RPG When Humans are the Enemy

[Ben]

Before we get into the plot, I just want everyone to get an introductory post in. Here's mine...yay...

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Ben stood gazing at the night sky. It was beauitful, yes, but something that his people could not see. They were stuck underground. Not that the clones disliked the caves, on the contrary, they were quite content to live there. There were just so many things that the upper world had to offer. Sunrises, sunsets, plants, animals...

Ben sighed. The humans had denied them those things. They had refused to permit the very existence of the clones. Even now, Nero, the Commander of the Armies of New Earth, was rallying his forces to meet the clones in war.

Then Ben realized he was not alone. As often was the case, he detected someone before any of his senses were alerted. It was a useful ability, one practically default for a Senser. He sent out a careful probing thought. He encountered a familiar presence.

[I]"I should have known it was you."[/I] he spoke in her mind.

"Don't do that." said Rena, stepping into the moonlight. "I hate it when someone goes into my mind."

"It's not like I looking through anything." Ben said mildly.

"Stay out." she said firmly.

She walked over to him with the grace that was a part of her heritage. She was a panther-clone, beautiful, strong, and one of the best warriors in all the Dwellings.

"You're not supposed to be up here." he said, without much conviction.

"Who's going to stop me?" she asked simply.

He could not find an answer to that. So they both just sat together, drinking in the beauty of the moon and the night sky.

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue][i]She curled up, tail whisking about her body. She retracted her claws, then sunk them into the stone beneath her. They dug in, and she smiled at Ben. Her eyes shimmered dark silver, then went back to hazel. He blinked and looked away. She laughed, purring deep inside her throat.[/i]

Ben: Don't you do that to me either.

Rena: ...

[i]She looked up at him and smiled. Then she looked back over the lands and sighed with what could've been longing. Inside the caves a voice called. Her ears twitched and she looked over her shoulder. Then stood and walked back inside, tail waving him farwell.

He sighed when she was gone. Her presence was unsettling.

Inside, she took off her cloak and followed the small boy to the caves.\[/i][/COLOR]

[terra]

Crystal stalked her small post, wishing it was in her to growl. She didn't understand how none of the other guards felt the same frustration that she did. God, some of them even felt [i]honored[/i] to be watchbirds for the already-undetectable floating island. She was only doing it with the hopes that her skills and "patience" would be noticed someday, and she might be promoted to something that was actually interesting.

Crystal checked her watch. An hour more, and she would be free of this duty.

Her wings unfolded silently from her back, shadowing her figure from the moonlight. She glided easily to another post for a different vantage point of the island. It was beautiful from the soft glitter of the stars; lush vegetation and perfect pools of water covered it, a suitable dwelling for hundreds of bird-clones. Crystal wondered to herself how anybody could live underground as the rest of the clones did, though she was curious to see what it was like. Thoughts tended to wander during the long hours of the watch, and Crystal found herself imagining what it would be like to live underground, to meet clones who were not birds, to be exposed to a whole different kind of life.

It was time to move again. She flew back to her original position and tried to pay attention to her surroundings.

[Yoda]

Xouzin walked alone in a dark corridor. The floor beneath him was damp, and it felt good between his claws. It felt almost like the trodden floor of a woodland; clean, crisp and free. Almost...

Constantly he longed for the outside, the mountains and the trees... with fresh air and clean water to drink. A place he could be free. These caverns may have been suitable for insects and small rodents, but they were no place for a canine. He walked on only his hind legs... something to remind him that he was atleast part human... that a part of him was the same as the people hunting him down.

Suddenly, his nostrils flared... he caught a new scent nearby. Now he did drop onto all fours, and broke into a quick jog, heading towards the source of the scent. No... two scents. He stopped, lowering his head to the ground, and picked up on their tracks. One, the first... furthest away, was loud, clumsy, unsure. The second, although closer, was almost inaudible... had he not recognised the scent, he would have treated this as a threat.

It was the damn panther again. She was stalking something... that much was clear. Xouzin decided to have a look for himself. He walked quickly on all fours... no doubt she will have heard him already. There was little he could do about that. However, he kept his steps quiet enough so that the prey wouldn't so much as suspect him.

