Ruugard

Operation: X-Men

Altered Tundra said
Just wanted to say that was a wonderful post, Ruu and Violet. :)

Thanks! ^_^

Operation: X-Men

Will & Chase

“You’re leaving?”

Will reached behind the counter of the run-down bowling ball center, swiping at her last pay check left here by her coworker, Angela. Turning to grab the last of her belongings, she looked to the small girl, no older than ten at most, and shrugged.

“I’ve got to, kid.” Ruffling her blonde hair, she headed toward the door, only to be stopped halfway by a frantic child. She huffed and laced her arms over her chest, refusing to let Will go any further.

“But you can’t just—” she cried, “just leave! What about my birthday party? You said you’d be there! You said, Willy!”

Willy. There was only one person who had ever been permitted to call her Willy. And that was little Daisy. The daughter of the woman who owned the bowling alley. And also the very one that stood before her, with blonde curls bouncing with every nudge of her head and tears that rolled down her bright blue eyes, stroking her rosy cheeks. Daisy sniffled, just barely audible over the blaring ’70’s music that her mother was so weirdly fond of.

“Look, I don’t have a choice, understand? I can’t stay here,” Will grunted, doing her best to stay calm. She needed to get on the road. It wasn’t long before her tenant would notice she wasn’t there.

“But—” Daisy argued.

“I’ll be back,” Will blurted, hearing the phone ring at the desk. Surely it couldn’t be her tenant, but on the other hand, perhaps it could be. He did know her work number. He’d call every now and again when others would complain of smelling weed or, in this case, when she didn’t pay rent on time.

“When?” Daisy asked.

“Uh,” Will glanced hurriedly at the phone, which Georgia now held and locked eyes with Will. “Soon, okay? Soon. I promise.”

The moment Georgia’s lips began forming that of Will’s name, she bolted. Daisy objected, but Will had to leave. She had no other choice. She knew she wouldn’t return, but the kid would soon learn that people would not always follow through with the promises they made. She had to leave. She simply had to.

Even if this had once been her home, too.

In situations like this – there was no time to think. Only do. Will was in no shape to fight off any more enemies, as every part of her being ached with such unbearable pain, leaving her inert. Her eyes were trained on the ground, caught in a daze that she couldn’t elude. If she didn’t know any better, she would’ve thought she may faint again, as the sounds around her gradually molded into nothing but a ringing that filled her ears.

Then, there was movement. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to cause Will to blink. Her eyes watered, but only slightly, as a tinge of pain came with every bat of her eyelash. She swallowed, though her throat threatened to close, and in seconds, she found that she was on her feet by the help of Chase, the excruciating pain gone numb. She hobbled forward alongside him, not entirely sure where they were or how they’d gotten there.

It was quiet here, and not at all like it had been at home. Four walls closed them in, but in such a way that it was comforting. There weren’t guns being pointed at them, or high-pitched screams, and Will did not feel that her life was at much of a risk. If anything, she supposed she felt… safe. Here. In what was called the X-mansion. She looked to Chase, slowly detaching herself from him.

“I’m good,” she told him, her voice cracking.

Chase nodded, releasing his hold on her and looking around. He was a bit disoriented, now suddenly at the X-mansion when only moments ago they were all at the ranch. How far had they traveled in mere seconds? Thousands of miles?

"Incredible..." he murmured, shivering slightly. He was still on edge, pumped up from adrenaline and shaking slightly. For a minute he thought he might pass out right then and there, but he didn't, instead pushing himself to move forward and walk away from their entrypoint. It was what his leaders wanted, anyway. Chase motioned for Will to follow.

As the two wandered down the nearest corridoor, the young man sighed, putting a hand to his head. "All of this is a bit much..." he stated, leaning up against a wall. Will snorted, taking a seat on the opposite wall.

"No kidding," she muttered, leaning her head back. She didn't say anything after that, and for the sake of avoiding awkward silence or possibly falling asleep right then and there, Chase spoke up again.

"I can't believe Noel's dead..." he frowned, eyes stinging.

