[Die Screaming] Purgatory

[Charmaylarg Dufrain]

RP Date

YE-43

RP Location

Location Unknown

Sebastian.


A shuttle, familiar faces, a battle hard-fought, friends and comrades floating in the black...

Floating...

A familiar sense of weightlessness and pressure on all sides brought Sebastian to his senses if not his wits. Strange fatigue bordering on pain racked his body and muscles like a low-voltage live wire replaced all his veins. Alongside this, the feeling of an axe embedded in his head and a supreme sense of growing nausea and confusion overtook the young SOL as his last memories continued flooding in but made little sense.

A loss of power, sealed in darkness, the air getting thin...

Air...

With a start his eyes shot open. He was still in darkness, but what was worse was the growing burn in his chest from the lack of air!

He wasn't in space! Wasn't in a shuttle! That much was obvious as his body began to spasm and thrash on pure survival instinct, the odd slowness and fatigued pain of his body in this weightless dark place-

And then his hand brushed something. Something hard, curved, smooth.

Glass? The thought springing to the forefront as even with his confusion the pieces of the puzzle started to fit. Not space, the pressure; Some kind of fluid, thicker than water but not solid, curved walls all around him wide enough he could reach out his arms on either side and just barely brush the curved walls, while his feet barely brushed the floor.

Some kind of tube or tank he was sealed inside? The conclusion came fast as he fought his bodies instinctive response to inhale.

If he didn't act soon he knew he would drown!

Carina.

Carina's last memory was of Locust, Lupin, And otto. Then the other spook had drifted in and...

And then what?

As she woke from the haze, a pulsing throb in her head like the worst migraine she could think of made drifting back into sleep. A familiar voice she could place as Elsae was saying something, urging her out of her stupor even if she couldn't yet understand the JANE's words.

It could wait, she decided, attempting to turn over into a more comfortable position in her bed. At least until her shoulder hit a metal wall overhead.

And then another at either side of her. In fact, all around her to a claustrophobic degree was this and intruding metal walls so tightly packed she could barely bring her hands up to her chest without needing to thrash and wiggle in the tight confines of the box she could now figure even in the darkness as her mind started to panic.

Was she in a fucking coffin?! A trash can?! Where the hell was she?!

Lupin.

Lupin Herstal awoke...

No that wasn't right... Kenedy... Lupin Adamsk Kenedy was his name, that had always been his name.

Yet when he awoke, strange and conflicting memories surged in his mind; Disappearing into obscurity as soon as he tried to focus on any one specific fragment.

"Do not let them catch you, little prince." A sultry voice cutting away the haze in his mind, but not from any direction he could identify as it started him and he began to fall from his bed.

Only to hit a hard and cold tiled floor. Only then did he realize he was blind, recalling the operator and the bright flash! Reaching up in panic to his face his hand brushed a coarse fabric material as he carefully patted the gauze and bandaged encompassing his head and face like a dam mummy.

Otto And Tobias.

A loud bang woke Otto and Tobias at practically the same time as their latent training kicked in. A dark and windowless room greeted the two as they woke to find themselves laying in hospital beds across from each other, each wearing simple hospital gowns tied in the back, in a silent room with dead machinery.

A torn curtain separated them just enough from the rest of the room but not enough that they couldn't see a dozen other beds just like theirs except empty and unkempt leading to a closed door.

It was the slamming of the door shut that had woken them. That much they both knew for certain just as much as the Marine across from them was their comrade on a suicide mission from a jungle world with no known life...

All else was a haze.

Ana.

Anatevka Kuznyetski awoke in a dark reception room when she fell out of the uncomfortable chair she must have dozed off in.

Except for the fact she couldn't remember the last time she was in a hospital and the last thing she did remember was gold powered armors cutting down her friends in zero-G and making a play for her head she could have found herself waking up in a worse off place.

What was equally confusing was the business-chic casual pantsuit she found herself in upon recovering from the floor and how most reception rooms no matter where you went often didn't leave people dozed off in them before they cut the lights and went home!

Where the hell even was she?

 

[Charmaylarg Dufrain]

Molotra


Molotra came awake to a world of wrongs.

Her unique, spacer-born mind immediately took stock of all the inconsistencies with her mental records and found them wanting. It wasn't like the tampering of her frontal lobe to stamp out unwanted experience she experienced with age before her induction into the viridian array, no. It was more subtle in a way a normal, human mind might not be aware of without outside interference.

Someone had messed with her head.

It was unacceptable, but the why was just as important as the who. When she had those answers and retrieved what was lost only then could she break their brittle bones under her treads as recompense for this injustice.

Unfortunately, answers were few and far between. What she could tell from a first glance in the low light on where she was was that she was in some kind of Nepleslian cafeteria-eatery like what they sometimes crammed into vital roomspaces of their ships and buildings. It must be the latter, that much was obvious by the lack of subtle vibrations and void-sounds impossible to hide from a voidborn like herself.