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue][i]She flicked her tail in annoyance. He smelled wonderful, but she wasn't about to gratify him with that. A wolf never trusted anybody. The boy walked further in, and closed the door. She'd deal with that later. She continued moving, creeping really. Then she whirled around and pounced. He snarled and clawed at her face, only to be smacked into the wall by the more powerful body. She rose to her feet.[/i]

Rena: .....why don't you mind your own buisness?

[i]Xouzin rose to his feet and growled at her. She raised her hackles in response, tail whisking against her body dangerously. The two stared eachother down, eyes contracting and dialating, as if they were trying to kill eachother with looks alone. She turned on her hypnosis power and he looked away. She smirked and ran a claw through her hair. [/i]

Rena: I have real work to do now. If you'll excuse me.

[i]She brushed past him, much like an infuriated cat, releasing her scent around him. Phermones, and blood. He shook his head to clear it.

The panther walked into the side door and greeted the boy and his sister. Training.[/i][/COLOR]

[Yoda]

An ancient rivalry was the one between canine and feline creatures. Her pheromones that flared in his nostrils infuriated him, and he let the corners of his mouth fome with a rabid fury. A single bite, that was all it took, and she would die. Not from the bite itself... she was too strong for that, but the effect of the bite. Rabies. He was the only clone ever to be infected with it. It would kill him eventually, but the same people that had given him the disease had enhanced his antibody output, enough to hold off the disease until he was 60 or so. But by that time he would probably be dead anyway... even the clones may have killed him, before he became too much of a threat to them. Everyone knows the effects the disease can have on the mind as well as the body...

It was strange in such a rivalry that the feline character would be the stronger of the two. But she had been made into a big cat... and no species of dog could compare with a wild cat in terms of strength. But what he lacked in strength, he made up for in speed. A panther such as herself was the ultimate predator in her environment. She didn't even have another breed of cat to contend with. As such, she had no need for any defensive advantages. Even her keen sight and hearing were used exclusively for attack. A wolf could be betrayed and attacked by the rest of his pack, or he could stumble across a bear, or a different pack of wolves. In any case, it was a wolves quick reflexes and agility, as well as the obvious weapons... that allowed them to survive. It was these that would help him to survive against any opponent, even one as deadly as she was. Not that it would come to that... they were both loyal soldiers, and neither were willing to risk their lives over such a simple thing.

Never the less, she had won this battle... and so Xouzin turned without another word, and walked back to his patrol. It was not something he had to do, but he often patrolled the wolf caves, as did several other members of the species. They were not very partial to unwanted guests...

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue][i]She smiled at the children, showing her fangs. One of them, a mix between polar bear and grizzly, shook out his mane and hugged her. His huge paws were almost the size of hers, and he wasn't even fully grown. The boy that had led her in was the tall and willowy type, favoring the black footed ferret. Shy, secretive, quick, and agile. She weighed the two's strengths in her mind. Brute strength and an untameable spirit. Then swiftness and uncanny agility.

As the elders had requested, she had been pairing the children with opposite gifts. She bowed to them, then dropped to all fours. They did the same, and the three circled. This would be the 12th in a long line of lessons. And they had progressed far. The ferret boy had increased his strength with weight training with his partner and the bear had run with him in return, to hasten his spead. Rena Iris Shen smiled. They were getting better.

They pounced and she instantly sprung back, only to find the bear behind her and the ferret in front. The boy had a chance to open a cut across her face and took it, then leapt across the cavern. The bear pinned her down and bit her throat. She roared and clawed his chest, before throwing him off with nearly all of her strength. He hit the wall and slumped over, conceeding defeat. The ferret bowed his head, and the two reformed and stood.

Rena laughed deep in her throat and stood again.[/i]

Rena: I see you've been working hard.

Bear: Not hard enough.

Rena: Oh pish tush, that was quite good really. It's not every day I get pinned to the ground.

Ferret: And you need to work on your speed.

Rena: Who's the teacher here?