Will sighed, clearly hoping for some silence, but responded anyway. "I mean, I didn't really know him..." the older girl swallowed uncomfortably and looked around, trying to find something else to talk about. "This place is... huge..." she finished lamely.

Chase coughed out a laugh, nodding at the ridiclousness of it all. "Yeah," he replied, smiling a bit, "I might just sleep out here. Forget trying to find the bedrooms."

At that, Will laughed - albeit sharply - and proceeded to stand, putting most of her weight on the wall. "Well, you can sleep on the floor if you like, but I have standards."

Chase groaned, but stood. "Fine, fine, but if we find a couch before a bed, I'm taking it." He stretched a bit, as if in emphasis, and took the lead; a silent Will followed, rolling her eyes. She might just fight him for a couch.

Fortunately for the both of them, they soon stumbled upon a game room with several couches, a television, a pool table, and various board games. Chase sighed in relief, walking over to claim the largest couch when Will shoved past him. "Nope. Mine." she stated, falling uncerimoniously onto the cushions.

Chase scowled, "But I'm taller." he complained. Will simply folded her hands behind her head, stretching out so that all 5 foot 7 inches of her filled the sofa. "I'm older," she countered, closing her eyes, "Now stop being a pussy and go to sleep."

Chase grumbled to himself but didn't argue any further, lying down on the loveseat. His legs dangled off the end. "You suck," he yawned, drifting off.

Will smirked, on the edge of sleep. "Nah, I lick."

Road to Ruin: Character Sheets

Appearance:

Shawn is rather tall, standing at 6'1". He has brown eyes and dark hair - usually cut short - and more often than not sports a bit of beard and a mustache. He couldn't really be bothered with shaving all that often, so he doesn't. He's not bulky, but he's not scrawny either, falling somewhere in the middle. He has what you would call 'practical muscle', developed to survive. All in all, he's rather average for the times.

Name: Shawn Tuller
Age: 21

Noteworthy Skills:
- Thief

Weapons:
- Hunting Knife
- SIG Saur P226

Personality:

There’s not much to Shawn nowadays. He’s rather cold to those he doesn’t know, distrustful of all but a select few, and honest to a fault. Blunt, is more like it. He doesn’t sugar-coat things really, or lie about anything that’s important. He has his secrets of course, and he doesn’t share those with many people either. All in all, he’s going to do his own thing and he doesn’t so much care what other people are going to do, so long as they don’t get in his way.

He’s drawn to people that remind him of his family. Whether that be a soldier – like his brother – or a girl that looks particularly like his mom or sister. Either way, that’s one of his soft points. He can sympathize with people who have plights close to his own, but can’t stand others who whine about every last thing. He’s almost always in a constant state of alert – ready to fight when need be – and the fact that people are getting comfortable with how things are irritates him as well.

History:

Shawn didn’t always live in Billings, Kansas. In fact, he was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. He had a mother and father, as well one older brother and one younger sister – sitting perfectly in the middle by two years on each side. Currently, they are no longer with him – victims of The Fall.

He was 19 going on 20 when it happened; home for some time from college at the local community campus. It was some holiday or occasion, so his brother was home as well, on temporary leave from the army. Tommy had enlisted straight out of high school, if Shawn remembered correctly, and he seemed to be loving it thus far. Luckily for the Tullers, Tommy’s never been deployed, but that’s not particularly unusual for where he’s stationed – or so the soldier says. Something about how his company or whatever job he had was not needed? Or maybe it was because they weren’t at war at the time? The actual reason Shawn and his family had received was now lost to the youngest son, outweighed by the memories that followed.

Two days upon returning home, Tommy got a phone call. It was some sort of higher up or somebody in power, but the gist of the message was clear. He had to go back. It was a little unsettling, especially since the older brother had often claimed that it was a very slim chance for time off to be cut short. The main reason behind this was that he still didn’t rank high enough to be of much importance unless there were some sort of crisis. Or they were at war. Either way, Tommy left that night, and that would be the last time Shawn would see him.

