Aaryanna_Mom

*pokes Crystia* Now you've done it! You've gone and inspired the rest of them to be even more graphic with their deaths! I can see that I'm going to have to rely on being a bit more creative to make up for the lack of outright gore in my posts. It's a good thing this isn't an actual show. There's no way I could be a part of this if I had to watch it. *shudder*

Daniel was out yet again, working on a few final details, finishing setting up the independent resistance cells for when the need would come. As well as overseeing some of the final upgrades to some of the safe houses. It was barely mid-morning when he got a chime indicating that a high priority message had been forwarded to his hand held computer from the base. Curious he opened it up wondering just what the message could be. Quickly he read though it, not realizing that he had turned pale until one of the engineers in the safe house asked him if he was all right. Startled he looked up, "[B]No,[/B]" he stammered. "[B]I'm fine, I just need to step out and get a bit of fresh air. I'll be right back.[/B]" He left immediately, not bothering to wait for a response. It only took him a moment to reach the deck of the mountain safe house, but he could not still the shaking of his hands as he opened up his hand held and read the message again: [INDENT]The final Earth base has been located. Entry method undetermined, but attack will likely commence soon. Presence of important personell in base is expected, so evacuation ahead of time would risk compromising my position. I will attempt to trigger the alarm prematurely, though this may not be possible. Regardless, evacuate as soon as alarm sounds, prioritizing important personell.[/INDENT] He read it for a third and then a fourth time before he finally closed his hand held computer. [I]How had she found them so quickly?[/I] Daniel had thought it would take longer. Sandra hadn't even been found yet. But then the chime sounded yet again. This time the report indicated that Sandra had been found. [I]Damn! [/I]He thought. Daniel fought the urge to panic, he could understand that evacuating in advance would compromise Kiva's position, especially since they would expect him and the others to be there, but hell! If she ended up not being able to trigger the alarm prematurely and they caught him, Daniel knew he would not be able to stop them from getting that information out of him. Daniel forced himself to take several deep breaths. [I]Calm down idiot and think! [/I] If he couldn't evacuate everyone in advance he could at least immediately make some changes to put those who were truly important in the position of being closest to the main transport door as well as the emergency ones. Though in Jason, Celestia, Sara and Glen's case that was already true. All four of them had quarters that were close to the emergency transport doors. [I]All right,[/I] he thought, [I]those four are taken care of.[/I] And if he was lucky the attack would happen while Sara and Glen were out on patrol. Frustrated Daniel went back into the safe house, curtly explaining that other business required his attention before preparing to open a transport door to the base. Then, he stopped,[I] I should send a report to William first, [/I]he thought. [I]Once I get back I don't want to get to busy and forget.[/I] It wouldn't take him too long. This was the part he hated most about being a Commander, making decisions that left others unaware of what was going to happen. Just like he had done with the base in the UK, he would be leaving a good number of the people there in the dark. He knew perfectly well that it would end up with them being caught and dealt with by the military. Something that he explained in his report to William. Taking full responsibility for the decision to not order an immediate evacuation of the base. Then once he was finished with the report for William he sent it to the base to be sent off world. Then he finally opened up a transport door to the base and stepped through. Even if he was not evacuating everyone, there was still a lot to be done to make the evacuation once they attacked go much smoother. They already had a good plan in place, but he would go over it just to make sure. They couldn't afford a mistake, not when the stakes were this high.

[quote name='Rachmaninoff']And I'm in agreement with some of the others Crystia, that death you wrote up was intense. And creepy as hell. ;)[/quote]Understatement of the year I'd say. Good heavens! And since it is the nature of the game I have now killed off Ambellina Prise. It took me forever to decide who to kill off. So now I guess only Darren has yet to choose a target.

