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| − | The once World Casino, has since collapsed in on itself, leaving in its wake a crater of rubble, the structure entirely unsound after being reformed by whatever possessed it. Taggart having crawled out of the rubble, another soul in tow. The rest having made it out just before the place crumbled, no sign of Rihko's brother. Returning to the road again, heading south watching for any sign that Tatsu, Rihko's brother would have left.
| + | {{del}} |
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| − | Shortly down the road, they pass right by a car, the windows covered in a thick grayish white substance covering the interior. It's a small blue ford with Texas plates, standing out in Taggart's memory. Ahead signs for Dallas/Fort Worth, the city limits little more than an hour ahead.
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| − | Taggart frowns softly as they pass the Ford, clearing his throat. "Rihko... pull over a moment." The Irishman stands up and brushes his bangs back over his scalp, moving to the door to hop out as soon as they've stopped. "Everyone else stay'ere... jus' be a second..."
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| − | Rihko glances over at Taggart, and then shrugs; she pulls over and sets the parking brake, then gets up out of her seat and stretches. "What is it, Taggart?" she asks, curious.
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| − | Foxheart watches from the relative safety of a tempered glass window, not making any comments, though her ears are perked.
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| − | The pungent smell of mildew wafts from the vehicle, baking in the late summer heat. The air rippling as visible heat from the vehicle's metal surface rises. The windows seem rather firmly coated, the inside visibility completely shot. It's an older model vehicle, from the early nineties, paint flaking off the surface.
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| − | Solixis keeps the safety of the Humvee-mounted gun on, but moves to track the car, knowing that it is of interest to the Irishman. She drops her hands from the trigger area and settles in to watch.
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| − | Taggart steps down into the dirt at the side of the road, having left his AUG in the bus. Boots thump as he calls back to the bus, "Sumthin' from tha boy." His emerald eyes squint at the blue car, head tilting to one side as he digs a handkerchief from a backpocket, tying it around his face tightly. Who knows if it will actually work? Wiping the dust from the outside of a window, the man cups his hands around the sides of his face while pressing to the glass, trying to allow the dimmer light to penetrate the thickness on the inside of the glass.
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| − | Cygnus watches the bus pull over and does the same, motioning for the gunner to keep an eye on Taggart and obviously keep him covered. "Ohh my... My bunny senses are tingling. I don't like the looks of that. You ready up there Soli?" She asks, her spine channeling a shiver. The dragoness next to her sighs and nods, but otherwise stays quiet, her eyes trained on Taggart.
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| − | There's a thin slime mold, semi translucent covering the window, obfuscating from a distance, but up close Taggart can make out some aspects of the vehicle. A body pressed tight against the steering wheel, the light blue scrubs of a nurse. Hands are grasping the top rather tight, veins thick and gray. She appears to have her head facing upward staring at the sky, or what's left of her face. A long thin translucent tendril poking outward toward the glass, pressing against the front window.
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| − | Rihko licks her teeth and leans against the seat, quietly watching her mate. Her tails slowly wag, the kitsune calmly waiting to see what the fuss is about.
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| − | Taggart scowls gently as he looks inside, shaking his head. He takes a moment and backs away, pulling down his kerchief, while drawing upon himself in a calm sort of meditation. It lasts all of a few seconds before he makes his way back to the bus and climbs up the steps, looking to his mate, Rihko. "Think that wutever ya saw in yer vision's out there in that auto. Windscreen's all... mucked up."
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| − | Rihko pauses, slowly going still. She frowns, and her ear flicks. "Ah." Rihko thinks for a moment, then sighs. "Shit. Where was she from? How far has it spread?"
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| − | Taggart sits back down behind and to the right of Rihko, frowning gently. "Dallas. She carried it with'er." The Irishman is frowning softly, eyes saddened, but his attention refocuses outside. "Sappose we kin' jus' keep goin'."
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| − | Taggart pauses, then shakes his head. "No. Actually."
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| − | Rihko raises her eyebrows at her mate, then gives him a little nod. "Actually what, luv?" she asks, her head tilting to the side.
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| − | Foxheart peers over the seats from behind the couple, head placed on the gap between them, waiting for Taggart's instruction.
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| − | Taggart winces as he thinks and sighs, "I want ta do sumthin', but it'll prolly be bad fer everyone else. Seems right ta grab'is mum, but... danno wut that new infection is in tha slightest. Airborne, at least. Danno if I could consume it all'er'not."