[i]They giggled and she grinned back. After awhile, she regained her soberness and padded out, waving them goodboye. She went down the halls until she came to her lair. She closed the door but did not seal lit. Instead she rolled in the water and then shook herself dry. Then she climbed the ledge that served for her bed and stretched herself out on the mossy softness. She groomed herself, then rested her head on her paws and slept.[/i][/COLOR]

[Ben]

Morning had come and gone, and Ben was still at the cave entrance. Ostensibly, he was guarding against human attacks. Really, he was just bored and watching the upper world gave him a relative peace of mind. He got to his feet and was about to return home to the Chameleon Dwelling when he saw it. [I]It[/I] was a large floating island in the sky. What could it be? He'd never seen anything like it before. He sent out is mind, probing for some sort of hint. Bird-clones. He detected thousands of them. What he was seeing must be the Bird Dwelling. But..the Bird Dwelling was supposed to be undetecable..?

Ben sent his thoughts out further, closer to the Bird Dwelling. One thought above all else was being shouted across the empty miles.

[I]"Help, humans."[/I]

Ben ran back into the caves. The Elders had to know about this. They needed to send help. Looking back over his shoulder, he noticed something else in the distance. Turning his head forward and still running, Ben sent out a probing thought at the "thing in the distance."

It was a human army. They were marching towards the caves.

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[B]Random warfare stuff:[/B]

Clones have special Kintar-coated shields. Kintar is a special substance found deep in the caves that has been found to reflect laser blasts, which is the humans' primary weapon.

The clones usually seal off the cave entrances in times of war, while planning what to do. They resort to secret, camouflaged ones unknown to the humans.

Standard upper world tactics are to advance on the humans, shields forward to repel attacks. While advancing there is usally a diversion such as Bird clones dropping explosives from the sky, or mole clones setting bombs under the humans and detonating them.

In the confusion, the clones will begin to bomabard the humans with projectiles like arrows, crossbow bolts, and catapault fire. This will inevitably bring the humans close enough to engage in hand-to-hand combat, in which the clones' have an enormous advantage.

Any siege weapons, or stronger weapons than their standered laser rifle, the humans have are repelled by a network of Kintar-coated shells moved by a large group Sensers.

Underground, the tactics change enormously.

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue][i]She rose, stretching luxuriously, until the sound of Ben's thoughts echoed in the cavern. She leapt to her feet, taking only a swift roll in the water, before racing out to meet him at the entrance. The children, Bear and Ferret, stopped her and she told them to alert the elders. They were her oldest students, the Elders would listen. She charged out, moving so fast the wind had dried her fur completely. She stopped and rose to her feet.

He pointed and she followed his arm until she was staring at the army. Then up to the floating island. The birds were doomed. She raised her hackles and released her claws into the stone.[/i]

Ben: ...peace Rena.

Rena: Goddamnit. Why can't they just leave us alone?

Ben: If we can draw them in......

Rena: The children will have to make a run for it.

[i]He sighed. Bad timing. The children were visiting and would need to be shepherded deep inside the caves, where nobody ever went.[/i][/COLOR]

[Solo Tremaine]

[i]Splash.[/i]

The water dripped rhythmically on the stone floor, the quiet sound slowly becoming more and more irritating to the one trying to sleep on a low wooden bed on the other side.

"Damn..." the creature sighed, rolling onto his back and placing his hands behind his head.

He'd been living here for a number of years now, but no matter how many times he patched up leaks, water always managed to find its way into his room. He must be underneath a spring.

The curtain door to his room shook slightly. Everyone else seemed to be up already. He could see light creeping in through the gaps either side of the old cloth, and through the various holes eaten into it by moths.

He sat up and stretched, reaching for the clothes and armour he kept next to his bedside. Pulling them on, he could hear whispered voices outside.

"Should we wake him?"

"Yes. We need him."

Just as a shape drew closer to the door, he pushed the curtain swiftly aside, making the two young armadillo-clones standing behind it jump.

"What is it?" he asked quietly.

"Oh, Alaris, sir," one of them replied nervously. "Um, we were just..."

Alaris stifled a sigh. The young ones meant well, but were always incredibly nervous about him. He'd never been able to work out whether it was his status that did it, or the fact that he was a good few feet taller than then, muscular, and of a different species.

