doctor. If there was something normal harmful in that smoke you'd be feeling it by now, either in your head or your nose. I don't have the skills to say whether something magic has been done to you."

[deadpixel101]

"Shots fired!" The chiefs voice called out. "Sir, if you do not respond, we will be forced to come to you!" Stamping feet could be heard. The bus was being surrounded. "If any hostages are hurt, our day has just become much more eventful!" It seems the gas has had the same effect on the police, as on the passengers, confusion, and alarm. "Step out, with your hands up!" The cliche phrase was bellowed towards the vehicle. The heads of the armed (tall) and ready police force could bee seen just peeking at the edge of the window. The working men and women were waiting or a response from twice dead men, and if they didn't get one soon, things could get needlessly annoying. Vati sat on the fire escape of a tall apartment building, overlooking the bus fiasco. A slight chuckle raising from him. "A little late to the party gents." His oily voice regarded the scene to himself. He seemed quite pleased with what was happening. A cool breeze rolled by him, the smell of smoke catching his attention. "But of course, this isn't the only party in town..." He looked off t his left, and promptly, vanished in a cloud of black.

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

"Oh for the love of..." Lily said, fishing her idea out of her pocket and throwing open one of the windows, flashing her coroners badge at anyone that looked like they took orders. "Lorenzo!" She yells out to the chief. "If you and your jackbooted thugs storm this bus, stomp all over these bodies, shoot people in the head, and generally make my job any harder than it's already going to be I swear to god we will have words! Perps down! Dial it back!"

[cuttlebones]

"Do you mind if I take one of these bodies, once you've finished your job?" Enquired Benjamin, in a measured polite tone. "I'm with the Dome of Protectors, here's my ID" He continues, smiling and quickly flashing his special agent badge. "The information recovered from these could definitely come in useful with future operations. All for the good of Pyrrhic city right?" His perfect tone slightly tailed off as he saw a tall man clothed in a dark Italian suit outside. He could swear that he had seen him before, in the 'memories' of a corpse he had consumed earlier. Having said that the Modacci employed a lot of people, Either way he had started reaching for his camera mid-sentence.

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

"Do you mind if I take one of these bodies, once you've finished your job?" Enquired Benjamin, in a measured polite tone. "I'm with the Dome of Protectors, here's my ID" He continues, smiling and quickly flashing his special agent badge. "The information recovered from these could definitely come in useful with future operations. All for the good of Pyrrhic city right?" His perfect tone slightly tailed off as he saw a tall man clothed in a dark Italian suit outside. He could swear that he had seen him before, in the 'memories' of a corpse he had consumed earlier. Having said that the Modacci employed a lot of people, Either way he had started reaching for his camera mid-sentence.

@cuttlebones

She pulls her head back in and looks him up and down like he's just asked to eat her first born child. What the hell kind of question was that, from him of all people? Did this jackass seriously not remember what...then again, he turned out to be a Dome spook. He probably got shot at while devouring bodies all the time Besides, this could be the opportunity to answer some nagging question. "Depends." she replies. "Who was Walden McMillan, and why did you eat him?"

[cuttlebones]

Lily returned his politeness with a look that would have been too awful for a convicted mass murderer. He was a little taken aback. He understood that he was asking for something important but there was a certain underlying violence to the glare she gave him, like he was basal and almost nauseating to her. At least that was his impression. Then it all became clear. "Who was Walden McMillan, and why did you eat him?". Benjamin never forgot a body the maw had consumed. His brain immediately reached deep down and pulled together all the memories of Walden McMillan he had taken in. He could picture the scene perfectly, he had been shot at but he hadn't managed to get a clear look at his attackers face, apart from that he was certain he had left no evidence of any kind, and there hadn't been any other witnesses, it must be her. "I couldn't say that I've eaten anyone." Benjamin knew she'd know he was lying but confessing would be pointless as he hadn't left any evidence, he wasn't about to be perjured."But I do remember a Walden McMillan, he was a start-up alchemist type, thought he'd be able to make significantly more money dealing drugs without going through the Modacci, not giving them a cut would mean he could drop prices and hopefully corner the market. Modacci let him do this for quite a while, my guess would be they were letting him build himself up to make an example out of him. He disappeared even faster than he entered the scene, but that's what happens when you get on the wrong side of the Modacci." Benjamin's tone was calm and even, he was hoping for a favour and this was old information, so he'd give it to her for free. Besides coroners usually fell into two types, those 'friendly to' (and thus left alone) by the Modacci, and those protected by The Dome (increasing their life span by a bit while letting them keep their morales). He'd be curious to see which one Lily was closer to.

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

"Then yes, you may have a body when I'm done." She replies, satisfied. She looks back over the collected corpses on the bus. With a load this big one of them was bound to have, if not no family, at least no one willing to pay for a funeral. There was a whole side job some of her colleagues ran with bodies like that, selling them to ghouls. Sometimes they hadn't even done any investigation before carting them out to the Dead Zone, the lazy bastards. "But next time you see a Walker with a toe tag, at least check that it's not one of mine first."