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| − | Cygnus grasps the com and sighs, shaking off a small shudder before she speaks. "I'm going to take a guess that whatever we just found is pretty bad and life threatening... What's the word on our situation?" She says, a bit of worry tingeing her voice.
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| − | Rihko shakes her head and stares at Taggart, then thinks and shakes her head again. "Hell, love. You ate part of a building, it can't be too much worse than that... but..." she frowns. "I wouldn't want to test that, though. I don't want to take any chances. We could set it on fire." Then she moves up to the front and grabs the walkie. "Something nasty, Cygnus. Airborn contagion. Very deadly." She pauses, and looks back at Taggart. "I don't like just leaving it sitting here, though. Burn it?"
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| − | Taggart frowns gently and nods. "Aye... sappose that's best." He falls quiet and sits back after the words.
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| − | Foxheart stands up and stretches, taking the metal case from the overhead compartments and setting it on the floor. "I have your copy of the Alpha Strike if you want to do it from afar. Or we could send our wisps. Better safe than sorry, cause you and Taggart are immune to the thing, but we aren't."
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| − | Cygnus glances at Soli and Haley for a moment then back to the car, her ears flatting back before she responds "Understood."
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| − | The vehicle isn't hard to set on fire. Prying open the hood, the still-live battery can be used to cause a spark in the fuel line, or the gas tank cover can be pried off and a match or other source of flame put in.
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| − | "The rail gun would put a nice hole through it, but not set it on fire," Rihko says. "If you want to just put your wisp down the gas tank, that should get things going nicely. Mine's a little temperamental lately." She grins, then radios back to Cygnus. "Move a bit up the road, Cygnus, we're burning it, then getting on our trip again."
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| − | Taggart frowns more and grabs a bottle of vodka from his bag, shaking his head and apparently determined to do something. He's heading toward the car, sucking on a tooth as he pulls out his kerchief once more, zippo following after. He sets it aside and then moves around to the driver side window, balls a fist, and then smashes the window in.
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| − | Foxheart nods and her wisp flickers to life from under her tails, the kitsune mumbling a silent command to it. The ball of purple flame drifts slowly out of the bus, circling around the car, but not doing anything until Taggart is done, though it starts crackling with electricity.
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| − | Solixis listens to the radio chatter, glad to be moving out of the way from the car. She grabs a kercheif from her bag and uses it to cover her muzzle, regardless of what good it will do.
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| − | Cygnus once again gives a quick "Understood." then cranks the engine back over and pulls to the right, passing the bus but not moving the car out of Soli's range.
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| − | An explosion of dust, like a poofball exploding from inside the hot cabin, broken glass shards covered with slimey mold. A fine thin white coating covering Taggart's clothing. The odor of the car is disturbing, but the air begins to clear uncovering the body, the slime on the windows slowly sliding off and down. The woman's expression one of fear and pain at what's happening to her. The strange stalk coming from her mouth covered in small pustules.
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| − | Cygnus gasps and covers her mouth, "Oh shit!"
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| − | Taggart coughs gently as he's covered in dust and film, shaking his head and sighing at the choice of Fate. His hand reaches out, head tilting to one side as he grasps the woman's shoulder and lets his flesh melt slightly against the bare, dry skin of her neck, unleashing the Hunger.
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| − | Rihko tenses up and hisses as Taggart decides to expose himself anyway. She growls quietly, but keeps herself otherwise quiet.
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| − | Foxheart just about has her muzzle pressed against the window watching Taggart as she keeps control over the wisp with her digits. The ball of flame is primed to release its charge.
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| − | There's a very faint sense of life still in the woman, a small trembling, almost of relief as Taggart's bloody hand begins to react with her flesh, her skin practically dissolves as the flesh is eaten away bubbling and charring black. The tendril seems to react to the provocation, moving at a snail’s pace to wrap around Taggart's wrist just as his hand reaches her trachea.
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| − | Taggart starts to cough and hack a bit, but growls in his chest, his hand melting and drawing her body into his own. Her flesh becomes blood, blackening slightly before it is pulled into his own, his body joining with hers until nothing is left. After the consuming is done, the Irishman takes up his bottle of vodka, swigs once, then molotovs the inside of the car. He takes a few steps back and starts to strip from his clothing, mumbling to Foxheart over the burning fire as he makes his way back to the bus, "Make sure it gets done proper."