"What? Does Greymar want to see me?"

The two of them nodded furiously.

Alaris strode back into his room, pulled his sword from the back wall and entered the long, winding corridor that led to the briefing room.

[terra]

Crystal was stretching her wings in preparation to leave her guard post when the intercom system for guard communication began to beep. "Yes?" she said into it.

"Be informed that humans are approaching the other side of the island."

Crystal looked around to see if someone was spying on her, waiting to laugh. "Is this some kind of practical joke?" she said. "I don't have time for this."

"This is real," the voice came smoothly over the line, hiding an underlying urgency. "The device hiding this island from sight appears to have malfunctioned. Please take flight beyond the island and watch for incoming humans. Thank you."

Still in a state of only half-belief, Crystal spread her wings and swooped out past the island. She'd done this only once before in her life, and she'd been thoroughly chastized for it -- beyond the perimeter of the floating island, her mother had hissed, [i]you are visible[/i].

Out of curiosity, Crystal glanced over her shoulder back at the island and dropped several feet in the air from surprise. The island [i]was[/i] visible; she'd never seen it from a distance before. Suddenly the surrealness of the situation clicked into reality. [i]They could be seen.[/i]

From a small distance behind, she dimly heard the crackle of the intercom as it clicked on. "Crystal, other lookouts are being sent your way to watch for attack. You are instead required on the front line, where the humans approach. Please abandon your post and fly to the other side of the island as quickly as possible."

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EDIT: (having seen Ben's post) Thanks, was wondering that! Do you mean the troops are going to stay on the island so that the birds can't help the cave-dwelling clones ...?

[Ben]

O.O.C. The human army is [I]not[/I] going to attack the Bird Dwelling. It's there to keep the cave-dwelling clones from helping them. The humans are most likely going to drop troops off on the island.

[Solo Tremaine]

OOC: I hope I have the Younger details right- lesser councils of smaller groups, aren't they?
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Alaris marched through the torch-lit tunnels, nodding his head to any passing friends.

He'd almost come to regard them as family now. He'd been among the armadillo-clones for about six years, and had gained most of his knowledge and skills from them. Most of the older ones regarded him as a son of their own, which he felt a little concomfortable with.

He turned a corner, entering an area where the tunnel structure changed slightly- the walls were carved into more regular shapes, akin to a sandstone building. He was nearing the Youngers chamber. The torches on the walls disappeared and were replaced by the light crystals creeping along the ceiling. They had a blue-green sheen to them, although the light emenating from them was faint sunlight. The further you went out of the caves, the brighter they became.

He remembered the first time he'd seen these. He'd almost walked into someone while gazing at them in awe. The ones in the chambers of the Capital were the most beautiful, though. He could look at those for hours. Not that he usually had the chance to, though. He was needed around here.

Slowly, the tunnels became lighter, and he could hear the growing rumble of dozens of voices in the Hall, where mealtimes took place. He didn't realise he was this late up.

Giving a quick glance inside as he strode past, he felt a sudden pang of indifference. He wasn't sure whether he really belonged here. He stood about a foot taller than most of the other clones, and was of a much slimmer build. His armoured skin wasn't in plates, but smaller individual scales and golden brown opposed to browny-red. It wasn't much, but it mattered to him. That said, there were certainly a good number of females looking out for him.

Ahead of him stood the large doors of the Youngers' chamber. Taking a deep breath, he swung open the doors.

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue][i]He nodded and she turned around. She leapt down the halls, gathering the twenty children. Bear, fox, ferret, eagle, wolf, owl, and many others. All of them whined a bit, but when they saw her eyes glinting red with a hint of battle lust, they ran. She followed behind, shepherding them down, always down. At least forty miles down and back, far away from the threat of humanity. As soon as they reached the blank wall, she stroked it with her fingertip, breathing softly on it. Instantly, it melted away and revealed the children's hiding place.

They were pressed in, and she handed the instructions to Bear. Ferret comforted the smaller children, and Rena nodded. Everything in order.

