RPG When Humans are the Enemy

[Ben]

"What is this petition, Ben?" asked the Elder. Ben could not determine this Elder's race, and the Elders he was most familiar with were not present.

"Well, perhaps, Revered Elder, petition is not the correct word. Demand would probably be better." an angry murmur swept the chamber like wildfire.

"Your impertenance aside, what is this [I]demand[/I] of yours?" the Elder squinted.

"That we take action. That the Leaders mobilize their forces." he paused. "That we actually [I]fight[/I] this war."

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" cried one of the other Elders.

"I think we've spent far too long just preparing for this war. We're beyond being ready for it, we're perhaps too far beyond getting ready. Perhaps you've forgotten why it is that we fought that war, forty years ago."

Several of the Elders blanched; they, at least, remembered what had occurred. Many of them had tears in their eyes as memories long since forgotten resurfaced. Friends, family members, loved ones; the Elders were all suddenly overtaken by memories of ones they had lost in the war. For in truth, no family had been unaffacted.

Ben stood before the Elders, subtlely sifting through their minds, willing these images and memories to resurface. Much like the conducting of an orchestra, he tempered the minds that he touched. Some Elders were filled with sorrow, some with regret, and then a good many were filled with righteous fury.

The Elders felt once again the zeal with which they had built this nation, the force that had driven them through hard times and times harder still. Once again, they knew what they were fighting for.

The Elder who had first questioned them stood unchanged. His mind alone had withstood Ben's influence. Looking around at what he saw in the other Elders, he sneered. "Very well then, Ben. Your "demand" shall be granted. We will go to war." He turned to a mouse-clone standing nearby.

"Summon the Leaders."

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue][i]At the slight sneer in his voice, Rena's back rippled and she arched it in anger. She rose to all fours, tail lashing, ears pricking upwards, teeth begining to bare themselves. Her claws gouged the stone floor and the High Elder glared at her. She met his gaze with her own yellowing eyes. Filled with rage at his cold arrogance, his treatment of her friend, whom she had fought and bled with. Mourned with. Cried with.

He stared at her and she stared back with equal force, unwilling to become unnerved.[/i]

High Elder: You are insolent.

Rena: ...everyone knows what you are.

[i]Her smile was mocking, almost, but not quite. Some of the Elders concealed laughter and Ben tried his best not to burst into fits of insane giggles. Crystal, stretching her wings next to Rena, was of the same mind. He was treating them with just the slightest comtempt. Rena twitched her taill, then sat once more. Her barb was thrown out, and would make him lose just a little face and a little of his facade. It was enough for her.[/i][/COLOR]

[Solo Tremaine]

[COLOR=#503F86]"...everyone knows what you are."

Alaris raised an eyebrow and shook his head slightly, a sly smile spreading across his face. At least the rest of the Elders seemed to take it in good humour. Toothless old rags weren't the best leaders, after all. And he had fewer teeth than most.

Alaris breathed in deeply. This war wouldn't allow gaps for any weaknesses. Soon, too soon perhaps for his liking, he'd have to go back and prepare the Armadillo army for the battles ahead. All led by him.

The High Elder shook his shoulders in irritation and glared around the room. The stifled laughter dissipated, but many still wore smug smirks on their faces.

"Anything else you wish to add before this Council of War gets underway?" he hissed at the group standing below them, not taking his eyes from Rena.[/COLOR]

[Ben]

Before Ben could answer, the doors around the room opened and the Leaders filed in. They all bore a badge of their office: A four-pointed star with their race's coat of arms emblazened in the center. Some had it on their wings, some on their arms, some on their chests.

"Why have we been summoned?" asked the Elephant Leader.

"Prepare your troops." snapped the Elder abruptly. "This Council has decided to go to war."

"We'll go at once." the Elephant Leader replied.

The Leaders filed out of the room. Ben turned to follow them.

"Just where do you think you're going?" demanded the Elder.

"There are certain details that need to be worked out. Details that you don't need to know and wouldn't understand anyways." He turned his back on the Elder and walked out. Alaris walked up beside him.

"I must go prepare my soldiers." he said. "I'll meet up with you later."

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

Any ideas on who (which races?) should attack the human's underground base? It's the one guarded by cave scorpions.