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| − | Rihko crosses her arms and watches Taggart, tails lashing back and forth behind her as she waits for him to finish. She glances over at Foxheart, then back to Taggart. "Fuck, hun. Are you alright there?"
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| − | Foxheart nods, moving away from Taggart a little and lets the charge go with a squeeze of her paw, the wisp darting under the hood and releasing it's stored electric charge at once, then turns to Taggart and watches. "As much as I admire what you did, you could've spread it to us."
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| − | Taggart tosses his clothes into a ball on the side of the road, then looks to Rihko. "Light me up, luv." He smiles, pain-faced to her before glancing back to Foxheart with a nod. "Aye. Well... wasn't expectin' ya ta beat me over to it."
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| − | Cygnus looks up at Soli and gulps, not really knowing what to say. Haley on the other hand blinks and mimics the gulp, "Uhmmm... Remind me not to go near Taggart without a radiation suit for a while."
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| − | Taggart adds, "Aside... she was still alive."
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| − | Solixis watches, covering her mouth with a paw, praying the wind doesn't
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| − | decide to change directions towards her. "I think he's fireproof. Which
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| − | The car's smoke rising high into the air, burning hot fed further by the dry air, immolating the inside of the car leaving nothing but the skeleton of a vehicle.
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| − | Rihko frowns at that. "Ugh. Fuck." She spreads her paws a moment, then lets her ears go flat as she stares at Taggart; finally she sighs. "Fuck, Taggart. Fuck. Asking me to set you on fire..." she complies, though, her tails giving a flick as the air around Taggart bursts into flames; a little ragged and unrefined, but cleansing fire. She lowers her hands and stares, ready to rush up to her love if needed.
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| − | Taggart lets out another loud growl, wincing and flinching as the fire licks his skin, the thin layer of dust and mold going up with it. He shouts then, waving his hands, "Out! Put it out!" Even though it has only touched him for a second or two, his skin is already a deep crimson, starting to flake into ash here and there.
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| − | "Thank you, friend." Foxheart mumbles under her breath as she allows the foxfire wisp to disperse, its job complete. She's startled by Taggart bursting into flames, but forces herself to stay in her seat. "Well. I could have done it for you if you wanted." She covers a weak smile with her paw.
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| − | Foxheart gets off her paws, emptying a canteen on Taggart before heading
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| − | for the first aid kit where she got the burn gel. "Rihko, you heard
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| − | him!" She just about yells.
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| − | Cygnus watches, paw over her maw "Oh my... Might want to guess again on that, hun." She lets out a worried whine, hoping that it's under better control than it looks.
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| − | Rihko pulls her jacket off, pushing Taggart over and helping to smother the flames with her treated leather; she is growling louder, teeth bared and lips pulled back, tails shaking slightly. "Well fuck you too," she quietly snarls. "It's fire. Fire burns. I'm good at starting fires, don't ask me for miracles in putting them out though." She makes sure the fire is extinguished and sits there, holding her mate for a moment, fingers tensing as she fights down some inner urge; eventually she sighs and gets up, pulling Taggart up with her and giving him a careful hug.
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| − | Solixis blinks, actually scared of what's going on. She's never seen Taggart in pain before. "Ouch... not fireproof, not fireproof... I hope he can recover from that..."
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| − | Foxheart digs out the burn gel and some linen gauze and sets them in front of Rihko. "Here. Burn wounds don't heal so well, so he should need these."
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| − | Taggart is knocked from his feet, a growl rumbling heavily in his chest, clawing and rolling around to put out the flames. When they finally die down, he is breathing hard, portions of his skin having ashed and floated away to reveal the red, tender flesh beneath. The usually amazing regeneration the man posesses tries to recover, though at a slower pace than most have seen. He is pulled up and winces, gingerly at the hug. "Let's... jus'keep goin'..." The nude, burned man starts to clamber back up on the bus.
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| − | The group recovers and heads southward, a cautious pace, knowing what's ahead.
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| − | Rihko is visibly tense, but quiet as the group returns to the trip; she makes Darkwyrm drive the bus as she plays nurse for Taggart, digging out fresh clothes and making sure he's healing up fine as she tends to him, gently simmering under tight control.
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| − | Foxheart uses Rihko's distraction to open the case and extract the snake she smuggled on the bus and lets it coil around her middle tail, the rest of them acting as cover. "Is the whole city going to be like this? It will be hard to fight off an infection on all sides, even if you two are immune."