When Lara finally woke up it was to find herself with three other women, Eflair, Jennifer and Ambellina if she remembered correctly.[I] How did I get here?[/I] A moment later it hit her! [I]Alden![/I] With a start of pure fear she was scrambling to her feet looking around wildly for more of the fish creatures that had killed him, but she was in a dark cavern instead of the passage ways under the lake. ?[B][I]Settle down child, the creatures are not here and your thoughts are painfully loud.[/I][/B]? Startled Lara quit moving. [I]They can read my thoughts? [/I] ?[B]I can?t[/B]? Ambellina said. ?[B]Not that it matters, it?s dangerous here so we need to get moving.[/B]? She turned to Jennifer as if asking her. Jennifer just nodded indicating that Ambellina was correct. Confused but glad that she was not alone; Lara followed the three as they headed for what appeared to be a tunnel. A tunnel that lead into another section that this time appeared to be an abandoned town. A very tiny town as there was a few small cottages in what seemed to be a small valley. But then the lake had looked normal to Lara too. She wanted to turn around and leave, but was anywhere truly safe? The group was about halfway through the abandoned town when an eerie silence descended. [I]This can?t be good[/I] Lara thought. Something that was confirmed by Jennifer when she spoke. ?[B][I]Something is coming. Quickly we must hide.[/I][/B]? [I]Hide?[/I] Ambellina thought.[I] From what? [/I]She couldn?t hear or see anything. But she didn?t question but simply ran into one of the nearest cottages with the others. A moment later a deep vibration began, one that they all could feel in the walls and the floor of the cottage. Slowly it became more pronounced until the sound of machinery could be heard as well. There was something horribly familiar about it, something that Lara was sure she had heard before. Slowly she stood up just enough to take a peek out the window, only to duck back down her face as white as a sheet. ?[B]What is it?[/B]? Ambellina asked her, ignoring the telepathic command from the others to be quiet. Lara shook, ?[B]It just can?t be.[/B]? ?[B]What can?t![/B]? Ambellina demanded. ?[B]Those are tanks and troops out there, from my world! From the past![/B]? ?[B][I]Correct,[/I][/B]? A mental voice interrupted them, ?[B][I]They are searching for war criminals and though they are weak there there are too many of them. I have touched the thoughts of the leader and they are only passing through with no intention to stop so if we are quiet they will not know that we are here.[/I][/B]? It was a good plan, one that nearly worked as the huge group of soldiers and tanks just moved through the center of the town, not stopping. For nearly an hour they stayed put while the vehicles passed through the small town. And then finally they were gone; the group got up and left the cottage breathing a sigh of relief when they walked back out and continued down the road. They headed towards the end of the small town in the same direction that the troops had come from when to their surprise a small group was waiting for them, weapons drawn. A smug looking officer was sitting on top of a tank that was facing them. [I]Wait a second[/I], Lara and Ambellina thought. [I]How come Jennifer had not sensed them?[/I] ?[B][I]That was very clever of you to hide,[/I][/B]? he said as if to answer them. ?[B][I]But you?re not the only one who can use telepathy. I knew you were there from the moment you touched my thoughts. That was careless of you.[/I][/B]? He shook his right forefinger at them as if taking a small child to task for making a mistake. It took them a moment to realize that he had he had spoken directly to them mind to mind. Both Jennifer and Eflair were strangely quiet. Ambellina seemed to be in shock and Lara's hand was on the hilt of the gun Alden had given her since she had tucked into the back of her pants. ?[B][I]I?d take you back to headquarters but I?m afraid you wouldn?t be worth the trouble since all unregistered telepaths are put to death. So I'll just execute you here.[/I][/B]? He spoke to them yet again in their minds. [I]Telepath? I?m not a telepath![/I] Lara thought. Without thinking she pulled the gun she still had out and raised it, firing at the same time the soldiers did. However, her weapon was far more powerful and it ripped the tank in half. Then something slammed into her left shoulder and she felt herself being thrown backwards as if in slow motion. As she fell Lara saw that some unknown force attacked the men as well, felling them where they stood and then Lara could see no more as she landed hard on her back. Then a moment later it was over. Cautiously Lara tried to sit up only to wince in pain from where she had been shot. Eflair came over and helped her sit up and then did something to her shoulder, Lara didn?t know what it was but the pain slowly receded. ?[B]Thank you.[/B]? ?[B][I]You are welcome[/I][/B],? she replied. ?[B][I]It is a shame that Ambellina is beyond my power.[/I][/B]? Lara looked over at Ambellina who was lying on the ground and then quickly looked away. Wishing she had not seen it since Ambellina had taken the main burst of the gunfire. ?[B][I]We must leave,[/I][/B]? Jennifer said. ?[B][I]If there are others like him who can use telepathy they may already know what happened here.[/I][/B]? Eflair nodded as did Lara as she got up. She checked the gun that Alden had given her, tears in her eyes as she realized that twice now it had saved her life. She only wished it that it could have saved his too. [CENTER]----------------------------------------[/CENTER] [CENTER][IMG]http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/7128/deathcardzp0.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/1716/13mg7.jpg[/IMG] [/CENTER]

[COLOR=DarkRed]Kathy had intended to go to classes, she really had but once she had cheerfully said good morning to Sergei who was waiting outside the dorm she ended up going off in another direction all together. Finding a secluded spot to simply sit down and relax. It wasn't like the world was going to come to an end if she didn't show up after all and besides, she hated being inside when it was nice out. She leaned back against the tree she was sitting under and then nearly jumped out of her skin when Sergei sat down next to her. "[B]Don't sneak up on me like that Serg![/B]" Sergei just shrugged, "[B]I didn't mean to. I was just wondering why you were cutting class.[/B]" Kathy sighed, "[B]Oh I dunno. I just didn't feel like going today.[/B]" "[B]Me neither,[/B]" Sergei declared. And then as they often did they just sat there, silently taking everything in. Taking a brief moment to not have a care in the world. "[B]Ya know,[/B]" Sergei said. "[B]Sometimes I wish we didn't have to be here.[/B]" "[B]I thought you liked it here.[/B]" Kathy replied, surprised. "[B]True,[/B]" Sergei said. "[B]But don't you ever wish you were just a normal teenager?[/B]" "[B]Not really.[/B]" "[B]Never?[/B]" Sergei pressed. Kathy looked away, uncomfortable with how close that hit home. Since in the end she had always wished someone would like her for what she was, not because she could change things by singing. "[B]Well...Maybe a little.[/B]" She finally admitted. Once again they just sat there under the tree staring at nothing and everything until finally Sergei got up. "[B]Well I'm off. If I miss too many classes I'll be in detention for a week.[/B]" "[B]Later then.[/B]" Kathy leaned back against the tree once he had left and closed her eyes, humming to herself. Carefully keeping her power in check. Hopefully once she was done here she would be able to sing without the power coming forth. Or as her instructors were trying to do, having her refine it to be able to get a similar effect with speaking alone. Though she was rather unhelpful in that respect. Refusing to really apply herself towards that goal. If she could she would have turned the damn thing off. It was a constant battle with her, going from loving her power to hating it and back again. [/COLOR]

