Character lodge

[Kal]

K:  "Hm?  Oh...guess you saw that..."

*takes glove off*  It's...ah, it's a ring.  A wedding ring.  Happiest day of our lives...*wry smile*"

"The last time I saw her...was about ten years ago.  I like to wonder how she'd be doing.  I like to think that she'd keep it on, hoping to see me again sometime...heh, ten years is a long time, I wouldn't have blamed her for losing hope.  Couldn't blame anyone for giving me up for dead.  They all probably have, too.  I wish I could go back again...to spar with Jarek in the trees, to watch the twin moons rise over the Eastern Sea...to hold her one more time..."

*sniffs once and shakes his head*  "But I know I can't.  As long as Raj is still alive, we can't return, but I can't kill him so long as the Silver Demon exists.  So I know I'll never see them again."

"...And even if I could...I can't..."

H:  "...Can't what?"

K:  *sigh*  My wife...it was the very first Indwelling after the battle at Vukkan Piirj.  Almost exactly six months.  We...no one knew what was happening, not even Raj.  He didn't contain it like he did now.  He couldn't.  How could he?  It never happened before."

H:  "Kal-"

K:  "He killed her!  He killed Soraya!"

...

"We had 'Raj' cornered.  He was at least ten feet away from her, no one could've expected it.  She stood behind me, I thought I could protect her.  It was quick, lightning-fast, a flash of silver and she- fell.  Serris and I fought it with every ounce of our strength, and it was almost not enough.  At the last second, Raj grabbed the reigns back, but it was too late.  She was beyond our help..."

*fights back tears*  "I still remember the last thing she said to me, as she lay dying in my arms...'Forgive him,' she said, 'He doesn't know...'  And that was it.  She was gone."

*starts shaking*  "How she could still the good in him, I don't know.  I wanted that kind of forgiveness, but- I never could.  I can say 'I forgive you' all I want, I know he wasn't in control that day.  But...I can never stop blaming him for it.  Our wedding day was the first time I actually felt at peace since Raj's coup...anytime I was happy on that planet, something always happened.  And I can't help but point the finger at Raj.  How could she expect me to forgive someone who took everything away from me?!"  *closes eyes, breathes slowly*

"...Ah, sorry you had to hear all this depressing crap."

[Guest Whirlpool]

(Ooc: I think it's like, physically impossible for Holbrook to get depressed. But if it ever does happen, god it's gotta be REALLY bad.)

"Oh, he couldn't have taken everything."

K:"......"

"Here, let me show you something...Now....How did it go again....? *rocks back and forth humming* No, that's not it......*hums*...What were the words? *hums again*

Oh, here we go!

Count your blessings, one by one;

Count them all, not just some.

Make sure you don't leave any out;

Even if you have your doubts.

There's one for family, two for friends;

Three for the ability to make amends.

Four for food.....

Five for warmth and six for love;

Seven for things in the sky above.

Eight for a place to rest your head.

Nine for the kind word people have said.

Ten.... ...Can't remember ten.......But there's a ten in there, just so you know. And some people add more, but the first ten are in everyone's version."

"Who wants pie? Come get some before it's gone!"

"See? There's your Four right there *smiles* Now come on, let's go have some pie."

[Kal]

K:  "...Heh.  Alright, let's go."

"...Ten."

H:  "Hm?"

K:  "Just thought of a ten."

H:  "Really?  What is it?"

K:  "'Someone to vent to, a shoulder to cry on.'  *smiles*  Thanks."

(J:  "That...doesn't really fit the song.")

(T:  "Shut up and eat your pie.")

[Guest Whirlpool]

"Hey! Look who returns from great world beyond the stairs for pie!"

"So did you have better luck with a campfire?*takes plate with slice of pie*"

'"Mmyep....But wow, I haven't  made a pie from scratch in a looooooong time. It was one of those things I would do with my little sister, to keep her occupied while our parents were gone. Heh, it was kinda cute, how Cheche would be so careful about rolling out the crust so that she didn't tear it......Evers never wanted to do with it since he thought it was 'too girly', so Calder would take him outside and they'd climb trees. But the both of them would be standing diligently by the oven when I took it out....*reminiscing*"

[Kal]

J:  Really?  You didn't mention you had a family!

T:  What, you thought I just popped out of the ground one day?

J:  Uh, heh heh...