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue]Mongooses. They're quick, light, fast, the ones that hate scorpions a great deal, and are able to kill them irl. So obvoiusly....mongooses can kill scorpions. That and I like to see mongooses.
~~~~~~~~
[i]Rena keened loudly, then changed it into a hoarse laugh bark. She charged out of the room, muscle bunching and expanding swiftly. Ben followed, then she screeched to a halt at the hill and roared. Several voices responded. All of which were the cats that inhabited the city. Two lions, one tiger, and a pack of hunting minx. At least. The tiger eyed Rena, then bared her teeth and smiled.[/i]

"....I conceed leadership. ...you are far more suited to it than me."

[i]The male lions, two....big, brawny, good at following orders. And the minxes had no leader. Excellent. Several large feral cats walked closer, rubbing against the others, the scent of sweet musk rising in the air. Rena raised her head and purred with delight.[/i]

"We are going to battle."

"Scorpions?"

"YES!"

"At last..."[/COLOR]

[Ben]

*takes out special defibrillator*

Don't you die on me!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ben's thoughts raced as he walked out of the Elders' Chamber. He now had the backing of the Elders, which meant he was in command of the Leaders. He had proposed the idea, thus he would see it through. But who would be best suited to face he scorpion-clones, and then the humans beyond them? And what of the toxins that the humans were using? They would undoubtedly affect the clones as well. Ben pondered these questions as he quickly followed Rena.

Rena roared and several other cat-clones responded to her call. They proceeded through some rituals that Ben did not understand, and then looked to Ben.

"What now, oh glorious leader?" asked Crystal somewhat impishly.

"I want you to go back to your people, gather as many as you can and bring them down here." he paused, speculating. "By the time you return, we should already be engaged with the humans."

"What about this?" she asked.

In her hand she held the amorphous key that the Owl-Elder had given to her. It writhed about in her hand. Ben noticed something new about the key. It was actually almost a key. Though it still squirmed, it held roughly the shape of a large key. Before its shapeshifting had been almost totally random and it possessed no actual shape. Ben reached out his hand slowly to take the key. It's edges became a bit more defined. He stretched his hand even further. The key lost its shape and oozed over the edge of Crystal's hand. Ben pulled his hand back. The key once again gained its transitional shape.

Puzzled, Ben said. "You hang on to it for now. Just go get us some help." he turned. "Rena, you'd better go with her, just to be safe."

"I can take care of myself." asserted Crystal.

"Best not to take chances." replied Ben quickly. "The humans could be anywhere." He nodded. "You'd better get moving, or they'll leave you behind."

Rena had already taken off, with her troop of cat-clones following. Crystal shook her head in agitation and took off after them, spreading her wings and gliding over the heads of those clones in her path.

Ben looked down at his bracelets, and then thought back to the key's reaction. "There [I]has[/I] to be a connection." he murmured.

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue][i]The cats responded to her leadership with lighting alacrity. They fanned out, then loped to various positions in and around the city. Nobody bothered them, they apparentlly were on some sort of mission. The Elders knew them, at least the larger ones, and let them be. ...they had "bigger fish to fry."

Rena followed Crystal easily, the clones parted for her, as she was easily the largest creature on four legs in the city itself. By keeping her body centered inside of Crystal's falling shadow, she could run without looking up. Nothing was ever easier, except maybe eating the flesh of wild oxen. ....speaking of which... She turned her head to one side and let the wind fill her ears, rushing into a loud hum that constrasted sharply with the soft inhilations she allowed herself.

Without breaking into a pant, she kept her paces until the two; bird and beast, had reached the first echelon. Rena smiled and braced her legs.[/i]

"Well then..."

"Are you ready?"

"Bring it."[/COLOR]

[terra]

Though Crystal would never have predicted the possibility of this, she felt rather secure with the pack of cats following her (or rather Rena, she supposed). They probably had some of the keenest eyes down here, and their claws were definitely something to fear.

When they'd reached land, Crystal slowed, as did the cats. She could feel all of them on the alert, ears constantly pricking, listening and looking for any trace of humans.

"Are you ready?" she asked Rena. She'd never felt completely comfortable with the panther-clone. Though they were partly human, they were still cat and bird, predator and prey. But that basic animal instinct was come by a more basic bond, that of the clone species.

"Bring it," the panther answered with her typical steeliness, and Crystal couldn't help smiling.

She circled and, as she came back towards Rena from behind, swooped down slightly with feet outstretched. She knew it probably wasn't a pleasant anticipation in the least, but Rena didn't even flinch as Crystal's half-talons, half-feet curled around her shoulders, lifting her off the ground.

The cats all made some sort of uproar which frightened the eagle-clone, but she realized that it was some sort of ... cat ... goodbye, or something, when Rena replied at full volume. Shaking her head slightly, Crystal pumped her wings to gain altitude before catching a thermal current, enabling her to glide along a little easier through the air.

Crystal couldn't help but wonder just what the bird leaders of the Island would think of her returning after all this time. And not only that, returning with, well, a [i]cat[/i]. But she pushed her thoughts of the future aside, figuring the future would become the present soon enough.

"We'll be there pretty quickly, probably less than ten minutes," she said, figuring they may as well converse a little on the way.

"This isn't as uncomfortable as I'd thought it would be," was Rena's only reply.

Crystal laughed. "Yeah, it can be pretty painless as long as we're careful," she said, referring to Rena's current mode of transportation. "How do you find flying for the first time?"

There was a pause as Rena seemed to be taking it all in.

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue][i]She laughed uproariously, filling her lungs with the rushing air.[/i]

"Makes me wish I was made into a vulture and not a panther."

"Really..?"

"No, not really."

[i]The two laughed companionably. Rena did have a sense of humor...along with her razor sharp wit and claws. And her smile. That chilled them all to the bone....with her presence, that made even the Elders flinch. Crystal beat her wings, catching the thermal upwards.[/i]

"So why do you lead the cats?"

"Because I am who they respect.....not by any real virture of my own other than my honesty."

"I see.....you mentioned something earlier. What was it?"

"Pantherborn. The ancient high class of pumas from South America and Asia. Ledgend involves the seed of the cat and human coming together to form incredibly powerful beings."

