RPGWW

by **Besyanteo** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 2:12 am

Enzo exited the flare drive, and after he'd gotten far enough from the others that he wouldn't be at risk to step on anyone, he returned to normal size. He then connected with Alexis and prepared to analyze any data she might obtain. He also sent Max and Emily a message:

While I appreciate how creepy that is, and it is very creepy... I don't think that Thirteen could have managed to become a virus infected zombie wunderkind that quickly. It's just... very hard to believe. Let's call it a bad nightmare for now, and try not to think about it too much.

He then switched back to regular speech:

"Alexis, do a little scouting, but just a little. Stay close enough to the group that you can get back in 30 to 40 seconds or less as needed, and rely mostly on your enhanced vision. Max or Emily, would one of you go with her? I can think of half a dozen ways you might be able to help her out. Lauren or Kid, too, I think. You can both be pretty effective guardians even without weapons."

He looked around briefly at their surroundings.

"If you find anything suspicious, come back immediately. Like you said, once we have topography we can start moving as a group. Everyone cool with that?"

Something occurred to him, and he resisted the urge to klunk himself on the forehead.

"Before we do that, though... I guess we need to vote if we're unlocking weapons now, or waiting til later, since we're out of the flare drive now. I'm not gonna vote unless there's a tie for some reason."

by **ChristianC** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 2:56 am

Alexis nodded quietly to Enzo, waited for a little while for people to settle the fact in before finding the closest ledge, downspout or anything else usable for ascension and she began to quickly climb the building. It was only a few stories tall, which she was thankful for, and as soon as she'd reached the roof, if indeed she did, she began to look out across the area they were in, trying to spot better perches for her to get a coherent view on their surroundings.

by **Shinigori V2** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 6:16 pm

Alexis walks to the building, and finding what appears to be a runoff pipe, begins trying to climb.

However, it feels like she can't get a good grip on it; weird considering her suit should be giving her the best possible grip she could ask for. Trying to scramble up the brick side isn't any better.

After a few minutes of trying, her internal systems do a quick calculation, and inform her she's trying to climb something that she can't, having only gotten a foot off the ground before sipping off.

by **Idran1701** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 8:24 pm

While Alexis tries to scout, Sam thinks on the matter of weapons, still staying at his smaller size for now. "I guess it kinda matters if we wanna think if Max and Emily's dreams are just a dream or not, right? Enzo's right that we should think it's just a nightmare for now I think, because how come they'd have a real dream. So I'm gonna say we should still leave them locked. Unless Alexis sees viruses or zombies or something."

by **ChristianC** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 5:00 am

Alexis frowned, rather upset with this revelation.

Looks like I can't climb the walls of this building... I'll try to find another one, or scout out on foot...

She communicated with the others, setting off to try the next building and, should that fail, to head out a bit around the area they'd arrived in.

by **Kelne** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 6:21 am

"Unlocked," Emily said seriously, "We may not have to shoot, but we should be ready to." She might not be able to convince the others of the reality of the dream, but she herself took it very seriously indeed. Maybe she shouldn't be thinking of the other wunderkind as zombies. Better to believe they could be cured. She doubted she'd be able to shoot to kill in any case.

by **Spleen** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 3:17 pm

Darren got himself back up to full size, too.

"My vote is..." He looked around and realized that they were not all still there. "Sorry."

My vote on the weapons is unlocked...that ain't a surprise for nobody, right? He chuckled.

by **Shinigori V2** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 4:01 am

Alexis scouts on foot, finding that something is blocking her from getting too high above ground level. It's weird, in that it seems more like the buildings are what's keeping her from climbing, and nothing else.

She does, however, get a quick survey of the terrain, simply by trying. She's not entirely sure how, but it's as if her senses connected with the system and gave her an overview of the 'lay of the land', as it were. To the south, there's a collapsed building completely blocking the way. They could make their way through it, but it will take awhile. The north, however, is clear. There are also a number of alleyways offshooting the main street, one of which the children themselves seem to have been uploaded into.

Also, each gets a very strange notification: They're the 100,000th visitors! ...Every single one of them. Each child has been forwarded 1000 credits to their names, the equivolent of a months work for, say, a worker at MacWendells. Not a huge amount, and they can't do much with it right now, but hey, they're...Winners?

(CHRISTMAS BONUS. Everyone gets +5 CP and 1000 credits, or the equivolent of 500 dollars. Too bad that you have nothing to spend it on. Yet.)

