Crosswire

Of Crosses and Collapses: A Crossover Adventure of Survival on a Patchwork World.

@EventuaThat's fine Eventua. It'll probably take a while for everyone to post anyway given the brief stall to everything. Hope everything is fine on your end though.

Of Crosses and Collapses: A Crossover Adventure of Survival on a Patchwork World.

@FrozenEcstasyYes we're a thing again! Sorry for the wait. Physical therapy, doctor junk, depression, it really slowed my posting progress >_<

I look forward to seeing your post~ Let me know if you have any questions.

Of Crosses and Collapses: A Crossover Adventure of Survival on a Patchwork World.

@agentnumalol Awww, thanks Agent. Honestly I got the map done in fairly reasonable order I mean I only recreated the entire game of Metal Gear Solid 3 up to the place where you fight Ocelot.

It was typing out a good post after being busy with physical therapy and doctor crap for so long. I still have that stuff to worry about but now I'm feeling well enough in the dead.

All I hope is that my difficulties posting didn't cause a mass extinction of players or anything. So thank you and everyone else who's stuck around so far.

Note: Oh and I just finished adding Dishonored to the roleplay!

Of Crosses and Collapses: A Crossover Adventure of Survival on a Patchwork World.

@glwgameplayer Oh no I never said you guys crossed the bridge together. I even specifically stated that your characters only realized the presence of one another after the bridge collapsed, leaving you stuck.

Of Crosses and Collapses: A Crossover Adventure of Survival on a Patchwork World.

@DracoLunaris Good post with Lily and Julian! They have a really fun dynamic that always makes me smile when I read your posts.

Also I realized I forgot to add the Courier to the team on the other side of the jungle. I'll edit the image and post when I get the chance but in all fairness Lavul forgot to add him to the character section when I looked through it initially.

Of Crosses and Collapses: A Crossover Adventure of Survival on a Patchwork World.

@FrozenEcstasy (Sarah Kerrigan), @agentnumalol (John Marston), @DracoLunaris(Lily and Julian Shen), @Eventua (The Batter and Abe), @Oddsbod (Tam Fiernas), @lavulman (THE MERCHANT), @Megsychan (El Presidente), @redbaron1234 (Max Payne), @KaiserElectric (Poppy), @glwgameplayer (Naked Snake)

YES! I did it! I finally posted!

Thank you for your patience everyone. I'm sorry for the delays. My health has been horrible lately and with physical therapy, the stress of dealing with incompetent doctors, and other things I've had a lot of difficulties working on what I want. However I finished a post and now we can finally get things moving. I apologize for how long this took, how I might have rushed through some things to post, and the quality of my latest post.

However I thank everyone who is still here and desires to play. Everyone is free to post now!

The main group of currently introduced characters will start on one end of the map and the character who haven't been introduced yet (Snake, the Merchant, Poppy, and Tam) will start on the other. Baron asked me to leave an opening for the Medic to be introduced later which is why they aren't around yet.

If anyone has any questions, concerns, problems, or just aren't sure of something please let me know. Because I'm still a little bit of a mess right now and I don't know if there's something I missed or messed up in my post.

Of Crosses and Collapses: A Crossover Adventure of Survival on a Patchwork World.

Mentions:

@FrozenEcstasy (Sarah Kerrigan), @agentnumalol (John Marston), @DracoLunaris(Lily and Julian Shen), @Eventua (The Batter and Abe), @Oddsbod (Tam Fiernas), @lavulman (THE MERCHANT), @Megsychan (El Presidente), @redbaron1234 (Max Payne), @KaiserElectric (Poppy), @glwgameplayer (Naked Snake)

---

John Marston's Fishing Results

Wading into the water under the bridge wasn't easy. There was a solid five foot drop into the water from the bridge and the edges on both sides. However dropping down into one of the corners of the pond proved successful and Marston found himself only up to his waste in water, opposed to over his head.

Drawing out his hunting knife Marston would wait.

The waters quickly calmed from his entry and within moments fat, dark shapes began to swim towards him. Cautiously they swam around him before beginning to take soft nibbles at his body. Nothing fearsome or worrying. Marston would know from experience some fish would try to eat anything and his dusty clothes had just enough color left in them to attract them.