Upturned tables and scattered trays littered the floors in a path to a pair of double doors leading likely deeper into the installation if she chose to advance if not to scavenge for loot, booty, or supply...

The latter option giving pause as more wrongs became apparent.

Whoever had tampered with her head had not been satisfied with their molestation upon taking stock of her usual kit. Her mask, almost imperceptible at first, was lacking the usually worn taste from years of sweat and hot breath. Her rifles, still attached to her arm though empty of munitions had clearly been broken down and thoroughly cleaned, greased, and polished; A small piece of a receiver once chipped had even been melded.

Her laser pistol, thankfully still present still had some charge left but slightly less than she recalled when last it had been used.

Finally, her internal stores were organized in a way most foul! Her clothing had been washed and folded, her filters and batteries arranged, her stuff and things fitting perfectly in order without being haphazardly shoved into wherever it would simply fit!

She was also lacking any ammunition or magazines for her rifles, but the clearly nepleslian design of this place made that a nonissue. The greenlings practically threw the stuff away!

One final injustice to her person was taken stock as she whirred her treads in agitation. Discovering herself wedged between two large rectangular machines in a corner of this place like some discarded piece of machinery to be abandoned without purpose!

Upon striking one of the machines a small plastic-wrapped nutrient bar with specks of chocolate would fall out of one.

While the third and only active vending machine contemplated the strangeness of this place movement caught her eye as a strange mass at the far end of the cafeteria jerked and spasmed off the table only to start thrashing with the cloth wrappings on its face...

 

[SirSkully]

Lupin

The memory of one of those cracked IPG fuckers firing on him made Lupin's nerves light up, briefly experiencing that excruciating sensation of his face and helmet being exposed to something as hot as a solar flare, fusing the plastic visor to his flesh. Though the sensation had passed as quickly as it had began it still filled his system with equal bits fear and adrenaline, causing the blinded sniper to scurry backwards on his arse until his back hit something solid, assuming it to be a wall.

Lupin's chest rose and fell with quick, panicked breaths, his fight or flight response unable to make up its mind.

Where the hell was he? was there someone in the room? who was talking about princes?

It was a lot to take in, the outside world muffled by the sterile layers of bandages that he assumed was covering his mutilated face. Was it just numb from anesthetics? were his eyes even there or were they just forced shut by the wrappings?

He needed to know, but a stray thought pierced his mind as Lupin's slender hands made their way up to his head, causing them to detour down to the back of his neck as the lad frantically felt around. Not feeling any new incisions near where his brain-spider had been installed caused a small bit of relief to wash over him, giving him some solace in the fact that whoever had him probably hadn't messed with that.

Maybe he was just in a hospital and the disorientation was just an after effect of his system being pumped full of drugs? That tracked... except some as of yet unidentified voice was rambling about royalty, and surely a nurse would have been here already to check on a patient tumbling out of bed?

There was one quick way to find this out, so Lupin's hands began delicately searching around for a seam before starting to carefully unwrap his head, a muffled grunt of effort coming out deeper than he'd expected - though the lad put that down to his throat feeling a little dry.

What the fuck was happening? Why did his body feel so big and clumsy?

 

[Primitive Polygon]

"Location unknown. Date unknown." The pocket tank tried to comfort themselves, by effectively categorizing the situation and defragging her understanding of it... But there was so little data that it didn't really help. The pistol was readied and held up in the air whilst they rolled out from their confined position and took a gander around the rest of the dark chamber, observing but ignoring the thrashing unknown object until they could be sure there weren't more all around them. "Maintenance has been carried out without proper documentation being submitted..."

That last part really was annoying. Their claw-arm moved way too fast and smooth now. Some organic asshole must have done this.

Only 5% likely to have been the blindfolded figure, though. So she wouldn't shoot him just yet.

The pop-clunk of rubberized tracks reverberated through the cold, empty room, and she slowly approached...

Did this place smell a little too sterile? Or was it a hospital of some kind?...

"Organic object with bandages on it's face. Please halt your panic until I can identify your threat level." They were most certainly pointing the gun at him now. "Are your visual sensors operational? Step into the light."

She could shoot it. The fire would cause illumination?... No, it might have information that would be inaccessible upon brain-death...

A pause.

"Are you equipped with a digital memory backup system, organic object?"

 

[Soresu]

Carina Trapped in a Cardboard Box

Carina mumbled as her unconscious mind wove a dream of nightmares. She had been dying. Bleeding. Couldn't breathe, and darkness. So much darkness. Yet there had been flashes of light. Distant, weak, the color of fire and through it the shadows wove around them. She could suddenly breathe again, but there had been so much hurt, pain and fright. The sound did not travel in the void of vacuum. But her sleep-ridden mind, that version of her in the dream heard screams. More bright flashes had come and gone, brief, sickeningly brief in comparison. Something had glowed bright, something sludgy and quickly faded to black again.