Map: http://www.mysidia.org/Storage/ChildsPlayCityMap.png

by **Idran1701** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 4:12 am

The message distracts Sam for a moment from the mission; he stares in surprise at nothing in particular for a moment or two before grinning, turning to everyone else in the group. "Hey, guys, I won something! I just got like a thousand credits! Wow!"

by **ChristianC** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 8:09 am

Alexis jumped as the message displayed right across her face, and she had to give herself a few moments before she managed to read it through, looking thoroughly perplexed.

I... just got the same message. Is it some kind of... virus?

She shook her head briefly, then decided to return to the others, her scouting having given her enough to work with.

We're in an alley connected to a main street leading north and south. South's filled with rubble, but we can go through there... north doesn't have anything as far as I can tell. No signs of life... or... zombies, whatever that is. I vote for keeping our weapons locked for now.

by **Shinigori V2** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 12:51 pm

Janet takes a minute to check things, before responding. I'm not voting, either. I've got weapon systems, but they're not my primary...Thing. Anyway, we're all clear of viruses, and...Well, our accounts with D-52 show that we have one thousand credits each.

Kid shields her eyes from the rain, lookng towards the rooftops, before she also chimes in. I vote locked. With as nervous as...well, a lot of us are, I really don't want someone to inadvertantly shoot anyone. I've already hurt enough of you as it is. As for the money, do we even have anything to spend it on? ...When we get back, I'm going to have to double time my training.

by **ChristianC** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 12:57 pm

Alexis returned to the others, looking a bit unsettled, not at all as confident as she sounded through non-voiced communication.

Good thinking, Kid. No signs that the area contains hostiles yet... but it can change. I suggest moving in groups of twos or threes until we find our bearings better... and keep constant contact.

She smiled at Kid and nodded her head a bit, We're not the same class... but I can try to help you when you train, if you want...

by **NebulaQueen** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 4:23 pm

I agree with Emily...and Darren, too, Silvie said. I think we should - wait a second, I forgot, give me a sec to get huge again.

Silvie took a moment to decompress and, after she was the proper height again, she took a moment to stretch her arms and legs. Yeah, that felt much better.

Anyway, we should be prepared, you know?

by **Besyanteo** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 1:17 am

Enzo tallied the vote so far: Silvie, Emily and Darren were for Unlocking weapons. Kid, Sam and Alexis were against. He and Janet were both abstaining, at least for the moment. Max and Lauren hadn't voiced a vote yet. 3-3, with at least two potential votes in waiting. He voice his thoughts:

Max, Lauren? What do you think?

Enzo appraised the map Alexis had provided him, and by proxy everyone else. It wasn't much to go on. He wanted to interface with the system, but wasn't keen on doing it before everyone got around to decompressing. If something went wrong, he wanted them all to be a reasonable size first at least. What's more, the represented system damage he was seeing was unsettling. If this was a failed attempt at hacking D-52, he didn't care to see a success. He waited for the group to settle the issue at hand before making suggestions about pushing ahead. For what it was worth, though...

When we do start moving, I agree with Alexis; We should split into groups, no more than three. We can talk about who goes where after we're done voting, though.

by **Kelne** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 6:49 am

Emily got the feeling the vote was going against her, but she waited on the final tally, decompressing heself and looking about at the ruined cityscape warily. Regardless of weather they were packing weapons or not, she was sure everyone would be on their guard.

by **Animala** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:29 am

Unlock. A few seconds is an awfully long time in a fight, and we should have everything we can get, you know? We have to trust each other. We're a team!

by **BrainWalker** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 6:03 pm

((sorry on dragging my feet. Life's been kickin' my ass))

Looks like everyone's gettin' back to regular size. Max follows suit. And gets 1,000 credits? What?

"Did we just get spammed? That's weird." But Enzo and Janet said everything was okay, so... free money? Cool.

Max listened to the votes coming in and the cases being made, and there were good arguments on either side. And then it came to him, 4 to 3. Great.

Well, it looks like we're pretty divided on the weapon unlock issue. There's good reasons for it and against it, but, personally, I think we should leave them locked until we know for sure if there's a threat that requires them. I know we're soldiers now, and I wouldn't mind having a chance to use some of that training, but... I dunno, I guess I don't want to be seen as just a new kind of weapon. There's more to being Wunderkind than shootin' people. At least, I'd like to think so. Besides, 10 seconds may be a long time, but with our scout, our intel, and our support here with us, what are the odds of any kind of threat actually getting the drop on us?