"And you're one of them?"

"....it can be argued."

[i]She smiled to herself.[/i][/COLOR]

[terra]

Crystal grinned. "Well, maybe I should start thinking of some ancient eagle lineage that I could 'arguably' be a part of ... because the high-ups at the Bird Dwelling certainly won't be overjoyed at my return."

"Oh? Why not?"

"Well ..." Crystal tried to think of how to explain the Bird Dwelling dynamics to an outsider. "They run a tight ship, I guess. They don't let clones leave to head down to the ground without a very good reason and as it happens, I left without permission.

"Plus, I doubt they'll be overjoyed to see me dropping a panther-clone down on the Island, no offense to you."

A sound came from Rena's throat. Something like purring, only violent. "Well, you did have a very good reason to join us on the ground. Surely when they hear about the war they'll understand."

"I hope so," Crystal muttered.

"If they don't, perhaps I could ... convince them," Rena said, her voice also quiet.

Crystal didn't have time to reply as they were fast approaching the island. She lifted one hand in greeting of the lookouts, who were probably peering at her with keen eyes just at that moment, not to mention leaving to get the clones in charge. She wasn't surprised when, moments later, the field at the perimeter of the Island was speckled with figures.

She dropped Rena a half-foot from that field a moment later, once again circling to slow her momentum before closing her wings and dropping beside her. It was an intimidating moment, standing surrounded by eagle clones, all with their sharp eyes pinned directly on the two of them.

"So Crystal," said one of the Elders sternly, "just where the [i]hell[/i] have you been??"

Out of the corner of her eye, Crystal noticed Sharpie, halfway between shaking his head and grinning.

"Well, a lot has happened," Crystal began.

"I'd hope so," the Elder continued. "And I hope you have a good reason for bringing [i]that[/i] back, as well." One feathery arm was pointed at Rena.

Crystal cringed, looking at Rena and hoping she could stymie her reaction. Though, admittedly, she deserved to be furious. " 'That' saved my life several times," Crystal said, finding her voice, "in battles with the humans on the ground."

"So you really left the Dwelling without permission to flit about on the ground," the Elder said, eyes narrowed, completely ignoring her mention of the humans.

"Yes, and I'm incredibly glad I did," Crystal shot back, angered into speech by his closedmindedness. "Better than flitting about up here doing nothing while the clones are [i]at war[/i] with the humans. Do you realize that? They're our kind too, you know -- yes, even this panther-clone, whose name, by the way, is Rena. Just because we're up here doesn't mean there's not a war going on down there, that other clones are fighting. That's what I'm here for -- to gather bird-clones to join in the battle."

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue]"And you brought [i]Her[/i] because...?"

[i]Their keen voices scathed against Rena's ears. This was worse than the Elders meeting. Some of the eagles were young and wild...but the ones in charge were the ancient venerable....half blind featherbags she had seen before. Crystal was about to speak when Rena took a firm stemp forwards, her footfall nearly shaking the entire compound. The reverberation was heard throughout the meeting place.[/i]

"I am here by direct order of the "Land-based" Clones. They felt that travelling anywhere alone was not a good idea."

"And what could you possibly do to help an Eagle?"

[i]The sarcasm stung, and she bared her teeth. ....it was at this point that several of the Eagle clones noticed how big she was, the fact that Crystal had been able to carry her up here in the first place not withstanding. Her voice rose to frenzied pitch, the catlike scream taking over as she put out her challence in a wild howl.[/i]

"My name is K'Rena Yel Yoshai, born on the night of the Pleadies Movement. ...daughter of the Pantherborn's 7th house. You will know my name because I breathe. And you will respect me because I respect you. Although even that is rapidly diminishing....thanks to your lack of courtesy and good will."

[i]The fact that nobody had even heard of a Pantherborn coming up to their city...caused widspread consternation. A little shame, and quite a bit of fear.[/i][/COLOR]

[Solo Tremaine]

[COLOR=#503F86]Alaris tapped his foot impatiently, waiting on the slopes of the stone mountains outside the gates of the Capital. Rayea was standing behind him, holding a glaive and a burning torch as a beacon for the armadillo-clones to follow.

Alaris wondered whether anyone would notice that he'd left the group momentarily. He felt a little apprehensive without them, but then he'd never really attached to anyone outside of the armadillo-clones before.

He cocked his head. In the distance, he could hear the heavy clatter of armoured footsteps, mixed together with a clamour of whispered voices. Several torches illuminated the faces of troops he knew well, all marching to give additional support to the attack on the humans' base.

Rayea waved the torch slowly through the air- a simple but obvious signal.

The cheetah messenger that had delivered the marching order gave Alaris a nod and then disappeared inside the gates. Alaris shook the hand of the juniour officer in front of him and pointed to a peak in the distance.

"Over there is where the humans' base is situated. The main bulk of the forces will be entering from inside the Capital. Take the heavy digging equipment and start drilling down at the markered point once the signal's given."

The juniour officer saluted, then paused. "Er... what is the siganl sir?"

Alaris pointed to an hourglass rigged to an ukso bomb tied to a stake on the ground. "That. Regardless of whether we're ready or not, begin when that bomb goes off. Once you're through send a platoon into the hole. I'm taking a small squadron through the front."

The officer gave another curt salute and signalled to the diggers armed with gigantic mechanical drills. Obediently, they made their way towards the marker. The armadillo-clones might be poorly skilled when it came to psychic abilities, but they couldn't be faulted on their mechanical finesse.

"Let's move out!"[/COLOR]

[Ben]

I guess the armadillo-clones are attacking the humans....

Hmm...might as well keep it all in the family, so to speak.

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

Ben looked around at the amassed forces of the Chameleon Militia. They were an elite group, numbering significantly less than the other Militias. They were all armed with short swords and only lightly armoured. Their armor and weapons were made integrated with technology that allowed them to change color just as their bearer did.

The Chameleon Leader stood next to Ben, silently dividing his forces into smaller strike groups. The chameleon-clones were almost always used in surprise attacks, the reason for which should be obvious.

Ben reached out with his mind, searching out the other Leaders. He was a bit worreid, Alaris' troops were almost already in place. The call to arms was a bit too sudden for some of the Militias, and many were not yet prepared. Continuing his search, Ben came upon a cave rat. He caught a momentarily caught a glimpse of a nest, and then pressed on, an angry chittering in his ears.

