The Deadland

[RADIO]

The monsters are attacking. If you can't fight [WHAT IS THAT RATTLING SOUND], stay safe inside. If you can, we should fight them off and gather the Energy.

[ACTION]
[Minato is near the entrance of Mercy Street Apartment, a metal bat in hand and a 'gun' in his other hand. When one of the monsters come in to attack, he points the gun at his head and fire.]

Orpheus!

[Instead of certain death, a blue aura surrounds him and a strange, mechanical man appears to attack the monster.]

[ Static, then across all channels a voice chimes in. He's very chipper and cheerful! It's probably irritating to some. ]

Hey, Asper! How are you, how's your stay been, hope the food's been good, nice weather we're having. Now that pleasantries are out of the way, let's get to business: everyone's favorite kid has let us know something to pass onto you guys.

Expect a period of time-- an hour at least-- any time during the day for these lil critters to get especially aggressive. There's some weird mumbo jumbo involved apparently, so it said "when something weird happens, that might be the time"! Keep your eyes and ears open.

During the time that weird stuff goes down, you'll find the wildlife drops a little flask when it's destroyed. It's called Energy, and it's just a drink. You'll need this to live on here-- unless you want to be sucked bone dry, anyways! So drink some every day. That's what it told me to tell you all.

That's all!

…And to think that just yesterday I had hoped to hear the sounds of animals in the city. Such a desolate place without birdsong, though the howls of animals, while many, haven’t helped. [she tapers off, a little lost in thought before continuing]

For those who haven't met me yet, my name is Ouka. I've been given directions to set up a clinic in Room 112 at the Mercy Street Apartments - [stops abruptly, before sneezing] I’m sorry, for those in need of medical attention. Unfortunately, it’s not in the best of states this morning…all this dust is rather troublesome. But it’s serviceable. Anyone in need of healing is welcome to stop by. I will do my best to treat you.

[the door to room 112 is wide open, with Ouka on her knees on the floor, trying to get at the last piece of dust. feel free to walk by or come in and say hello]

[Action]

[Normally, Mami Tomoe was a very competent, focused fighter. Watching her fight was like watching a deadly dance, all smooth movements and precise shots.

This Mami, however, was barely a shadow of what she once was. Her mind and heart had been a wreck when she woke up in that strange room. The conversation with that strange child - I can grant any wish you want - had only brought up another wave of horrible memories. She was confused, upset, and stuck in the middle of a complete breakdown with nobody there to help her.

So when she appeared in the world proper, and near-immediately found herself face-to-face with a strange hybrid monster that should not have scared her after all she had seen, but was utterly terrifying to her in her current mental state, she did the first thing her horror-stricken mind thought of: run.

So she does. As she does, enough sense comes back to her to fight, defend yourself. So she turns, summons a rifle, and fires. Her hands are shaking too much and the bullet just about grazes the creature, so she discards it and summons another rifle. This shot manages to hit, but only barely. So she summons a third, aims, squeezes the trigger...

Click.

It's empty.]

What...

[Her shock and confusion causes her to hesitate just long enough; the monster, wounded and snarling, pounces.]

[Radio; some time later]

[The voice coming in over the radio is shaky, but a bit less frightened than its owner had been when she first woke up.] This place... I don't understand. I should be dead. How... how am I here?

[OOC: the action is first come, first serve, to keep things from getting confusing! If someone else tagged the action already, feel free to tag the radio post instead.]

[ when Rat can focus again against the lurch and shift of worlds and consciousness, it's the smell that hits him first. The overwhelming stench of rotten flesh and clotted blood, offal and bacteria. And the rust of iron.

When his vision slides back, he recognises the cage for what it is. What he doesn't recognise is the pile of meat that must have been a large animal at some point in the past. He's used to dead things, though, and after he remembers to breathe shallowly and through his mouth, he can occupy himself with working out a way out of the cage some bastard left him in.


An hour or so later, and he's exhausted himself trying to break the lock with alternatively a large rock and a shard of femur. It's only after this resounding failure that he deigns to try the radio. ]

Someone want to tell me why I'm in a fucking cage?

What is this?! Revitalizing a universe, granting a wish - do you honestly expect me to believe that?! I’m not going to save anything - not when you’ve kidnapped me! [ raging elliot is raging ] So you can take your stupid wish and go to hell! And while you're at it - take responsibility for your own stupid universe, idiot!

[ huff huff... ]

Saving a universe – how am I supposed to save it anyway?!

And where the hell is my sword?!

[ elliot is fast realizing that all these animals? THEY'RE OUT TO GET HIM. Brb, running down main street. feel free to run into him. ]

[He sounds furious] What is making all that noise!?

[Voice // Open]
There's some things in our apartment I don't think we're going to need, but just getting rid of them when someone else might find them useful... Well, that sounds like a bad idea.