Max sighs. He talked the talk, but he was actually a bit bothered that Alexis was having trouble climbing stuff. That's what she does. The whole dream thing didn't make him any more comfortable.

I dunno. I'm not trying to say Emily and I are having prophetic dreams or anything... and I agree we should be prepared for whatever happens... but... I dunno, maybe I'm being melodramatic, but I'd rather be seen as Private Maxwell Hasting than Sniping Machine Prototype MAHA010.

Sometimes Max wonders if he talks too much. Casting a vote to make things a tie is essentially shifting the burden of choice to Enzo, and he felt a little guilty about that, but Max voted the way he felt. While waiting for Enzo's tiebreaker, Max decides to see if he can aid in the cartography effort by flying up for a better view.

by **ChristianC** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 6:42 pm

Alexis' eyes narrowed as she listened to the others. Max was taking a particularly long time in expressing his opinions, and she was getting restless. She looked at the rest of the wunderkind, shrugged and got up from the hunched position she'd been sitting in, stretching a little.

While we are deciding, I'll continue scouting ahead. I will take the route south, see how far I can get into the rubble. There are more alleys on the eastern side of the road, I don't know how far they stretch... I'll make sure to stay within radio-contact.

And with that the ash-haired girl was gone, out of the alley and half-spurting, crouched, down the street, zig-zagging between rubble, climbing, jumping, crawling and making her way through it like a ghost, blood-red eyes open and attentive for anything out of the extraordinary... then she was suddenly even more difficult to see, as she'd willed the colors of her armor to shift into an urban rubble-camo design.

by **Shinigori V2** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 8:06 pm

Alexis runs, and darts into the rubble, but can't get terribly far before a solid wall of it blocks her way. By all appearances, it seems like one of the larger buildings has collapsed into the streets.

Further, she finds that she can't shift her suits color on the fly; at least not alone. Maybe Janet could help out with that.

----

Janet puts her hands on her hips, and looks to Enzo. "It looks like we're tied again. I think that Max is pretty right, I really..Just don't want them to think that we see ourselves as walking weapons platforms. Because...You know, we're not. We're people. We're kids, even."

by **ChristianC** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 8:35 pm

Alexis scowled as she tried to move around the wall for a bit, then she gives a little shrug and begins to head back to the others.

Sorry for interrupting... but south looks like a dead-end. And Janet... do you think you know how we can unlock the colors of our uniforms?

She proceeds back slower than she left, hoping they'll decide on whether to unlock the weapons or not before she gets there.

by **Shinigori V2** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 8:45 pm

Janet responds fairly quickly. Yeah, I can help you guys switch your colors. Just let me know what you want, and I'll switch you as soon as you get back.

by **Besyanteo** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:34 pm

Well, darn. He was hoping that there would be more of a group consensus. Partially because that would make things a bit more harmonious, but mostly it was because if they needed the weapons and didn't have them, and Enzo voted down the weapon unlock, at least half the group would have reason to be mad at him. He didn't want to cause trouble, and really didn't want anyone being mean to him... But he also needed to stick to his lack of guns, for now. The adults had said only to use them if absolutely necessary, and they did what they could to be clear that they meant it. He made a face.

Alright. Everyone knows what I think about this already... I'm voting to keep weapons locked, for now. We'll turn them on later if we're sure it's necesary.

Enzo waited for the angry reprisal he hoped wouldn't come.

by **ChristianC** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 11:04 pm

Alexis approached the others again, as silent in returning as in leaving, taking perhaps some satisfaction in her ability to surprise, hopefully, at least some of her friends.

Then it's settled... but at the first sign of danger they will be activated, I hope? Perhaps we should have some kind of code-word...

She scratched her chin a bit, intensive eyes turning to look at Janet.

I'd like some kind of camouflage pattern to my uniform... I think I know what colors to use... but I can't change them like I could back in training.

She shuffled slightly, looking at the others. Surely they couldn't get mad just because the weapons weren't unlocked right now, right this instance? Well... she'd voted on what she thought most reasonable, but something in her stomach told her she'd be much safer if she had her weapons, diminutive they may be, now instead of ten seconds after she saw whatever threat was coming for her.

by **Shinigori V2** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 11:29 pm

Janet waves Alexis over as she returns, and begins working to change the colors of her sister's suit. I would've voted no, so we're effectively 6 to 4 right now. I think we should start looking around, but I'll keep a personal link with Alexis so that I can act as recon. I won't be as good, but I can piggyback on her senses. Are we breaking into teams, or what?