Once the fish had lost all sense of worry the cowboy would thrust his blade down, stabbing into the water with one clean moment.

The fish scattered in wild panic to the other side of the pond as blood rose to the surface along with the plump corpse of a skewered fish...

>Marston has caught an Arowana!
Arowana

Arowana

Despite having a lot of bones and having a strange, almost ancient appearance the meat of the fish is very supple and plentiful given the girth of the fish itself.
+Provides moderate Stamina Recovery
+Provides moderate hunger recovery

---

Once Marston had returned to the group the decision on where to go was made.

After some deliberation amongst the group the motley assembly of strangers decided it was time to leave leave 2Fort. They stepped outside the confines of the town and into ‘familiar’ stretch of rolling fields most of them had wandered through to arrive in the settlement to begin with. A glance to the north brought with it both a sense of dread and a faint twinkle of optimism as, one by one, the group began to march.

The largely featureless landscape around them made it rather difficult to visually see the progress they were making. What felt like only a brisk stride forward turned out to be several miles with 2Fort little more than a speck in the distance behind them before completely disappearing from sight.

Continuing north with nothing but stale wind and sun beating down on their heads the group began to encounter drastic shifts in the landscape.

Flat plainlands like the ones surrounding 2Fort gave way to scorching dunes where the sand had the consistency of glass. The dunes gave way to frozen, iced over tundras with winds that blew through the light clothing of the travelers. They had only been walking for a few hours but from the way the temperature, land, and light changed around them it felt like they were crossing entire continents and timezones.

The sudden changes might made some of the travelers in the group sick to their stomachs, others dizzy, others still were unaffected but never the less unnerved by the drastic baseless shifts around them.

Eventually however the insane patchwork landscapes of incompatible terrarians gave way to trees, warm air, and gentle sunshine. Working there way up the side of a steep slope they reached the top and found themselves in what appeared to be a forest of some kind. Tall grass, fallen tree trunks, rocky ledges, and tall climbable trees surrounded them with what appeared to be a path leading deeper into the forest to the north of them.

-YOU HAVE DISCOVERED “Tselinoyarsk”

---

Current Area Referance

Cedar stood beside Quiet. Hunched over with her hands on her knees the young girl struggled to catch her breath and ease her upset stomach after the distance they had walked. The change from hot desert, to frigid tundra, to mild tempered jungle had left the sides of her head pounding. Beneath the skin of her belly her empty stomach gurgled with an audible ache.

"Ughhhhh...I should have...eaten something before I left." Cedar muttered to herself before looking to Quiet.

Despite the hardened, un-bothered expression Quiet wore even she had felt the fatigue of their journey. The horrible cold and extreme heat had sucked a lot of the moisture from her skin. Her mouth was dry and sticky, with her tongue feeling like sand paper against the roof of her mouth.

"As long as the sun is shining I don't need to eat. The parasites will supply me with sugars. But I need water. If I dry out the parasites will begin dying out and if that happens I'll follow suit. Why didn't I bring some water?"

Quiet shook her head in disbelief of herself. Barely a day in a new world and already she was making careless mistakes. Part of her felt the blame fell on the others, especially the girl, for distracting her so much. Throwing blame wouldn't get her fluids though, unless she intended to pair stabbing with her unspoken accusations.

"Are you-you alright?"

Quiet turned and looked to Cedar who looked back with nervous, unsure eyes that prickled with concern. The sniper simply nodded her head and looked away. Though Cedar could tell she was lying. Distracted from their bodily demands the two glanced around at the jungle that surrounded them.

To their left was a fallen tree, big enough that it blocked the area behind it and would either needed to be climbed or crawled beneath. Behind the fallen tree in a little area was a proper standing tree with thick branches and wide leaves. Directly ahead of them was a large tree covered in vines with a single large branch that seemed ideal for standing on. To their right was various patches of tall grass and rocky, ledge ridden protrusion from the ground.

"T-there's probably a lot of things here if we look. Maybe you can get what you need here?" Cedar gestured to the trees and the grasses which for all she knew could be hiding fruits and veggies. The silent sniper simply glanced at her with an unwelcoming frown, forcing the teen to look away.

Quiet however had to admit she was right.

"Foraging in a place like this might be worth wild. Though there's no telling what's ahead..."

