Tyler

An experiment I did in a new drawing style with (attempted) shading in photoshop: Charlie, Clive, Tracey and Zack are all Zackrobbman's characters. Erin and Mara are mine. I apparently have the color a bit wrong for Tracey but am too lazy to fix right now. Also, Mara finally got some artistic love: (Drawn by @zackrobbman , colored by me.) And: Something about this one kinda freaks me out; maybe I got the eyes too big. But overall I'm actually somewhat pleased in my own art for once.

If anyone has ever RP'd with my character Erin Hale, then they know this to be true:

Taylor was actually a bit relieved when Lumina also freaked-out in concern over the possibility of being infected. It wasn't that Taylor wanted to scare the poor elf girl, but she would rather Lumina also be taking the threat and possibility seriously, rather than simply dismissing Taylor as a paranoid lunatic (though that would have been totally justified). Either way, Taylor continued to watch as Quill examined Lumina's arm, but it seemed the elf was probably going to be okay. Slightly relieved, Taylor turned and began examining the fringes of the room, having largely ignored them due to the gaping hole in the floor. As Quill and Maat stepped out into the hallway to talk, Taylor began cautiously rummaging through the scattered objects, hoping to find anything that could be used to stab, slash or bash. Quill still had her flashlight, which had been her only weapon, and not wanting to interrupt Quill to ask her to return it, Tay decided the only thing she could due was try her luck in the dimly lit storeroom. A couple drawers revealed nothing but notes she could barely read, and what little she could make out seemed related to whale meat. There seemed to be plenty of these notes and they were pretty new judging by their lack of wrinkles. Taylor finally gave up and was about to move onto the next thing, when her foot bumped against something, causing it to slide across the floor toward the hole. The object came up short of falling in, which Taylor was grateful for as the item appeared to be a multi-tool of sorts. She quickly moved back into the center of the room, right up near the hole, and picked up the device to examine it. It seemed to have the typical things you'd expect, such as a screwdriver and bottle opener, though it also seemed to have something like a lockpick as well. Most importantly it had a knife blade, though it was small and not the most fearsome weapon you could ask for. It was a prize for Taylor, nonetheless. However, the small smile that the discovery had brought to the the girl's face quickly evaporated, as placed the tool in her pocket and looked up to gaze into the hole once more. This time, rather than be blindly mesmerized by it, Taylor began to notice certain details around the rim of the hole. Most noticeably, a glint of something wet and silvery hanging from the sharp end of a spur of steel concrete support rod dangling over the abyss. The blob of substance seemed organic, and Taylor immediately grimaced at that realization. Nevertheless, she stared at it in morbid curiosity for several long seconds, trying to figure out what it was. Then, to her surprise, it moved ever-so-slightly. "What the fu..." She continued to watch as the piece of... meat... or whatever it was... sat dangling over the abyss, occasionally making the tiniest amount of movement, as though it were some sort of malformed clam or snail or some other amorphous jelly-like organism. Quill's return and her subsequent command, while not lacking in force and urgency, somehow went unheeded by Taylor as she watched the nasty little steak slowly writhe and occasionally twitch. She was about to try and point it out to Quill, when a slightly quicker than normal movement by the piece of living flesh caused it to break free, causing it to free-fall into the blackness below. The movement let Taylor's eyes to instinctively follow the chunk as it dropped down into nothingness, subsequently focusing her attention on the pit itself. No sooner had the blob disappeared into the void, when a sudden flash of lighting illuminated the higher regions of the pit, revealing a black mass clinging to the wall, moving upward. As the lightning faded, it disappeared again into the shadows, but the image remained imprinted in Taylor's mind as she leaped back from the hole in shock. "There's something in there! Get out! Lock the door!" she gasped, jumping to her feet. In fact, the only person she could have been yelling at by this point was June, as Lumina and Quill had already vacated the room and gone out into the hallway. The former was already off to help Maat, but Quill had lingered behind to lock the door. Not wanting to hold her up any more than necessary, Taylor grabbed June and pushed her out into the hall in a hurry. "Lock it! Lock it!" she urged Quill, already in panic again, despite not even yet being aware of the confirmed threat of the creatures lumbering around outside. Once Quill had locked the door, they headed back into the main room, where Maat and Lumina were already looking for stuff to stack against the windows and doors of the storefront. "What things?!" Taylor stepped around the counter to get a better look out the window. When she did, she found a horde of hulking monstrosities lumbering toward them outside, blocking them off from the rollerbus. "SHIT!" the girl exploded, now as much angry as scared, "If we had only left when I said we should!" She began trying to grab whatever she could reasonably move on her own and drag it to the window. Or if anyone else was willing to help, she'd try to help carry heavier stuff over. All the while though, she continued swear under her breath, angrily bemoaning how they'd put themselves in this situation and were probably all going to die because of it...

