Paradise Rediscovered

[Zaphyr Stone]

Jolene took the bottled beverage back with a smile. "I don't mind sharing if yours is nasty." she took a sip and then took his hand, "Come on then! The sand and shore await us!"

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Woo!" yelled Bohdan, being shot forward by Jolene as the two of them blazed past Jacob and out onto the street. The rhinoceros was caught completely unawares. "Apologies, friend!" said Bohdan, stumbling past Jacob. Jacob straightened his shirt and continued walking towards Komnenos Way. He saw a gathering of Zonessian citizens near its entrance. An police tank, a relic of the Lylat Wars, blocked the street, along with a barbed wire fence. The citizens were clamoring to enter, but an Avian police officer - a red-tailed hawk - shouted into a bullhorn that Komnenos Way would be closed due to a bomb threat. Jacob stopped short of the beginning of the crowd, and took shelter in the shade of an apartment complex.

[Zaphyr Stone]

Jolene hurried with Bohdan in tow across the catwalk and down to the hot white sands of the beach. The salty coastal wind blasted her fur, soothing her as she looked over the gently sloping shore. The water was a pristine blue-green, and felt soft and mild to the touch from just looking at it. Tourists swarmed the coastline with colorful umbrellas and swimming paraphernalia.

"It's beautiful out here." she sighed happily, "Wanna take a walk? We can put our feet in the water."

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Bohdan had managed to grab two towels from a stand at the entrance to the beach before he found himself at the water's edge. Laying out the two towels on the sands of the beach, he took off his boots and socks, and rolled up his pants up to his knees. He then took off his vest, and then his v-neck, and put his vest back on as quickly as possible. He draped his hood over his horned head, and held out his hand for Jolene to grab.

"A walk sounds great," he said smiling.

 

Meanwhile, Elizabeth awoke from a half-remembered night in a room she had for herself. She was wearing the same clothes she donned on last night: a t-shirt, leather jacket, loose jeans, and shoes. Plucking fractured scenes from the murky depths of her memory, she pieced together her night: heavy drinking, a bar fight, and Korben carrying her back to the hotel. She tasted her mouth, and blood ran down her tongue. Elizabeth wiped her mouth, and her hand was smeared with blood. She sat up, walked to the bathroom, and turned on the light. She noticed a cut on her eyebrow which was dry, and tended to by Korben. Her face was also graced with a black eye.

"Dammit!" Elizabeth cursed herself for her conduct.

She spat out the blood from her mouth into the sink, and turned on the faucet, washing her hands. Sighing, she splashed some water on her face. Walking out of the bathroom, Elizabeth took off her leather jacket and tossed it onto the bed. She found her sunglasses laying out on the nightstand, along with her personal effects: her wallet, car keys, hotel room card, and cell phone. She grabbed them all, placing them, save for her sunglasses, in the pockets of her jeans. She put her sunglasses on, and walked to the door. She closed it behind her, and headed for the elevator. Pressing the down button, Elizabeth stumbled back to the wall behind her, and leaned against it. Her face was still aching from the bar fight, which occurred for obscure reasons. After a few moments of waiting, the elevator doors opened, revealing an empty elevator.

"Agh, crap," she winced in pain as she walked into the elevator. She pressed the lobby button on the interface, and the doors closed. After a brief ride down, the elevator doors opened to the hotel lobby. She stepped out, and discovered a drink machine containing various flavored sodas. She was intrigued by the pineapple soda, and dished out a few credits to obtain it. Once she did, she twisted off the metal cap with her bare hands, and took a swill of the soda. She threw up a bit in her mouth at the simply disgusting taste that hit her tongue. This shit is not pineapple! she thought to herself. Elizabeth then noticed a potted Secundus fern, native to Zoness, beside a Hellenic-like support column. Covertly, she poured the pineapple soda into the dirt of the pot, and threw the bottle into a recycling bin. She turned back to the fern, and noticed it immediately starting to wilt. She hurried out of the lobby as quickly as possible.

Edited August 2, 2015 by Arminius H O Fiddywinks

[Zaphyr Stone]

Jolene smiled, taking his hand. "You know, I'm sure some people will wonder why you have your hood up at the beach. Personally, I think it doubles as some nice sun protection."