Character Status:
Quiet- Moderately Thirsty
Cedar Birch- Very Hungry, Very Thirsty- Minor Fatigue
Sarah Kerrigan- Mild Hunger
John Marston- Moderate Hunger, Minor Fatigue
Lily- Moderate Hunger, Minor Thirst
Julian- N/A, Power at 90%
The Batter- N/A
Abe- Minor Thirst
El Presidente- Very Hungry, Very Thirsty, Minor Fatigue
Max Payne- Very Thirst, Minor Hunger,

Note: Traveling to new areas will typically be taxing on certain characters. Hunger, Thirst, and fatigue can occur during travel though different characters are effected to different degrees. The use of food items, medications, or certain abilities can reverse or negate these effects. If left untreated hunger, thirst, and fatigue will hinder your character's efforts in both combat and general action. Extreme instances of such may even result in death...

---

On the other side of Tselinoyarsk

Far to the north of the 2Fort travelers on the other end of the jungle, another group stood. Complete strangers to one another the five had all crossed the same rickety, make-shift bridge across a large cavernous crevice. The last one across made it just in time as the crude bridge folded and dropped into the threatening darkness below. With no way back the four would be left with one a single away forward, a narrow passage to the south.

Around them was a small grassy area surrounded by thick jungle. A single large rock and a tall, leaf-less tree (not tall enough to reach the other side of the crevice if felled) were the only things of particular note. The area was completely unfamiliar to all but one of the group.

Naked Snake would recognize this area as the place where he had fought Ocelot in their first proper duel...

Having been focused on their travels the four would only then begin to realize the others presence...

Character Status:
*Naked Snake: Moderate Hunger, Minor Fatigue
*The Merchant: N/A
*Poppy: Moderate Hunger
*Tam Fiernas: Minor Hunger, Minor Thirst
*Courier Six: Moderate Thirst

Test

Mentions:

---

John Marston's Fishing Results

Wading into the water under the bridge wasn't easy. There was a solid five foot drop into the water from the bridge and the edges on both sides. However dropping down into one of the corners of the pond proved successful and Marston found himself only up to his waste in water, opposed to over his head.

Drawing out his hunting knife Marston would wait.

The waters quickly calmed from his entry and within moments fat, dark shapes began to swim towards him. Cautiously they swam around him before beginning to take soft nibbles at his body. Nothing fearsome or worrying. Marston would know from experience some fish would try to eat anything and his dusty clothes had just enough color left in them to attract them.

Once the fish had lost all sense of worry the cowboy would thrust his blade down, stabbing into the water with one clean moment.

The fish scattered in wild panic to the other side of the pond as blood rose to the surface along with the plump corpse of a skewered fish...

>Marston has caught an Arowana!
Arowana

Arowana

Despite having a lot of bones and having a strange, almost ancient appearance the meat of the fish is very supple and plentiful given the girth of the fish itself.
+Provides moderate Stamina Recovery
+Provides moderate hunger recovery

---

Once Marston had returned to the group the decision on where to go was made.

After some deliberation amongst the group the motley assembly of strangers decided it was time to leave leave 2Fort. They stepped outside the confines of the town and into ‘familiar’ stretch of rolling fields most of them had wandered through to arrive in the settlement to begin with. A glance to the north brought with it both a sense of dread and a faint twinkle of optimism as, one by one, the group began to march.

The largely featureless landscape around them made it rather difficult to visually see the progress they were making. What felt like only a brisk stride forward turned out to be several miles with 2Fort little more than a speck in the distance behind them before completely disappearing from sight.

Continuing north with nothing but stale wind and sun beating down on their heads the group began to encounter drastic shifts in the landscape.

Flat plainlands like the ones surrounding 2Fort gave way to scorching dunes where the sand had the consistency of glass. The dunes gave way to frozen, iced over tundras with winds that blew through the light clothing of the travelers. They had only been walking for a few hours but from the way the temperature, land, and light changed around them it felt like they were crossing entire continents and timezones.

The sudden changes might made some of the travelers in the group sick to their stomachs, others dizzy, others still were unaffected but never the less unnerved by the drastic baseless shifts around them.