It didn't matter that she knew that for someone to hold out against being tortured and drugged for more than two weeks was unheard of. It didn't matter that Kim had spent months resisting being interrogated, even when it had reached the point that the information sought was gotten anyway. She still felt as if she had betrayed those who were members of the resistance, those who had died in the effort to bring about change. Those who she considered her friends. But she had reached the point where she had literally lost the will to fight. Dully answering the questions with little to no resistance what so ever. Sometimes it had been easy, when the questions were something she really didn't know anything about. Like when her captor, who she still had no name for, had asked her about the resistance base in sector fourteen. Kim knew nothing more than what she had put in the report when she had investigated it as a sub-commander of the Tempest. Or when he had showed her a number of pictures of resistance members a while back. That had been easy too, she hadn't known any of them. Kim still had bad days since that stubborn spark would surface, resulting in her exchanging smart sarcastic remarks. Ones that she always regretted later. Especially now that she had been stuck in this place for so long. Because as her captor had indicated in the beginning, whether or not things would be done the hard way or the easy way was completely up to her. And when she simply gave him the information, that had held true. It still shamed her though, to be so weak as to simply answer the questions. It was probably what was fueling her stubborn streak since every couple of days it would surface. Only for her to endure another more painful and drawn out session. It was like a vicious cycle that she couldn't seem to break. Just like her thoughts of hopelessness and despair. [CENTER]----------------------------------------------------[/CENTER] It had taken quite a bit of restraint to not fully dress both Jason and Celestia down for what they had done with the update system. Sending Darren the information had been reckless and foolish. Even though they were probably pretty certain that they knew who had bypassed the high security due to what they had done with Crystal's hand held computer. But since the security on the third project had been even tighter, and since it had not been released it had left the military in the dark as to whether or not they had gotten past the final level of the security. But now there would be no question. It had required reminding himself that neither Celestia or Jason were officers or truly trained military personal. On some level, they really didn't understand why it was such a problem. Like the squad that had gone off mission and killed so many innocent people when the attacks had been done. They were from the former US military and as a result all contact with them had been severed. Members who had done what they did were of no use. They knew better. Daniel sighed from his vantage point of the deck of the safe house that Jason and Celestia had taken a break in a while ago. The view of the mountains and the lake further down as well as the pine trees was peaceful. And once he had the engineers finish modifying it to include a simply transport generator as well as a few other embellishments, ones that would be well hidden by the simple virtue that unless in use they would never be turned on. Rendering them invisible to sensors due to the light shielding. He would make the place a destination in the transport system to put Jason, Celestia, Sara and Glen here should the need to evacuate happen. Or rather when it did happen since he had no doubt that it would. He turned and headed back inside, to finish organizing even more setups and cells. Daniel had been doing this for days now, getting up early, briefly checking for messages and then heading out as early as five am, working all day, sometimes not getting back to the main base until after midnight. It was exhausting, but at the same time Daniel couldn't rest until he knew things were as ready as possible. He was positive that the remaining base under Salt Lake City, Utah would be found. At least Celestia and Jason seemed to enjoy making use of the side conference room that he had turned into an office. It had been his suggestion since it was obvious to him how much they cared for each other. And though it wasn't as good as time off to relax together, at least they could work privately. He had spoken to them briefly the other day and it had been quite clear to him that they liked it. It was a pity he couldn't let them have the conference room on a regular basis. Still it would require a few more days to finish what he had in mind. And he was positive that they would enjoy a few more days of using it.

[quote name='Aaryanna][COLOR=DarkRed']Also, if you guys don't mind I'd like to do the first post since I have a wicked fun idea for getting us into the new twist! I think all of you will really like it! :catgirl: [/COLOR][/quote]Hehe, that was excellently done. I was sitting there, reading the other posts and when I came to yours for a moment you really had me going. I was thinking what the heck? Anyway, here's mine with the changes. ;) [B]Name:[/B] Kathy Mercer [B]Gender: [/B]Female [B]Age: [/B]16 [B]Special Skills:[/B] Kathy can change living things with the power of her voice, but only in song. With a song she can heal, destroy or even control others. This power only works on living matter. [B]Description:[/B] Kathy is about 5'5 with short brown hair and plain brown eyes. [B]Personality: [/B] She is a bit of a tom boy, and a little opinionated as well as slightly selfish. But underneath it all she's rather kind. [B]Short Bio: [/B]Kathy is an orphan. Her only living relatives died in a car crash when she was but three. When her adoptive parents caught her singing to heal birds or injured cats they freaked, turning her back over to the orphanage immediately. After a while once her ability became stronger she was sent to Cheshire High. Since then she became fast friends with her two roommates as well as with Sergei who shared a number of classes with her as well as an interest in music.

You're not the only one she left hanging. I mean part of mine as she put it will become clear after a certain post has been made. But, but, but...I want to know now! :bawl: Hehe, I kid. Reading between the lines tells me that it is indeed going to get interesting. I love it when I'm sure I know part of what's going to happen and yet there's still things left up in the air. Fun stuff! :catgirl:

[quote name='Volume 11']That being said for the 3rd or 4th time, I cant wait to see who isolates my "annoyed" comment again and runs with it like Im an anime snob who thinks anyone who even watches an anime once by accident should be the Leonard Maltin of the genre.[/quote]I got the impression that people were enjoying discussing the details of what is involved in considering someone a fan of anime. I didn't get the impression that anyone thought you were an anime snob. ;) Rather one that they were pointing out how that part of your post seemed to contradict the rest. Something that you've since clarified as to what you meant. I hope you are aren't taking this too seriously since I've found the whole thing rather interesting to read. :catgirl: [B]EDIT:[/B] And to be clear I did not think you were a snob.