Despite the suspicious event of his older brother’s departure, the next several days of Shawn’s vacation was rather uneventful. It wasn’t until the last day before heading back to campus that things became weird. His younger sister, Lilly, was outside playing with the family dog when it happened. From her recount, she had heard some sort of strange noises coming from behind their fence – the side separating them from their neighbors next-door. The dog seemed upset by it, so she went up to the fence to check it out. Upon peering through a gap between panels, she claimed to see what looked like their neighbor, Mr. Jennings, only he wasn’t himself. He was slack-jawed and deformed, skin peeling and cracking in a uniform decayed manner wherever she could see skin. And he was… feasting on what appeared to be Mrs. Jennings.

Unable to contain her horror, Lilly screamed, alerting the beast who had been Mr. Jennings. As he scrambled to break through the barrier between them, she ran inside and locked the doors, pulling the curtains shut. Their parents didn’t believe her at first – who would? – but when their ghastly neighbor began scratching at their back door, it was evident she wasn’t lying. Or on some sort of hallucinogen. Their mother attempted to call 9-11 but the line seemed down, so they all did the next best thing. They jumped in the family sedan and drove off, just in time for Mr. Jennings see them out the front door. In the midst of his panic, Shawn couldn’t help but notice how easy it was for everyone to simply abandon their home.

The drove as far away as they could get, running into traffic here and there but never anything too bad. It was only the beginning of the Fall, so there weren’t too many infected at the time, but that would slowly change. Over the course of a month, Shawn and his family went from one relative’s or family friend’s house to the next. They didn’t stay very long at any location – after finding a zombified grandmother at the first stop – but at the same time, they didn’t know where they were going. Eventually, they had to abandon the car as well and continue on foot. They managed to find other groups to travel with and so found a goal to reach: Kansas.

Unfortunately, as is the way of The Fall, people die; Shawn’s mother was the first to go. It didn’t happen the way he expected it to. There were no warning signs or big swarm of the undead. There was just one. The Tullers were making their way through southern Mississippi at the time, passing through an uninhibited town. They had just parted with the last group they were traveling with, so their numbers didn’t include anyone else. It was foolish to do so, looking back at it, but they hadn’t seen a monster in weeks, so they were feeling confident. He came barreling out of an old convenience store, foaming at the mouth and possibly ‘underfed’. There was not enough time to react – the thing tackled his mother to the ground and bit at her before his father could chop the sorry bastard’s head off. Unfortunately, it was too late. The image of his mother, neck opened and gargling on her own blood, would forever be imprinted in his mind.

Without hesitation, his father reached back and brought the blade down on his wife, separating her head from her body completely. He didn’t say a word about it, and he never would, but as they left, tears streamed freely down the man’s face.

After that, things were different. Their father adopted an attitude where he cared for none but his family. They no longer traveled in groups, but instead followed ones they’d cross paths with, just out of sight. In the nights that followed, the three of them would sneak into camp and take the group’s supplies while the watch person was relieving themselves or otherwise occupied. It was a hazardous and dishonorable way to live, but it was the best way to survive. They never went hungry and they kept cleaner and better weapons. They were doing well.

But then, things started to go bad. They came across a rather small group one day – a family, it seemed, consisting of one older woman, two adult men, and a young girl. The plan was as it always was; keep your distance, follow their trail, and steal their things that night. As mentioned, the group was rather small, so only Shawn would go in. He was innocent enough to feign being lost, but old enough to handle himself if things went sour. The only problem was, the watch person did not falter. They came across groups with similar situations, and under normal circumstances, would let it go and move on. Unfortunately, they could not afford to so as they were running low on supplies.

So Shawn killed the man keeping watch. It was the beginning of a downhill ride. Once the line had been crossed, the value of life seemed to drop. Soon, instead of following groups, they would travel and set up camp outside of ‘safe’ cities – ambushing groups that went in and out. Shawn, Lilly, and their father had quickly learned to kill without hesitation and, little did they know, it would become their downfall. Despite America turning rather lawless, word still travelled and killers were still prosecuted in a sense. Other people would take the law into their own hands and attempt to hunt them down. For the most part, it was easy to avoid, but eventually death caught up with them.