Then the shadow came for her. Slowly, achingly slow as a hand that seemed to suck in what little light there had been in the room into itself as the only noise seemed to be a whisper so familiar. It felt as if it was coming from everywhere and nowhere. But somewhere from within. There was a vague faint sense of urgency to those hushed tones. That hand crept closer, a light eating claw reaching forth and that urgent whisper grew in fervor as her dream-self began to cling upon it like a tether for safety.

Carina's eyes snapped then. Her eyes saw naught but the cool oblivion that a lightless world could bring. The ringing had begun in her ears and suddenly punctuated by a truly exquisite pressure-induced sensation elicited a magnificent blast of pain that seared her brain. It had felt as if her head might pop, and this the result of that very thought becoming reality. The cool metal beneath her head had felt nice, yet strange as her eyes had squinted shut to try and drown out that multitude of painful sensations swimming in her head.

She'd sleep it off. When in doubt. Sleep was king if you didn't have a good numbing agent or for some miracle to be performed. It was a simple respite with the wish of it magically going away once you woke up. With a little grunt while trying to shift into a more comfortable position. Just on a quarter of the way turned, her shoulder brushed cold metal. Once more her eyes opened as she flopped on her back once more with a slap. It to felt equally as hard. Then her hands began to rove around her and felt the cool finish of metal as well. Above and below, left to right. She was so snuggly dug into it that she could scarcely raise her hands just above her belly with little clearance left.

She was trapped! Blind and trapped. Unable to rise, to wiggle overly much or freely move about. Her breathing began to become more labored, the strangeness of a somehow unnaturalness of it all. That primitive, vestigial part of the brain had had its switch flipped as the fright and panic began to set in. That damned throbbing between her ears increased with each thump of her heart which began to pick up speed only seemed to exacerbate matters. Her knees began to buck along with her hips, and bodily jerking, a purely animal instinct of being trapped and wanting to be set free had settled into place. And in the back of her head that familiar voice began to come to focus. The earlier tether she had used as her lifeline. Those long, ragged gasps for air had quickly begun to fade into shallow, yet quicker breaths while her hands pressed hard against the surfaces of this box, this coffin, or whatever had entrapped her. A little control had seeped back into that animal-driven moment of weakness. And the desperate motivations of getting free began to settle in place.

The young, panicky medic pressed, prodded, and pressed again harder and harder along the walls and against whatever seemingly horrific fate which had landed her in this situation. Those earlier, fear-induced whimpers for air and hyperventilation were now replaced with an ear-piercing screeching cry of defiant and primal frustration at not being free while she struggled and resisted, pitting herself and strength against metal. However futile, she tried, she HAD to try. She didn't want to die like this! Wouldn't die like this. Carina thought as she drummed her feet while just trying to keep it together. To get out. Find the solution. Even with a comforting, familiar warmth trying to wrap itself, anchor itself in her mind the one that was always there in one form or another. Just a call away. And so she did. She called out to that budding feeling of sympathy and comfort, her secret friend since she'd been a snot-nosed little monster of a child.

"Wha'do I do?" her voice quailed with a shuddering breath, "Wha's goin'on?" it all sounded so dull, muffled within the confines of that box. She wanted an answer, a solution, some way out. Anything.

 

[Gunhand4171]

As Sebastian came too it was very difficult to control the instinct to breath. All he wanted was a little rest... not the eternal kind...

Feeling the smooth wall in front of him, he pushed himself against the opposite wall, bracing himself. Coiling up like a snake he kicked out his feet towards the wall.

He kicked again and again all the while causing the burning in his chest to intensify. Every muscle in his body crying out for oxygen. If he couldn't crack this tube he may very well die.

 

[Alex Hart]

Otto And Tobias.

A loud bang woke Otto and Tobias at practically the same time as their latent training kicked in. A dark and windowless room greeted the two as they woke to find themselves laying in hospital beds across from each other, each wearing simple hospital gowns tied in the back, in a silent room with dead machinery.

A torn curtain separated them just enough from the rest of the room but not enough that they couldn't see a dozen other beds just like theirs except empty and unkempt leading to a closed door.

It was the slamming of the door shut that had woken them. That much they both knew for certain just as much as the Marine across from them was their comrade on a suicide mission from a jungle world with no known life...

All else was a haze.

Tobias's head rose as he pushed his torso up into a sitting position, head swiveling to scan the room and take in his surroundings. There was a marine in the room, almost certainly from the mission to that jungle. Why had they gone there again? He couldn't quite remember.

Tobi rose from the bed, his hand slipping around a small object and hard object, not exactly a knife or pistol but it could do in a pinch. He crouched onto the floor and made his way over to the marine, tapping him on the wrist to prompt him to listen. "Hey Marine," He whispered to Otto, "You all there?" He scanned the room again, finding no obvious point of reference as to his location.