She blew them all a kiss and resealed the door from the outside. Then she crawled upwards again, longing for a battle.[/i][/COLOR]

[Yoda]

Xouzin herded the wolf cubs down towards the childrens hiding place. Their fear of the battle above was overwhelmed for the moment by their fear of Xouzin. Throughout the entire clan of Wolves, he was the Alpha male, there was little question of that, and the children saw him as a role model, but most were extremely fearful of him when he was around. But he led them as a shepherd would, down the miles of tracks. As swiftly as he could, he got them down to the hiding places. He had two of the smallest cubs in his mouth, and he was careful not to put any pressure on them, incase he bit them. If such a thing didn't kill them anyway, they would become infected with his disease.

Finally he approached the blank wall, only to see Rena beginning her crawl back upto the surface. She shot a sly grin his way... all he could do in response was scowl, the cubs in his mouth preventing any serious facial expression. The cubs, some at the site of the feline, others following Xouzin's example, the cubs all growled or shot some angry expression at the feline. Rena, almost forcing herself not to laugh, let out a quick growl, which was enough to force half the cubs up against the wall to get as far from her as possible. Xouzin simply shook his head, and then touched the wall, as it melted away to reveal the childrens hiding place.

Xouzin stood at the door, herding the cubs in with one giant paw. He had little time to waste, and so as soon as the last one was safely inside, he turned to begin his crawl back up. He turned to find Rena waiting for him. He walked slowly up alongside her, and stared at her as to ask what she was doing. With the two creatures standing side by side, there was little room for either of them to move sideways.

[B]Xouzin:[/B] Can I help you?

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue]Rena: I seriously doubt that's possible.

Xouzin: ...

[i]Both of them had reverted to humanoid form. She tried to turn to get ahead of him, and he accomidated. Sadly, their forms were too large to allow it and they ended up becoming closer together. The last thing she told herself she wanted. Only his scent was bothering her. She liked it. Mentally slapping herself, she kept moving. They they reached a corner and an impass. He wouldn't yield, and she refused as well.

Only one cure. Her pheremones in the air, were sweet and cloying, quite unlike the scent she had let him taste earlier. Her eyes drew him in, and before either of them had clicked with reality, they were kissing. Her hands around his neck, his on her back, quite uncaring who discovered them.

She drew away, drawing in the air.[/i]

Rena: ...damn.[/COLOR]

[terra]

Crystal pumped her wings strongly to regain her altitude, then angled herself with the wind current and glided back over the Bird Dwelling. She flew through the territory quickly, not taking her customary time to admire the lush surroundings, which looked particularly beautiful in the morning sun.

The device protecting them had "malfunctioned"? What the hell was that supposed to mean? What [i]was[/i] that device, anyway ... and why would it have malfunctioned?

The place was hushed, most of the inhabitants still in a drowsy sleep. Crystal crossed the island speedily, and directed her flight to where she could see other several other bird-clones gathered, including some other members of the guard. She fluttered a landing onto a tree branch near the front. Though her feet looked like normal human feet rather than talons, she was still quite comfortable balancing on branches and narrow posts, clutching them with her feet. Crystal realized she'd landed next to her friend Sharpie, nicknamed thus for his razor-sharp beak ... which could leave quite a permanent mark.

Dozens of bird-clones crowded the trees, directing the sharpest eyes on the planet towards the approaching planes. The intimidating machine guns and other arms on the planes lay conspicuously silent ... for now.

"What's going on?" she said in a hushed whisper to Sharpie.

"They'll want you higher, among the leaves, hidden," Sharpie said, in the same quiet tone. Something about the situation just precluded normal conversation. "So that you can watch with your crossbow ready, but they won't know you're there. Some others with projectile weapons are above, too. We don't know what they're planning."

Crystal nodded and, with some exertion of her wings, reached a higher branch. Her vantage point was unobstructed, but she was confident that the thick leaves of the tree hid her from sight.

A soft shudder ran through the nearby clones as one plane dropped off two parachuters, who slowly floated down to the grass of the Bird Dwelling, surrounded by steely bird-clones. Their hands were outstretched and empty, though they carried huge firearms on their backs.