The second to die was his father. The man departed from life without much struggle – his neck was slashed in the middle of one night. It was a mystery to Shawn why his killer had decided to leave him and Lilly alive, but they did. They tried to give their father a proper burial to make up for their mother’s lack of one, but quickly moved on after. Just because their father’s assassin let them live did not mean they wouldn’t change their mind and come back. It was a strange experience, entirely unlike their mother’s death. Then, there was emotion – grief, anger, guilt – but now all Shawn felt was numb. He didn’t like it.

He and Lilly fought frequently after that. She didn’t agree with how they were living and he kept telling her it was the only way. One month following their father’s death, she disappeared and almost a full year after he had left his parents’ home, Shawn was alone. Whether Lilly had died or was kidnapped or went her own way, he was not sure. Given the circumstances and how tense they had been, he assumed the last. Still, he looked for her when he could and more or less wandered aimlessly, feeling empty. With Lilly’s absence, he felt a hole in his chest that had been growing without him knowing from the day his mother had died. He didn’t know what to do, so he just did what they were originally planning on doing. As a family.

He went to Kansas.

The Ark: A New Dawn

Yeah, it seems that way... So nobody wants to post first?

Operation: X-Men

The mood seemed rather somber. That’s the only way Chase could describe it.

He had ended up driving X’s jeep, if only because Alex didn’t seem up to it and X had some ‘unfinished business’ to take care of. Whatever that meant. Chase wasn’t entirely sure he would find out later if at all, but he really didn’t care all too much to know. What X did was her thing, like how what Rob did was his thing. Such was the privilege of being the mentor. Secrets and whatnot. Then again, all of them had their secrets. It was evident that Alex had briefly considered talking about what had happened when Chase helped him up, but then decided against it. Maybe the privilege of the mentor was just the privacy to do what they want when they wanted without explanation? Sounded right.

Not to Chase’s surprise, the entire car ride back to the ranch was silent. Alex, Chase was sure, was thinking about whatever it was that had upset him so badly. And Jack, though not the chatty-kathy type, probably picked up on Alex’s vibe too. Chase was definitely not going to be the one to break the quiet with awkward small talk. Instead he thought about X’s departing words. ’be prepared to leave, too.’ Leave? Like, the ranch? The young mutant wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Though he really hadn’t spent a significant amount of his life there, it had become a safe place for him where he didn’t have to be afraid of when his abilities would kick in and who was around to see it.

He was, in a sense, free at the ranch.

Pursing his lips, Chase decided that he didn’t like the idea, but if X said it might be necessary, then she was probably right. No doubt, if there were any others associated with the people who attacked them, the ranch would soon be found. The whole ordeal hadn’t been that far away from their home. Even as Chase thought this, he pulled into X’s usual parking space. Before he could put the jeep into park, Alex bolted out of the seat, most likely heading to wherever Will, Hel, and Annelise were. His earlier words echoed in Chase’s mind, ’They looked… worse for wear’.

A slight shiver ran down his spine, and the adapting mutant quickly put the jeep in park, locking up once everyone was out and then heading in the direction that Alex had gone. He hadn’t heard Alex yell out where he was going, so it took him a bit to find everyone. Eventually he arrived on scene at the pool area, just catching the end of Alex’s statement. Of course, the weather manipulator was already there, as well as the three girls in question. They actually did seem rather ‘worse for wear’, soaked from what Chase assumed was a crash landing in the pool. Thankfully, though, it was clear they would all make it. Taking note of the fact that Annelise was clinging to a horizontal Helena, Chase opted to let them have their moment and instead went to sit by Will on the side of the pool. He didn’t say anything, though, figuring there wasn’t really anything he could say right now that wouldn’t upset or offend the girl.

So he looked up at Alex and waited for the others to respond before asking, “Where would we go?”

Operation: X-Men

Ruby said
Loved the post, Ruu.

Thanks! ^_^

Altered Tundra said
Hey guys. I was wrong bout my net. It shut off on mo day. Dunno when it will be back on. So you can consider jack a float around chara till I get back. So sorry again. Hope no one is mad at me.:(

Ruby said
Not mad, no need to worry about us. <3 We understand!

^^^

Operation: X-Men

It was everything he imagined a war-zone would be.