Eventually however the insane patchwork landscapes of incompatible terrarians gave way to trees, warm air, and gentle sunshine. Working there way up the side of a steep slope they reached the top and found themselves in what appeared to be a forest of some kind. Tall grass, fallen tree trunks, rocky ledges, and tall climbable trees surrounded them with what appeared to be a path leading deeper into the forest to the north of them.

-YOU HAVE DISCOVERED “Tselinoyarsk”

---

Current Area Referance

Cedar stood beside Quiet. Hunched over with her hands on her knees the young girl struggled to catch her breath and ease her upset stomach after the distance they had walked. The change from hot desert, to frigid tundra, to mild tempered jungle had left the sides of her head pounding. Beneath the skin of her belly her empty stomach gurgled with an audible ache.

"Ughhhhh...I should have...eaten something before I left." Cedar muttered to herself before looking to Quiet.

Despite the hardened, un-bothered expression Quiet wore even she had felt the fatigue of their journey. The horrible cold and extreme heat had sucked a lot of the moisture from her skin. Her mouth was dry and sticky, with her tongue feeling like sand paper against the roof of her mouth.

"As long as the sun is shining I don't need to eat. The parasites will supply me with sugars. But I need water. If I dry out the parasites will begin dying out and if that happens I'll follow suit. Why didn't I bring some water?"

Quiet shook her head in disbelief of herself. Barely a day in a new world and already she was making careless mistakes. Part of her felt the blame fell on the others, especially the girl, for distracting her so much. Throwing blame wouldn't get her fluids though, unless she intended to pair stabbing with her unspoken accusations.

"Are you-you alright?"

Quiet turned and looked to Cedar who looked back with nervous, unsure eyes that prickled with concern. The sniper simply nodded her head and looked away. Though Cedar could tell she was lying. Distracted from their bodily demands the two glanced around at the jungle that surrounded them.

To their left was a fallen tree, big enough that it blocked the area behind it and would either needed to be climbed or crawled beneath. Behind the fallen tree in a little area was a proper standing tree with thick branches and wide leaves. Directly ahead of them was a large tree covered in vines with a single large branch that seemed ideal for standing on. To their right was various patches of tall grass and rocky, ledge ridden protrusion from the ground.

"T-there's probably a lot of things here if we look. Maybe you can get what you need here?" Cedar gestured to the trees and the grasses which for all she knew could be hiding fruits and veggies. The silent sniper simply glanced at her with an unwelcoming frown, forcing the teen to look away.

Quiet however had to admit she was right.

"Foraging in a place like this might be worth wild. Though there's no telling what's ahead..."

Character Status:
Quiet- Moderately Thirsty
Cedar Birch- Very Hungry, Very Thirsty- Minor Fatigue
Sarah Kerrigan- Mild Hunger
John Marston- Moderate Hunger, Minor Fatigue
Lily- Moderate Hunger, Minor Thirst
Julian- N/A, Power at 90%
The Batter- N/A
Abe- Minor Thirst
El Presidente- Very Hungry, Very Thirsty, Minor Fatigue

Note: Traveling to new areas will typically be taxing on certain characters. Hunger, Thirst, and fatigue can occur during travel though different characters are effected to different degrees. The use of food items, medications, or certain abilities can reverse or negate these effects. If left untreated hunger, thirst, and fatigue will hinder your character's efforts in both combat and general action. Extreme instances of such may even result in death...

---

On the other side of Tselinoyarsk

Far to the north of the 2Fort travelers on the other end of the jungle, another group stood. Complete strangers to one another the four had all crossed the same rickety, make-shift bridge across a large cavernous crevice. The last one across made it just in time as the crude bridge folded and dropped into the threatening darkness below. With no way back the four would be left with one a single away forward, a narrow passage to the south.

Around them was a small grassy area surrounded by thick jungle. A single large rock and a tall, leaf-less tree (not tall enough to reach the other side of the crevice if felled) were the only things of particular note. The area was completely unfamiliar to all but one of the group.

Naked Snake would recognize this area as the place where he had fought Ocelot in their first proper duel...

Having been focused on their travels the four would only begin to realize the others presence. It would be up to them to decide on how to act, move, and treat one another...