I'm working on a post now, but I feel I should ask this. I am having Taylor start to rifle through the stuff spread out along the perimeter of the hole room, even before Quill comes back in and says to grab anything useful. My question is: Is there anything useful?

Once again, Krieger's annoyance at Clive's seemingly trivial detour was apparent in his face. Nonetheless, he elected to continue to tolerate the cowboy, as the man had proven resourceful, and more importantly useful, thus far. Even so, he was initially prepared to kill the two pirates without a second thought, but their lives were spared by two things. The first was that Clive had moved in first and was in the way of Krieger's line-of-fire for a moment, but the second was that Krieger recognized the uniforms the two were wearing. He had heard the implications in their conversation, but he wasn't sure until he was saw the jockey uniform with his own two eyes. "You did well by keeping them alive, mercenary," he said, not admitting that he had been prepared to kill a moment before, "The Jockeys being here means that things are even more complicated." The sound of shooting had already died-off above them, which meant that if they the Executor was in trouble up there, it was already too late to intervene. That outcome had been decided. Tynes's death would be of little sentimental value to Krieger, but on a practical level it would be inconvenient to have another promising employer cut-down so quickly. He could only blame himself for that, as it was his choice stick with Clive rather than attempt to ascend to the roof alone. Regardless, his decision to remain below may yet have been beneficial. "The boy mentioned the Jockeys were looking for an ace, whatever that means. It could be unrelated to what the Tin Man is after, but I doubt it. There is something in play that we are not aware of." He turned back toward the building. "We will have to question them later. First priority is to reach the roof and ascertain the Executor's status," he stated, "Once we do, we can--" The colonel stopped mid-sentence at the sound of clanking footsteps echoing inside the mill. He figured it was someone up on the catwalks, and while it was difficult to tell for sure with the echoes, it sounded like only one individual. Immediately giving a signal for Clive to keep quiet, Krieger moved back to the building and took up position beside one of the walls. As the footsteps continued, they moved briefly away from the two, before growing quieter and turning into the softer thud of boots on concrete, as the individual reached the ground floor. Krieger spotted a shadow jogging rapidly through the building, trying to reach the main entrance. It was at this point that soldier elected to risk calling out to them. "Halt! Identify yourself!" he barked into the building. The individual ducked out of sight, but after a moment, Tynes's voice called back out to them. "Colonel Krieger? It's me, Executor Tynes! Where are you?" The voice seemed trustworthy, but Krieger had seen enough in his life to know that you couldn't be sure until you were sure. "Move into the light so I can see you." Tynes appeared a bit more trusting than Krieger was, as he stepped into the light again, appearing to be exactly who he said he was, albeit much bloodier and dirtier than when last seen by either man. After a few more uninteresting (to read) exchanges, Tynes finally joined Krieger and Clive in the alley outside the building. "I see you're still alive... Clive, was it?" Tynes observed, a different tone in his voice than before they separated, more grim and serious, perhaps with an undertone of anger, "Good, we're going to need all the help we can get. You were right, the Tin Man is after Cordoza, and he wants her in the worst way. I don't have time to explain everything yet; first we need to contact our commanders and regroup our forces. They have no idea what is really going on." He pulled he radio off his belt and looked around, briefly stopping to stare at the shield embedded in side of the nearby building, but deciding it was not something he had time to ask about at the moment. Instead he centered his gaze back on Krieger. "Reception might not be great here, but we at least have some degree of cover. Keep an eye out while I radio--" At that moment though, the alleyway was quickly flooded by several squads of