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| − | Taggart winces gently under his mate's gaze, it, apparently, wounding him more than the damage to his physical body. He clears his throat, however, "She knew yer bruther. 'e... had a girl with'im." His head jerks to one side, a twitch in his neck, baring teeth at a hidden pain and rage before he stamps down on it.
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| − | Solixis shivers, not liking the implications of a spore-based contagion. She keeps the cloth over her mouth as they continue, her facial features hard to see with her protective coverings.
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| − | That... certainly takes the edge off of Rihko's ire. She blinks, then sighs and relaxes into her mate, gently stroking his neck with her fingers. "Oh." She thinks about that for a while. And thinks a bit longer. "Oh," she repeats. "And yes, Foxheart. Potentially, all over. Don't breath in any dust, and if you see someone acting erratically, don't stay near them when they die."
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| − | Foxheart nods and sighs. "I'll keep the wisp near my face. The heat will be uncomfortable, but it should sterilize the air for me at least." To Taggart. "Any idea where the girl is or who she is? In case it's important."
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| − | Cygnus sighs, staying mostly silent. She eyes her jug of water, the dark bunny considering her optional need to breathe, "May be a good idea for me to fill my lungs with water... I don't need to breathe, but then I won't be able to talk." She thinks out loud, orange eyes darting from her water back to the road and back again.
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| − | Darkwyrm keeps his eyes glues to the road, or what was left of it, though his fur bristles with unease. "All this sterilizin's gonna be really inconvenient if we gotta do it while we're under attack or som'tin.", he growls.
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| − | As they get closer to the city, it appears that there are more cars, fresh, often in the same state at the one they passed, smeared with slime mold on the inside windows. Many of them fresh. The large highways though aren't as cluttered as most cities post infection, it seems the city might still have been thriving up until this new infection was introduced.
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| − | As his mate relaxes a bit, he does, leaning against Rihko as the worst of the damage to his flesh finally heals up. His skin is still a deep crimson, a bright pink in the best areas. "Danno. It takes... a bit. Ta get ta know'em." He falls quiet, though, and closes his eyes, apparently trying to do just that.
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| − | Solixis licks her lips, hiding the action under her kerchief. "Just don't endanger yourself. Kercheif might work, unless the contagion is as small as nanites." She shrugs, keeping an eye out for visible dangers, knowing that the invisible ones are just as dangerous.
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| − | Rihko sighs, eyeing the cars they are passing... too many to burn them all and still make decent time. She does frown, though, at the signs... "It must have just spread this way recently. Austin was deserted, a ghost town. It looks like there was plenty for it to eat here in Dallas though." She pauses again, and her ear flicks as the kitsune mulls over her thoughts, letting her mate do his thing without distraction.
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| − | Foxheart pets the snake on her tails gently and watches all the cars go by. "No way we'll be able to blast all these cars. Looks like avoidance is the best strategy." She sighs, then lifts her tail near her face and pets it softly.
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| − | "Yeah, well I don't like it.", Dark says without turning his head. "There's gotta be a reason why this damned thing took years to activate, and it doesn't seem like other infections. Somthin' ain't right here."
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| − | "Evolution, maybe," Rihko offers, her ear twitching again. "The nanites deciding their previous infection vector wasn't working. Or maybe it was something like that dragon-virus, well contained until some group of fools went and broke it loose. Hell, maybe someone tweaked a bubble's programming and it started spreading from there." She shrugs, and continues to quietly pet Taggart, curled up against him.
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| − | The suburbs are largely untainted and not very populous, but the closer to the city, the stronger the familiar presence of nanites grows and the more recently lived in the area seems. Houses still kept, or converted into new living places, stores still powered on and running. People however are absent, no eyes looking busward.
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| − | Taggart tilts his head to the side, mumbling a bit as he rests against Rihko. "Cure... of sum sort. Nanites... werked like they were sapposed ta. Changin' ferals back 'er summat." He gives a yawn, flashing enlarged canines and flickers his eyes open, stirring and sitting up. "Yer bruther knew sumthin', though. Warned'em. 'er... tried ta, least."
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| − | Solixis shivers. "Not liking this. The lack of people but still having some semblance of lived in is making me REALLY nervous." She grips the weapon in her hands reassuringly.
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| − | Rihko frowns, thinking about that, and then nods. She peers out the window at the deserted streets, eyes scanning for any sign of life, or sign of recent passage, still looking for anything her brother might have left. "If he warned them... where was he?"