"Hello," one of them said loudly, over-enunciating the word. "We're not here to attack you."

[i]Then who are you here to attack?[/i] Crystal thought to herself grimly, and pulled her crossbow from her back. Just in case.

[Ben]

O.O.C. Just got back from camping, sorry I wasn't around. :p

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by terra [/i]
[B]EDIT: (having seen Ben's post) Thanks, was wondering that! Do you mean the troops are going to stay on the island so that the birds can't help the cave-dwelling clones ...? [/B][/QUOTE]

Wrong way around. :whoops: The Bird Dwelling (island in the sky) is soon going to be attacked by human [I]air[/I] forces. They will most likely try to get a foothold on the island and land ground troops.

The human army mentioned before is marching towards the caves, to prevent the cave-dwelling clones from helping the bird-clones when they are attacked.

Hope I covered everything. >_<

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Ben knew that the Elders should be informed of the matter at hand, but he could already sense the human air forces on their way to the Bird Dwelling, which was in plain sight. Ben knew that the first thing the Elders would do was to have the cave entrance sealed off so the humans could not enter the caves. Gathering his power about him, Ben lashed out at the roof of the cave. Had the situation not have seemed so urgent, Ben might have thought to step out of the cave before he did so.

He ran from the cave, small rocks glancing off his back and shoulders. He turned to view his handiwork. The dust cleared and Ben saw that his end had been met; the cave was sealed off. Ben knew that the collapse would in no way hinder the clones. There were plenty of openings in the area for their troops to come out of, and if necessary, mole-clones could burrow a new tunnel out. So, having delayed the action of the human army, Ben set his sights on the Bird Dwelling.

Ben concentrated. [I]"Levitate."[/I] He easily lifted himself with his mind. Then he flew towards the Bird Dwelling, noting that there was an odd whining sound in the distance. Suddenly, an explosion sent Ben reeling through the air. When he regained his balance, he set up a mental shield about himself. He was bleeding from several small wounds and his ears rang. Then he saw the source of the whine. There was a small fleet of human ships flying towards the Bird Dwelling. One of the ships must have fired upon him. The whine had been from a rocket fired at him. Another rocket was on its way. Ben fired a metal disk from his bracelet. It tore through the center of the rocket, causing it to explode in the distance.

Ben cursed. It was toolate for the cave-dwelling clones to provide any assistance. The humans had arrived.

[terra]

Crystal was half paying attention to what the parachuters were saying when she heard it. The others heard it, too, as evidenced by the tiny refocusing of their sight that towards the planes that were still hovering near the little pow-wow of two humans and dozens of clones.

The classically styled planes, which looked like they held nothing worse than a couple of machine guns, were transforming. Side panels were folding back, and something else was emerging ... some kind of weapon that Crystal didn't even recognize. Perhaps some type of rocket launchers ...

[i]What do they think we are?[/i] an angry voice came through Crystal's headset, which she'd almost forgotten she'd been wearing. She recognized it as the head of the Bird Dwelling, who was near the front line. [i]God, we have the best sight on the planet ... they think they can get this by us? Begin evacuation procedures immediately. We're going to keep talking to them, try and delay them for as long as we can here.[/i]

In event of an emergency, Crystal and most of the other guards had been assigned evacuation duty, and she knew it. But she couldn't tear herself away from the scene, though several of her peers fluttered silently away to help with the evacuation. Looking beyond the parachuters, past the evolving planes, Crystal saw several other ships approaching, breaking formation -- to surround the island. They were being surrounded, attacked, systematically killed.

Startled, Crystal looked back down and realized the bird-clones nearby were scattering. The reason was obvious -- the new weapons had finished loading themselves onto the planes, and they were preparing to fire. The human parachuters who'd been on the island had shrugged off their deployed parachutes while they were talking, and were now running toward the edge of the island, presumably to jump off before the others fired on the island.

Crystal shouldered her crossbow again, ignoring the danger and feeling only the anger that rushed through her. She took careful aim and had the satisfaction of seeing her arrows shoot right through each parachuter, just before the weapons fired and the resulting explosion blew her out of the tree.