Character Status:
*Naked Snake: Moderate Hunger, Minor Fatigue
*The Merchant: N/A
*Poppy: Moderate Hunger
*Tam Fiernas: Minor Hunger, Minor Thirst

Test

Too Long Didn't Read Synopsis

Phantom Step is an anime-inspired mecha roleplay drawing direction from the likes of Mobile Suit Gundam, VOTOMs, Patlabor, Full Metal Panic, and other Real-Robot shows. It is set in a world saved and transformed by a strange substance that arrives on Earth moments before nuclear armageddon. With it humanoid mecha are made possible and soon become a driving force in the new world order.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. But it is often the unseen step, the phantom step, the decision to take the journey at all that is truly the first.

---

The world was once a terrible place.

Long before the end of the 21st century the world had become stagnant. The countless wonders promised by the vast technological and scientific fields hatched at the dawn of the new millennium gave way to dead ends and disappointment. The more people learned the more they were convinced how little was actually possible.

Space travel, the seed that germinated the idea of a brighter future for so many, was deemed ‘unprofitable’. The vast distances required to go anywhere of meaning proved too intimidating and with no obvious solution funding was gutted from nearly all programs.

Advanced cybernetics. The possibility to cure the ills of countless people and restore the lame seemed to die on the table. Progress stopped at overpriced external prosthetics as the human body was deemed too ‘unpredictable’ to accommodate such things without extreme risk of rejection or death.

Artificial intelligences amounted to nothing more than glorified spreadsheet programs and any further integration was deemed ‘unfeasible’ for the foreseeable future.

And robotics, once igniting the imagination of people everywhere with the television tales of hot blooded heroism and possibility, went nowhere. Clumsy humanoid robots stumbled around like badly made toys. The hurdles needed to make them viable for anything of worth proved too much. Engineers were told to be “realistic” and resigned themselves to building cheap robotic arms to replace factory workers around the world.

For every question, for every hopeful dream of a better and brighter future the world seemed to give a resounding, apathetic “No.”

“Unfeasible”

“Unprofitable”

“Unrealistic”

All the while the world warred. Those who opposed each other did not face one another on the field of battle. No. Wars were fought through by proxy in weak, wilting nations by men who did not care, or think about why they fought or what they fought for. Blind nationalism. Unearned wealth and prosperity. Poisonous arrogance born of past deeds no longer relevant.

With every passing day things only seemed to get worse.

Environmental deterioration. A cavernous gap between rich and poor. Corruption. Deceit. Death. Despair. All the while only news of the bleakest and most profitable kind was reported.

People’s hearts began to ache. Individuals seemed to mean nothing. They had no power, no importance, no hope against the bloated masses of corrupt organization and the black hearted, small minded people who dictated them.

For over a century the world sat, pointing unearned weapons of blind death and destruction at each other. Preventing any real fighting, any progress, any change. From every corner of the globe the world seemed to be held in place by the fat, warted hand of reality.

Then it happened.

Bloated egos burst and keys were turned.

Missiles arced through the sky, piercing the atmosphere as they traveled back down to the ground. Weapons of mass destruction flew, ready to wipe everything of meaning from the face of the earth.

Innocent people cowered by the untold millions, huddling in basements and crying in the arms of their families as people cursed their fate.

“Why? Why did it have to end like this? We could have done something great…”

All the while the corrupt men of privilege sat in bunkers, unphased by the result of their insipid actions. Only concerned about their own survival. Their own continuation and the propagation of their narrow, bleak world views.

Seconds ran down on the clock and across the globe missiles struck the Earth…

And nothing happened.

The missiles exploded of course, crumpling on impact, their fuel and unstable parts igniting like gigantic fireworks as they blew craters into the ground.

But there was no flash. No blinding orb of nuclear fire. Out of the thousands of nuclear warheads launched not a single solitary one detonated like they were meticulously designed to.

People still died of course. Houses were crushed, bases lit aflame, cows crapping in fields flash cooked to perfection by the explosions. Yet it wasn’t even a drop in the bucket compared to the destruction that was supposed to have come from the nuclear holocaust.

One by one people stepped outside and turned their eyes skyward. There in the heavens they saw millions of brilliant lights streaking downwards. All across the globe, day and night, the people of earth were witness to what looked like the largest rain of shooting stars ever recorded in human history.

Moments later strange silvery flakes, like snow, drifted down from the sky upon the troubled Earth.

