Sylvetican Strife (Round 1: Sylvetican Orientation)

Wind whistles through the ruins of a once-great city, shifting gravel and rusty pieces of stone, and kicking up storms of the scarlet dirt that now covers almost everything. Each of the ten Players would find themselves in a different place but relatively close to eachother; it could be on the street, in the dark basement of a home, or even on an upper floor of a barely-standing building. An unknown source emits a gentle humming. The black haze characteristic of a pack of Outsiders begins to pour in through a nearby window. You hear something nearby—could it be another Player?

If your name is Ashley or David, there is a nice pair of boots conveniently situated somewhere nearby. This may or may not mean anything to you, depending on your situation.

Above, in the Vault, the Warden waits by the window. The game is afoot; she casts her gaze over Sylvetica, briefly squinting in search of one of her combatants, before turning and beginning to make her way to the plateau outside. She takes one last look, with an expression both somber and satisfied. She's sent the Players into hell, but she'll be waiting for them to be whisked right back to the Vault at the advent of the first major problem.

The remaining nine of them, anyway.

ROUND ONE: Sylvetican Orientation
Objectives:
*Become familiar with Sylvetica.
*Find useful technology for yourselves or the Warden.
*Eliminate your opponents.
All of the rules of Sylvetican Strife now apply, I guess. Reserve posts as you wish, and whatnot. What kind of technology remains in Sylvetica, and can still be used? What did the Warden mean by “defense systems”? It's up to you guys to come up with all of that—the Outsiders are also yours to command as a story element. I think in the end, our goal is to make something we can all be proud of. Let's get this show on the road.
No godmodding, guys. kthx

Spoiler:

Dark. Dark is bad. Dark means I can't see which means I don't know what's happening which means ANYTHING could be happening.

Then I guess it's time to wake up Ashley. Wake up.

Ash opened her eyes for the second time that day. She was lying down, on her back, looking up at some awful ceiling. It was a faded shade of olive green. it reminded Ash of the guard's uniforms back at Iron Grove. Deep inside her, something retched in her stomach.

She sat up from her position on her back. Her head stung from the sudden motion, but it was something she'd have to deal with. The game was on now.

For a moment, Ash remembered the time, just after her incarceration, the asylum took its patients on a group outing to a nearby park. They all played tag together in a forest of densely packed trees. Probably scared some nearby children, but, what can you do. Ash couldn't remember who won, or really, if that day had even existed within her damaged psyche, but she did remember that same sense of competitive thrill she was feeling now. In this game, she didn't really know who was "It." (Most likely the Warden if she really thought about it.) But she did know that being tagged was probably something to avoid.

Ash's eyes adjusted to the brightness of the area she was now in. Light from the large picture windows in the ceiling reflected the shiny surfaces of the metal tray next to her, and indeed, every piece of equipment in the defunct cardiovascular wing of this abandoned hospital had a certain chrome gloss to it.

Ash hopped off of the gurney she had been lying on and landed on her feet, steadying herself against the tray. The gurney rolled behind her before running against a door, stopping. Ash looked around the room she was currently in.

In the center or the room was a larger gurney than the one she had awoken on, almost a bed, but it had no sheets, pillows, or anything else indicative of one. Large lights were all focused around it, with several larger metal trays surrounding it, and a few toppled IVs. In the upper sections of the room were balconies, revolving around the center of the room. Ash had visited her father's hospital at one point in her childhood, and for all intents and purposes, this was an operating theater.

Ash spotted some brown leather boots next to the IVs. She smiled happily and walked over to them. They were pointed at the end, and had straps for wrapping around the users legs. They looked a bit like what a ballerina would wear if performing a tribute show to Lady Antebellum. Not that Ash had any idea who or what Lady Antebellum is, or was.

After she had wrapped the straps around her legs to her satisfaction, she was satisfied to find they were flexible enough to pirouette in. She thanked the Warden for small favors. Next to the central bed was another surgical tray, this one containing some tools on it. Most were foreign to Ash, and looked like pasta making implements, however, she picked up a largish scalpel and placed it in her pocket, along with what was labeled a "Dimensional Abnormality Remover." This one was long, steel, with some sort of strange glass orb on the end. it had a slot for the placement of some sort of power source, which was for now, empty. The thing came with no instruction manual, so Ash was not aware of its use. She kept it anyway, out of compulsion.

Ash left the theater and explored out the hallway the door led to. She tested out her voice, shouting "Echo!" down the corridor. She got no response other than her own voice, a good sign for now. She was completely alone. Except for Fiona, but, that was different.

Most doors in the corridor were locked, save for one. This was what was once labeled the "Automatic Doctor Room," but due to wear and tear, the fallen metallic sign now read "tomato room." Ash shrugged and walked inside.

Inside the tomato room were a series of metal tubes, person sized, that stretched the length of the ceiling to the floor. They possessed sliding glass doors on the front, all closed. Ash cupped her hands to her eyes and peered inside one. A series of robotic arms equipped with medical tools all lay hanging from the inside, broken. There was also a skeleton lying dead on the tube's floor, which was foreboding, but had no current usage to Ashley. Dead people can't talk.

If Ash had to guess, this was some kind of robot healer station, but it did no good for her now with no power.