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| − | Cygnus nods to Solixis and thinks, holding the bottle in one hand and the steering wheel in the other. A slight pause passes before Cyggy tries something, "Haley, hand me my walkie and grab ahold of the wheel for a moment. May just save my life." She says, uncapping her water bottle.
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| − | Foxheart watches the empty surroundings on the bus and sighs in a little relief. "Looks like most of the people are damned already. Inari guide them skyward." She utters a prayer silently. "A cure to ferals? Sounds like some Zephyr organization rigged everything up for a violent outbreak at once. It was contained within this specific region. Think your brother might have guessed the plan and left first?"
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| − | A roadblock is set up ahead in the middle of the highway. Largely sandbags and plastic cones piled up. A large warning sign on it.
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| − | Haley hands her the walkie talkie and holds onto the wheel
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| − | Darkwyrm growls and brings the bus to a slow and stop. "Well, want to risk side roads, or shall we disembark here?", he asks, finally turning around to look back at the other passengers. "Neither choice seems smart, but they're the only ones we got."
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| − | "Here is fine," Rihko says, giving Darkwyrm a wave as she stands up; her paw gives Taggart a little squeeze, and she moves to the front of the bus, then slips off. She pauses just outside, one paw on the road and one still in the bus, and raises her muzzle to sniff at the air. Her ears twitch, swivelling as she hunts for sounds, and then she begins making her way up to the barricade to read the sign.
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| − | Cygnus graps the walkie and closes her eyes, sucking the water down into her airway with a pained look, trying her damnedest not to cough, which she luckily manages to quell, the bunny trying to project through the walkie's speaker. This little nanomagic experiment doesn't stop her from keeping her eyes on the road though, hitting the brakes smoothly.
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| − | Foxheart follows behind Rihko, katana in her left paw and wisp hovering on her other. "There's a musky smell in the air. I don't like this at all." She warily approaches the barricade. "We can tear this barricade apart with ease, you know."
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| − | The Warning Sign simply says, "Quarantine Area: Please stay outside until under control." There's a symbol burnt into the fabric near the warning, like someone took a lighter to it. The roadblock itself could easily be removed, rather it's depending on cooperation. There's also no roadblock on exit from the city, so a median border a half mile back could be used to cross.
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| − | Darkwyrm shifts the bus into park and turns the engine off. "Well, might as well get off then.", he sighs as he disembarks. "Even if this spot isn't far in enough, we might be able to tear this roadblock apart so we can stay on the highway." The jackal does a few quick stretches whilst keeping his ears high over his head, listening for any other signs of life.
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| − | Taggart stands up as well, the man taking up his AUG with him this time. His skin is still a bright pink, flushed, almost, as if barely containing a heat inside, and he's sweating slightly at his brow. He swallows and steps down and out of the bus, following after Darkwyrm, Foxheart, and Rihko to the sign.
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| − | Rihko stops and studies the sign for a moment, finger reaching out to delicately trace the burnt mark with a claw; anyone familiar with Rihko's work might notice a similarity to the kitsune's own craftmark. "Kirijo. He's the one that left the sign." She grins, her tails wagging with growing excitement; she looks up and around again, almost as though expecting to catch sight of someone watching from the rooftops. Then she waves back to the bus. "Don't need to take it down. We can go back, come back down the northbound lanes. The road was clear enough." She pauses. "Anyone who wants to stay safe, you should find a place to hole up around here."
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| − | Solixis shakes her head. "I've come this far to support you, Rihko. I'm sticking through to the end. I want to see you reunited with your brother, and that's what I'm working towards. I'm ready to go in."
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| − | Foxheart laughs at Rihko's last statement. "We came here fully prepared for any danger. I think I speak for all of us when I say none of us will back down." Her piece spoken, the kitsune sheathes her sword and makes her way back on the bus nearer the front seat.
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| − | "Hmph. Fuck that. I didn't come all th' way out here jus'to sit on my ass.", Darkwyrm says. "Ain't no glory in that."
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| − | Taggart pauses about halfway down as he hears his mate, frowning gently. "Ya think'e stayed in, then? Ta help fix things 'er summat?" The Irishman looks to Rihko, eyebrow raised.
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| − | Rihko nods her head. "Probably. He's a good guy like that." She smiles, then nods at Foxheart. "Ehyea. Well. I had to at least make the offer," she says. She climbs back up onto the bus. Rihko seems calm, but as she stands there, staring out the window, her foot taps impatiently at the floor of the bus.