"I'm not sure where we are or how we got here, so until we figure things out, you're with me." Tobias didn't sound entirely sure, but he spoke with an authority born of his IPG training.

 

[Charmaylarg Dufrain]

Sebastian

Sebastian knew if there was even a flicker of light around him that his vision would still be black as darkness encroached from the sheer burning in his lungs.

Time after time he kicked out with all his might against the glass at the end of the tank, and time after time his already fatigued muscles provide inadequate for the job. But just when his thoughts began to dim and his body began to wrack and spasm in panic he could feel it crack after one final thrust.

With the desperation of the dying, he kicked franticly, heel first as each impact made the glass seem to give more and more but never quite break until with one more lunge with all he had his foot broke through the glass.

The warm and humid but above all dry air was the first thing he felt on his toes.

The second was the glass stabbing into the meat of his calf like the closing jaws of a sharp-toothed beast. The sensation was enough to make him shout in pain and suprise and finally give up the last trace of pressure in his lungs as his body forced him to suck in and flood his lungs with the thick fluid.

It was odd when instead of sealing his fate an odd feeling of ease filled him as his lungs expanded with the fluid with an unnaturally thick but still life giving expansion in his chest as some form of oxygen returned to his suffocated system. He still felt like he was breathing in jello; But he was breathing!

His leg half hanging out of the tank and punctured with glass the top of his head felt an equalizing pressure as the fluid slowly drained out and replaced the inside of the tank with the outside air bit by bit.

Progress?

Lupin and Molotra.

The sound of thudding as molotra's treads on the hard tile floor was second only to the sound of Lupins heart as he relived the memory of the intense heat on his face as the bandages slowly came off.

When they were removed the world was, however, still dark. Not in the same way as being blind, no. Waving his hand in front of his face he could just make out the shape in the darkness which came as some relief. In fact, upon a physical inspection, the side of his face felt neither blemished nor ruined in any way save for some unexpected sensitivity from some inflammation likely brought on by sweat and too-tight bandages!

Molotra, more used to the dark and with better natural night vision could more easily make out the full-body-meatlings molestation of his own face.

It was pretty disturbing... The green folk was always weird after all and there was no point trying to make sense in the trivial actions of this one.

One thing gave her immediate pause, however. Her own questioning of the organic man triggered a response she had yet to make on the words Digital Memory.

How the statement brought forth the thought and follow-up concern was not important as a critical piece to who, not only she, but her people, were was somehow inaccessible to her.

Even in a Nepleslian hub, even in the far reaches of the ink the Plysentience was always within grasp of the free folk. The InterNep connected to it, the Greens had mindware that connected them to it, so why couldn't she feel its connection? The feeling left a strange emptiness. Molotra knew she could and would survive, but the disconnection to the raw flow unnerved and even agitated her in ways she didnt know how to cope from.

Such a thing should be impossible.

Tobias And Otto

As he waited for Otto to react the world seemed awfully slow for Tobias. He could recognize the influence of some kind of drug in his system and was evident from the tight pull of an IV needle in his free wrist stretching across the room and back into the dark corner where his bed was. It was a simple affair to remove the needle and pull it from the rubber tubing; Short, thin, and insignificant as it was, it was still a needle and was the most dangerous thing currently in his possession besides...

The object he grabbed he couldn't identify by sight in the darkness but in touch it was familiar. It was square and thin and made of a thin durrandium frame with one small button on one side and two on the others; A Datajockey.

Pressing the power button his eyes immediately stung in pain as if the light from the idle screen was the brightest thing he had ever seen. In the brief moment the spots in his eyes lasted he had seen something when he had squeezed his eyes shut.

A memory, or a fragment of one.

There were words, distant and lost to him as if he was underwater. And a face of someone familiar to him...

Duece?

He couldn't recall more, but the one thing he could make out even as the memory became hazy again was the long and thin pointed blade protruding out of her back as his superior screamed in silence when purple, black, and blue energy ravaged her from the inside out...


A brief flash of light broke Otto from the stupor of his own medicated state. The datajockeys brief illumination had broke him from the dream of he and Naoko; His head resting peacefully on her lap to look into her playful stare as the last rays of sunlight bathed her skin; Before he was ripped from his memories.

He could see Tobias there, leaning over him. The man was one of the marines from the Small Death; A corporal if he could recall...

He recalled Tobias briefly on his last mission. A moment here and there, never in the spotlight but always present; A comrade. The feeling subsided as his last memory took over; The faceless operator disemboweling him. And from there the resounding gap he couldnt place between then and now.


Carina

From not only her struggling but her latent training Carina could tell she was at the wrong end of whatever box she was in if she wanted to get out. The far end of the box and near the top was some kind of hinge or latch likely made to save people from this very situation from being locked in whatever box she was in for all eternity but it was at her feet, and no amount of playing or trying to work it with her toes or feet managed her the dexterity to pull it the right way when her toes began to cramp and her legs began to fatigue.