That day became known as The Silver Fall.

A strange material had fallen to Earth, raining across the world from space. The moment it entered the Earth’s atmosphere it produced a inexplicable effect. It’s mere presence prevented the ignition reactions of the WMDs launched at the time. Nuclear, hydrogen, neutron, whatever the material, whatever the process, it was blocked and canceled out.

Like the breath of an angel it settled as a fine dust across the planet and overnight grew into strange, silver crystals. Initially relieved at their salvation from nuclear annihilation the people reflexively expected the worst from the strange substance even after being saved.

Yet time passed and the material seemed to do nothing. It was pretty and grew rather quickly, but it wasn’t any more harmful than stone or steel. Slowly people relaxed and like most problems the material was trivialized. The stuff was everywhere. On rooftops, in gardens, on roads, atop telephone poles, in the guts of abandoned buildings, and even in places where it simply shouldn’t have been able go.

Clean up programs were organized to get the stuff off the roads, but there was simply too much of it to contain.

Attempts were made to study the material and process went nowhere. The material seemed to spit in the face of the people, in the very laws that dictated what it could and could not do. It’s properties remained erratic, almost eldritch, as if it had a mind and a will all to it’s very own.

It was given the name Lucinite.

Many wrote it off as a useless, potentially hazardous material. Why should they care for something they could not define? Could not dictate and control like everything else?

Political fallout from the launching of nuclear weapons occurred all the while a young man working out of a garage began to experiment with the material. Applying it with a rhyme and reason only he understood he achieved things he hadn’t thought possible. The results were amazing and in just a few short months he created a functional bipedal robot capable of being safely piloted by a human being.

Standing 6 meters tall it was a crude thing, but held immense potential for improvement and application.

Yet his attempts to approach companies and investors were met with mockery, and humiliation. Everyone from construction companies to military financiers seemed to go out of their way to shoot down his ideas even when the working fruits of his efforts stood tall before them.

Stricken with anger and contempt for those who slighted him and his creation, the young man swore to found his own company and disappeared shortly after.

A mere two weeks later and war broke out. Seventeen different countries, including major super powers, took up arms against each other. Arrogant militaries and despotic leaders dragged unwilling civilian populaces into a massive war.

Countless numbers of innocents were killed and with the loss of WMDs, desperate countries turned to the use of illegal and experimental weapons. By the time the dust cleared entire nations had ceased to exist and millions were left dead, homeless, and injured.

During all the turmoil a small company by the name of Lucen Critical Components managed to take advantage. It grew from a small company to a massive conglomerate that stretched across the globe. When the war ended they were one of few major corporations left standing after the massive economic fallout.

Specializing in the production of bipedal humanoid machines simply known as “Phantom Steps” and special power generators utilizing Lucenite as a fuel, The Lucen Conglomerate offered humanitarian aid on a massive scale.

Their PS’s helped rebuild roads, utilities, and homes from the remnants of the United States to the abused underbelly of Africa. Lucenite power generators produced clean, nearly free energy for emergency clinics and hospitals treating the burgeoning number of injured and dying. They even provided safety and security, arming PS’s and protecting civilian populations against remaining rogue military elements.

The Lucen Conglomerate ran up a tremendous amount of expenditures as they did so, nearly going bankrupt in the process. However their efforts did not go unnoticed. Profits skyrocketed as their services, products, and expertise were requested and sought after by people across the globe who had witnessed what they had done.

Thankful families they had helped even outright donated money to the company.

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

15 years have passed since then and the Lucen Conglomerate has an iron tight monopoly on Phantom Step technology and Lucenite based power generation. The world is now reliant on them for parts and reactors, as only the CEO understands how to properly produce such mystifying devices.

The company’s grasp was everywhere, and the previous mocked CEO used his influence to enact change.

Following the end of the war, the company helped push certain individuals to suggest the the standing armies of the world were solely to responsible for the war. It was their blind obedience and brain dead discipline that lead to so many deaths. Had the civilian population had any say in it, there would have never been any war.

With many governments near non-existent, the company held tremendous political power. It was suggested that the armies of the world be disbanded, their assets destroyed or repurposed, and that private security forces run and owned by LCC take their place.