Nah, just kiddin.  Sounds like a big family.  How old're they.

[Guest Whirlpool]

"Mmm....well, back in our 'pie days', Evers was...about six, and Cheche was four. Calder was gonna be turning 20 in the summer. Deion was Calder's twin, but didn't hang around home as much...I had a couple older sisters, but they had already moved out. And there's Kadeem, the oldest of us all, he was gone before I was born....I haven't gotten to talk to him in a while....Anyway, now Cheche should be six, and Evers would be eight....

(Ooc:I never really give much thought to the exact ages of my characters unless it's really important, so this was kinda fun to toy with.  Cheche really was gonna be three/four though.)

[Kal]

J:  *low whistle*  Sounds like yer parents were bu-OW!  Hey!

...Alright, I deserved it.

Wait...you keep talking about just the kids, what happened to your parents?

[Guest Whirlpool]

(Ooc: Lmao. I know a lot of people who have a bunch of brothers and sisters. So I know the thought. XD)

"....What about my parents? They were parents. Raised us, taught us stuff, cooked, cleaned, worked. Parents. My dad would take some of us out hunting with him if we wanted to come, and my mom kept a garden. You could find Cheche there about 80% of the time. And we didn't have any cousins. My dad had one brother, married with no kids, and my mom was an only child. *eats some pie* You know, this reminds me......Can you guys *points at Raj and Revin* even eat anything?"

[Kal]

Unfortunately, I can't.  I have some taste receptors and teeth, but I can't swallow anything.  Which is depressing, as that pie looks rather...tasty.

Raj has one over me, for as you can see, I have no mouth.  The organic parts of my body are nutured by a complicated process involving-

J:  Yeah, yeah, I doubt the girls wanna know exactly how you function. 

...Do you?

I didn't mean anything by that question, just...well, you didn't mention your parents at all, thought it was kinda weird, like they weren't around that much.  Sorry. 

Heh, nice to know I'm not the only one who's had a relatively normal life.

[Guest Whirlpool]

"Well, you did only ask how old my siblings were....

Normal...Bah, normal is over rated. I don't like being normal. It's weird to be normal. .......So why don't you tell us about your "relatively normal" life, Jasho?"

"*has planted herself in front of Revin with obvious delighted expression* I wanna know."

(Ooc: Dude, 300! X3 )

[Four-eyed Vulpine]

So, um....has this "evil side" ever taken control of you?

Well, no, it hasn't, but it's come very close a few times...

There's got to be a reason behind all of this...

I'm sure there is, but things have been this way for SO long...I was probably too young to remember it.

Well, perhaps...*he starts to sort of stare at me in a sort of focused fashion*

Huh?  What?  Why are you looking at me like that?

Oh...ummm...sorry.  I was just...reading your ethical level...

What are you talking about?  My ethical level?

Yeah.  All dragonoids can sense the ethical levels of others.

So...you're a dragonoid?

Uh-huh.

Hmmm...so can you explain the whole "ethical level" thing you're talking about?

The ethical level is based on a color scale derived from the three major ethical positions--evil, neutral, and good.  The color red indicates evil, and it becomes a consistently lighter shade of red as one moves closer to neutral, before eventually becoming white.  Continuing past neutral, the color gains a bluish hue, and the blue darkens on the way to the good side of the spectrum.

Ah, so you can actually see a persons color?

With the right mindset, yes.  *he looks toward the group of people talking by the kitchen* I can also forward the image to your eyes too, if you want to see it.

Sure, but what exactly are you going to do?

I promise I'm not going to hurt you, but you'll see.  *he proceeds to focus on the group of people talking(i.e Kal and Whirlpool's characters)and places a hand on the back of Novar's head before switching to an ethical-viewing mindset.  In this way, Novar can see what Dragonius sees.  The surroundings are blacked out; all that can be seen are the silhouettes of the people in their color on the ethical scale.  Everyone over there is some shade of blue, or closer to white

That's...interesting.  Actually, it looks like a pretty cool way to find out somebody's intentions.

*to the group talking, we are just consistently staring at them*

[Kal]

*notices the staring*  Hey, you got a problem here?

K:  He probably means nothing by it.  Let it go.

...Hmph.  What're you look at, fleshbag?

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

J:  "Wha?  You wanna hear my story?  Ha!  Don't wanna bore you to death.