[quote name='Rachmaninoff']I was thinking of keeping the same name and simply changing some of my other traits to match the new theme. So instead of skills I would have powers this time around. And we could still consider ourselves the mercenaries. In the sense that the four of us ended up as friends and stick together. [/quote]That sounds good to me, especially since Anomaly already mentioned that she is going to be gone until Sunday night. That way we can still mention her in our posts but leave out the part about what her actual powers are. That would make it easier for her to simply slip right back into the game and let us know just what her power is at the same time. And if she wants to change her name, she can simply have her character insist that we call her her nickname due to her powers or something along those lines. I'll modify my character and repost it later today. And then we can continue having fun! I am a bit sad that the last theme is over, especially since all of you did such a good job and I enjoyed reading it. Still this one ought to be fun as well! :catgirl:

[QUOTE=Sandy]Sorry, I didn't realize Ambellina was with the group as well! XP I edited my post so that Ambellina would stay with Jennifer and Eflair. Could you edit your post accordingly, Kathy? And DigitalBoy, in your post you put Rebecca in two different groups, although that's not the case in the list you provided. I guess it's just a typo, then.[/QUOTE]I changed it. And yeah, I noticed the typo as well, including the one that had two groups going down the right corridor when they did not. I went by the list here in the underground when doing my post. ;) Anyway, I changed it so Ambellina got left with the other two as well.

[quote name='indifference][COLOR=DarkRed']I rather like the Creation Card too. That was a fun new card. ;)[/COLOR][/quote]I think so too. Fun! :catgirl: Anyway, and now they are split even more leaving Davis, Gustaff, Vanya, Ambellina, and Rebecca to continue on their own while Jennifer and Eflair must backtrack and attempt to join one of the other groups. And since I introduced Gustaff Maldrachen that leaves only Liam Linche and Eflair Shishinn J?nea to be introduced in a post. Which is why I held off on my death card for my post. I wanted to get another introduction taken care of. ;)

Gustaff Maldrachen would have rather stuck together. It was in his opinion foolish to split up in a place like this. But Alden had simply taken off without a word. [I]What a fool,[/I] he thought. It would have been much better to discuss things instead of taking off. But now it seemed that they were split up. He could understand the brat Neheb being difficult, especially if he really was a Pharaoh. Someone like that wouldn't know any better. But the others? He didn't know enough about them. Well perhaps other than Davis who admitted he studied history. That decided him, he followed Davis since he was likely the most useful person here. If anyone would recognize something it would be him. He had no interest in following someone who couldn't be bothered to say why he chose the path he did and to be honest, he had no intention of following Nehab since he wasn't about to take orders from some brat. They didn't say much as they traveled and in no time they were at what appeared to be a circular door. After a tiny bit of discussion they decided to pull the levers. Both Jennifer and Eflair stood back when Rebecca instructed them to. Standing next to Ambellina who was already standing clear. Something that saved their lives since when the levers were pulled the door swiftly moved, slicing in a circular motion so that the door was now behind the group who had pulled the levers. Slamming in place with a sharp crack right where they had been standing, cutting them off from the rest of the group. Alarmed Davis called out, "[B]Jennifer! Eflair! Ambellina! Are you alright?[/B]" It was faint but he could hear their response that they were. "[B]Can you open the door for them?[/B]" Gustaff asked. Davis shook his head, "[B]No, as you can see the levers have locked into place. I'm afraid we have no choice but to go on.[/B]" "[B]Yo! Jennifer! We can't open the door, you Ambellina and Eflair will have to go and join one of the other groups![/B]" Gustaff bellowed. "[B]All right,[/B]" came Jennifer's faint reply. "[B]Be careful![/B]" "[B]I'm terribly sorry,[/B]" Davis said, "[B]I didn't expect the levers to lock in place like that. Most doors like this usually work both ways.[/B]" Gustaff slapped Davis heartily on the back, causing him to stagger a bit. "[B]No worries! It's not like they can't take one of the other paths. Besides no one got hurt right?[/B]" "[B]Well true,[/B]" Davis started to say. "[B]Forget it![/B]" Rebecca chimed in, secretly pleased that they had been left behind. "[B]Gustaff is right, there's nothing you can do about it anyway.[/B]" "[B]That's true.[/B]" Davis said as they turned to continue down the corridor. "[B]I hope the others will be all right though.[/B]" Vanya remained silent, not fully trusting those she was with just yet. Though secretly she was glad the weakling Eflair had been left behind. Someone like that would have eventually slowed them down.

[QUOTE=Volume 11][B] I do think its lame when someone CLAIMS to love anime but does little to further their own knowledge on the subject. [/B] And Im fine with both, but Rachs point is still invalid. Maybe Rach meant to say someone who claims to love classical music but doesnt have a vast knowledge, or care to obtain one...but rach simply said anyone who isnt classical music.[/QUOTE]No hun, the point was not invalid, both of you are arguing semantics a bit here since your original point was that they had no excuse for not being curious instead of what you may have meant by the part I highlighted. Perhaps you meant to originally say you found it lame instead of saying they had [I]no excuse[/I] for not wanting to know more. ;) I got the general gist of what both of you were trying to say or at least what I think you were trying to say. And I think SunfallE got it as well as I understood the general principle that both of you were getting at. Though not wanting to know more is something that in my opinion is far from lame. Since it makes an unfair assumption on the person in question. To give an example, I watch very little anime for the simple reason that there is a lot of stuff I do not care for. I instead rely on my daughter and her friends who understand what I do like to introduce me to shows. And it works just fine since so far the shows they have suggested, I have liked. I do not actively seek new shows since I really have no interest. Even my interest in joining this place was not due to anime. I joined because my daughter is a member and because one of my real life friends is a member as well. ;) In the end I agree with Dagger, if someone considers themselves a fan of anime, then they are, even if like me they have seen all of three shows. I don't consider myself a more serious fan, but definitely a fan of two of the shows I have seen. So as SunfallE said, I'm a fan, in a very small way.