“The army exists solely to kill people and destroy things. They have not, and will not ever protect innocent lives. Only a force raised specifically to maintain order and protect can save lives!”

Ten years later and the world is a vastly different place.

Standing militaries are illegalized. The threat of nuclear annihilation seems to be gone forever. Areas of ceaseless conflict from around the world have been pacified and cleansed with advanced fighting machines. Medical, technological, and entertainment no longer seem to have any limits.

The world is at peace...except it’s not.

Lucen Critical Components, the company that helped rebuild the world, now essentially owns and controls it. For all the good they do and wonders they provide, the company has grown oppressive. It stands in the place of governments and it’s will overrules the desires of the people.

For every wondrous possibility, there is a dark and unspoken terror that mirrors it. When anything is possible nightmares can become as real and factual as anything else.

Lucinite has had some strange effects. Certain people have been altered by it and strange, terrible creatures like monsters have begun appearing.

Some people fight for the Lucen C.C, others fight against them.

Gone are the days of impossibility. Of fat, arrogant pessimists dictating the dreams of mankind.

Now is an area of possibility. Of great danger and even greater rewards. Well meaning tyrants and the people who now have the power to truly change things.

All that must be taken is the first step.

A single step is needed to begin a journey of a thousand miles. Some steps are heard. Others are like phantoms. Unseen, unnoticed. But it’s often the things that at first go unnoticed that are the greatest.

It is the Phantom Step.

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

&

Pacific Point- Bed, Bath, and Beyond

Mentions: @Dedonus(Kyra Muller)

---

Gloved fingers dug into triggers as soon as the crackle of water boiling hit the air. Gum recoiled deeper behind his hiding spot as 5.45×39mm rifle rounds and a single 12.7×41mmSR revolver round cut through the misty cover that erupted from Kyra. Muzzles flashes stung the young boy’s eyes, the snaps of bullets clawed at the inside of his ears, and even with the air drenched with water the foul fumes of spent gunpowder burned in his nostrils nearly making him wretch.

The shooting lasted only a moment. Gum and the robbers looked onwards expecting to hear a bullet ridden corpse crash to the wet floor. No sound came amidst the falling water and as soon as the steam cleared they were greeted with empty store space.

“Merde” Devil cursed, head darting to and fro in search of the foxy hero as Gum’s trouble face exploded into a smile.

“How’d she do that?” Gum could only wonder in barely restrain silence as a brief surge of panic seemed to sweep through the ranks of the robbers.

“Fockin’ damn it, did she turn invisible or somethin’?” Tower asked, spitting blood from his cut lips as he bent over and wrenched the whimpering (partially scalded) Hermit back to his feet.

“Unlikely.” Devil said quickly and firmly as he looked between the robbers. “Even if she turned invisible when the steam rose up we were firing enough that we would have at hit her a dozen times on pure accident. Fire isn’t her only trick it seems, she has some kind of movement based power.”

“Like teleporting?” Tower asked, thrusting Hermit’s AN-94 into his uninjured hand.

“Or turning into steam, slipping between dimensions, shrinking down to the size of my patience-” The Frenchmen’s words lingered as he turned his gaze back to the hostages and rubbed the hammer of his revolver.

“However it doesn’t matter where she can move. She’s still in this store and likely isn’t going to leave until we’ve bent over and kissed her furred ass like she expects criminals are supposed to. Everyone keep your eyes peeled and remain together!”

The robbers nodded collectively and turned their gaze outwards from the area they had previously fixed their gaze on. Those who were near the hostages moved forward, walking past them as they began to look towards the edges of the store for any sign of the intruder. Seeing his chance Gum slipped towards the hostages, walking in a crouch to lower his profile. Water had pooled to the point it was up to the welt’s of everyone’s shoes, making it difficult to move without splashing about. Yet the sprinklers still continued to drone on and masked Gum’s noise with their own.

Gagged and restrained not even the three hostages saw Gum as he came up behind them. Splaying his fingers out as hardened Keratin claws pushed from his finger tips.

Dragging the feline cutters across the hostages bindings Gum heard a series of satisfying snaps as he clipped through the zip cuffs and restraints. It was only now he had really begun to realize how properly sharp his otherwise small claws were.

“Just go out the back.”