black-uniformed soldiers. But to everyone's relief, they wore the patch of the Norkotian Executive Guard, and even Clive would likely be able enough to distinguish these uniforms from those of the Tin Man's forces by now. "Sir, we've secured the block!" the commanding guardsman reported, "We have a transport waiting for you just around the corner." Tynes lowered the radio from his ear, glancing at the two men with him. Neither Clive, nor Krieger, had even been so much as acquaintances of his prior to this day. Yet, in just the last hour, he had already gone through a great deal with them. And there was still more to come before this was over. "Shall we?" he motioned toward the alley exit. "It is best we get moving," Krieger agreed, then pointed at the hole in the wall, while turning his attention to the guardsman, "There is a wounded soldier just up the stairwell inside who needs medical attention. And we have prisoners to interrogate." He turned to motion to the knocked-out Air Jockeys, who were last seen lying somewhere behind the trio's current position. But that had been several minutes ago, and in the time since, both Krieger and Clive had turned their back on them when Tynes emerged from within the mill... It become very obvious to Mara that the android was well out of her league, certainly in terms of movement capability. There was very little chance of her reaching the plant at this rate, which made her regret not going downstairs in the mill instead. But she wanted to keep this thing as far from Tynes as possible, so this was really the only option. Even so, escaping was unlikely, and trying to fight back was likely suicidal. Punching the thing was no solution, and shooting it likely wouldn't affect it either. All she had beside her gun was a pair of flashbangs, but the effectiveness of those on a non-living entity was unknown. Maybe the flash would disorient the nanites briefly, but that was the best she could hope for. There was no choice in the matter though, she had to use what she had available. To her surprise, the android suddenly melted into a puddle. But it soon began to reform, which Mara decided was the moment to use her first flashbang. This she tossed right into the midst of the reforming nanites, then resumed her sprint to the plant. If the nanites delayed Korzuc for a few seconds, that might buy her just enough time to figure something else out. Behind her, as Korzuc reformed into the shape of a man again, a sniper bullet struck him in the head. This was the only chance the sniper would get though, as it was right as Korzuc was reforming, but before he was able to get back up to speed again. Of course, the bullet attack was largely meaningless, only dispersing a few nanites temporarily at best, perhaps not affecting them at all at worst. It did allow him to report that to the men on the other end of his radio, however... In the meantime, Mara had come up with a semblance of a plan. It was a terrible plan, probably one that would make things worse. But seeing as keeping things as they were was certain defeat, better to go for the uncertain defeat. The plan was pretty simple, she pulled out her second flashbang, cooked it a couple seconds, then dropped it behind her at a key moment. Korzuc was likely gaining rapidly by now, and would come right into the path of the flash. If Mara's hopes were right and the flash was able to briefly blind the optical sensors of the tiny robots, this would enable her to make a sudden left turn, leap off the building, and land in the river below. Mara was not a practiced diver, but she had fast enough reactions and a limber enough body to make herself as thin as possible when entering the water, hopefully minimizing the splash. She could only hold-out under the surface of the water for a few minutes, but that would be long enough to hopefully get further down the street and closer to the plant, before Korzuc reacquired her location. Once her breath gave out, she finally broke the surface, now very close to the dam and the hydroplant adjacent to it. She suspected Korzuc had spotted her the second she broke the surface, if he hadn't managed to pick up her trail sooner. Even so, she figured she could swim to the shore, climb up the concrete wall, and enter the burning remains of the plant before Korzuc could reach her. If she had even managed to fool him in the first place.