At her kicking and flustering however she could hear a distant and muffled sound outside that gave her pause. Someone was shouting in alarm!

A sense of panic overtook her when it came to the unknown when she was locked in a fucking box! And both alarmed and relieved her when the shouting, though muffled, came closer and the resounding crash of several glass somethings and was followed by a panicked shriek of alarm and subsequent wailing in distress.

Straining to hear better she shifted just enough to bump the wall of the box and cease the sound as the other someone was alerted that they too were not alone. Any sense of alarm from carina was drowned out when instead of remaining quiet the other voice immediately called out for a response.

"Hello? Anyone?!" A clearly feminine voice called out in clear distress

"Please, is anyone there?!"

 

[SirSkully]

Tonk and Twunk
The sounds of something other than himself moving about caused the marksman to cut his unwrapping and self-inspection short, the lad shot onto his feet as quick as the grogginess and fuzzy spacial awareness would allow. Lupin pushed his chest back and balled his hands into fists, blinking hard to try and bring his stimulus-deprived eyes up to speed with the whole situation when a realization hit him.

That voice... it sounded familiar.

Molotrolla's stubby, tank-treaded figure slowly came into focus, illuminated by an orange-ish lights that the young marksman assumed were emergency lights of some variety, though he couldn't currently pin down the source of the monochromatic things. He was clueless as to what might be going on, he wasn't injured... he should have been gravely wounded... what had happened and why had he woken up bandaged in what looked like a cafeteria?

"M... Molotrolla?" young master Kennedy spoke, his voice sounding hoarse and a little rough, the marksman making an attempt to clear his throat before continuing to speak in a voice that felt so foreign to him...

"It's Lupin uh~ Private Kennedy, I don't know what's going on but I think I'm okay," he continued, posture relaxing as the lad look a few steps forward, though it was clear his body was still tensed up and ready to strike at a moments notice. A very primal reaction from his confused flight or fight response as it tried to get its bearings.

Noting that the 'spacer's forearm rifles didn't seem to have any ammunition he decided this was as good a time as any to inspect himself further, illuminated by lights unseen by Molotrolla Lupin craned his neck down, frowning in confusion at a lack of familiarity before those amber peepers of his widened in shock and even more confusion.

The poorly lit man standing before Molotrolla wasn't the skinny teen she'd shared quarters with briefly, his skin still carried that same light mocha tone, and those eyes unmistakably belonged to the awkward sniper, but everything else was so different...

And also completely stark naked.

What Lupin saw wasn't the spry, athletic figure of the teenager he'd been expecting. No. Instead what he was greeted by was a significantly taller and much more muscular figure that'd filled out with lean muscles befitting a competitive swimmer in their early twenties, someone with powerful limbs, steely pectorals, a deeply entrenched six-pack and well... the things brushing against his thighs looked downright alien though they'd explain the deeper voice alright.

"I~ Wha~?" Lupin managed to stutter out before he began stumbling backwards, feeling faint as a vein on Lupin's left temple made itself known and the edges of his vision darkened. Lupin's strong legs gave out just in time for a nearby bench to catch him, the cold metal and plastic biting into his bare tush, though that same uncomfortable sensation also made the lad.... no, the young man, suck in a lungful of air that kept him from fainting just yet.

He was suddenly very quiet, even for Lupin, the realization he was naked causing his handsome, boyish features to glow bright red though he made no active attempt to cover himself up just yet. The marksman was still trying to process it all, neatly trimmed hair falling part-way over his eyes with a single streak of platinum blonde that'd no doubt catch the half-mechanized woman's attention as Lupin looked down to his chest. One finger traced down a roughly lightning-bolt shaped scar that looked slightly weathered by time, it looked nicely sutured and well taken care of but what had caused the mark that he now wore on his left pectoral?

Was this really his body? how long had it been? Where was he and was it Molotrolla's voice that'd startled him awake or someone else's?

Had someone else borrowed his body?

The only thing that Lupin knew for certain was that he felt sick to his core, wrapping both arms around his waist and crumpling forward into something reminiscent of a seated, unenthusiastic fetal position.

 

[Primitive Polygon]

Lulu and Molo

Sitting robust and rotund in the gloom, the single eye visible through the mousey tank's overgrown locks seemed to just focus out into nothing. Were they blind? Blinded? hacked? Remote controlled? On drugs?

They didn't say anything, just aiming their pistol at his general direction. Reacting to movement, mostly...

"...Downloading of an echolocation program has failed." A slow, irritable grumble. Ignoring him?...

The pistol in their organic left hand was shoved awkwardly into the three-fingered mechanical one on the right. They then ran their unoccupied digits up the back of their neck, establishing an apparently familiar grip around the boxy socket-attachment that jutted out of the base of their skull.