----

Ezra worked on a mango snow cone he picked up from a nearby stand as he walked past the string of hotels to get to the shopping center. The beach was a little too crowded for him, so he decided to do some browsing while he waited for things to thin out. His backup plan would be the hotel pool. There seemed to be something happening the closer he got to the gathering crowd. Shut down for a bomb threat? The hair on the back of his neck bristled. No thank you. Not sure what else to do, he turned back to a bench he had passed outside a hotel and took a seat to finish his treat. Perhaps by then, he would have a new plan of action.

[Shmibli7]

After twelve hours of guarding their ragged pillbox, the Destroyers were getting restless. They didn't want to be there.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

(You want action Shmi? I'll give you action!)

Bohdan, holding Jolene's child-like hand in his, began to walk down the beach with her beside him. "I just hope the authorities do not think that I am dealing drugs!" he joked, a little bit too loudly, for a pair of plainclothes secret police officers began to take notice of him.

The ocean breeze flowed around Bohdan, and fluttered his hood. The crashing waves collapsed in the face of the white sandy beach and the feet of tourist and Zonessian alike. Children could be seen collecting seashells, and Z-gulls cried as they used the warm upper currents of hot air to glide along the beach.

 

Elizabeth finally stepped out of the hotel, praying that no living soul saw her kill a plant. She looked to her right, and saw her good friend Ezra sitting on a bench in the shade, safe from the punishing tropical sun, eating a mango snow cone. She approached him, with the goal of starting a conversation. "Hey Ezra!" she said, somewhat excited.

 

Jacob stood in the shade for about a minute before the officer holding the bullhorn received a radio call from his earpiece: Venomian soldiers on the Boeotian Beaches! He immediately hopped into the police tank and stood in the hatch. Yelling to go in Aves (Italian) and pounding on the hull, the tank roared to life, and shot down the street at a startling pace. The Zonessians standing in front of the tank in protest had almost no time to react, and barely manage to escape from being crushed. Jacob was startled as well.

"I wonder what's got them upset..."

[Zaphyr Stone]

Jolene laughed out loud at the joke, oblivious to the attention her well-intentioned boyfriend had accrued.

"Watch out! The day is still young for that!" she teased. She took in the soft coastal air with a happy sigh, "I think I'd like to go for a swim when the sun goes down a little."

----

Ezra looked up upon hearing his name and smiled in surprise at the familiar face. "Liz! Hey you, fancy seeing you here!" he rose to meet her and give her a hug.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Hmmm..." uttered Bohdan, looking at the crystal-clear water. Various shark and otter people were swimming about in the water, not afraid to mingle with one another. A few years ago, the beach would be absent of one species or the other. Now, both coexist rather peacefully, but mostly not by choice. The LBMs (otters, platypuses, and other Zonessian mammals) spoke in Nutria, which sounded vaguely Castilian. The MAs (sharks, cetaceans, etc...) spoke in Selachii, which faintly sounded Greek.

"Perhaps you could teach me that," continued Bohdan. "Teach me how to swim. That would be a well-needed feather in my cap."

 

Elizabeth warmly received Ezra's hug, and sat down beside him. "How are you, man? Wow, it's good to see you here."

[Shmibli7]

Kimber lay flat on the ground inside the pillbox. "what kind of tactical significance does this beach have?" He asks. 

"I have no idea."Dae says, sitting against the wall. "Walt, get off of the machine gun. We're not killing civilians." He says, seeing that Walt's finger was on the trigger. 

Walt groans and reluctantly gets off of it, coming around to the center of the pillbox. 

"Hey, want to-" Walt says, but was cut off by a resounding "No!" by everyone in the pillbox. Whenever Walt got bored on a wait mission, he wanted to play "Firefight." A bit like paintball, except with live ammunition. 

Kimber then sits up with his legs crossed and pulled out his service pistol, pulled the slide back, locked it, and reached for his cleaning kit. He started greasing it,

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

A special Zonessian tank, operated by the Zonessian secret police, the ODA (Occhia D'Aquila, literally "Eagle Eyes"), approached the Venomian pillbox. The Zonessian government had the legal right, the willpower, the force, and the enthusiasm, to remove all Venomian military presence. The Venomians had wronged Zoness harshly in the Lylat Wars when they laid waste to its pristine tropical environment through heavy industry. Venom would pay dearly, no matter how small. The Zonessian tank approached the pillbox, and the officer standing out of the hatch gestured it to stop, and jumped out. Briefly inspecting the pillbox from no more than 10 meters away, he raised up his right hand to his head. Citizens ran quickly away from the tank, but were not startled. Some pulled out their phones and began to video tape the situation. The officer, in his grey uniform, smiled as he threw his arm down. Suddenly, flames burst out of the hull of the tank, where its defensive machine gun was originally placed. Officially, this tank was a CP Lanciafiamme, but most Zonessians knew it by its nickname: the Dragon.