"What is... happening..." Val began to clutch her head with both her hands, her breathing beginning to heighten. As Zack tried to explain that they needed to switch him back, Layla took a menacing step toward him. "What are you doing to her?" she growled. "I can't..." Val murmured, "Gustov is the only one who knows the spell..." "And he'll die soon if we don't get him medical attention," the leader butted-in, "If you're trying to leverage us, buddy, it won't work. The longer we're here, the less likely you'll ever get your own body back." At that moment, some of the Norkotians, in the bodies of the militiamen and women, were beginning to stir. Luckily, they had already taken the precaution of binding and gagging all their Norkotian counterparts, preventing any of them from saying anything incriminating. It also meant none of them could attempt to negotiate or protest in any way, but that was fine by the militia leader. He wanted to see this plan through no matter what got in his way. However, the critical condition of their wizard was still a problem. "Send in a medical team, some of our prisoners are wounded," the leader called over to the soldier at the door, forgetting for a moment that he was in the body of a private and that someone else was inhabiting the Norkotian captain. "Uh, right," the soldier at the door raised and eyebrow, wondering why the captain hadn't given that command, but figuring he must have delegated that task while he wasn't present. The soldier subsequently withdrew, but once the medics arrived, it would be imperative to retain their cover again. "It's... it's... watching me..." Val's eyes began bulging as seemed to realize there was another presence in her own mind. The leader glared at Zack as Layla stepped forward and grabbed him with Tessa's sturdy arms, which were much stronger than Val's, which Zack currently possessed. "Let her go or I'll make you wish you'd swapped with a corpse..." Krieger did not hide his annoyance at Clive's sarcasm, nor at his decision to recklessly exit the facility through a hole in the wall, then charge across the street after some random backpack. While it was admittedly rather strange for a backpack to have landed the way it had, as though it were a piece of ordinance fired from afar. Clive must have known who had fired it or at least what it was, since he seemed be searching through it with purpose. When the cowboy returned with the syringe, Krieger silently watched as the Clive injected the dying guardsman with it; the strange technology (or was it mere technology?) repairing the grievous injuries in miraculous fashion. Krieger had seem some advanced technology during his stint with the Terran Military, but he hadn't quite seen something like this. "What is that stuff, mercenary?" he demanded. The guardsman, now healed, remained unconscious. However, it seemed that he had now gone from a coma to a peaceful, deep sleep. He probably could be woken up with the right stimulation, but Krieger and Clive soon had other concerns. "No," Krieger was prompt in responding, as he recognized the difference between a Norkotian pistol-aircraft and the rocket-like thrusters of the vehicle above them, "That is something else. Find cover!" He suspected it was either a hostile aircraft, or perhaps a guided missile, and its proximity indicated it would be striking this area soon. He soon dismissed the missile theory though, as the unknown vehicle was not quite moving quick enough for that. Nonetheless, it appeared to be moving away. "Jetpacks?" he questioned, pressing his back against a portion of the concrete wall, alongside one of the numerous holes that opened toward the street. Cautiously, the colonel peered outside to see what it was that had just passed-by. Whatever it was that had struck the Tin Man (unfortunately it hadn't struck him squarely enough, but beggars can't be choosers) had caused him to change his plans entirely, causing him to order Mara to execute Tynes, while leaving the roof himself. Mara wasn't really a strategic mind, but she was quick-witted, and she had observed how Korzuc had failed to show any recognition to the object that had drawn the Tin Man and all his mercs' attention. The android was a focused AI, it didn't adapt, it only followed a direct, deliberate command. And at this very second, that only command was to kill Mara in exactly one minute if she didn't kill Tynes. One minute... Tin Man was gone, leaving just Korzuc and the mercs on the roof with her and Tynes. She was outnumbered 20 to 1, if she had calculated correctly in regards to Korzuc, and if she discounted Tynes. Those were poor odds. Most of these goons had guns, and there was little to no cover to work with. What's worse, they had her surrounded. These were very poor odds. But she had two choices here; risk death against very poor odds, or betray everything she had every fought and strove for by casting in her lot with one of the worst criminals on the continent. The 20 to 1 odds looked far more friendly. Mara drew out her revolver and lazily began to sigh and point it at Tynes. "Well, he did say a minute," she began. Suddenly, with inhuman speed, Mara pivoted to her left, where she knew two of the mercs were standing, one behind the other from her view. Her revolver was at her hip, pointing slightly upward. A single magnum round was launched, penetrating the first man's gut, then coming out the other end of his body to strike the second merc in the chest. Both men crumbled to the ground. 