[I]"Ben."[/I] came a voice in his mind.

Ben reacted instantly to the message, shifting his mind to it and following it back to its source. Ben reached its source and found it to be a fox-clone within the humans' underground base.

[I]"What do you want?"[/I] asked Ben.

[I]"Calm down, I was told to contact you by the Fox-Elder. Tell your troops not to attack the fox-clones. Once you breach the base's perimeter I'll send a message to the others telling them to switch sides."[/I]

[I]"All right, I'll be sure to tell the others, too."[/I]

Ben had almost overlooked the fact that the other clones would look upon the fox-clones as their enemies. He searched for and found Alaris.

[I]"Alaris."[/I]

[I]"Ben? What is it?"[/I] came Alaris' reply.

[I]"Tell your troops not to harm the fox-clones, remember, they're our allies."[/I] said Ben.

[I]"Of course, I should have thought of that sooner."[/I]

Ben returned his attention to the chameleon-clones being deployed in their strike groups. "Stop them, quickly!" he said.

"HALT!" Roared the Chameleon Leader. His voice echoed throughout the cave, and his tone indicated to those further away exactly what he wanted.

"What is it Ben?" he asked.

"Tell them not to attack the fox-clones, they're our allies." Ben told him.

The Chameleon Leader arched his eyebrow. "You're sure?" he asked.

"Positive." said Ben.

The Chameleon Leader shrugged. "They won't be able to see us anyways, so I suppose that if you're wrong, it won't be all that bad." he turned. "Do not engage the fox-clones!" he shouted. "The humans are the enemy, as they have always been. New intelligence has been brought to us; the fox-clones are once again our brothers in arms!"

[Solo Tremaine]

[COLOR=#503F86]Alaris was getting frustrated by his speed. The armadillo-clones weren't exactly the most athletic beings at the best of times, and even their best warriors were far slower than some of the other species.

He skidded around a corner, closely followed by Rayea and the other heavily-armoured knights he'd brought with him to join with the main assault force at the entrance to the human's cave.

Ben would probably already be able to tell he was coming; any minute now he expected to hear a smug remark echoing in his mind. One day he'd have a perfect comeback for him. But for now-

He drew his sword as they broke into a larger cavern. The light levels were incredibly low- most of the rat and bat clones rested around here. he assumed most had fled when the cave scorpion activity increased as a cause of the humans. He could make out some odd shapes on the walls, but nothing that warranted further attention.

From up ahead came a muffled shout and a clattering of armour. This was it.

The small platoon hurtled forwards again and ground to a halt upon seeing the masses of clones creatures amassed ahead of them. Alaris turned to the others.

"Assign yourselves a batallion and act as a berserker for them. Do not break formation, keep with what the batallion leader tells you to do. If you get separated, find me. Understood?"

The others gave a firm nod of acknowledgement and disappeared into the throng of warriors.

Alaris sniffed the air. It felt almost electric. Placing his steel helmet firmly on his head and pulling the strap tightly underneath his chin, he made his way towards the middle of the assault force.[/COLOR]

[terra]

The murmur caused by Rena's revelation was hushed as Crystal spoke again. "Well? Are you going to help out your own kind, or are you going to stay up here on the island they helped you engineer and let them fight your battles for you, like cowards?"

Sharpie couldn't help but shake his head, though he was smiling ever-so-slightly with his fierce mouth. Something had definitely changed in Crystal since she'd left the Island, and he was pretty sure he liked it.

The Elders were holding a whispered conversation, and finally one stepped forward to announce his decision. Though Crystal was still feigning anger and annoyance, she held her breath, feeling a ripple of nervousness shudder through her body. What if they said no ...? Could the bird-clones really be so heartless?

"We have come to a decision," the Elder intoned solemnly. "The clone army resistance may be helped by any bird-clones who willingly desire to leave this Island, at their own personal risk. These aforementioned individuals may be outfitted with materials from the the bird-clone weaponry and armory, but they are not personally endorsed by the Elders."

Crystal furrowed her brow. What the hell had he just said?

"Volunteers," Rena said beside her. "He's saying volunteers may go down, but he's not going to order them into anything himself." An annoyed puff of air escaped her mouth. "Useless birds."

Luckily Rena had said the last statement just loud enough for Crystal to hear, or bird-friend or not, she probably would've been pierced through by several arrows.

Crystal scanned the crowd. The birds had heard and understood their Elder, and were looking about uncertainly at each other, wondering if it would really be worth it to head down to help clones they had probably never met before. The Island sometimes felt so separate from the rest of the world, Crystal could understand their feelings, but she felt so frustrated she wanted to rush at each of them and peck their eyes out until they agreed to help.

Then a strong voice spoke out. "I will go."

Sharpie met Crystal's eyes, and they were full of relief.

"I'll go too," another bird-clone said, stepping forward, and then another, and soon Crystal felt that they truly might have something like an army. She knew that others felt as cooped up on the Island as she did, and that others must have some compassion for the Earth-bound clones as well, but a part of her couldn't help but swell up a bit with pride that it was at least somewhat her leadership that had convinced her friends to join her in this battle.

"Looks like you have something like an army," the Elder said to her, mirroring her own thoughts and quieting the chorus of volunteers. "Well, Crystal, since this is your brainchild, you must be their leader. You are free to take them to the armory store and outfit your battalion ... Good luck against the humans."

"Thank you, sir," Crystal said, feeling a sudden reverence and bowing low. Then she raised her head and shouted, "To the armory, and quickly!"

[Raiha]

[color=royalblue][i]Rena grinned, a terrifying sight for most. Her fangs spread throughout her mouth, filling it neatly, ...or perhaps not so neatly. Her canines were huge and her bicuspids were honed into fine points.

The birds departed, leaving only herself and Crystal. The Elders, annoyed slightly, had departed to places unknown.[/i]

"...excellent work."

"I did nothing.....just stated my name and rank."

"It apparently meant something to them."

"Well, the house might've had something to do with it."

"The 7th house?"

"The oldest and most powerful. We roam where we will, and we take what we want. ....but we don't abuse the power we have."

"Birthright alone?"

"Partially. But many of us are, and were, fierce warriors in our own rights."