He whispered into the ears of the employees as they shed their bonds with only the gags choking back screams of surprised. One by one the three minimum wage workers turned and stood to their feet. Despite Gum’s warnings however they abandoned any semblance of stealth and bolted towards the fire exit at the far rear of the store.

The splashing of three sets of shoes alerted one of the more keen eared robbers. Almost reflexively he shouldered his weapon and wrapped his finger around the trigger to fire. He failed to see the blue eared cat boy crouched down barely three feet away.

Without thinking Gum kicked off the floor and hurled himself at the robber, arm pulled back and hand opened wide. Only the splash of the young boy’s shoes bursting from the pooled water tipped the robber off and he turned his head just in time to see an arm swinging towards his face. In one swift motion Gum drew his right hand down the left side of the robber's face.

Claws, like steel razors cut into his forehead and were pulled straight downwards by the falling moment of Gum’s leap. Claws pushed down through the eyebrow and outright split into the eye with a hot oily spurt of fluids.

“ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

A high pitched scream shook the store and every robber spun in place to see one of their colleges crash to the floor, a fount of blood spilling from a mess of gore where an eye had once been.

Gum landed on his feet in front of the collapsed man covered in a hearty smattering of red. The boy barely had time to fully realize what he’d done when another robber fired from the hip. Moving without thinking Gum rolled sideways throwing pooled water in a spray as bullets tore through the space where he had been moments before.

As he rolled Gum outstretched his arm and scooped the gun besides the fallen robber into his hands. Jerking to his feet the boy turned the rifle that seemed laughly large in his hands towards the man who had fired on him.

“!!!”

The armed man already had his finger on the trigger of his gun and even with Gum’s reflexes could have been the first to fire. Yet in that moment, and only that moment, the robber hesitated. A child was pointing a gun at him and his finger refused to listen to him.

Gum’s finger smashed back into the trigger of his rifle without a single loss in momentum. A brief, thunderous series of bangs cut through the air as half the clip of an AN-94 was emptied into a 27 year old robber.

No shout of pain or cry of agony escaped the second robber’s lips as he crashed to the ground. The high power rounds of the rifle had punched clean through the light kevlar vest he wore and had refused his lungs to the consistency of soup in a matter of moments.

It had only taken a instant to pull the trigger but for Gum the man’s body seemed to fall in slow motion. He felt as if he could see blood droplets land in and send ripples through the water pooling on the floor before the man’s body dropped. Adrenaline blasted through his bloodstream as he looked up to see every robber in the store point their guns at him.

Denied even a second to fully recognize what he’d done Gum bolted and ran to the right as Tower and the remaining robbers fired at him. His legs carried him ahead of their aim but only barely as wall of gunfire followed him, reducing the shelves and displays he passed to nothing in a haze of chaff.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Gum screamed, unable to contain his fear and unbridled panicked as he moved.

As Gum ran Devil stepped back and slid behind a shelf on the left side of the store watching as their hostages ran out the back door.

“As much as I hate to admit it the renard was right. We can either leave here in chains or in body bags, but not as free men. Not unless…”

Glancing around Devil reached into his jacket and pulled out a phone. At a glance the cellphone seemed like any other but it’s sleek exterior, dead black coloring, and the strange checkering across the entire frame gave away it’s more advanced nature.

Without a pause or the consideration of any alternative Devil opened the phone and speed dialed the only number stored to memory. Pressing the phone to his ear the dial tone rung in his ear drums before a voice on the end greeted him.

“Yes, it’s me. I’ve reconsidered your offer.”

“...”

“No.”

“...”

“Yes I understand I’ll be at a disadvantage in regards to negotiating our place in things but I’m willing to accept that for some assistance.”

“...?”

“Don’t act surprised, besides there’s more than enough in it for you. There are two here, but she said there were others on their way.”

“...”

“Hmmm. That’s less than ideal but as long as you actually come through it shouldn’t matter. We’ll try not to die then.”

Hitting the end call button Devil flipped the cell phone closed and tossed it to the floor. It had begun to smoke. By the time it fit the floor it’s frame had collapsed in itself the plastic melting and the circuitry cooking to unrecognizable state. Even in the constant drizzle of the sprinkler system the strange cell phone was quickly reduced to a blob of inert plastic...

Crude Position Map 3