57 seconds... Mara shifted her aim just to the right, at a third mercenary, who had less than a second the mentally kiss his ass goodbye, before he had no head with which to think that thought. 56 seconds... The mercenaries finally began to react, many of them caught off-guard by the unexpected hostility. In the confusion, Tynes dove for the ground, getting out of the way of fire and momentarily causing the thugs to think he was just trying to duck out of the fight like a coward. Mara was the greater threat anyway, given her enhanced capabilities, and outwardly hostile disposition. Thus, the seventeen remaining mercenaries all went after the cyborg. Mara realized she had no chance if they all gunned at her at once, so she lunged toward one of the mercs, grabbing his rifle with her metal hand and forcing it aside, while at the same time placing herself behind him. 53 seconds... That poor mercenary was perforated by several of his own men, a couple of the bullets getting through him and glancing off Mercer's unarmored midsection. Nonetheless, she shrugged off the stings and kicked the already dead mercenary forward, causing the body to crash into two of the other mercs. She turned her revolver to the right, firing off two shots, one a dead-center hit to a thug's throat, the other nicking a man on the shoulder and spinning him around from the impact. This was done on the move, as she charged another merc, this one only holding a machete. 50 seconds... She raised her left arm and allowed the attempted blade swing to glance off her metallic forearm, while at the same time, raising a leg and giving the machete merc a swift kick right to the gut. The sheer force of it propelled him half-way across the roof and into an air-conditioning unit, his body denting it upon impact. 47 seconds... Tynes finally got in on the action, drawing out his pistol and shooting at two of the thugs, before scrambling behind cover. His shots wounded one of the two, while the other's attention was drawn toward him. The noise and action also caused a couple more of the goons to look away from Mara, reducing the amount of gunfire she was facing; if for only a moment. She used that second to fire her last two bullets, each a hit, one to a mercenary's chest, the other nearly blowing off the arm of another. Her revolver now useless, she dropped the prized weapon instantly, now focused on reaching the next man. 45 seconds... The next man reached her first. Another man with a melee weapon, though this one had some weird spiked axe straight out of a weird, dystopian, post-nuclear world. But his swing was long, wide, and wild, and Mara nimbly dodged, then reached forward and grabbed his weapon hand. The force of the grip nearly crushed the poor sod's bones, and he howled in pain, but Mara was not done with him yet. Going into a spin, like how two children holding hands might do, she spun them in a circle for all of two rapid rotations, then released him. The mercenary went flailing forward, crashing into another man who was lining-up his rifle. Unfortunately, that man was standing a bit close to the edge of the building, and the impact sent them both over the edge, screaming wildly for a few seconds before they struck the pavement below. 40 seconds... She had already killed almost half of the thugs, and severely wounded two more, in a matter of about twenty seconds. But now, the remaining mercenaries were finally reacting more effectively, and three of them backed-away and lined-up their beads on Mara. She didn't see it, as another machete man charged her, but she stopped him cold with a metal punch right to the face, shattering his nose and part of his skull. By the time she turned to locate her next target, she realized she had been isolated, and there was nobody left close enough for her to use as a meatshield. 37 seconds... She had no choice, she had to charge the three... no... four, there was one on the flank also raising his weapon... that were all targeting her with their guns. She'd never make it without being shot, that much she could tell. They had automatic weapons, and she had about ten yards to cover before she could reach them. This was where her luck had run out it seemed. The front-most of the gun-mercs smugly gazed into her eyes. "GET 'ER!!" No sooner had the words left his lips, when the left side of his head exploded like a ripe melon. The two mercs behind him recoiled in surprise. A second or two later, the delayed crack of a rifle echoed across the way. "SNIPER!?" The two mercenaries turned opposite directions. One had foolishly turned to the left, mistaking