[i]She grinned insanely once more and flexed her limbs. The muslces in her legs and back rippling and standing out. Like cords, shot with sinews and flesh. Crystal could almost here the blood in her veins thrumming with unreleased power.[/i][/color]

[Ben]

Ben ran lightly alongside the Chameleon Leader. Behind them, many ranks of chameleon-clones followed. They made little sound as they swiftly marched through the tunnels. Ben absently coated and uncoated his right forearm with the metal of his bracelet.

There was a loud detonation from ahead of them. The Chameleon Leader silently signaled a halt. He and Ben changed their skin and moved in for a closer look. It was a large collection of armadillo-clones and they were steadily boring holes into the ground. What appeared to be the shattered remains of an hourglass lay nearby.

Ben changed back to his normal colorage and approached an officer. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"We're boring holes, sir. The holes will get us behind the enemy base and enable us to strike them from this side while the Armadillo Leader and his forces strike from the other." the officer replied. "You there!' he called out. "Straighten out that drill! You'll wind up a diagonal tunnel if you keep going that way!"

"Won't you be a bit conspicuous, just dropping out of the ceiling like that?" inquired the Chameleon Leader.

"Hopefully the humans will be preoccupied with the other forces, and not too many will spot our approach."

"I've got an idea." said Ben. "Why don't we go through the holes first? We can sneak up on the humans, and then when you begin your descent, we'll begin our attack. The humans will be engaged with us and the fox-clones and then you can come in and crush them."

"Sounds like a sound plan." the officer nodded approvingly. "I'll tell my men what is going on, we-"

"Sir, the first hole has been breached!" called out one of the armadillo-clones.

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

Alaris' forces slowly marched towards the human base, not bothering to try and hide their approach. They wanted to be seen, to take attention away from their rear. Alaris was tense with excitement, but kept it tightly controlled. He had to keep a level head. The humans might have something unexpected. On that thought, he passed an order back to the rearmost lines. "Start digging a trench." That way, if the humans did bring something unexpected, they'd have something to fall back on.

Surprisingly, the humans upon the walls of the base did not appear overly concerned about the approaching army of clones. Something wasn't right. Alaris wished he could know how soon the trench would be done, but knew that he couldn't just stand around and wait for the humans to move.

Just as he was about to sound an attack, something odd happened. The floor began to shake and the sound of machinery became apparent. The ground in front of the base opened up and out of it poured forth a half a dozen cave scorpions. A foul reek filled the air. The cave scorpions stood around the front of the base, walking about and clacking their claws warningly. Several humans came out of the same underground opening. They were clothed in plastic suits and had some sort of canister on their backs. There was a tube leading off of the canister into some sort of device in their hands.
One of the humans stretched out his hand and some sort of vapor was sprayed at the cave scorpions. They all instantly shrieked and ran away from the human. Another human sprayed them from another angle, they turned and ran in the other direction. They were again sprayed and forced away. The foul smell grew worse. Alaris saw what was going on and ordered the clones with bolas and slingshots to make ready.

Eventually, the cave scorpions were herded forcibly towards Alaris' troops. Shrieking loudly, they ran as if some sort of demon was behind them. "Aim for the mouths and legs!" ordered Alaris. "And release!"

Those armadillo clones armed with slingshots unleashed a barrage of rocks and lighted uksos at the scorpions. One of the scorpions took a rock to the mouth and reared up. It was struck by several stones and uksos in the underbelly. It burst into flame and toppled over backwards. Another caught fire after being repeatedly struck by uksos, but continued to charge. A few bolas wrapped around its legs stopped its advance. It soon stopped screaming. The final four cave scorpions were taken down with bolas and killed by several axe-wielding armadillo-clones.

"That wasn't so hard now, was it?" asked Rayea from nearby.

"No. It wasn't." answered Alaris. Something wasn't right surely the humans could put up more of a fight than that. Still, he couldn't just sit and wait. "Charge!" he yelled.

The amassed ranks of armadillo-clones picked themselves up and began to move at a jog towards the human base. They began to pick up speed as they grew closer. Bolas were swinging, slingshots were loaded, weapons were drawn.

The humans were ready.

Cave scorpions poured down the walls in bronze waves, all the while shrieking as the humans above them forced them onward with noxious vapors. The cave scorpions crashed into both sides of Alaris' forces. Luckily, the natural and metal armor of the armadillo-clones protected the majority of them from the initial attacks of the scorpions.

The sides of his forces crumbled inward as the sheer momentum of the scorpions' attack pushed them. Soon the cave was full of screams, yells, and the shrieking of the cave scorpions. Blood, poison, flame, and poisonous vapors were everywhere. Then out of the front of the human base, an large force of humans emerged. As neither the cave scorpions nor the clones were their allies, they began to open fire upon the melee. The cave scorpions and clones alike were kept at bay by more humans armed with the noxious gases.

"FALL BACK!" called Alaris, as he slew a cave scorpion. The trench was most definitely a good idea.

Alaris remained in the melee, trying to get as many of his men and women out safely to the trench as he could. A cave scorpion scuttled up to him, tail waving threateningly. Alaris slashed it across the antenna, causing it to rear up in pain. He charged in, took several strokes with his sword, and then spun to the side and arguable safety.

"Alaris!"

"I'm a little busy right now, Ben." he said aloud, dodging the sting of a cave scorpion. He hacked the tail off, kicked its claw away and stabbed it through the head region.
Alaris' troops, who had been slowly been dragging themselves back to the trench, were suddenly being lifted up and seemingly flying towards the trench. Every now and then Alaris caught the outline of a vaguely humanoid shape. Then he too, was grabbed by something and hauled back to the trench, all the while outrunning the cave scorpions.

As soon as the remainder of Alaris' troops were in the trench they started hurling rocks, uksos, and bolas at the scorpions. With a subtle folding of his skin, Ben appeared beside Alaris. Several other chameleon-clones appeared as well. "Nice to see you." said Alaris.

"Nice to be here. Kind of." said Ben. He glanced at the battlefield where cave scorpions were running about, slowly being worked up into an attack by the poison-wielding humans. A sudden laser barrage flew over the trench, causing a few of the taller clones to duck their heads.