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| − | Cygnus crawls out of the hummer, keeping her mouth shut as she twittles the tuning nob on her walkie, her ears perked at the others as her voice crackles through "Tes-.. Test-... *crackle* Testing testing 1 2 3... yay!" A smile crosses her face as she refines the tuning "I haven't come this far to give up here..."
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| − | | |
| − | Taggart follows his mate back up onto the bus, taking over the driving this time.
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| − | The northbound lane is wide and spacious, no blockades make for each passage into the heart of the city. There are enormous highrises dotting the skyline, the place having a very modern feel, more built-up than the other midwestern cities passed by. The place is flooded with cars, parked buildings still fully powered. The nanite presence has turned into a swarm over by the dallas love airport, high above almost like a funnel cloud.
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| − | "Well, that's not forboding at all.", Dark sarcastically murmurs, narrowing his eyes at the unusual formation over the airport in the distance.
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| − | Foxheart watches the city outline with a look of awe in her widened eyes, knees on the seat as her tails wag behind her. "Beautiful." She remarks.
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| − | Solixis smirks at her mate's success at protecting herself and giving herself a voice. "Be careful, love." She furrows her brow at the formation, glad at least for the return of her abilities with the bubble.
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| − | Rihko shifts her weight as she keeps her gaze moving; she's seen Dallas before, but as much as she wants to see the sights, she's on the hunt. Her ears pin back, and her tails slowly wave, the kitsune on the watch for movement.
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| − | Cygnus blinks and crackles through "Jesus tapdancing Christ.... What a wonderful bit of evil we've just discovered!" Her ears flat back and a thumbs-up is given to her nekomata before she calls to Haley "You alright Hale? Been really quiet..."
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| − | Haley shakes her head "Yeah... I'm fine... I'm just focused is all..."
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| − | There's definitely movement now, inside the city limits eyes are seen moving in the bus' direction. Flickers in windows, but nothing accosting them. They pass under an overpass Then, ahead, a man walks directly into the road. His movements not fluid in the slightest, standing with his arms wide open maybe twenty yards ahead. There's also rumbling from above, a vehicle moving on the highway overhead audible over the noise of the city.
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| − | Rihko puts a paw on Taggart's shoulder, closing the distance to his side with a quick step. "Stop the bus!" she calls out, just in case he didn't see the figure; before she's finished speaking, she's already leaning towards the door.
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| − | "Shite." Taggart curses, "Sumthin' above us, too." The man growls and quickly tries to break, downshifting the bus to aid in the process and slamming the gear into reverse as soon as he is able. Assuming they don't slam through the man, he tries to back the bus up as soon as he can.
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| − | | |
| − | Cygnus doesn't quite slam on the brakes, but it's close to what she does, the hummer's wheels locking slightly as they skitter under the braking.
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| − | Foxheart hears the vehicle overhead and points it out. "Think you want to check that out?" She spots the man and frowns. "He looks off. Put him out of his misery." She growls.
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| − | "Well, now the shit's goin' down.", Darkwyrm says, quickly standing up and bracing himself for the gravity of the sudden stop. "At least this place isn't deserted." His hand is at his belt, his fingers feeling the etchings of his blade's sheath.
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| − | | |
| − | Solixis trains her gun on the man, curious. His behavior strikes her as one who understands that humans walk, but does not understand the finer points of motion.
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| − | The bus' airbrakes do a fairly good job stopping, throwing many out of their seats and equipment flying forward. They rest maybe a few yards away from the man, there's a look in his eyes of fear, but he steps toward the bus and then leaps forward and latches onto it, just as it begins to move in reverse. Just in front of him, a car comes crashing from the overpass above hitting the ground and splattering the vehicle and the occupant that was inside, a white fluid splattering around where it was.
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| − | The braking catches Haley off guard but her seatbelt catches her.
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| − | The Hummer behind has a harder time stopping, and the transmission crunches as it tries to shift in motion into reverse.
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| − | Solixis winces, slamming into the but of the turret-mounted gun. "Cygnus! Watch it!" She looks at the bus and the man, then the wreck that accompanies it. "... Oka-sama help us..."
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| − | | |
| − | Cygnus silently weaves obscenities as she fights the gear box, aborting her move to reverse in leaves the hummer in gear. She crunches down the gas and swings the trucks ass around, doing as much of a 180* as she can get away with before trying to peel away.