the fact that he left side of lead man's head shattered because the bullet had come from that direction. The other had enough brains to know that the impact hole of a high-powered rifle is small, but the exit hole is where all the damage is done. The sniper, therefore, was to the right, the opposite direction as the skull explosion. It was a correct guess. It also meant the sniper knew who his next target was. 33 seconds... Mara only hesitated for a for a moment, before her body suddenly kicked into motion again. Leaving what was left to the trio to this mysterious savior, she instead charged the flanker. He had also been momentarily been distracted by the sniper's revelation, but only for a second. That was all the cyborg needed. The merc opened fire with his assault rifle, but Mara had raised her arm right in the path of that his bullets would take. Several shots deflected harmlessly off the metallic limb, though one ricocheted off and glanced off Mara's face, adding another scar to her collection. "RRRAAAAAAHHHH!" the mercenary screamed, wildly firing non-stop even as Mara reached him, slapped the rifle's aim away from her, then pivoted her body to reach his head with her organic arm. The merc continued crying, even as Mara continued the twisting motion with her body, slamming him face first into the roof floor. 26 seconds... There was only three more thugs on their feet. The sniper had finished-off the trio that tried to gun Mara down, which left two men alive to face Mara, and one off to the side exchanging fire with Tynes. Korzuc had still not moved, despite all that happened. The two remaining mercs were both holding guns as well, but it seemed they had already fired all their shots during the last thirty or so seconds, and evidently missed every one. Exchanging a quick glance, they cast the guns aside and pulled their melee weapons. A combat knife for one, a tactical hatchet for the other. With a wild shout, they charged together, straight at Mara. The cyborg grinned, making like she was going to hold her position and defend as they charged. But that was not her plan. At the last second, she lunged forward, split-seconds before they could swing their respective weapons. Both of her arms shot forward and gripped each of the two mercs by the throat, then, using her forward momentum and her enhanced strength, she lifted them both off their feet and chokeslammed them both the floor in unison. 15 seconds... The last surviving merc realized allies were all dead or dying, and so he frantically broke from cover away from Tynes, hoping to somehow run for the stairs and escape. Unfortunately for him, the rather vigilante sniper, posted on some other roof somewhere nearby, took full advantage. The merc went crashing to the ground in a pink mist a second later. There was no time for celebration though, as Mara flashed a thumbs-up toward the unnamed sniper, but focused her attention on Tynes, who she quickly approached. "Move, quickly! I'll lead the android away from here. He'll be focused on me alone," she urged. "Can you even kill him?" Tynes asked, getting up and moving toward the steps. Mara quickly scanned the horizon, her golden eyes being drawn to the smoke of the smouldering hydroelectric plant just a short ways down the river. "I'll figure something out," she smirked, "MOVE!" 5 seconds... Tynes sprinted across the roof and down the stairs, leaving Mara with Korzuc. The bounty hunter sighed and turned fully toward the power plant. 3 seconds... She looked toward Korzuc and gave him a playful smile. "Catch me if you can, sweetie..." With that, she broke into a full sprint, charging forward and leaping off the roof, landing on a nearby building about two stories shorter, but breaking the fall with a roll. She was soon back on her feet and off the races. Hopefully there were enough rooftops to get her to the hydro-plant. 0 seconds...

"Thank you," was all Taylor could say to that. She didn't quite feel the motivation to say anything more, as she tensed up in anticipation of Quill opening the door. When it was thrown open, and the blast of cold air struck the three women like a train, Taylor recoiled and took a step back, grunting in surprise. Nonetheless, she stepped forward again and followed Quill through the doorframe, her flashlight eventually being turned over to the feline lady so she could use it to examine the room. Unlike Quill, Taylor couldn't do anything but stare at the hole. All else in the room seemed uninteresting, irrelevant by comparison. The hole was more than just an aperture in the floor, it was like a doorway, or a portal, into another far darker world than the one they were inhabiting. Goosebumps had completely overtaken the surface of Taylor's skin by now, and chills ran up and down her spine, and not just because of the cold. The hole was mesmerizing, yet terrifying all the same, and despite her heightened sense of horror, Taylor couldn't help but step closer to it. As Quill directed the flashlight into the abyss, Taylor strained her eyes to try and