"If you'll excuse me, I'd like to do something about that." he turned to the chameleon-clones that had come with him and gave them a curt nod. They all nodded in return and reached behind their backs. Each pulled out a small crossbow. They all loaded their weapons and took careful aim. With a series of twanging sounds, they fired their shots in an arc. The bolts sailed over the cave scorpions and fell amongst the humans on the other side. No more shots flew overhead.

"My troops should be entering the base now." Ben said. "A fox-clone contacted me and opened the back door for them. As soon as they start getting ready to meet your other troops approaching, the chameleon-clones and fox-clones will take them out."

"Sounds like a plan." replied Alaris. "Only, how are we supposed to get out of here alive?"

"What do you mean?" asked Ben.

Alaris pointed. More cave scorpions were streaming down the walls, swelling the already discomfortingly large force.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Curse you people, ruining my cliffhanger....:p

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

?Yeah, that?s most certainly not a good thing...? agreed Ben.

?Any ideas??

?Eh...we could wait until your other force takes the base.? Ben suggested.

?I don?t think we have enough time.? replied Alaris.

The cave scorpions were charging again. Many were taken down with bolas and others set aflame by uksos. Still more came. Ben?s chameleon-clones fired crossbow bolts into the very teeth of the charge. Still the scorpions came, knocking aside their dead in their haste. There were no longer any humans driving them. They saw food, and they wanted it.

Ben levitated himself to get a better view of what was going on. He could see lasers flying at the base and could hear faint screams and growls. Smoke was slowly drifting from one corner, and he could clearly see the armadillo-clones still entering the base. One cave scorpion that was charging towards the trench stepped on a poison canister, bursting it open. The cave scorpions nearest to it shrieked and ran in all directions attempting to escape. Ben looked around the room and spotted several more of the canisters. He collected them with his mind and then lowered himself back into the trench.

?Good thinking.? said Alaris, distributing the canisters. The poison kept many more of the cave scorpions at bay, but the supply was not inexhaustible.

?Alaris, we?ve got to get out of here. The cave scorpions are certain to overrun the trench.? said Ben.

?There?s an opening to the surface not too far from here. If you can get ahold of Crystal, we can lead the scorpions into an ambush.?

?Great idea!? said Ben. [I]?Crystal!?[/I]

[I]?What is it??[/I] she asked.

[I]?We?re getting pounded by cave scorpions, are you almost ready??[/I]

[I]?Cave scorpions, where did they come from??[/I]

[I]?The human were hiding them. Listen, there should be a cave entrance near hear. We?re going to lead the cave scorpions to you. Do you think you can be there in time??[/I]

[I]?Certainly.?[/I] she replied. [I]?We?re on our way now.?[/I]

Ben turned to Alaris. ?They?ll be there.?

?Good.? said Alaris. ?Poison to the front!? he shouted. ?Every one else fall back!?

Alaris took a poison canister and strapped it on his back. It smelled foul, but he was determined to get everyone out alive. Ben stood next to him. An armadillo-clone offered him a canister, but he refused. Suddenly ploughing his arm forward, Ben focused his psychic energy. Cave scorpions were blown backwards over the heads of their companions.

Entering the narrower tunnels, Ben, Alaris, and a dozen or so armadillo-clones kept the cave scorpions at bay.

[terra]

[color=green]You may not believe me, but I've been trying to make time to write a reply to this for over a week. :p[/color]

Crystal ran with Rena toward the armory, even though part of her was longing to spread her wings and soar with the rest of her clan. Somehow it just felt right for her legs to pump and her heart to beat with the adrenaline, even though she felt awkward and even stunted next to the seamless power of Rena's loping form.

"A weapon to a bird," Crystal called aloud needlessly. Though war had never occurred, the birds always considered it a distant possibility, and all the volunteers had been trained in at least elementary battle procedure.

"The clones' caves are about twelve [i]hundis[/i] southwest from this exit," Crystal yelled aloud after a moment of quick guesstimating with the birds' own measurement of distance. She joined the clustering birds, grabbing more arrows to refill her supply, and continued shouting instructions, "Stay in units of five, choose a leader, then stay behind me."

Sharpie appeared at her side almost instantaneously. "I'd like to be in your unit, Crystal."

"Oh, shut up," she said, giving him a side look as she shoved some uksos into a satchel, "you need to lead your own unit."

"I'd rather follow you."

Crystal rolled her eyes but nearly blushed. She was saved from it by the appearance of three other bird-clones, and they quickly headed to the exit.

"If I may," Crystal said politely to Rena, fluttering above her. Rena acquiesced and Crystal picked her up again, hovering above the exit.

"LET'S GO!"

--------------------------

They had been traveling for less than five minutes when Ben's urgent voice echoed in Crystal's mind. Crystal was impeded slightly by Rena in her talons, but a jerk of her head called Sharpie over next to her.

"Sharpie, there are cave scorpions --"

"What are cave scorpions?"

Crystal grimaced, thinking back to her experience with them. "Well, nothing good. Please radio the other leaders and tell them there will be cave scorpions emerging soon from an exit on the upper west side, and that we're heading there to attack them. Also give strict orders not to attack any clones, [i]including[/i] foxes -- stress that for me, please."

Sharpie decided not to waste his breath asking why foxes needed to be stressed. They were flying at top speed, and though flying was a joy, it could still be tiring. He radioed the message as required, just in time as they drew nearer to a hill and their view opened to what looked like black ink pouring out of a cave opening. Seething, writhing black ink.

"Cave scorpions, I presume?" Sharpie said, making a face.

Beneath her, Crystal felt rather than heard Rena growl. "Let me at them."

[Raiha]

[color=royalblue][i]Crystal shrieked with laughter and tilted her wings in flight. Rena smiled broady, baring her rapidly elongating fangs and spread her claws wide. Like a plane releasing it's bomb, Crystal swooped down and dropped Rena in the midst of the disgusting morass of scorpions.[/i]

"Break a leg!"

[i]Like a child who has just discovered the world is made of chocolate, Rena's whole being lit up. Leaping and bounding, she spread her paws, landing on the backs of the vermin before sinking her claws in deep and ripping out the guts....four at a time. One turned in its movement and menaced her, only to find its tail in her mouth, being snapped off by swiftly locking jaws.[/i]

"GRAAGHH!"

[i]Her mouth full of scorpion guts, Rena spat them out of her mouth, hitting several with her venemous saliva. In her element, Rena thrashed and bit and kicked and struggled, arching her back and contracting her stomach, limbs lashing out indiscriminantly.