Ah...what's to say?  My father was Berean, my mother's Koulthan.  Bet you can't guess...*scratches ears* which one I take off. 

...Oh yeah, forgot you don't know what a Berean is.  We-ah, they're basically cat-people, more human than cat, I guess.  (OoC:  Think of the Woren clan from Breath of Fire.)  So there, now ya know.

Yeah, I knew Kal a long time, back before he changed his name, back before the Scourge took over.  He was the leader of our unit; once Raj took over, I...uh, well, Raj tells me I put my Zohda training to use as a merc for him, taking out several...ah, "radicals."  Truth be told, I don't remember much 'bout that, it's really fuzzy.  Don't remember much at all, really, 'til Kal showed up again, out of the blue.  First thing I can actually remember was seeing his face...I was bleedin' real bad, too, so...I don't know, Kal, what happened that night?

K:  You came at me with a vibrokatana.  Raj hired you to kill me.  I was this close to slicing your head off when you snapped out of it.

J:  ...Oh. 

K:  We were close, though, you know that.  I couldn't bring myself to executing one of my finest men.

J:  Heheh...But yeah, I helped Kal overthrow Raj and reclaim the throne.  After that...I left with the Scourge, hopped a Gullflight with Revin, and I've been helping run his, ah, business ever since, right pal?

R:  I took you in because I knew they would kill you.  Not because I liked you.

J:  Hee, such a joker...

R:  -_-

J:  I have to say, though, I have...one distinction, though I can't say I'm very proud of it.  I'm...

...Well, I'm the only "fleshbag" to make it out of...the Lab...*shudder*  I'd MUCH much rather not talk about that, thank you very much.

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

Really?  Well...the basic thing which you must understand is where we came from.  Our creator, Amedor Falmus, perfected a method to transfer the human mind into an electric signal.  The project was codenamed Project Scourge, hence our name.  The basic definition of a Scourge is a human, alien, or otherwise organic mind (and, some may argue, soul) transformed into programming to create something more intelligent than any AI created.

Now, before becoming a Scourge, the patient can choose which class he or she wants, the basic design for his/her body, and how much of his original body he/she wants to keep.  What they're not told before hand is that, more often than not, retaining one's body is considered a sign of weakness, which one has to work beyond.  In general, there are only two units with a relatively high organic percentage to reach the rank of commanding general, myself, and a Wraith named Malve.  In my case, about 25% of my body is still organic, underneath this armor; Malve is almost 75%.  He can metabolize like a normal creature, though one could consider me not quite as lucky.  Instead of eating, my fluids are connected to a system of pumps, vats, and filters that harvest waste materials, convert them into usuable resources, and then recycle them into my bloodstream.  Indeed, I do still have blood; if I were shot in the exactly the right place, I would bleed like a normal human.

Ah, I apologize, am I boring you?  Do not be ashamed to admit it, I'm afraid I cannot read fleshbags' emotions well.

[Four-eyed Vulpine]

*he looks down at himself; his body is switching consistently between red, white, and blue in this mode* Gosh...I can't figure out what I am...

*he takes his hand off of Novar's head, and his vision returns to normal* Yeah, that's what got me concerned.

See, that's why I need to be careful around people.  Outside, when I threw that snowball at her, I was trying to break out of the box, but it only sent me back inside with another face-off against my evil side.  I'm just scared to take those kinds of risks...

Well, do you have friends to talk about these things with?  I mean, if interacting with people is a risk.

*he looks down with a pause*  Not really...

[Guest Whirlpool]

(Ooc:......Now I wanna know, since you bring up that Jasho's half cat-person, just what does he look like?)

*is licking pie filling off plate* "....oh oops." *puts plate back down*"You guys sure drag quite an interesting history around with you...."

(Ooc: 'Ey look, it's General Grevious! ...Sorry, couldn't help myself.)

"*eyes are sparkling* *begins talking really fast* Technically,-being-25%-organic-would-make-you-a-cyborg,-kinda-right? But-wow,-I've-never-seen-organic-matter-and-machinery-working-so-well-together!