The Zonessian bystanders cheered on in celebration as the Venomian imperialists were turned to cinder. The officer shouted in victory, holding his fist in the air. The tank spewed forth molten hot flames onto the pillbox, and in the opening. Fire overflowed out of the makeshift fortification.

"I suggest you try our barbecue!" joked the officer. "It's very delicious!" Bohdan, who was watching in the distance with Jolene, felt a lump develop in his throat. It has been a while since he saw such wanton destruction, and adulation for it.

"The planet may be beautiful, but the people are insane," said Bohdan quietly to Jolene.

Edited August 6, 2015 by Arminius H O Fiddywinks

[Kurt]

The old ACI transport was loaded with men, all of whom were ready to relax and enjoy their week long leave. There was talking of what they planned to do when they arrived, parties, resting, chasing girls. The craft banked left, preparing to land on an unoccupied strip of the beach when the pilot came over the loud speaker. "And if you look to your left," he began "you'll see how zonessians have their barbecue." Sven lifted his head at the sound. There was a tank roasting what appeared to be a hut. "Hey Jacob," he shouted over the noise of the engine to a dingo sitting across from him. "When we land lets go check that out."

 

"All right!" he shouted back as the transport landed.

 

 

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

The ODA officer glanced behind him to see a Cornerian transport drop off a load of soldiers. These men, however did not seem in a belligerent mood. The tank also noticed their presence, and turned 180 degrees. It rumbled towards the group of Cornerian soldiers, but the ODA officer ordered it to stand down. It did so, and stopped, raising its main gun. The officer approached the Cornerians.

"Good morning, gentlemen!" he said cheerfully, in his thick Avian (Italian) accent. "I'm sorry if you found that scene disturbing, but we had to do it. Those Venomians attempted to establish an outpost on Zonessian soil, but we showed them that we will no longer back down from them. I am Commander Lorenzo Selvo, the commanding officer of the Occhia D'Aquila in this sector of Themiskyra. I sense you're not here to fight, no?"

 

Sandor was finally awoken by his irate girlfriend, Teresa. He turned on his back to make eye contact with her. The sea otter jerked her head to the left, moving her short hair away from her eyes. She had a tomboyish look, wearing a tank top and an unbuttoned short-sleeved shirt, as well as loose jeans and boots. Her flat chest gave no impression of her gender. "Where the Hell have you been?" she asked, annoyed.

"Sleeping?" replied Sandor nervously. Teresa then grabbed Sandor by the shirt collar and led him out of the hotel room. He stumbled forth, closing the door behind him.

[Shmibli7]

Kimber lay flat as the pillbox burned around him. Walt lie burning beside him and he had no idea where Dae and Halley were. He closed his eyes and muttered prayers as he waits for the flames to engulf him when suddenly a hand grabs him by the shoulder and pulls him out. Once out, he opens his eyes to see a severely burnt Dae. 

"You alright, brother?" He said weakly in his thick accent.

"Yeah, I think." He said. "Where's Halley?"

"Over there." Dae says, showing him where she sat staring at the tank as it turned away. 

"Walt's dead." Kimber said.

"I know." Dae replied.

Kimber, in a fit of rage, leveled his assault rifle at the officer, pulling the trigger once and sending a concentrated tip of plasma into his neck.

"Now we find somewhere that will fix us." Kimber said.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

The operator of the tank was alarmed at his commander's shooting, and he popped out wielding a compact automatic blaster, ready to kill the Venomians. However, a deceptively strong beaver, Korben, jumped onto the tank and grabbed the operator by his shoulders, and hurled him like a doll over 10 meters away. The operator screamed as he was thrown into the windshield of a parked car. Korben jumped down from the tank, his white t-shirt, black jeans, and skate shoes barely blemished. "I'm a doctor," he yelled. He ran towards the Venomians, observing virtually all of the Zonessians run for cover. Stopping just short of Kimber, he put his hands up, showing he was unarmed. "You need help." Korben gestured to himself, signifying that he was all they were going to get.