While the scorpions might have been large, Rena was larger, and far more enraged than they would ever be, even the ones she had trampled to death.[/i][/color]

[Solo Tremaine]

[COLOR=#503F86]The stinging scent of the poison burned Alaris' nostrils every time he took a breath. It wasn't enough to overpower him, but he could feel himself begin to slip under its intoxicating smell.

He charged ahead, whirling his sword through the air and plunging it into the exoskeletons of the creatures that didn't scatter at the smell of the poison. Up ahead, he could hear more sounds of battle.

He glanced over his shoulder at Ben, who was hurling his bladed projectiles into the creatures trying to intercept the line of troops following behind them- they sprang from tunnels hidden in the darkness, hoping to catch and tear the intruding prey to shreds.

He looked back ahead-

[i]Slash![/i]

The scorpion's claw narrowly missed hitting his unarmoured flank, instead sliding over his metal breatsplate and shearing through the strap holding the poison canister. The glass capsule crashed to the ground with a piercing crack.

With one fell swoop of his sword, Alaris decapitated the cave scorpion and kicked it to one side of the tunnel.

"Forget it, we have to get to Rena and Crystal!" Ben shouted.

Alaris pulled the canister to one side and shoved it into the space the cave scorpion had crawled from. Enraged hisses spat from the opening- they were angry, but wouldn't be able to do anything from there.

"Come on, we're almost there!"[/COLOR]

[terra]

[color=green]Ben, impossible last long post of yours notwithstanding, I believe it's technically YOUR turn. ;)
And yes ... I totally stole the upcoming arrow thing from you-know-what.[/color]


Crystal had a sudden urge to scream aloud, "ATTACK AT WILL!" like a real general or something might, but she reminded herself that a) she was technically junior to most of these volunteers, and b) they already were. The bird-clones had a fierce rage about them, even though they'd never even seen these creatures before, and were attacking in a variety of ways. Some were dropping uksos -- relatively carefully, and far from Rena as possible. Some were screeching classical battle cries, swooping down to rake at the cave scorpions with fatal claws; these were mostly the older clones who still relished the "traditional" ways of their kind. And some were shooting with deadly accurate arrows, aiming instinctively for the vulnerable parts Ben had once told Crystal about.

Once? That had been less than a week ago ...

Though she couldn't escape the thoughts in her mind, Crystal was moving, almost on instinct. She landed, tired from the flight and from carrying Rena, ducking immediately to avoid a cave scorpion's tail raking towards her. The tail pulled back to sting again but never got to make a second blow, as an arrow from her right -- Sharpie -- caused the stinger to fall off and the scorpion to howl with rage. Crystal took the opportunity to dart in with an arrow, plunging it into the scorpion's neck, before turning and loading it into her crossbow to shoot another scorpion who was charging at her.

The scorpion groaned its pain, but she'd missed the pale skin of its vulnerable spot and it continued charging, angered now. Crystal fumbled for another arrow, somehow unable to take her eyes off its deadly black beads, when a shape hurtled in from the left, tackling the charging beast with the full and heavy weight of a body.

Alaris had thrown the scorpion completely off guard, and it was easy for him to plunge his sword into the scorpion's belly, dragging upward to further weaken the beast. He jumped aside before the blood had time to well out of the gash.

"Thanks, man," Crystal nodded to him. She saw Ben trotting up behind and added, "You're my knight in shining armor," loud enough for Ben to hear.

Ben made a face, and not a pleased one. "We're in the heat of battle here, can't you be a little more serious?" he said to her, sounding slightly pained.

"We've stalled some of them with poison," Alaris updated for Crystal's benefit.

"And we're doing fairly well out here," Crystal said, back to business. "The offensive is quite effective, the remaining scorpions out here are definitely falling. What next?"

[Raiha]

[COLOR=royalblue][i]Rena turned, her tail lashing out for balance, wrapping around the base of another scorpion's tail. She leapt upwards, then came down, sinking her claws into the back of yet another hapless vermin, shrieking. Her laughter carried. In the ears and senses of the enemy, it was a harsh Wyrding cry, full of despair and death.[/i]

"Shake in your shells bitches! K'Rena Yel Yoshai's HERE!"

[i]But to the birds in the air and the allies on the ground, it was a sound of merriment, a lifeline to haul them back from their own doubts and fears. She threw herself into the masses with the ferocity of one in a full beserker fit. The creatures that laugh while slaying thousands. When the scorpions had gone into full retreat, the birds dove down and began finishing each off, now that they had scattered. Crystal turned and watched Rena turn and twist with the movements, catching a few remaining beasts here and there. Sharpie winged next to her and alighted.[/i]

"They're retreating...."

"And she's advancing, of course."

[i]Rena pounded her feet into the ground and dug her claws in, savaging happily. Crystal and Ben smiled and looked at her, dropping exoskeletons from her mouth. K'Rena Yel Yoshai. Beserking hybrid and Pantherborn. Also completely mad. And an excellent fighter to boot... Rena grinned and looked up.[/i]

"I'm not hungry anymore."

"Gee, I wonder why."

"The proteins."[/COLOR] 

[Ben]

"Proteins..." Ben muttered, shaking his head.

"You didn't answer my question." Crystal reminded him.

"You're right, I didn't." replied Ben. He stabbed a cave scorpion corpse through the head, just to be safe, and then sat upon it. He closed his eyes and massaged his temples. He had [I]not[/I] been expecting the cave scorpions.

"Well?" asked Crystal.

[I]"I'm thinking."[/I] he said silently.

He was still sitting with his eyes closed, hunched over. The cave scorpions were only really an obstacle that had been overcome. The human base was still there, and should have been taken over by now.

[I]"Chameleon Leader."[/I] Ben searched out the commander of the chameleon-clone forces.

[I]"Yes, Ben?"[/I] he replied.

[I]"Have you taken the base yet?"[/I]

[I]"There are a few pockets of resistence left, but the rest is pretty much under our control. The fox-clones were able to take many of them alive."[/I]

[I]"Good. Crystal's been dying to get some answers."[/I]

[I]"Crystal, sir?"[/I]

[I]"The eagle-clone I've been with recently."[/I]

[I]"Ah, yes. I remember seeing her, she-"[/I] the Chameleon Leader broke off suddenly.

[I]"Chameleon Leader?"[/I]

There was no reply. Ben tried to go further into the Chameleon Leader's mind, to perhaps find what had happened, but could not. Something was wrong.

Ben sat up suddenly, startling those around him. "Something's wrong!" he said. "We've got to get back to the base, quickly!"

"What is it, Ben?" Alaris asked, coming into step with him.

"I don't know." replied Ben. He stopped. "Crystal!"

"What is it, Ben?" she asked, floating over to him.