So-- does anyone want to trade, or pool our excess resources? Things we don't need right now might be useful in the future, or to anyone else that shows up here.

[Action // Mercy Street Apartments]
[After making his audio post, Souji can most easily be found in the hallway in front of rooms 202 and 203, moving back and forth between the two, often times while carrying stuff. He'll periodically slip downstairs and through the rest of the second floor and will be at it for the rest of the afternoon.]

The town square is silent.

Cornelia paces, waiting for people to show up. She thumbs the hunting knife she'd picked up from a house near where she had woken up. Should any troublemakers appear, she was prepared-- unless, of course, they appeared with a gun. The city was too big to explore alone; too dangerous to wander the streets aimlessly. So that's why she doesn't have one herself. The only reason she didn't go to pick anyone up so they didn't have to traverse alone was because that would be setting herself up for an ambush. For a similar reason she waits off to the side of the square, concealed behind a food vendor, rather than sitting in the middle.

Trusting these people could be her downfall-- so she won't trust until they've proved themselves. But they're largely children. And she thinks of her late sister because of that. Euphie wouldn't want these people to go around alone in a place where any danger could be lurking. So that's her primary motivation in doing this. It's a mixture of that and the wholehearted desire to go home, to find the answers of this place. Cornelia knows returning home could be impossible with or without help, but she isn't about to give up on that hope. So she seeks help, because her chances are higher that way.

She scans the surrounding areas, alert. If that false Zero were to appear before her, she thinks, child or not-- she would destroy him. Anger swells once again, a sort of madness and hysteria that she finds unbecoming in other people. Cornelia breathes.

[ ooc: Mingling post! Starter in prose, please don't hesitate to switch to action. Cornelia isn't going to be coming out of the shadows until there are a few people there/ someone she knows appears, so please interact among yourselves!

Speaking at the Square
At the Apartments ]

[ Beep. Beep. Beep beep beep. Shuffling, the sound of fabric brushing against the microphone. More beeping. Someone has no idea what the fuck they're doing with the radio. ]

What in the world is this infernal device...!! Squeaking and hissing like some sort of vile hellspawn! I--

[ Next comes a ton of beeping. Beep beep beep beep beepbeep beep. He's obviously yelling at the radio and getting cut off a lot by the button press. When he speaks next it seems as though he's raged himself out. There is obvious hostility in his tone but it is not of the previous sort. And evidently he's also missed the previous broadcasts. ]

I was told this would allow me to speak with others, through what wizardry I cannot imagine. So. Is anyone there?

[There's a brief hesitation before Yosuke decides to finally press the button. He's been contemplating this for a bit now. And now that everything doesn't feel like it's spinning - that it's all starting to make the slightest bit of sense.]

Hey -- so, uh. Does anyone else think maybe we should get some kind of... roll-call going or something?

[He's not used to being the one to step up. But not hearing from anyone he knows is making him wonder.]

I know there's supposed to be a meeting later, but until then. You know, so we have a better idea of how many people are here and I guess in case we can find anyone we know from our... own homes, or whatever it is. This is still pretty confusing, huh. If we're gonna be stuck here, it's probably better we try to look our for each other a bit, right? Especially with how... crappy things look.

[An awkward, really forced chuckle.] Yeah, so -- my name's Yosuke. Yosuke Hanamura. Aaaaand, I guess we're all gonna be stuck here together for a while.

[There's a bit of static, the feed not being cut yet. There's something else he wants to add, but refrains instead -- so just after, there will be a beep and the feed will cut.]

[ After waiting a moment to make sure no one else is going to chime in and interrupt her, Cornelia takes a step forward and holds down the button of her small radio. ]

That's enough fooling around.

[ It seems as though most of them have only just arrived. But listening in on the radio has told her enough: she's stuck here with a bunch of lost children. There are a few adults, and not everyone has spoken up obviously... but an organizer. They need someone to efficiently manage them and direct their efforts towards returning home. ]

My name is Cornelia li Britannia of the Holy Britannian Empire; Chief General of the Imperial Army and Viceroy of Area Eleven. If you would like to survive with ease in this barren place and efficiently find a way home, you'll follow my orders and my command. If you would like to forage like a rat in the filth, go straight ahead.

We're meeting in town square. If you don't know where that is, there should be a map inside a building near your current location. It's along main street; connects with Beck, Baker, Indigo, Parkview and Hawk.

The majority of you are children, so I'll say this much: being brave and alone in a place where virtually any threat could exist is stupidity. Remember it.

[ Beeeep goes the radio before static. ]

[[ ooc; I'll be putting up a log for the town square meeting tomorrow morning, assuming characters are interested. ]]

[There's crackling, a voice at first too muffled to here before clarity strikes it.] ... Hello? Hello.

I know you're new here, you've just arrived. Welcome to Asper City.

[static] I'm Lara. Stay safe.