make out anything lurking below. There was nothing. But the smooth walls of the vertical tunnel were yet another source of fear in this cornucopia of terror. "What the hell could have..." She knelt down and cautiously put a hand into the tunnel, wiping her fingers along the smooth inner walls. At that moment though, her sense returned to her, and she stood up and backed away. Taylor heard the same thing Quill had, but somehow her sense of disbelief had already been suspended. Everything she'd experienced in this place, wherever it was and whatever it was called, from just arriving here, to encountering elves and cat people, to facing the corpse of a murdered man, was entirely new and foreign to her. Her imagination was on overdrive, already conceiving new and unlikely explanations for everything that was occurring here. To hear waves at the bottom of a smooth chasm that extended down below the river... it wasn't quite as shocking as it should have been. That said, not being shocking did not mean it wasn't still terrifying. Images of a vast, black, underworld sea, filled with monsters the likes of which would drive a man mad with but a glimpse, shifted through her head, and she began to back even further away from the hole. "This isn't just some small town serial killer thing anymore," Taylor stated, "Whatever made that hole is... it's... I don't know, it's not something one man or woman could do. There's something way bigger at work. We're in way over our heads!" She immediately headed back for the door to leave the room, only to collide with Lumina in the entryway. Taylor shrieked and stumbled backward, not recognizing Lumina for a single heart-stopping second. When she realized it was just the young elf though, she put a hand over her chest and exhaled in relief. "W-what?" Taylor's relief vanished immediately, "What happened to it? Is it did? Did it get away? What was it infected with..." Taylor's eyes widened as she realized she had physically contacted Lumina just a second ago. "Are you infected??" she gasped, madly beginning to brush off her arms, as though that might somehow save her from some unseen disease that had been transmitted.

So... the girl's supposed to be me, right? 🤣

Please read: The Cursor @AhaTheCursor • 6 minutes ago Replying to @Ancalad Well, if we're gonna talk about range... Ain't no one got THIS kind of range! AHA! REPLY GRUMBLE LIKE SHARE Meanwhile, in the Abbadon Triumvirate Base... A few hours later... Rodan Allagi @TheMutator • 1 minute ago Replying to @TheCursor Kid, put the silly plastic wand away. A real master practices their craft... "hands-on". 😉 REPLY GRUMBLE LIKE SHARE

@Zashiii

“What’s a nuke?” one of the militiamen asked. “It’s a really big bomb that can level a city,” the leader replied, “The Terrans have them in their military arsenal. Scary shit.” “We don’t have anything like that, magical or otherwise,” Valarie added, rubbing her forehead still, “Even if we did, we wouldn’t use it on our own home.” “The plan is just to get out of the city and avoid getting sent off to some prison camp,” the leader explained, “Maybe we can gather followers and form an underground resistance or something. With the mayor though, we might have more sway. Who knows, maybe she can petition the Terrans to intervene.” “You guys are waaaay too trusting with that information,” Layla scoffed, “We should just gag her with all the others and get going.” For a moment, Clive’s call did nothing but echo through the vast, steel and concrete chamber that lie behind him. But then, the sound of scuffling footsteps reached his ears, and he saw a figure emerging from shadows. At first, the dark clothing and general physique appeared to be that of Colonel Krieger, but when the man finally stepped into the light, and the dim light of the stairwell illuminated his face, it became clear that he was not. It was one of the other mercenaries, breathing raggedly and bleeding profusely, yet still alive and still more than a little crazed. He had a large handgun in his right hand, which he was holding just above his hip and pointing at Clive. “Heh heh… heheheh… did you think you’d just… get away?” he hissed, eyes bulging as he raised the pistol up higher to take better aim at Clive, who was not really in a position to shoot back, what with carrying another man, “Heheh, bu-bye cowboy.” *BANG* The single gunshot shattered the silence, echoing back into the main chamber and up the stairwell. The mercenary’s eyes remained wide and mad, and the sick, but pained smile remained plastered on his face. But no flash had ever emitted from his barrel, and after a moment, blood began to roll down his lip. After that, he simply tipped over and crashed to the ground, dead. Again, there was a brief silence. But it was again broken by footsteps, but this time it was the sound of jackboots, moving deliberately and with conviction. Not in Clive’s direction, but back into the chamber. Then, suddenly, a voice. “Nu-no! Please don’t!” the mercenary that had been hiding from Clive suddenly began