"I remember a Space Marine Lupin Adamska Kennedy... I destroyed the lower deck of his bed..." Her raspy voice whispered, still cold and to the point. "Data suggests he would not walk around without adequate insulating apparel! He was also less muscular! And shouldn't be able to see me in the dark! Data suggests you are not Space Marine Kennedy!... So-!..."

"...So, do not try and fool me, human!" The pistol traded back to the organic hand, snapping ahead with an aggressive zest. It was the first time their voice ramped up, though their imitation of someone gruff and intimidating was just plain mithering and squeaky. "My augmented body is a fortress of pure Zesuaium! My mind is a transhuman masterpiece of needle-point accuracy and intellect! Tell me what's going on, and stop trying to hide that weapon, or meet immediate thermal bifurcation!... You... you... big... organic... yammie-lookin' gorrila-shaped... twat!"

 

[SirSkully]

Tonk and Twunk
His own heartbeat pounding away deafeningly meant Lupin was really only hearing parts of the stubby tank's panicked warnings, spending a while hunched over in a ball and doing little more than focusing on keeping himself breathing, muscled back rising and falling with each lungful that was drawn in and released. It helped a little with the nausea and lightheadedness, though came with no extra clarity on whatever was happening around him, as much as Lupin wished it did.

Once the Marine was sure he wasn't going to immediately pass out he swallowed thickly, coffee-coloured, slightly chapped lips smacking together a few times thoughtfully before he spoke, "Weapon...? I... look Molo~ I don't know why I look like this," Lupin began, biting down into his lower lip with those slightly fanged teeth of his.

That small sensation was at least a nice and recognizable one amidst the soupy fog that his head currently was, elongated, predatory canines just shy of piercing the supple flesh of his bottom lip. Taking a moment longer to think about what he was going to say before committing to it.

"All I know is that I'm naked... confused, unarmed and that everything in my head is telling me I'm that same Lupin Adamska Kennedy you mentioned," he admitted, slowly and with a small wince at the end that spoke of how uncomfortable he was with it all, though his world had stopped spinning for a moment so the sniper craned his neck up to look at Molotra once more.

His thick-lashed, amber eyes widened.

Oh fuck, when did she get her hands on that pistol immediately crossed Lupin's mind, and suddenly her threat of 'immediate thermal bifurcation' made more sense, that made him a little more alert. In one smooth motion Lupin stood up, towering two feet over the stubby Freespacer with his eyes locked on her weapon, noticing her unsteady aim.

"Don't you point that thing at me!" his voice boomed through the small space before Lupin huffed and forced himself to speak quieter, not wanting to yell at the woman with a gun.

"Point your muzzle down, Molo, and we can try to figure out what is goin~ wait," the sniper cut himself off, following the small pistol's barrel past himself and off to an empty corner of the room bathed in that same orange light, frowning as his head panned back to Molotra with a curious little tilt.

"...what exactly are you aiming at?" The young man asked, narrowing the distance between them with a few small steps.

 

[Soresu]

The Possible Freezer Section of your Local Morgue

Carina's tantrum of kicking, drumming her feet against the relentless, stoic nature of the cold metal allowed another panicked sound and ragged breath. With a final kick, her toes brushed against a much colder metallic protrusion. On a bit of desperate reflex and a small shred of hope, Carina's small feet began feeling around the cooler metal until she found it again. With a small intake of air, the medic's mind was abuzz with an adrenaline high brought upon by her situation. Her heart pounded within her chest, the pulse of it a dull thump in her ears as she fumbled with digits not entirely meant to be used in this fashion. Betwixt two of them, she tried to cajole and twist whatever it was. As she did so and kept failing, that sense of hope and the thumping within her ears turned to frustration.

It was cool. A metal box. And judging from how she was settled, at the wrong end that contained a latch. With a final try on impulse, failure, and subsequent desire she could bring an arm up to her forehead, Carina had begun to draw the conclusion she was in a locker. And not of the public school variety. Her blind eyes flitted back and forth in the darkness. Resolving herself to try at the mechanism again, she was on the verge of doing so as the unfamiliar silence was suddenly met with a muffled sound from outside. Trying to focus upon this new, possibly lifesaving opportunity, Carina tried to position as the sounds drew closer. Then felt herself seeing stars as she banged her head against metal once the alarm had turned into a wailing shriek.

There had been a momentary pause as she went still. A sense of dread had started to make itself known to her in attaining that stomach flipping sense wavering between remaining quiet or pipping up once that voice, a woman's voice called. Even in her heightened state of feeling entrapped, some small part of her tried to take note of the distress laced into her voice. With a shudder, more from her cool confinement than what could possibly come next, Carina banged the heel of her foot again the other end of the box.

Raising her voice, Carina called: "Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!" another bang and a second. "In he'ah!" she tried to shout through the metal separating her and whoever the hell it was on the other side. "Get me out'ah this fuckin' lockah!" she ended it with a bit of pleading in her tone.