As she speaks, the colors of Alexis's suit begin to change. They remain solid, but become a shades of blue-grey, just without a camouflage pattern. "Sorry," Janet whispers, "I don't think we can do camo yet."

by **NebulaQueen** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 11:41 pm

Silvie pouted and crossed her arms, and said, Just because they're unlocked that doesn't mean we're just gonna go shooting everything. She she lost the vote, but - but it was just unfair! She and Lauren and everybody else who voted for it were right, and she knew it.

by **ChristianC** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 1:09 pm

Alexis smiled at Janet, a little shyly perhaps, as some of the 'normal Alexis' seemed to shine through behind the serious game-face.

"I-It's okay, I'm g-glad you managed to change something, don't f-feel sorry about it." she squeezed her sister's hand.

It's been decided now anyway... but the first sign of danger and tell everyone.

by **Shinigori V2** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 4:11 pm

As the other children talk, Max flies up, finding himself..Just a little above the skyline. Only a slight bit. His range of vision isn't as good as Alexis', but he can see something just beyond that huge pile of rubble she was blocked by. A mostly intact 'building', but he has no indication of what would be in there. He can see to the north, as well, that there is a building that remains mostly in one piece, enough that they should be able to access the files those buildings represent without much problem.

To get more, he'll have to figure out how to get Alexis up there.

by **BrainWalker** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 6:03 pm

Max was actually kind of relieved that the nays won the vote. But that meant he had to be especially vigliant, because he'd really feel like an ass if something actually did get the drop on them. Therefore, he was glad his flight was working properly, even though Alexis seemed to be having trouble climbing. There's only so much he can see on his own through the rain, though, even with infrared.

Looks like there's two buildings of note in the area; one just past this pile of crap in Alex's way, more-or-less structurally sound, and another in the opposite direction that is likey a lot easier to get to. Not quite as structurally sound, but still accessible. I'm sure Alexis would be able to tell us more...

Max begins his descent, and decides to move closer to the building Alexis was trying to climb. He reaches out to touch it, and it feels... like polished marble. The rain certainly isn't adding any friction, either. "Well, that explains that," he says to himself.

So how 'bout it, 'Lexis? You up for a lift?

by **ChristianC** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 6:25 pm

Alexis looked up startled at Max, flinching almost, as he adressed her, and then blushed a little;

"W-w-wha? I-I..." she cut herself short, realizing she was speaking, and then took a deep breath, a sorta determined look on her face, even if it was obvious that the prospect of flying wasn't an entirely entailing offer.

I... um... yeah, sure. I think I'll get a better grasp of the land from up there... sorry.

by **Idran1701** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 6:47 pm

Seeing that everyone else is after all, Sam grows himself to full size and grinning as he does - it just feels so cool!

Once regrown, though, he heads over to Silvie, leaving the others to worry about the flying and scouting for now. He is sympathetic to her for losing the vote, and it shows on his face, but it was a vote. "Sorry, Silvie, but yeah, Alexis is right! If we see anything dangerous then we can unlock them then for sure. You're not really mad, are you?"

by **Besyanteo** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 1:59 am

Enzo nodded to Janet. It was time to get moving in earnest, and it would help if people had some direction to move. He decided that for now, two teams would be plenty and still get the needed work done, and they could form back up as necessary.

"Ok, here's what I think we should do... Janet, Alexis, Max, Lauren and Silvie should be one group, and Me, Sam, Emily, Kid and Darren would be the other. You five will go... uhm, I guess we'll call it 'south', though I'm not sure that really applies here... and we'll go 'north'. I can keep us in contact, and Janet, Alexis and Max can work together to get some better scouting done. We can try to explore the big building up north. If we don't learn anything soon, I'm going to try interfacing with the system, but I want to avoid that if we can find out what's wrong without it."

by **Kelne** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 5:49 am

"Sounds like a plan," Emily said. Wandering around an abandoned city wasn't going to be much fun, but it sure beat standing and waiting for the infected wunderkind to come to her. She planned to assume they were out there until they had definitive evidence otherwise, even if she wound up looking a bit silly. She was also giving serious thought to how they were going to deal with them. She didn't have Kid's skills in martial arts, so she was just going to have to be creative.

by **BrainWalker** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 11:02 pm

Max gives Enzo a nod. He would have suggested they split into teams anyway. Good to have the division taken care of already. Although he wasn't entirely sure how his team was going to get through that rubble.