I-mean-I-know-I-guy-who-has-a-lot-of-robotic-limbs-at-Boss's-place;-he-says-he-got-them-from-being-'clumsy'-and-he-has-loads-of-problems-with-them-every-now-and-then,

but-that-stuff's-no-where-near-as-complicated-as-yours, but seriously, that is just awesome.*beams*"

[Kal]

(OoC:  Actually, I needed to draw up a ref for him.  Supposed to have it up by V-day, actually, for a contest.  ;; )

J:  Heh, yeah, you could say that.  Lotta **** went down after the Sahib crashed.  Call it fate, if you believe in that kinda thing.  But it's all somehow worked out to this situation.  I mean, lot of it didn't make sense when it happened, but now...heh, almost enough to make a guy believe there's someone in charge of it all, when you think about it.  I mean, hell, I like to think I'm the normal one out of the group, but that's up to you, I guess.

What do you think?  You think yer..."normal?"  Like you don't have a story?

T:  Well...yeah.

J:  Like I said earlier, everybody's got a story to tell.  What's yours?

(OoC:  You could say that, 'cept Revin's bigger than Grievous.  A LOT bigger.  He's at least twice Holly's height.  -_-)

Ha, if you want to call it that, yes, you could say I am a "cyborg."  You seem rather excited about this.  And mine is but an older model; several of the newer Scorpion classes have self-interchangeable arm attachments, transformers, if you will.  Lenart, a young lieutenant under me, has an arm similar to mine that could transform into a mini-M.A.G. cannon in under fifteen seconds.

I am hardly the most advanced of this group.  My race fine-tuned the bionic limb replacements; my body is merely an extension thereof.  I cannot live without my organic core, and without this shell my body would waste away.  A perfect harmony; a symbiote, if you will.

Although...if we want to talk...tell me, how do you think the Silver Demon works?  Let me hear what you think.

[Guest Whirlpool]

(Ooc: Hop to it Kal! HOP TO IT!)

"....No, seriously I don't. I've actually had a normal life. And it's boring to say the least. But if you want a story story, I might have one to tell, if you want to hear. It's kinda funny in a weird way; turned into a bit of a joke around the house because it's happened more than once...."

----

"Seriously? *almost falls over* I feel dizzy......How do I think the who does what now?"

[Kal]

J:  Hey, a backstory is one kind of a story.  If ya don't mind being put on the spot, let's hear it!

R:  The large silver blob Raj attacked you with during the Indwelling.  The, ah, "silver snot," as Lilacs has so eloquently put it, that you helped Jasho clean up in the kitchen.  Though it appears as though Ms. Trep would like to have a turn at saying something for a change.  Think it over a bit.

[Guest Whirlpool]

"....Back story? Alright, but it's nothing really special... So my family lives in a lodge, kinda like this one, in a thick forest. on the outskirts of a town. It snows a lot there in the winter. And I have four brothers, and three sisters. Kadeem, Calder, Deion and Evers, and then Kande, Nyek, and Cheche. We all went to the school in town, but we had to walk there. Other than to see the our friends, that was the only reason we went to town. We never really visited the store much, since my mom had a garden where she grew vegetables and herbs and my dad took us hunting like I said earlier. Normally it was me and Calder, and sometimes Nyek or Deion, but not often. Cheche never came; she can't stand the idea of shooting anything......Or eating them for that matter. She's more of a vegetarian, which is why she hangs out in the garden so much..... Dad would say that Evers was too young whenever he asked to come, but he'd probably be able to go now. So nothing really interesting happened, unless Deion counts as an event. He's the one with the stories.

One of them was when Cheche found a mouse in the kitchen, and so she called Calder "Caader! There's a mouse!" And when he came in, he looked at it scurrying around on the floor, and at Cheche who was looking at him expectantly. So he asked "What do you want me to do with it, grab it by the tail and eat it?" And who should walk in but Deion. He spots the mouse and on his way by, goes "Oh, a mouse!" grabs it by the tail and eats it, as Calder suggested. Needless to say, Cheche never complained about a mouse again since she didn't want to see someone else eat it. So I think it's Deion whose responsible fore her becoming a vegitarian.....

Now there's another story revolving around Deion, but I'll just give you the sparknotes version. Deion gets smashed at a party, and Calder helps him get home and all that...And then I wake up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water, and who do I see in the kitchen but Deion. And he's flirting with the appliances. Mainly the fridge. And Calder is over in a corner, with a video camera, recording the entire thing. Poor guy will never live it down. Especially not since it happened a couple more times after that. And now whenever he mentions a girl, at least one person asks if it's the fridge or if something else in the kitchen.

So yeah....There's my 'story'."