 

[Primitive Polygon]

Cafeteria

The problem with actively yelling at the tank was that it made their aim more accurate, darkness or not. They continued pointing the pistol whilst backing up blindly, soon passing back into a better lit area again, before reversing directly into a vending machine with a resounding 'clunk!'.

Looked behind them, agitated, then snapped back forward, now finally able to get a good look at the visage of their apparent assailant.

"...L...Lu-Lu-Pin... You look... Different..." Molotra spoke with that normal blank tone, with perhaps just a flash more recognition. They only stopped pointing the gun when they looked down, and discovered that he physically couldn't be concealing a weapon. "Ah... I see... your... configuration..."

Distant thudding of some sort?... Didn't sound like gunfire...

Looking at her pistol, looking at his junk again, and then finally cramming the laser back in it's charging pouch- The robotic arm reached into her backpack, whilst the left arm unbuttoned her jacket in a weird place below the right arm- Moments later, he had a one-sleeved jacked and a pair of panties thrown at him. The former was actually pretty warm, despite the fact it made him look like a yamanime protag. The latter had a large cutesy picture of a pineapple on the butt.

"It's cleaned." An unremarkable tone. "Think you are operating well enough to check that sound out?"

 

[SirSkully]

Twunk and Tonk
Now under slightly better lighting Molotra would see the reddened tone that extended from Lupin's cheeks to the top of his chest, with a frown and a wordless nod he accepted her offering. Lupin made short work of squeezing himself into the Freespacer's panties, obvious differences in size and anatomy meant that it was better than being stark naked but not by much. The jacket fit his lean, athletic upper body better - but it still fell short enough to leave the bottom few inches of his light-brown, taut abdomen exposed regardless of how many times he tried to pull the jacket lower.

It was an odd situation that just kept getting weirder and weirder with each moment that passed, finding some clothes that fit him would be a nice place to start, but that thudding sound was probably a more immediately pressing issue.

With a huff of defeat, Lupin's deep voice began speaking, "I'm fine physically so yes, we should," he agreed, offering Molotra a slight but grateful smirk.

"I'm at a loss at where to even begin... the last thing I remember is getting shot by one of those IPG bastards on the Kuvvie ship we boarded~ but clearly something has happened since then," Lupin explained, swallowing thickly while gesturing to the odd space around them before pointing at himself with a little shrug. He was about to turn and gesture for Molotra to follow along, but an idea stopped the marksman in his figurative tracks.

"...Wanna toss me your gun? your eyesight doesn't seem to be doing so good right now and I don't have a big metal fist so~"

 

[Charmaylarg Dufrain]

Carina.

Upon responding to the outside voice the follow-up response to Carina was a rapid series of crashes and unintelligible shouting that bordered on hysterics in its muffled tone. Several times the voice would seemingly crash into something and drift further away as she; Clearly a feminine voice, would seemingly lose itself.

After what felt like several minutes the owner of the voice finally crashed into Carina's prison with a startlingly heavy thud and a cry of alarm. For a few moments, all was silent until whoever it was thumped against the metal wall, confirming she finally found Carina's prison.

Any response she could have given to Carina came out unintelligible as the outside woman was sobbing more than using any actual vocabulary. The latch and door didnt open right away even after being found, however. The small hatch started making a grating noise like the other woman was first chopping at it and then what sounded like dragging a serrated knife against it before after a long and agonizing moment the hatch against Carina's feet actually budged!

Clearly some kind of spring assist feature was built into the hatch as it then swung open and hit the other woman Carina figured when the other woman shrieked in pain and there was a clattering as someone fell back.

Cramped from her confines Carina was able to slowly wriggle her way out and finally fall bottom first onto a hard tiled floor into a dark room of some kind. Upon appraising herself it was too dark to see just what she was wearing but she could at least tell from the texture and bagginess that she was wearing some kind of thin and baggy fabric trousers and top that felt oddly familiar but lacked any footwear or even socks.

Scrubs?

There was little light with the exception of a distant display that lit up a corner nearest her with a dim blue light. The display was a simple screen thermometer attached to what was obviously a corner cooler of some kind found in most large kitchens and some large morgues. In what little light it provided it illuminated a work surface with items on it too far to distinguish. If she chose to go towards this dim light or even fumble around in the dark she would first have to address the proverbial elephant in the room in the form of her savior.

Whoever she was, she was only just barely silhouetted by the light enough that her shape was odd, as if she was wrapped around herself and in the fetal position. She was sobbing quietly and was directly in Carina's path.

Lupin And Molotra.

With his enhanced night vision Lupin could at least guide himself and Molotra through what was clearly a cafeteria of some kind. Round tables devoid of anything but empty lunch trays with benches and chairs tucked into them littered the large room enough to fit a hundred people easy. At the far end they were approached by following the distant sound of commotion and a distant echo of unreadable voices lead him towards a serving area with a glossy sign that read in easy to understand trade with some underlined yamataigo underneath in an obvious translation of the above.