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| − | "Shit. Shit!" Rihko yells. She pushes through the door as the bus lurches, its momentum temporarily halted, and then throws herself towards the man holding onto the front of the bus; the air around the kitsune shimmers for a moment, and as she grabs the man and yanks him away from the bus, she ignites with a soft 'thwump'. The air around Rihko becomes wreathed in dancing flames, the kitsune throwing herself, and the man she grabbed, away from the bus as it starts to move backwards.
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| − | Haley gets slammed back into her seat then into the side of the vehicle
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| − | There's a shudder as the flames lick at the man's flesh, he grimaces in pain, but his hands reach into the flame to try to grab at Rihko's neck, strong, far stronger than he should be. His clothes have already ignited, and his flesh is just starting to wick.
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| − | Darkwyrm manages to keep his balance through the abrupt shifting of movements of the vehicle, his knuckles white from gripping the seat in front of him. "Damnit! Woman overboard!", he shouts, trying to make his way to the door, preparing to leap out after her.
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| − | The Hummer manages to spin out of the way as the bus begins backing out. There's a thud as it collides with... something and keeps going.
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| − | "Rihko! Shite..." The Irishman continues to back the bus up, giving it a safe distance from the kitsune igniting herself and the infected man in front of them. He barely avoids the hummer behind as he slams the brakes on again, pulling the bus to a stop in its reverse course. He's up and out of the door soon after.
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| − | Haley winces at the thud, the centrifugal force keeping her pressed against the side of the hummer.
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| − | Rihko's tails twist and writhe, the kitsune wrestling the man, keeping him occupied as she lets her flames do the work. The fire intensifies, wisps of smoke curling from Rihko's fur as some of it singes as well, and she snarls as the bus stops. "Keep back!"
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| − | Foxheart draws both swords and follows after Taggart. "HEY. Stop making these on the spot decisions damnit! A minute sooner and you'd been hit!" She makes her way past Rihko to look at the crashed car.
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| − | Solixis holds on tight to the gun, lowering her head and body to prepare for impact. She looks for a way to make the car stop with its currently massive inertia.
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| − | The flames reach past his first layer of skin, hitting his nerves and suddenly the man does more than struggle, as if his body knows its only got a few moments, his jaws opening to scream and something ejecting from his throat, and his chest and both hands at the same time, thin tendrils leap at the flames to wrap around the immolating kitsune.
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| − | Darkwyrm leaps off the bus, landing on his feet with his weapon already readied in hand. He scowls at Rihko and the man in life and death struggle, shielding his eyes from the heat with his free hand while he considers options. "Damnit, if I try to hit it with a throwing knife, I'll probably end up hitting her.. no clear shot."
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| − | The bus is parked, and noise Taggart is moving towards his mate, failing to notice as a body falling from above crashes down onto him. Darkwyrm alone in the middle of the underpass, between the burning kitsune and the already burned Taggart.
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| − | Cygnus's voice crackles out as they thunk against.. whatever they thunked against, "FAWWWK!!" The truck comes a halt, the bunny trying to work the 16th century gearbox as best she can, banking on the idea of a little creative driving may help.
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| − | The impact area of the vehicle includes a thin paste of fluids expelled from the victim crushed in the impact. They cling to the surface of the shattered metal and glass.
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| − | Foxheart reaches for the fluid instinctively, but tears part of her sleeve to grab a sample of the white stuff.
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| − | Taggart grunts as something falls on top of him, and the man beneath is knocked to the ground. It causes him to growl, however, poking at an already lit fuse burning in his gut, trying to keep the Cold Void of the Hunger company with the Burning Rage nearly consuming him. His muscles start to twitch and his fingers claw at the ground, fingernails digging and threatening to pull back until they thicken up and begin to become real claws.
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| − | Rihko shudders as she feels... something... trying to work its way in through her paws, through her pores, trying to invade her body. She roars, and with strength fueled by anger, fear, and of course, nanites, she slams the body back to the ground. The fire swirls around her, and then the person she's pinning down begins burning from the inside as well as from the outer layer; like the fuse on a firework or fire following a line of gas, the creature ignites, veins turning red as it immolates.
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| − | Darkwyrm takes a step back from Taggart, taken by surprise as much as he was from the sudden attack. He turns his head to see Rihko starting to gain the upperhand, and with all of the fire whirling about her, it would be unwise for him to attempt to assist her anyway. Instead, he firmly grips his weapon and bares his teeth, starting a short bull-rush in an attempt to knock the Thing off of Taggart.
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| − | A dog runs at full speed from a nearby house toward the bus entrance, its mouth hanging open, drooling like a rabid dog, the white froth at its mouth thick.