It really was sweet, Daniel had to admit it, even though he had denied Celestia's request to give Darren the chip with the transmissions as well as sending it via the update system to him. It had been hard to say no, Celestia reminded him so much of her mother. She had been the same way. Kind and caring. If she were still alive Daniel was sure that like Celestia she too would have been bothered by anyone being hurt, regardless of what race they were from. She would have given Darren the chip. She had been that way when he knew her. Caring about all of those who were on Earth, regardless of what country they were from. It was part of what he had liked about her. But it didn't change the fact that even if Darren had already been found, sending the transmissions via the update system would confirm the fact that they had successfully hacked into Darren's hand held computer. It may have not had much in the way of useful information, since even though they got the report he had been preparing for the High Council, William had already suspected that they were doing that. So it wasn't anything new. Celestia had not been happy about it, but it was necessary. Even if the information was simple, it was better to leave the military wondering. Because if she sent it, they would know that she was capable of bypassing Grade Alpha security. Daniel turned his attention back to the report of the damage to the safe house that Darren had been confined to. It was a bit alarming and indicated that the Transcendence had been able to detect the tracking beacon that all high-level officers and other important individuals were given. In spite of the shielding on the house. How else could they have known that the shot to take out the shield generator would not have hit Darren? Somehow he couldn't imagine Kiva taking such a risk. Especially since they had used a frontal assault when rescuing Crystal. About the only good thing was that the damage indicated that the Transcendence had been very close, which meant they probably had to be right over the safe house in question to detect the beacon through the shielding. Knowing that Daniel had sent orders to where Sandra was being held to install another shield generator, but that would take a couple of days. If they found her before then, it was possible that they would be able to detect her beacon as well. And even with tighter shielding it was possible that it would still show up. He sighed with frustration. William would be in sector twelve soon, but so long as the Transcendence was there, they were trapped. He couldn't attempt to retrieve them. And using Darren as a decoy had bought them so little time. Daniel had already began making the arrangements for those who were part of the resistance to operate independent of the actual base. Though it was on some level pointless. They were almost finished here and he knew it. It didn't mean they couldn't cause trouble in the future, but the pressure to find them here was to intensive. And if it wasn't for William being unable to retrieve them, he would have already sent everyone important off world. Daniel finished his report indicating that Darren had been found, then he went on to include his own estimation that before long he expected the base to be found as well. It really was only a matter of time. And so long as Celestia, Jason, Sara and himself were on Earth, the hunt would continue. The question was, how long could they stay hidden? The resistance members who were from Earth didn't understand. They were use to having criminals who hid for years or were never found, but they didn't have the technology or the resources that those of the Versilan Empire did. It was why resistance members ran when they were discovered. If you didn't flee to another sector, once they were on your trail, they always found you.

Andrew Whitaker wondered if he was in fact in hell when he woke up. From the strange environment, to the strange looking coffins they were lying in to all the bizarre people that though they looked humanoid were unlike anything he had ever seen. Nothing in his training by the military had prepared him for where he was. It was reassuring that he still had his sword and yet he wondered if it would be of any use. He did not recognize anything and the manner in which the words the Maze was displayed on the strange walls confused him. He did the only thing he understood, he started gathering information. And he started by paying attention to the others and memorizing their names. The tall muscular one was named Gustaff and the shorter one near him was called Fredrick. About half of the people there were women. Deloras, Lara, Jennifer, Eflair, Vanya, Ambellina and a girl with astonishing looking pink hair named Rebecca. There men were equally as strange as well. Though Samik seemed normal enough. But Davis with his orange colored hair and Alden with the strange contraption he was wearing on his head were nothing compared to Liam with his strange blue skin. [I]Why?[/I] He wondered. [I]Why was I sent to hell?[/I] He did not get a chance to wonder more about it as a strange voice from no where welcomed them, warned them about dying.[I] Dying? Aren't I already dead?[/I] And then gave them barely enough time to escape the room they were in before poisonous gas was released. Andrew did the only thing he could, he followed the others into the next area, but when the door closed and he truly looked at their new surroundings, he collapsed as waves of nausea and dizziness overtook him. He shut his eyes tightly refusing to look at the hell he was in. How could he be among the stars? The walls, ceiling and even the very floor appeared to be made of glass and as far as the eye could see there was nothing but stars. A hallway of stars that lead to another huge section or type of building that seemed to be made of the same substance the room they had found themselves in. "[B]Relax,[/B]" A male voice told him even as he felt someone's hand on his shoulder. "[B]It's just a corridor to the next section of this space station.[/B]" Startled Andrew opened his eyes and looked up to see Davis leaning over looking concerned. "[B]Space station?[/B]" "[B]Correct, some races posses the ability to travel and live among the stars. I take it that your people do not?[/B]" "[B]I do not understand. How is that possible?[/B]" Davis just smiled. "[B]It would take a very long time to explain, but more importantly, we need to move to the next section. It will help if you focus on the doors instead of looking at your surroundings.[/B]" He reached over and helped Andrew stand back up. [I]How can they be so calm?[/I] Andrew wondered as he did as Davis suggested, focusing on the door. It helped a little. But still he felt so out of place. One was not meant to tread where the gods lived. He took it one step at a time. It was embarrassing to be so weak when even the women in their group seemed unaffected by where they were. Davis leaned over and whispered. "[B]Don't look so upset. You're not the only person who gets dizzy in a place like this.[/B]" "[B]What do you mean?[/B]" Davis laughed, "[B]I had the same reaction the first time I visited a space station. After a while you get used to it.[/B]" Andrew just continued walking with the others to the next set of doors. He certainly hoped the next area was not like this one. How could one ever get used to it?

[quote name='Takuya']I want to know what's coming next.[/quote]Me too. Since like Rachmaninoff I've got all sorts of ideas running through my mind as to what is going to happen. *pokes SunfallE* Enlighten us!