[Lilacs]

(OOC: God, I need a Computer over a my grandfathers, I missed out on 3 whole pages!)

Rink: *See's Riven* YOU!

Eh?

Oh-no, he's ticked off.

Rink: How dare you shoot at me, you large hunk of metal!

Hey, I was just doing what was right.

Rink: *Hits Revin*

wut?

Rink: Drake Call in a Battle Tank

Ho, boy...

And have it crush all in this town!

But Sir....

NOW!

Yes, sir

(OOC:Thorn Battle tank: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/49166677/ )

Rink: *Starts to storm out, put is grabbed by Raj*

R: Call it off

Rink: Let go of me!

Raj: Call of you tank thing!

*Lodge Begins to shake*

*Looks out a window*

Guys.......

[Four-eyed Vulpine]

You don't have any friends?

I try to be nice to people, but who would want to be a friend with someone who might try to kill them?

Hey, that's not your fault.

I know, but still.  It would be a risk for them, too.

I see.... <This is horrible...one has to have friends...still, I wonder just how powerful his evil side really is.  From what I can sense, it's a pretty evil side......I have an idea.>  I want to try something out.

What?

...I want to see how powerful your evil side is.

*he is taken by surprise*  Are you crazy?!  I could kill you!  Besides, you're still hurt...

Meh, don't worry about me.  I can probably take you on.  However, I guess I can wait until these wounds heal.  All I need is an underestimation of your power, and then I'd be screwed.

*suddenly the lodge starts shaking*

What the heck?

I hear something outside.  I'll check it out.  *he gets up from the table and walks to the door, then opens it and walks outside to see the tank rumbling toward the lodge*

[Kal]

How dare you shoot me, you large hunk of metal!

I did not shoot you.  You were shot because you chose to be a threat to this lodge and-

*punches Revin, shakes off pain

And you continue to choose so.  The tag was a warning.  You were not harmed, I presume, as Katara and Drake were not.

*grabs Rink by the wrist and lifts him up.

Let go of me! *stabs with tail*

*unfazed*  Now, I could cause you very much pain right now, but I won't.  Because I want you to know that I will do whatever it takes to keep this lodge and everyone in it safe.

This is your last warning.  Call off your tank before this gets...unpleasant.

H:  ...*whispers to Raj*  Where did Kal and Jasho go?

They...will be back.  *smiles, clutching a small sphere*

[Guest Whirlpool]

"*still looking out window**whisles* That is seriously one big ass tank.......*slightly evil grin*"

Don't be getting any ideas.

"........Damn....."

----

"....???"

[Lilacs]

Rink: NOT LIKELY!

*Something knocks on the door*

TE Rifle Grunt: Commander we're here!

Rink: Let go of me of I will order my men to attack!

Call off your tank and I will let you go.

Rink: Not until you let me go first!

Christ

*Looking out a window*

Wha-What is Kal and Jasho doing.

Don't tell me there going one-one with a Battle Tank.

H: Those guns will turn them in to little bits!

Rink: Waste of ammo my dear, its more like they will get run over!

[Kal]

Then let me make this decision easier for you.  *coats the back of Rink's head with Silver Demon*

Revin, you may let him go, but not before I tell you why you don't want to be running away.

What are you waiting for-AAH!

Hold your fire, or you won't see your commander again.  That's what I thought.  Mr. Rink, that "slight tingle" you feel right now is a Spider Drone boring into your skull.  As we speak it is currently interfacing with your brain, downloading your conscious into its transmitter.  All I have to do is let go and your soul ends up on a one-way trip to the Lab.  I cannot tell you what unimaginable horrors Mephaust will bestow upon you, a new species he's never seen before, and with such a high-priority tag, as well.  Let me make this very clear to you:  you have one chance to call off your battle tank.  You don't, I let go of this switch, you go to hell, and I give Kal and Jasho the go ahead to kill everyone on board that tank.  Now, before you make that decision, let me remind you that I would love nothing more than to give that order, but if you choose not to give me an answer, you'll sit here while the bombs drop.

They won't get within fifty yards of the tank!

Funny you should say that..."Where there is light, there is shadow.  Where there is Shadow..."  *smile*  Now, what're you gonna do, Rink?  Burn in hell, call it off, or stay here and watch the fireworks.

[Guest Whirlpool]

"*gives Raj a weird look* Lab? What is this Lab?"