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| − | Foxheart avoids the splatters and approaches the vehicle, peering through a smashed window to check for anything of value, however unlikely. She hears the dog, and with the distraction of the others, sends her wisp to handle the rabid dog entering the bus, electricity crackling.
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| − | "No!" The shifting human tries to wave Darkwyrm away, his shoulders spasming and neck bulging as his clothing starts to tear up the back. "How many bloody shirts..." He comments with a snarl before his jaw cracks and starts to reform, growling growing deeper and then again louder as he notices the rabid dog making a dodge toward the bus.
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| − | Darkwyrm doesn't stop as he collides with the woman on top of Taggart, she's knocked clear and the impact as her neck twists on the pavement is rather loud. Overhead a ball of living fire and electricity zooms past toward the charging dog, hitting it on the side knocking it to the ground.
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| − | Cygnus finally manages to rejoin her group to the fight, her voice calling out with a rumble, "SHOOT ANYTHING YOU CAN GET A CLEAR SHOT ON YOU TWO!!" Ventriloquist bunny swings them back around, driving towards the nearest open target that she can get without hurting the others.
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| − | Solixis quickly tries to assess the nearby situation. She looks at the fray, flips the safety off and shoots at the dog, not trusting fire alone to keep it down.
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| − | Haley takes out her pistol and shoots at the dog, too
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| − | Darkwyrm pins the mutated woman on the ground as best he can, facing her face towards the pavement and away from himself. "Stay down, bitch.", he growls. He flips his dagger around in his hand to an underhanded grip and thrusts it down towards her neck, trying to sever her spine at the base of the neck.
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| − | There's a rumbling underneath Rihko, and the body explodes in flame, incinerating the thing inside the body underneath her, and the flames pull into her flesh and fur until they dim out, the kitsune resting on a pile of charred flesh.
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| − | Foxheart throws caution to the wind and steps in the pool of liquid, digging through the car wreck with a look of disgust, calling her wisp back to defend her instead.
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| − | Rihko staggers up to her feet and looks around, her ears immediately going back as she sees the clusterfuck behind her. "BACK!" Rihko calls out, nearly a scream. "They'll coat the whole fucking block if they let loose! G-" she cuts herself off as she watches, snarling, fingers trembling and her neck twitching; she clenches her jaw, and her gaze darts from one group of her friends to the next, wondering who she needed to incinerate first for their own good.
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| − | Taggart rolls just a bit as the woman is pulled off of him, growling and thrashing until his legs pop into place and the rest of his clothing shredding free as he raises his muzzle in a howl. He is almost frothing at the mouth as well, growling long and low as his red and green eyes look around the 'battlefield' for the first target of his undying rage and unending hunger.
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| − | Bullets are fired en mass into the dog, two braining it, the blood dripping onto the ground with little grayish filaments pooling with it on the tar. The knife comes down on the woman's neck, just as a hand wraps around Darkwyrm's leg.
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| − | Cygnus manages to take a bead on the easiest stragler, using a bit of force to move the gearbox up before the truck catches its victim with its grill before the tires start to make a gruesome meal of the infected... at least we hope anyway.
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| − | Darkwyrm drives the weapon between two of the woman's spinal lumbars, cleanly severing it in two. His head whips around as he withdraws the blade, getting a look at his new attacker.
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| − | Foxheart doesn’t find anything and growls as she feels the liquid under her paws assault her. She jumps backwards in alarm. Finally aware of the situation, she sighs and draws her swords, dashing over to impale the thing holding Darkwyrm.
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| − | Solixis continues tracking with the gun for a short while, tracking with the sights with her finger well off the trigger until she feels she can get a shot without potential collateral.
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| − | There's the sound of another vehicle engine revving from above. It breaks in contrast with the strangely silent assailants, not a word of noise uttered by any of them. The spine severed woman bleeding a very similar substance to the dog, pooling out onto the ground around her, there's a motion in the hole created in her neck as slowly something begins to emerge. From the dog something also starts to slowly grow, having burst from the creature's chest. The process is slow, and gradual, like a blooming flower. The grip on Darkwyrm's ankle is quite assured, grasping tight, a small child with far more strength than should be there. Cygnus' vehicle flattening two assailants attacking it in its movement, almost accidental in the way it runs over them.
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| − | [[Category:RPLogs]][[Category:Crystala Events]][[Category:Trail of Tears]]
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