Each moment passed in time with the beats of his heart, frame by frame, capturing and extending the seconds for longer than usual. Almost like a photographer, he was imprinting every image onto his brain as though it were a reel of film. Adrenaline made the frames a bit quicker, and suddenly he was racing through the pictures of events in an old movie, not entirely registering that it was all real at first. The car had flipped, and he had forced the door open. Will had pushed past him, and now it was his turn.
Quickly, without thinking, he had scurried out of the overturned car and came to lean behind the new stone structure Will had created. Eyes wide, the young man placed a hand on his forehead, breathing deeply to shake off the shock. The crawling itch on his forearms signaled the retreat of his scaly armor, leaving behind untouched skin. Smooth and not at all connected to the wrinkled car door.

Thump.

Helena was there.

Thump.

She deflected an oncoming convoy.

Thump.

One of the cars had flipped.

Thump.

Annelise was in the air with Helena.

Thump.

And then there was an explosion.

Time returned to normal after what seemed like forever, and Chase watched as the not-so-distant area was engulfed in clouds of smoke. Annelise’s gift at play. He shook his head, trying to clear the fog in his own mind. ’C’mon Chase, get your shit together.’ Taking a shaky breath, the young mutant looked up and witnessed the sky take on a dark hue, stretching lighting across in shining webs of electricity before one particular bolt struck down on Alex – atop Will’s wall. It wasn’t an unusual sight, lightning striking Alex – Chase had seen him do this before on an occasion or two, but never in a situation like this. As far as Chase had been in New Mexico, they hadn’t ever been attacked.

And yet, no one seemed out of focus. As if on cue, Jack – the youngest of them – rode his self-made ice into a power kick, breaking an enemy vehicle or two without breaking a sweat. And here Chase was, fading in and out of a panic-attack almost because he had no idea what to do. His powers weren’t offensive. They were defensive. He was built to survive, not fight, so what the fuck could he do but stand there and take it all in? He was useless and he knew it.

He felt even worse about his predicament when Will collapsed.

She had, as far as he knew, attempted to create an earthquake of sorts, splitting the earth beneath their attackers and pulling more than a few into the void. It was an impressive feat, and had they been in training or any other non-life-threatening situation, Chase would have told her as much. But even so, he might not have been able to, because it appeared to drain Will completely.

Chase watched in horror as her eyes fluttered and she fell unconscious. Before he could react, Helena came to the rescue, attempting to resuscitate their limp friend. Unfortunately, it was too much for her to do as well, and the three – including Annelise – were forced to retreat. The latter girl’s cries echoed in Chase’s head as they left, as well as Helena’s bloodied nose and both her and Will’s near-lifeless faces. Things were not looking good.

Amidst all that was happening there, Chase briefly recognized a dull pain in his knee before the wind was knocked out of him. Gasping, he buckled over, clutching at his torso as his eyes watered. The familiar sharpness of armored skin could be felt underneath his shirt, and he barely registered the sound of someone’s screams – Alex? Recovering fairly quickly, Chase pulled himself upright and glanced around. He couldn’t find any remaining attackers, though he was pretty sure that someone had tried to shoot him. They succeeded, but not really, and either they were just one of the dead using their last shot or the person had gotten away, Chase did not know.

What he did know was that Will’s wall was beginning to crumble, since no one was around to keep it up. Now definitely seemed like the optimal time to go. Red-faced and entirely embarrassed that he hadn’t been able to contribute at all to the fight, Chase approached Jack and Alex. “So… yeah. Should we go see if Will and Hel are okay?”

Clandestine: Academy of the Supernaturals

Near Tordred Maze

Tyler gaped, staring incredulously as Raven tried to drag a body. “Are –Are you kidding me?” He cried, turning towards Liam for some sort of explanation, “Is she kidding me?” He threaded his hands through his hair in an act of exasperation, trying for the love of god to understand what the hell was going on. Two girls were dead – he didn’t know how they died, he just knew that they were – and instead of going to find help, Raven – the only upperclassman in this situation – has decided to hide the bodies. That only made sense if she killed them, and Tyler knew she didn’t kill them because she was with him when they heard the scream.