[Solo Tremaine]

Alaris entered the large room. All around him were large wooden seats, set upon a flight of stairs which spread over two-thirds of the circular chamber.

He shut the door behind him and stood quietly in the center of the room, looking expectantly at the Younger in the middle. He was the oldest in the tribe, and thought to be one of the wisest. Although, at the very grand age of 40, people were starting to talk of marbles being lost at an accelerated rate.

He looked extremely dignified in his seat of office. His scales were a silvery-grey, as was his long eyebrow-hair. The robes he wore were a bright metallic blue, and cascaded across the floor like water reflecting the sunlight. He straightened his glasses as the pangolin stepped towards him.

"Ah, Alaris." he crooned.

Alaris bowed his head. "Sir. I take it you-"

The Younger waved his hand to silence the young pangolin. "Not now Alaris, I want to get straight down to business."

Alaris smiled as the ancient Greymar began his address. "You have been with us for over six years now, Alaris, and we feel it is high time your skills as a warrior were fully grasped by our race. As you know, the humans have been encroaching on our territory more frequently of late, and we have a suspicion that they're up to something. So, you should take charge of the situation"

Alaris opened his mouth to speak, but another Younger pre-empted him. "Alaris, we want you to become the Leadrer of our military forces."

He froze. "I... but... [i]leader[/i]?! I'm not even an armadillo-clone. I'm not sure the others would-"

"Stop being so modest, boy!" Greymar snapped. His hearing still worked well enough for his age. "The other clones know your skills are more superior to their own and whether they like it or not, that is our decision. We think you're well suited to the task."

He didn't know what to say. He ran his claws over his head, feeling incredibly awkward. "D- Sir, I don't..."

Greymar smiled at him from his altar. "Alaris, you've never let us down yet. We need a visionary to inspire our troops to help fight against the humans. Being on the outskirts, our race has never been taken seriously and I know we can bring a stronger element into the Capital's battles. You can carry that torch- we have seen it."

Alaris smiled. "Alright, sir."

"Your uniform is in the side-room to your left." Greymar nodded in the direction of the opening to one side of the room, where a thin wooden door lay slightly ajar. Nodding an acknowledgement, ALaris went inside.

* * *

It was a very nice suit of armour, but it would need breaking in. Large shoulder-guards jutted out from the breastplate, which itself was an emerald green, with gold leaves embossed onto the plate armour. Several green metal bands were wrapped around his tail, as well as his lower arms and legs.

He clanked his gauntlets together nervously. He didn't want to open the door and greet everyone dressed like this. He'd much prefer to leave it there. Still, it must be done.

He reached for the handle.

The door burst open and one of the Youngers marched inside, almost walking straight into him.

"Alaris, humans have been sighted near our borders, and they've started an attack- we're not sure where. If they get any closer they may discover our caves. You must take a batallion out and fend them off!"

Alaris gripped his Flambard, resting in a holster on his back. Time to prove his worth.

[Ben]

Ben was staring in disbelief at the human aircrafts. What had appeared to be antique fighter planes had suddenly shapeshifted into high-tech fighters. Nevertheless, they were a threat that needed to be dealt with. He flew at them, energy rippling off of him like heat waves. He crashed into the first ship, catching glimpses of startled humans and shiny machinary. Then he emerged from the other side, leaving a gaping hole from which humans and broken parts began to fly out.

He leapt out of the way as another pair of missiles flew past, nearly hitting him. They detonated harmlessly in the distance.

[I]"All you bird-clones, would you mind giving me a hand here?"[/I] he called out silently.

[I]"Who are you?"[/I] came a voice.

[I]"My name is Ben, I'm an Emissary from the Elders."[/I] he lied. [I]"You need to help me take out that fleet.[/I]

[I]"We're busy evacuating."[/I] came the reply.

[I]"Evacuating? Grow a backbone and come help me!"[/I] Ben replied fiercely.

[I]"I'm just a scout, but I'll see what I can do."[/I] then the voice was gone.