[Kurt]

The group was startled by the tank that was meeting them. But even more startled when the officer that had ordered it to stand down caught a round in the neck. "Shit," Sven started "Venomians!" he shouted to the rest of the squad. Almost instantly every man pulled their weapons from where ever they had them hidden. One of the men, a rather short medic by the name of Denver, ran to aid the officer.

 

 

"Do not engage!" Jacob shouted "Everybody stand down!" slowly the group listened and followed the order. "Form a perimeter around their tank, and lets hope they didn't

 

bring any friends."

[Shmibli7]

Kimber, his hands still tight on his rifle, shouted. "Yeah, and you need to-" But was cut off by Dae pushing him backwards. 

"That we do." Dae said, unslinging his rifle and setting it in the dirt. He sits. "Are you going to do it, or are you going to show us where we can get help?"

"You're going to trust him?" Kimber asks in disbelief. "He's a Cornerian tourist."

"He's a Cornerian who hasn't pointed a gun at us. I think he's safe." Dae says. "And if he isn't... I'll snap his neck." He added, looking at Korben.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Korben chuckled as he set down his backpack beside Dae, whom he laid down. He took out a device that injected a pain killer, and administered the drug into Dae. Then, he took out another similar-looking device that administered a drug that aided the body's natural healing processes, and injected that into Dae's neck. Korben then took out sterile bandages and began wrapping them around Dae's burnt areas: his face and arms.

"You'll need rest," advised Korben. "Today was nice..." he muttered, standing up. Korben slung his backpack back over his shoulder.

[Shmibli7]

"Now what do we do?" Kimber said.

"What the good doctor told us to. Rest." Dae responds, getting up.

"Where at?" Kimber asks.

"Well, I've heard this place has some nice hotels." Dae says, walking up the beach with Hally and Kimber in tow.

[Zaphyr Stone]

Jolene watched the scene unfold in unease, sticking close to Bohdan. When the live ammunition round ensued, she tugged gently at his wing. "We should go. We can come back later when things have calmed down."

----

"It's good to see you too." he smiled as they sat back down on the bench, "I came here because of the amazing deals, but I'm starting to debate whether the pros are truly outweighing the cons." he motioned to the increasing heat of activity coming from the beach. "I suppose the silver lining is the unbelievably beautiful weather. And free snowcones."

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Bohdan concurred with Jolene: this beach was too hot. "I agree, we will leave." He led Jolene back to their towels where he had his shirt and boots lying.

 

"The snow cones are free?" Elizabeth asked, her ears perking up. "No friggin' way!" She glanced at the beach in the distance, where a tank burned a Venomian pill box. "Well, yeah, it sure is a fine day to turn people into crispy critters," she remarked comically in hopes to diffuse the tension. "Hey, you planning on doing something today? I'm bored."

[Kurt]

Sven had taken a posistion between the tanks treads and the burning bunker. Using the compact rifles scope he scanned the beach looking for possible enemy combatents when 1 person in particular caught his attention. He was about 70 yards away, and yet he still stuck out from the crowd. "No way," Sven thought to himself. Deciding to chance alerting anyone hostile he shouted at the top of his lungs, while still looking through the rifle scope. "Hey! Bohdan!"

 

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Bohdan turned to the direction of the yelling noise. He spotted a familiar face, and sighed.

"Jolene," he began, somewhat in disbelief, "do you remember that guy I arrived at Panera Bread with? That German Shepherd? Well, he is here." Bohdan motioned Sven to come to him. "I do not think he know that you and I are in a relationship."

[Kurt]

Laughing Sven began to jog over to them, breaking cover. He must have been an interesting sight running in the combat gear he arrived in. Once he drew closer he noticed Bohdan had a friend with him. "Hey long time no see! What have you been up to?" He paused a few feet away from them to let his breathing calm down. "I see you made a new friend." he motioned to the girl with him.

.

[Zaphyr Stone]

Jolene laughed at the man. He must have been a lot of fun to be around. "I'm Jolene." she held her hand out to him, "You must be Sven. It's nice to meet you. Bohdan's told me a bit about you."

----

"Well, I was going to go check out the beach, but it was crowded." he held out his hand and counted the possibilities on his fingers, "So I decided to g check out the shops and give it time to thin out, but the center's closed for a bomb threat. Now the beach is pretty much closed thanks to whatever assault just went on there. So now all I have left to do is go check out the hotel pool. I hear it has a sauna and jacuzzi."