[quote name='Anomaly]I'm with Rach on this! I'm totally diggin' the story so far, and I think all of our writing styles compliment eachother rather nicely =3 It's fun.[/QUOTE]I definitely agree. All of you have done a fantastic job. And it's been great fun reading what all of you have posted. ;)[QUOTE=Rachmaninoff]I don't think we are dominating the game though, since two of the teams only have two players and several of their members have posted twice as well. I think what makes it seem like we are dominating the challenge is that the [COLOR=Blue]Titans[/COLOR'] have two members who haven't posted yet.[/quote]My thoughts exactly. The game started and each one of us posted. I held off on posting again, even though I had lots of ideas, until Sandy introduced the first twist. And now that I have posted for that twist, I plan on holding off some more until other players from the other teams have had a chance to get started. Which some of them have already done. The way I see it, any time Sandy introduces a new plot twist at that point it's another round and time to get cracking again! :catgirl:

Daniel was working in the side conference room when a chime sounded, indicating there was new information for him. He pulled it up and then sighed. The Transcendence was back in orbit around Earth. He had hoped that they would have been sent elsewhere, but he knew better. After the attack in sector seven, the attacks on Earth and capturing both Sandra and Darren, he would have been surprised if they had not been sent back to Earth. Daniel put his elbows on the edge of the workstation built into the table, lowering his head and holding it between his hands as he closed his eyes. Feeling as if he was far older than the fifty three years he was. With all that had happened it seemed as if he should be at least two hundred years old. At least he had everyone settled back into safe houses and both Darren and Sandra were safely tucked away in separate safe houses. And with the building they had been in virtually destroyed, there was a good chance the military wouldn't have much in the way of security footage or audio to help them in attempting to determine who had done it or where they might be. Though he couldn't count on it. Still, neither one of them were being held anywhere near where the incident had happened and the US was a large place. Hopefully it would take them quite some time to figure out where they were. Daniel opened his eyes at the sound of another chime, one indicating that he had yet another message. He straightened back up and pulled up the message. This time it was an update from Kiva. One that included all of the information she had gotten on the three projects in sector fourteen. Kiva also included a clear warning for the resistance to not release the information, that some of it was so highly classified that even some members of the High Council didn't know about it. Daniel could understand the warning, after all releasing information that sensitive could compromise Kiva's position. Curious Daniel skipped the update information she had sent and went straight to the three projects, curious as to what could be so sensitive that even some of the High Council did not know about it. The first and second project he only skimmed since those were the two they had exposed, but the third...[I]My God![/I] He thought. Shocked by what he was reading. [I]Can they really do that? [/I] Daniel continued to read what was contained in the third research project. He tried to be objective since on some level it was fascinating, but at the same time it sickened him. Almost as much as the second project did. Finally he went back to the rest of the report, then once he was done he carefully transfered the information to his hand held computer and then removed all traces of it from the main system. Then he began to break up the information into segments to be sent to William. Usually he broke things apart in segments, but this time he broke them down even further making sure that if part of the message was intercepted they would not realize what the information referred to. Then he began to prepare the information that Celestia and Jason had gotten from hacking into Darren's hand held computer. Darren had been working on a report to hand over to the High Council. Not only had he figured out what William had been doing by hacking the shipping system to hide his presence, he had tracked down all of the 'fragmented' reports that had occurred as a result, creating a time line of where William had been active for the past thirty years. It was a good thing William had switched to using fake identification. With this knowledge, the next time a fragmented report showed up, something that would have happened before they had even finished loading William's ship, the military would have arrested him on the spot. Daniel started sending the information to William, there was so much to be sent that it would take a couple of days to send all the fragments of each report separately. Then once he had sent what he intended to for the moment, he pulled up other reports as to what was going on in the US. They may have used up the better supplies, but that didn't mean they couldn't continue making things difficult for the military.

Well as you can see team, the first twist is upon us. Fortunately it seems to still be in the same theme with the same goal. I've gone ahead and put in the first post for our team for this round and I must say, excellent work in the last one as all of you did a great job on how our characters get along. :catgirl:

[COLOR=DarkRed]?[B]You have got to be kidding![/B]? Kathy said as they got close enough to see what the dark cloud surrounding Morgwyn?s castle really was. She had never expected to run into a wall of flying stone demons! ?[B]It was bad enough dealing with those damn trees when they tried to attack us, but this?[/B]? ?[B]Oh I don?t know,[/B]? Bethany said a bit arrogantly, ?[B]I could always freeze them. Those wings won?t do them much good if they can?t use them and frozen stone tends to shatter when hit.[/B]? She smirked. ?[B]Dropping from the sky is more than enough force for them to break when they hit the ground.[/B]? Bethany immediately started to prepare her spell. ?[B]Oh no you don?t![/B]? Kathy quickly reached over and dragged Bethany back into the cover of the tree line. ?[B]There are too many for you to freeze all at once. And the last time you tried a freezing spell on that level you ended up starting a full scale blizzard.[/B]? ?[B]But?[/B]? ?[B]No buts, we need to come up with a better plan if we intend to make it into the castle in one piece.[/B]? ?[B]What about that gate over there?[/B]? Sergei indicated with a wave of his hand. ?[B]It looks like it actually leads into part of a building instead of part of the inner courtyard. All we have to do is distract those monstrosities long enough to get inside. Once we close the gate the building would offer enough protection to keep the Gargoyles out. Or at least keep them out long enough for us to work on getting further into the castle.[/B]? ?[B]That could work, if we can get the gate open that is.[/B]? Kathy observed. ?[B]I can do that.[/B]? Alexandra stated. ?[B]Just take a look, there?s an opening near the top of the gate, I can easily fit through that and open the gate from the other side.[/B]? Kathy looked at the gate; sure enough there was an opening that looked just big enough for Alexandra. ?[B]All right, here?s what we?ll do. Beth,[/B]? Kathy said, switching to her shorter nickname that she always used when she was more serious, something she did with all of them, ?[B]I want you to start freezing Gargoyles on the other side of the castle in small groups. Once that gets their attention we?ll make a run for the gate. Serg and I will fight off any that get into range while Alex opens the gate.[/B]? ?[B]Got it.[/B]? Bethany replied. ?[B]Uh Bethany,[/B]? Sergei replied. ?[B]Try to distract as many as you can. If they rush us there will be to many for me and the captain to fight off.[/B]? ?[B]I know that! Besides, if they start rushing us I?ll help keep them at bay. I?ve got a new spell that would be perfect![/B]? Kathy resisted the urge to groan. ?[B]Beth, what ever you do, please do not use a new spell![/B]? Bethany just glared at Kathy and then jumped when Alexandra poked her. ?[B]You know what happens when you use a new spell Bethany. Last time you nearly drowned the entire town we were staying in![/B]? Alexandra said. ?[B]It put the fire out didn?t it?[/B]? ?[B]Girls,[/B]? Kathy said warningly. ?[B]We need to be fighting the Gargoyles, not each other.[/B]? Bethany stuck her tongue out at Alexandra before turning back to Kathy. ?[B]I know.[/B]? She sighed, ?[B]Give me a moment to get the spell ready and I?ll start freezing those over sized flying stone chickens.[/B]? ?[B]Chickens?[/B]? Sergei said as he raised an eyebrow. Bethany turned a bit red in the face, ?[B]That?s right [I]chickens[/I].[/B]? Then she turned her back on the group and began to prepare her spell. Kathy looked back at the spot where they had stashed their food and packs; the extra weight would have slowed them down. She just hoped that they had secured them well enough to keep animals and monsters out of them. Otherwise, once they recovered the jewel it would be a long trek home. She turned back and waited for Bethany to begin. [/COLOR]

[quote name='Takuya]Just an update in regards to Kim: even though Kiva and Daego haven't needed any specific information from her recently, she's still being interrogated regularly. Over time, Daego's prying every detail she knows about the Resistance out of her.[/QUOTE]Thanks for the update, I was actually going to pm you to ask if Daego would have continued interrogating her even while they were doing the investigation in sector fourteen. Especially since I was planning on writing a tiny bit about Kim, which I have done.[QUOTE=Rachmaninoff]Well, mine is now up so I hand it over to you Aaryanna_Mom. ;) Or rather to Daniel who will be less than thrilled I imagine.[/QUOTE]That's putting it mildly. Daniel is definitely annoyed. [QUOTE=Aaryanna][COLOR=DarkRed']Unless I'm mistaken and they have another facility with the necessary medical equipment since I got the impression that the more advanced stuff was only in the bases. [/COLOR][/quote]That's the impression I got as well. That the more advanced stuff was only in the bases.

Kim had thought that she knew next to nothing, but the longer she was kept in the same cell and interrogated by the same man. The more she began to realize how wrong she had been. Other than to deviate for certain details like the shielding for the bases at Earth or to question her about the former resistance base in sector fourteen, he was methodically going through every tiny procedure as if she was a cadet being tested to see if she remembered how things were run. He was carefully getting every single detail as to the differences between the resistance and the military since many of their procedures were based off of military tactics. If she had the energy she would have screamed with frustration. But instead she simply sat on the cell bed with her back against the wall, wondering just how long she would be kept there. Kim ignored the tears that flowed down her face as she always did. Just as she tried to ignore the feelings of despair that she could not seem to shake. At this rate, especially if he also broke down her time with the resistance to find out everything she had done since she joined, she would be here for months if not years. A thought that just made her start to sob hopelessly. Especially when an even darker thought followed the first thought, one that terrified her. That once he was done ?[I]breaking[/I]? her, she would be handed back over to Stevens. [CENTER] ----------------------------------------[/CENTER] Daniel was pleased, so far the strikes had gone as planned. Not only had their surprise been complete, but the better weapons had enabled them to disrupt the shielding for the facilities making it child?s play to transport explosives directly into the structures, making destroying them simple. And the high-grade disruption shield they had put up the moment the explosives had been detonated in each area made it impossible for the military to immediately transport reinforcements to each location. He had been in the main command center overseeing things and other than a few mishaps all was proceeding smoothly. And now that the better supplies were nearly gone, those involved in the strikes were withdrawing, fading back into the communities to hide. It was a pity that he didn?t have more; he could have done follow up strikes on the troop bases that hadn?t been hit once the first wave was finished. Still Daniel was pleased since between shooting down the four transport ships and today?s attacks, he had made this one of the most costly invasions in history. ?[B]Commander Daniel, I need to speak to you privately sir.[/B]? A voice said. He turned to see one of the squad leaders for the strike on the former US capitol. ?[B]Lets take it to the side room then.?[/B] Daniel said even as he turned and headed there himself and then once the door was closed he continued. ?[B]All right, what did you need to speak to me about?[/B]? ?[B]I have two prisoners that I brought back with us. Sandra Luciana and Darren Anderson. Both of them are being taken to sickbay to be treated.[/B]? Daniel swore, ?[B]I thought I made it clear that you were not to take any prisoners. You had better have a good explanation.[/B]? The man winced, ?[B]I?m sorry sir, several of the teams got out of control, they deviated from their duty and hunted down any Versilan shooting them on the spot, including those who were unarmed. Instead of arguing with them I told them you would want to speak to them since at that point I felt it was better than confronting them in their angry state of mind.[/B]? ?[B]I see,[/B]? Daniel said with a sigh, ?[B]and what of the teams?[/B]? ?[B]I pulled them out immediately telling them it was time to withdraw. The other squad leader is finishing up at the former US capitol and once we took their weapons from them I had them transported back to the safe houses they were assigned to.?[/B] Daniel just shook his head, ?[B]Finish wrapping things up and then come back here with a full report as to what happened.[/B]? ?[B]At once sir,?[/B] the man replied. He bowed slightly and then turned to leave. Once the door shut, Daniel swore. Of all the people to have here in the base, why the hell did it have to be Sandra and the new shipping expert Darren? Quickly he went over to the workstation and contacted sickbay, but other than to reassure him that their injuries were not serious, the doctor brushed him off since they were not finished. Daniel thanked him and then once he closed that line of communication he opened another one, sending a priority request to William. Even if he immediately released them, the damage had already been done when they had been brought to the base. If kidnapping Commander Crystal had caused problems, kidnapping Sandra and Darren would be even more of a problem due to their position and rank. It wouldn?t matter that they hadn?t really kidnapped them. Or rather that they had not planned on it. He sighed as he pulled up other screens to keep in contact with those in the Command Center as well as organizing the remaining withdrawal of the teams. Daniel waited patiently for William to respond.[I] I need to see what he wants done,[/I] he thought.[I] Besides, I can?t do anything until the doctor is finished anyway. [/I] He sighed again. [I]This is a problem we don?t need. [/I]