"Something's happened at the human base, can your bird-clones tend to the injured?" he asked.

"I think they can manage, yes." she replied. "Those cat-clones that Rena gathered earlier also seem to be doing a good job."

Ben had nearly forgotten about the fierce cat-clones that Rena had called together at the Capital. But sure enough, they had bandages and poultices and such and were applying them as needed. The two lions were the closest definition of "gentle giants" that Ben had ever seen.

"I'm coming with you." she said, and then turned to her friend, Sharpie.

There was no point arguing with her, so while she was explaining the situation and handing over command to Sharpie, Ben turned to Rena, who was applying a bandage to an armadillo-clone's forearm.

"You're awfully good at that." he noted.

"It comes from working with little ones." she replied, smiling softly. "The bloodlust is just hereditary."

[Boba Fett]

[color=green]Tunnels are not great places to live. Dark, damp and often dangerous, the clone tunnels are no exception. This particular stretch of tunnel lead from a concealed entrance on the surface into a series of labyrinthine passages dug by mole-clones. At this particular moment, it was humans who were utilizing the tunnels.

A dozen of them advanced slowly and carefully, moving their large weapons from side to side as if they expected their opponents to materialize out of thin air. They had good reason to be cautious. Chameleon-clones could become nearly invisible and mole clones could pop through the walls at any time. The tunnels were a dangerous place for humans?

A weasel clone stayed in the shadows, watching the humans as they walked by. He?d long ago perfected the art of remaining perfectly still, so that it would be very hard to spot him short of walking right into the shadows cast by the human?s helmet-lights.

As the humans turned a corner, he waited patiently. As the last soldier turn his back to join his fellows, the weasel clone sprung from the shadows without a sound. His double bladed dagger slit the human?s soft throat, silencing the man forever. Without pause, the weasel-clone picked up the human weapon and slunk around the corner.

Up ahead he could see the human patrol, oblivious to the fact that they were now short one man. Most likely, they?d never realize what?d happened to their rear guard. The weasel clone switched the weapon to full automatic, and depressed the cold metal trigger.

A flurry of crimson lasers spewed forth, ripping through the human patrol. In a matter of moments, every one of them was on the ground. The weasel clone grinned, and drained the energy clip into the human?s prostrate bodies before tossing the useless weapon aside.

His triumph was short lived, as he heard the sound of advancing footsteps behind him. Moving with grace and agility, he slipped into a small crevase in the tunnel wall. With any luck, the pink skins wouldn?t notice him. They werent known for their alertness?

Sure enough, the lead humans missed him. He heard startled cries as they discovered the bodies of their fallen comrades, then a sharp order from someone with a very authoritative voice. The voice ordered them to keep moving.

The pink shins had no respect for their dead.

However, this seemed to be no normal patrol. Several dozen soldiers had passed him already and this procession had shown no signs of ending soon. Next, several APCs rolled by, followed by some kind of armored vehicle. Finally the convoy ended.

As the sounds of the troops faded into the distance, the weasel clone emerged from his hiding place. It appeared as if the humans were sending reinforcements to their embattled troops fighting near the cave scorpions. The Elders would have to be warned?[/color]

[Ben]

(I'm introducing a new character here, so pay attention please.)

Kione watched as the chameleon-clone squirmed under the force of his mind. He was slowly crushing the freak of nature, bombarding it all the while with images of pain and suffering. Soon, the thing was dead. It's body went limp, and its skin changed into a pale, pale green. The Chameleon Leader was dead.

Kione was the leader of group of special forces in the human military. He was twenty-seven years old and had seen more death and destruction than most humans in their sixties. Most of the images had been implanted directly into his brain to desensitize him. Kione was the first successful result in a series of human experiment to further genetic engineering.

Certain parts of his brain had been overdeveloped as he was growing in his mother's womb, and upon birth he was affixed with the first of many implants to his brain. This, coupled with myriad substances and hitherto unheard of variances of energy, developed his mind in such a way that he could use his thoughts to do things more than any other man good.

Kione was a psychic. The first of the elite force developed. The implants and gene therapy were all designed to enhance those traits that promoted psychic power and its uses. Kione was the first, and so much effort was put into creating him and shaping his mind. He was just as talented as the Sense Leader, and much more powerful.

One of his subordinates entered the room. "We have secured the base once again, Sir." he reported.

"Excellent. What of the forces that sought to take it over?" Kione demanded.

"They have been routed, sir. As soon as we discovered that the fox-clones were against us, things went much smoother. It was a good thing we arrived when we did."

"Indeed." murmured Kione.

"The clones were no match for our psychic powers. Some few tried to resist, but they were unable to resist the strength of our will."

"There will be others, Adams, make no mistake. And we shall brush them away just as you did today." Kione twitched suddenly and put his hand to his head.

"Something wrong, sir?" inquired the soldier.

"Nothing, just a glitch in an implant." Kione closed his eyes and relaxed. The problem was soon fixed and the pain passed.

"It's a shame we couldn't get our powers naturally like the clones do." said the soldier. "These implants are a real pain sometimes."

"Yes, but the power they provide more than makes up for it." Kione looked outside at the carnage of the recent battle. Cave scorpions littered the ground, as did the bodies of some sort of armored clone. Something moved outside. An armadillo-clone had survived and was slowly struggling to his feet.

The clones was bleeding from his side where a cave scorpion's claw had pierced him. He pressed a bandana to the wound and slowly began limping away, leaning on his sword for support. As he reached the far entrance to the cave, Kione spotted him. With a smirk and a flick of his hand, the armadillo-clone was thrown backwards. Kione lifted the clone with his mind, and then impaled him upon a stinger.

"Power is good." Kione whispered softly, and he clenched his fist in front of his face.

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

[I]"Sense Leader!"[/I] Ben called silently.

[I]"What is it, Ben?"[/I]

[I]"Something's happening again. My powers are being blocked by something."[/I]

[I]"Where are you?"[/I]

[I]"Right now I'm on the surface, but I'm heading down to the human base in just a few minutes. Something very bad is happening."[/I]

[I]I'll meet you there as fast as I can."[/I]

"Okay." said Ben aloud. "Let's get moving!"