Ben swore to himself. What kind of clones were they? Not even [I]trying[/I] to hold off an attack?! He shook his head. Then he continued to tear apart the human ships, dodging missile and laser fire in between. Then, he was suddenly caught in the clamps of some mechanical device. He hadn't enough energy to keep up his shield, so he struggled to gain release from the metal mandibles. Suddenly, the clamps released him. He quickly climbed up them to keep from falling. Then a hatch on the underside of the ship opened. Ben aimed his bracelets, preparing to fire upon whoever or whatever was behind the door.

It was a bird-clone...? The bird-clone tossed him a rope to climb up.

Ben climbed up to the hatch and found that a hole had been blown open in the roof, and the vessel had been commandeered by a squad of bird-clones. Even as he unsteadily got to his feet, the hole was being covered and the room pressure stabilizing.

"We got your message. The Bird Leaders were very pleased to recieve it. They had been arguing with the Swan-Elder since the fleet was seen." he pointed outside. "Our forces are busy bombarding the human fleet with ukso bombs."

Ben looked out the window and saw explosions riddling the hulls fot he human ships. Not a few of the human ships had been commandeered and were firing back at the humans.

"I'll just rest here if it's alright with you." Ben said. The bird-clone nodded.

Ben was aching all over. The efort of maintaining both his flight and his shield had been tremendous. True, he was one of the most powerful Sensers known to the clones, but he still should have license to be tired. He groaned as he suddenly remembered that there was an army approaching the caves.

"One battle at a time." he told himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Uksos are an explosive plant grown by the clones.

[Raiha]

[color=royalblue]Maybe you missed a memo....but you're not authorized to post in this thread. And to directly quote from my dear friend Ben... "Tw34kY: Denied." If you don't believe me, go look for yourself.
~~~~~~~~~~
[i]She turned and left, feet making no noise at all. He blinked several times, as if clearing his vision, when there was nothing wrong at all. She went to the surface, still chasing the sounds of screaming children.

Illusions. Like what just happened. She shouldn't have done that. It was stupid. It was.....damnit. She covered her cheek with one hand, and the tears that flowed. Brave front. She reminded herself several times over as she moved upwards. Finally, she made it to the surface, and scanned the land below her. Ben was nearby, staring at them. Landing like flies, swarming....[/i]

Rena: ...bad.

Ben: ...nothing we've never seen before.

Rena: The children are afraid.

Ben: They'll be fine.[/color]

[Neoclone-7]

Karokku slid through the waters of his gaurd route with a gracefulness that belied his massive stature. He swished his tail and jetted forward, before looking up, just above the surface of the water. A rock smacked him directly between the eyes.

He let out a bellow of rage before crashing out of the water to see who threw the rock. Stomping onto the path beside the river he looked around heatedly. No one in sight. Nothing in either direction as far as he could see.

"uhh, hello?" He bellowed into the cave, " who's here? You threw a rock at me."

As if in answer a muted explosion rumbled through the cave. A shower of small rocks fell from the ceiling and splashed into the water. He looked up. Small cracks lined the ceiling like a spindly, thin spiderweb.

moles digging, maybe? Maybe... maybe I should go to the youngers and ask. They know what goes on.

He whomped over to the water's edge, and slid in, before swimming off full speed towards the youngers' chambers to find out what was going on that would make the caves crack.

[Ben]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Raiha [/i]
[B][color=royalblue][i]Ben was nearby, staring at them. Landing like flies, swarming....[/i]

Rena: ...bad.

Ben: ...nothing we've never seen before.

Rena: The children are afraid.

Ben: They'll be fine.[/color] [/B][/QUOTE]

Ben is in a human aircraft at the moment. :p

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue]Um, he's telepathic. *dies*
~~~~~~~
[i]Rena arched her back, spitting angrily at the advancing hordes. The clones around her were well armed, and led by their commander, brave and ready. She hung back, knowing she was considered as a last defense, as was Xouzin. He appeared a few minutes later, looking none the worse for wear.

She leaned against the cave wall while they marched. Not much to do until they were within a good meelee range. She whisked her tail, shaking her mane out.[/i]

Rena: .....slow...

[i]The humans grew closer, and she ducked inside the rock wall to avoid several shots. They went wide anyways, but she prefered to keep her ears intact....just the same.[/i][/COLOR]