It was finally time, it had taken him much longer than he expected to get things ready, to split the resistance members from the UK evenly among the rest of the members. A tactic that was necessary since their accent would make them stick out. So placing them with a group that was from the US had been essential. But now that all of them had been placed and Sara and Glen as well as several other top agents had made sure to visit each and every safe house to make sure things were running smoothly, something that was extremely important as hiding effectively would be paramount after tomorrow's strike. Daniel had issued the weapons to each group in the past week along with specific instructions as to what he expected. Tomorrow morning they would be striking facilities all over the US as well as a few in the UK and in Australia. He had pretty much emptied the storehouse beneath the base in the US in order to equip everyone with an array of weapons. Some of them still experimental. Though those had gone to Versilan members who were better trained at using them. It was a pity that he didn't have more to give them and even more so that Daniel had been forced into playing his hand so soon. Though they would still continue to thwart the military at every chance, this would be the last time the strike would be this devastating. They would be back to fairly basic weapons other than some of the more powerful disruptor weapons they still had. Still Celestia and Jason had been working on modifying the basic weapons on earth with crystals. Increasing the potential damage they could do. And even if that was all they had it would still work. Daniel sighed. [I]All this work and in only three months two of the bases were destroyed. If Kiva had not been called elsewhere, its possible that even this base would have already been found...So much for holding out for years and causing trouble. [/I] Something that he and William had thought was possible. Daniel pulled up a few more reports in regards to the targets for tomorrow. Pretty much all of it was shipping facilities and troop facilities. Medical facilities were to be left alone. The one exception was here in the US. To make a statement against the remains of the US government since those who were still in power and working with the military had done little to see to the welfare of the regular people. The previous president of the US had spent the entire time trying to curry favor for those who had once enjoyed being in charge, a tactic that had alienated quite a few of the citizens since it had resulted in shipping delays as well as delays in the medical treatment for the population. So in addition to the other targets, where they held meetings was also going to be destroyed. Daniel knew there was a good chance that those who were still in power would end up dead and though he disliked such tactics, he approved the strike when it was requested by those working for the resistance in that area. In many ways he couldn't blame them. It was hard enough for them to deal with their world being ruthlessly taken over, but to be betrayed on such a deep level by ones they had trusted to run their country was equally as hard to deal with. And if the resistance supported assassinations he would have had the former president dealt with. But they did not support assassinations so he had left him alone. Daniel made one alteration to the teams, placing a couple of his best agents in charge of the strike against the former capitol of the US. They would need someone more calm and collected to keep things under control. It was one thing for someone to be caught in a blast and yet another for them to be shot at point blank range. He gave them specific orders to do what was needed to keep things from getting out of hand. Then he turned his workstation off. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day, especially since to the best of his knowledge, nothing had been leaked to the military. Stevens and the others would be taken completely by surprise.

[COLOR=DarkRed]"[B]WAKE UP![/B]" Kathy yelled at the sleeping members of her team of mercenaries. Since they had beaten out several other teams for a prize in a recent job they had been staying at the local inn relaxing and celebrating their victory. Until the news of the Phoenix Heart being stolen reached the town. They had decided last night to go after the jewel to get the reward money, or at least she had. The others had probably been a little to tipsy to even realize what she was saying. She sighed with exasperation. And then cursed colorfully when none of them responded other than to stir slightly. [I]This is what I get for letting them drink too much last night. [/I] "[B]Bloody hell![/B]" She exclaimed as she started yanking the blankets off of each one. "[B]I told you last night that we would be heading out today![/B]" Kathy resisted the urge to toss cold water on all of them, especially since they had earned a few days of celebration. They had worked hard on the last assignment, beating out three other teams who had also been after the prize. Finally one of them stirred, "[B]Come on Captain! Give it a rest, can't we head out tomorrow?[/B]" "[B]No. Unless you want someone else to get to the Phoenix Heart before we do and collect on the reward.[/B]" With a groan he sat up in his bed, "[B]But weren't you saying that it was stolen by the evil Sorceress Morgwyn? That's not exactly going to be easy to do ya know.[/B]" "[B]Since when has that ever stopped us?[/B]" Kathy countered. He stretched and yawned at the same time. "[B]All right, All right! I'm moving.[/B]" He said with a smile. Kathy turned her attention back to the two other women on her team. "[B]I'm not kidding you two.[/B]" She said since she could see them stirring. "[B]Get moving or I'll dump cold water on both of you.[/B]" A statement that was met with groans of protest. [/COLOR]