Employees Only.
従業員のみ

Looking around one last time Lupin could still see the other end of the cafeteria and a wider section that obviously lead into some kind of hallway. With the knowledge, there was more than one option of escape the two carried on.

For Molotra she could tell when following Lupin that the texture of the floor changed from a smooth and ungrouted tile into a more firm non-slip surface that her rubber treads gripped more firmly. The hallway they entered was short but went in a general L-shape before ending at a pair of double doors.

From the sounds of crashing and shouting and crashes on the other side someone was making quite a racket. Barely noticeable above the two a slight breeze from an airvent blew cool air on their faces and muffled the more sharp sounds from their destination; Leaving all a mystery on the other side.

 

[The KrimsonWulf]

Otto

The abrupt light, tore the man from his dream of his lover. and back to the last moments he had, that Damned Deuce stabbed him. his wounds or at this point scars, aching and burning. the man shot from his bed towards the shadowy figure his cybernetic eyes could only barely make out as they began to boot up, ripping the IV from his arm. the smells,sights,sounds and lack of proper clothing seeming to hit him all at onc." where am I?" was his only question, his tone betraying his current actions as he latched on to the arm or forearm of what he could only assume was a man and possible enemy combatant, planning on throwing the figure to the ground, his grip feeling slightly weaker than it once had been.

 

[Alex Hart]

Tobias And Otto

Tobias responded to the marine's attempted grab by ignoring it and leaning in and beginning to lift the older man. "The hell if I know," He responded, as he worked on getting the other soldier out of the bed and onto his feet. "We've got to move, wherever we are, and we need to get our bearings. This datapad might have something, but I'd rather have someone to watch my back while I take a look."

Tobias raised the datapad with his other arm so that the marine could see it, and then keyed a physical button on the side of the Datajockey to activate its flashlight to begin investigating around the room, taking a moment to give the other soldier another once over with the ambient light. The washout. He noted to himself. He'd have to be careful with an unstable and unpredictable comrade.

 

[Primitive Polygon]

Pretty boy and pocket panzer

"Eyesight? It's very dark. You don't remember getting infra-red bionics installed?" Molotra looked concerned, scratching the input ports on the back of their neck again. "Strange, you don't seem to have been physically altered recently..."

None of this made any sense. If this was the afterlife, it was written by a god that had only a passing, incomplete knowledge of their subjects. Somehow, the length of time alone was what made them suddenly question the situation more, as if they had simply taken for granted that this was a dream they would soon wake up from.

But they were still here.

"...My... My digital memory files have been tampered with... It is possible the same has been done to you." They spoke with just a little more apprehension in their voice now, looking off into the dark. "...But... But why? And why us?..."

Was the fact that they had been brain-wiped, but were still apparently sentient, better or worse?

"..T-The... gun... yes..." A more ponderous, fussing tone. She shoved the pistol towards him in earnest. "You can see better in the dark, so it is logical that you should have the long ranged weapon... Additionally, you should probably lead the way."

 

[SirSkully]

Tonk and Twunk
"Dark? I... huh, okay~" Lupin let out with a furrowed brow as he accepted the small pistol, very much not liking the idea that his eyes might have been tampered with, even if his mind may have been altered those orange peepers were the one thing the marksman thought he could rely on to get himself out of the situation and now he wasn't so sure.

"Only implant I used to have was my brainspider but now... I don't know~ if something did get installed in my eyes then whoever has done all this to us might be watching. If it means anything, I don't feel too different, just very confused," Lupin offered with a sigh of annoyance at how little he currently knew, hefting the small pistol in his hand to get a better feel for it before briefly patting down the jacket Molo had lent him, checking to see if there was anything in any of the many pockets that lined it.

"Yeah, yeah I'll take point, stay close," he agreed with a little nod before remembering that the Freespacer wasn't seeing the world in the same light he was, so the marksman instead made his way over to the "employees only" door, Lupin's panty-clad butt more or less at head-height for the small tank-lass as he slowly pushed the door open with his free hand.

In the back of his mind the observant young man noticed that there had been a Yamataigo translation on the sign, and made a mental note to keep an eye out for anything else that looked like it might point towards this place being Yamataian, despite the Nepleslian architecture they'd seen so far.

Well, he'd seen, the young man needed to keep reminding himself that Molotra was more or less trundling around in complete darkness.

 

[Gunhand4171]

The Tank

Sebastian's heart began beating in overdrive as he began to inhale the liquid he was surrounded in. It was draining to slow, and his leg was caught in the jagged broken glass. This was it, he was...

Fine?

He began breathing the liquid and cursed to himself. "Well that's great... now I'm gonna have to cough all this shit up when the tank empties..." he thought as he sat there floating in the liquid. Hot blood streamed down his injured leg and mixed with the cool liquid from the tank which slowly pooled on the floor below.

Now that the threat of suffocation had passed, he opened his eyes and tried to take in his surroundings.