“Oh my god.” The freshman muttered, staring at the ground. The stench of death was in the air and it was obviously interfering with his ability to think clearly. “Oh my god, we need help.” Standing fully, Tyler began to pace. He wasn’t sure if he could convince Raven and Liam to leave with them, but it also didn’t seem safe to go off on his own – for all he knew, the thing or person or whatever that killed Lilly and Victoria could still be around and – “Shit.” The boy’s eyes widened and he stopped, “We need to get out of here.” he stated, glancing between Liam and Raven, “We need to get out of here. Now. It’s not safe.”

Clandestine: Academy of the Supernaturals

Grand Hall Entrance>>>Near Tordred Maze

Tyler barely had any time to react when Raven took off, even when she stopped to – ah – alter what she was wearing. For a moment, he just stared after her, not entirely sure what to do. It seemed like a situation based out of a horror movie; blood-curdling scream, Liam’s yell for help, and then the only other person with him ran off towards the scream. Realistically, he had three options – follow Raven, stay right there, or go right back to his dorm and pretend like nothing happened.

Honestly, the last one seemed like the safest option, but the scream and yell came from somewhere vaguely in the direction of the dorms, and it would be his luck to run into whatever caused the commotion in the first place. Therefore, Tyler’s best bet seemed to be in following Raven.

Without further hesitation after several seconds of internal debate, the freshmen finally took off, arriving on scene just in time to see Liam empty the contents of his stomach onto the grass. “What the-?” he started, before a horrible stench reached his nose. Bile rose in his throat as Tyler threw a hand over his mouth and nose. Alarmed, his eyes finally settled on the corpses, and not a second later, he was following Liam’s lead, bent over and retching. One of the girls that had been outside the dorm - it was her. Though now, she was nearly unrecognizable, covered in blood and black spiderwebs or veins? The sight alone was enough to clear his entire stomach.

When he recovered, Tyler groaned, wiping the corner of his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket and spitting. He crouched, stomach clutched and eyes wide. “What the fuck is going on?” The boy glanced between the two older students, horrified, “Are they… dead?”

Clandestine: Academy of the Supernaturals

Outside Male Dorms >>>> Outside Grand Hall

Tyler was almost surprised when Raven gave in to his questions, giggling and scratching the back of her head with a sighed “It’s complicated”. What didn’t surprise him, though, was that she still didn’t seem too keen on going, despite having been found out. “My offer still stands,” she had said, trailing off when she came to a “but”. Tyler saw the conflicted look on her face briefly before it vanished, and she resolved herself to leading him there regardless of whether or not she was attending and better yet, whether or not he would follow.

It was more of her last few words than the ‘c’mon’ or hand gesture that made him follow her. “you may get in trouble if you don’t…”. Trouble? Why would he get in trouble for not attending a ball? And how would they know if he didn’t attend? Surely there were plenty of freshmen and crashing upperclassmen that the headmistress or whoever wouldn’t realize that one person was missing?

The young man pondered this as he blindly followed the older girl, gazing in awe at the campus around him. Truly, the place was beautiful, and yet oddly unsettling. Somehow, Tyler didn’t feel entirely safe outside, as if maybe something was watching him or something. A shiver ran down his spine and he shook it off, annoyed at how he managed to creep himself out. It was just a college campus.

When they finally reached the entrance of the Grand Hall, Raven was unable to open the doors. She cast a distressed look at him before he stepped up and failed to open the door as well. Pursing his lips, the freshmen pressed an ear to the door, trying to see if it would be possible to hear someone on the other side, and that maybe they’d be able to yell until someone came and opened it for them. Sadly, Tyler heard nothing, so that plan would probably not work even if someone on the inside could open the doors.

Sighing, the boy stepped away. “Now wha-” he started, but was cut off by a piercing shriek. Tyler froze, glancing at Raven to confirm that he hadn’t been the only one to hear that. For a moment, there was silence, and nothing else happened, but then – clear as day – another yell came to his ears. This time, he was able to recognize the voice; it was that guy, Liam.

“Help!”