But, first things first.

"So, Alexis, how do you want to do this? Should I just take your hands and pull you up, or hoist you up by the pits, or what? Piggyback would be awkward, what with the back-mounted thrusters and all."

by **ChristianC** » Fri Jan 01, 2010 3:13 pm

"Um... ah..." Alexis looked a little more bothered with the whole idea, squirming awkwardly. "Erh... m-m-maybe if... uh... um..." she glanced at the others, lips trembling a little... "um... by the h-hands?"

by **Idran1701** » Fri Jan 01, 2010 3:53 pm

Sam nods to Enzo, heading over towards him and getting himself ready to head out. He turns to the other team, waving. "Good luck, guys! An' be careful!" With that said, he looks to the north, at the building they're heading to, examining it for anything that might catch his eye even this far away.

by **BrainWalker** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 6:47 pm

"All right then. Let's do this."

Max raises both arms up and spreads out his fingers and nods in Alexis's direction. "I need you to do this." He then flies around behind her and grabs her arms just below the wrist. "Now I need you to do the same."

"Okay, you ready? Let's see if this works. Hold on tight!" Max attempts to carry himself and Alexis to a suitable height for scouting.

by **ChristianC** » Sat Jan 02, 2010 8:12 pm

She would never be ready. Sure, she could jump pretty high. and she'd climbed high things... but flying... that was just... not really her thing, see? So when she gave Max a mute nod, and raised her arms, her heart... well, whatever simulated her heart, was literally crawling up her throat as she held on to Max's wrists as if her life depended on it. Her eyes were wide, wide open, red dots of terror as she stared at the rapidly descending ground.

No, she really didn't like flying.

by **Animala** » Sun Jan 03, 2010 8:50 pm

Lauren sighed and wondered about the others who had voted against it. Had they never been in a fight before? Kid had been the real surprise. She was so talented, so good in those movies, but when it came to a simple choice to be prepared or not to...she had voted to be vulnerable. Maybe she had never had to fight for real?

Ambassador Leafshade up Lauren's jumpsuit and brushed against her ear. Oh, that's right.

"Hey, uh, I'm gonna try something with Ambassador Leafshade, so don't be too surprised this time." She set the Ambassador down on the ground, closed her eyes, and tried to think the Ambassador bigger.

by **Animala** » Sun Jan 03, 2010 9:47 pm

It was immediately obvious that this was not going to go as planned. Shrinking had been easy: she had imagined herself smaller, and then she was. The only hard part had been separating the "Ambassador Leafshade" part from the "Lauren" part. But imagining the Ambassador bigger didn't do anything. She could clearly see in her mind's eye how awesome that would be, but she could feel that nothing was actually happening. The harder she thought about it, the more clear it was. Everything was telling her that it was impossible.

She frowned in disappointment.

And yet...that was just it, wasn't? It felt like everything was telling her that it was impossible...

She bit her lip in concentration.

...but that didn't mean she had to listen.

error on line 28722 wrote:Invalid function call

Maybe it was silly and selfish, but she wanted to do this.

Lauren opened her eyes and glared at Ambassador Leafshade.

warning on line 34193 wrote:Parameter out of bounds

How many impossible things had happened already, just today?

The Ambassador stared back, standing stock still with only her whiskers twitching.

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A fragment of certainty drifted back up to her from last night's dream:
I can do anything now, really.

Soft blue and pink lights flickered in the air around Ambassador Leafshade as she slowly expanded to the size of a dog, her and Lauren's faces locked in concentration. The lights faded, as Lauren let out a breath and sat down heavily. "Wow."

She felt like she had fought of six people, and then spent two hours trying to argue her way out of detention for it.

by **Shinigori V2** » Sun Jan 03, 2010 10:14 pm

Max takes his sister in hand, and the two fly up to the rooftops.

She's heavier than he expected, but with a little strain, he can hold her for a moment. Or, he can put her down on one of the roofs and leave her to her own devices.

---

Janet watches as Leafshade expands, and comes over, looking concerned. "Are you...Okay? I got a few errors, but..I mean, you're both checking out okay."

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