crying. *BANG* Silence again, followed by the bootsteps resuming, this time heading for Clive’s position. Just as the silhouette of the figure became visible, Krieger’s voice called-out. “Still alive, mercenary? Good,” he said, not in a friendly tone, but in the tone of a man taking inventory of his available resources. He then stepped into the light himself, ignoring the dead thug in the center of the room as he approached the stairs. The colonel didn’t exactly appear unscathed himself, as there was blood running down his face from somewhere just above his hairline. And he was otherwise quite covered with the stuff. Then again… perhaps most of it was not his own… “If that soldier is unable to walk, then leave him. Our first priority is the Grand Executor,” he stated coldly as he came to a stop before the cowboy, “He appears to have managed to reach the upper level; we should proceed there at once.” Mara exhaled a bit this part of the Tin Man’s little speech. She was certainly conscious of the limitations that had been imposed on her so long ago, and she remembered the first few years after the accident, an innocent-looking, blonde-haired, blue-eyed teenager, crying herself to sleep at night over the loss not just of her existing family, but any hope she had of every making one of her own. But her quest for justice, or maybe it was vengeance, slowly hardened her heart to those feelings. By the time she left Norkotia and first visited Hell’s Gate, where she eventually learned it was possible to have the primitive Norkotian machinery replaced with better technology, she realized that raising a family was simply something she could never do now, even if she wanted. “Ah, well, you could say I’m also not heartless,” she began, the briefly distant look in her eyes refocusing on the Tin Man, “I’m not so cruel as to bring children into the world with myself as their mother, what kind of life would that be? With all the people that want me dead? And even if not; romances... relationships… encounters… all unnecessary distractions for one in my line of work. A good way to let your guard down and get yourself murdered in your sleep, really. Nah, I think I’ll pass.” She flicked away the limp cigarette that had already smouldered and died in the unseasonable rain, her eyes remaining locked on the powersuit in front of her. “What’s more, you are mistaken; I am no mercenary. I am a bounty hunter, my job is to collect payment on the apprehension, or eradication, of wanted criminals. You think I agreed to this job because I just wanted to protect Mister Tynes? Hmhm… That’s just the bonus payment.” She frowned at that point though, her stance actually relaxing somewhat. “But then again, the mark of a successful entrepreneur is the ability to adapt to changes in the… what do the suits call it, “economic climate”? Heh, something like that. Perhaps once you have concluded your business with the executor here, we could discuss more of the details on the trip out of town?” Tynes remained silent throughout this time, a small part of him wondering if Mara was serious about taking up the Tin Man’s offer. He couldn’t entirely blame her if she did, there seemed to be no way to get out of his current situation alive… at least not yet. But if the personnel profile on the woman was even remotely accurate, then he could feel assured that she was ultimately just playing the game, but still had no intention of ultimately defecting to the Tin Man’s side. He hoped, anyway. The cyborg was his last best chance, as whatever Redbridge managed to rustle up likely wouldn’t have the firepower necessary to kill the Tin Man or his android. He only hoped she had managed to figure out a way to pull it off...

So, I was kind of just waiting until someone brought it up and forced me to respond, since I just wanted to leave things go as long as possible in case I changed my mind, but basically I won't be participating further in Ursa Madeum, despite semi-recent commitments to the contrary. I had fun here at one time, but the only path I see ahead of me is one of work and grind, not necessarily much fun. My apologies to @Csl since I think you were excited about me participating in UM again, but circumstances just have me no longer interested in the exhausting effort it takes to write for Canon Valucre. No fault of your own; it pretty much applies to everything here. Regardless, thanks for the invite @Die Shize, I'm sure it would have been great writing with you again. But I'm afraid I'm just kinda done here, so I won't be starting anything new (at least not on the canon boards). I guess this means you guys can just strike Karradeen from the books. Say they left the country like Dali did or something, I dunno.

Hi, I think I'm going to drop out at this juncture. I just haven't been feeling this plot anymore, and... well yeah, basically that. Sorry I had said I was gonna see this through to the end, but it's just taking too long and I guess I just don't have that drive to act these characters of mine anymore. Good luck to everyone who remains!