Wait, no there, the one at the far end. It's working. See the glow?

Ash nodded and walked to the one Fiona referred to. This one had a door open, and Ash now noticed what she didn't see before. A small square port where a keyhole should be on the door, similar to the one on her "DAR," which is what she would call it until she could come up with something better.

What made this one noticeable was that it had something inside it. Ash's hands pried inside the port before finally removing a small blue crystal. The tube stopped glowing, and the glass door slid shut.

This has gotta be what she was talking about.

Ash fondled her new possession as she left the tomato room and went back into the hallway, she spotted a small dead mouse on the floor near a foot cart.

Curious, Ash took the small crystal from her pocket and loaded it into the DAR's port. The glass orb on top lit up slightly, not to full power, but usable, for now. Ash marveled in the green glow it produced. On a whim, she pointed it at the dead rat, pressed the button on the side, and said "pchoo."

To her surprise, and with an audible pop, the rat disappeared from existence.

A monstrous groaning noise flooded the poorly illuminated room. It was apparent that someone or something lurked beyond the damaged walls of the broken room Yggoc now found himself in.

Leaning against one of the nearby walls, Yggoc attempted to gather his thoughts; the wall began to creak and dust slowly fell from the large cracks in the ceiling. Yggoc moved away from the death-trap he was resting against, deciding that between the “thing” outside and the structural integrity of this building, this was not where he wanted to be.

Yggoc tilted his head upward; a small window provided the only light source throughout the room. “This won’t do,” he thought to himself. A small flame appeared in the palm of his right hand, and the shadows occupying the room vanished, revealing a bare floor. The room was empty, bar a small, three-legged stool.

“Worthless, but at least I can see.”

Yggoc scanned the room, searching for a means of escape. A small, impassable hole in the lower-right corner of the room was all he could make out.

“Damn! I’ll never make it thr-.”

He was interrupted by an inhuman growl. The source of which, he knew was right behind him. Could this be the “Outsiders” the Warden had mentioned? If so, he was in for a tough fight.

He turned slowly, only to be met by a tall, shadowy creature. Its face devoid of expression or emotion. His stomach sank. Before he could unsheathe his sword, a huge claw swung straight for him. He darted back, escaping decapitation by a mere fraction of a second. His foot caught on the stool and he thumped to the hard ground beneath him.

“The only thing in the damn room and I manage to trip over it!”

He managed to scramble to his feet. The creature made a second attempt and lunged toward him, screeching. The creature’s attempt on Yggoc’s life failed, again; although it managed to tear the fabric on Yggoc’s left arm, revealing the silver armour that lay beneath.

The creature was insanely fast, thwarting Yggoc’s attempts to out manoeuvre it. He decided that since he couldn’t escape it, he would have to fight it, one-on-one. He unsheathed his blade, performing a few stylish twirls, before it finally came to rest in his hand.

He let the beast make the first move, which he knew it would. The creature seemed, although fast, very aggressive and volatile, thus making it prone to extremely uncoordinated attacks. As predicted, the beast dashed toward him, brandishing its needle like claws, it let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Yggoc moved swiftly out of harm’s way. The beast came to a halt as it crashed straight into one of the more sturdy walls. This was his opportunity. Yggoc pierced the blade straight into the creature’s back, the creature didn’t scream nor writhe in agony - it simply dissipated.

Yggoc collapsed to the floor and sighed with relief. He noticed that a large hole had now appeared where the creature had “become acquainted” with the wall. Still, it was not wide enough for him to escape through.

He was tired of waiting for more of those “things” to arrive, and decided he needed to leave, as fast as possible. He conjured up a steady ball of flame, and blasted his way through the already made hole. Light swept through the room as the rubble came to rest. The hole revealed a dust-ridden, city street, littered with the dead, rusted metal bodies of disused cars, buses, and bicycles.

Yggoc squinted as his eyes adjusted to the newly found light. He clambered over the large piles of rubble, coming to a stand-still in the centre of the street.

“Guess I’d better get to work.”

Daniel closed his eyes. For a moment, he felt like the Warden took him to Earth. It wasn't Earth, though, and Daniel knew that. All he had to do was open his eyes to see the proof. Lining the street on either side of the house were demolished and desecrated buildings. He figured they were once houses, too. Somehow, the one the Warden sent him to stood the test of time better than the rest of them. Across from the house was a large hospital that was in relatively good condition. He made a mental note to explore it later.

He walked inside the house through the balcony door and saw a single room. The room was only lit by the natural light that flew in from the open door. In one corner was a dirty bed and in another corner was a staircase. He could see that there was artificial light that lit the floor below. The room he stood in smelled of rotten food, but strangely there was no food in sight. Daniel figured that something had recently pillaged the house for any sustenance.

He descended the staircase and found another one-room floor. The room was strikingly similar to the one above it. There was another bed in the corner, a door at the front, and another staircase in the corner. Above the bed was the source of artificial light; a lantern that well-illuminated the room. The door led outside and, Daniel figured, the staircase led to another floor below it. A basement floor or a storage floor. Strangely, there were no bathrooms in the house. He guessed that the bathroom was an outhouse in the yard. So what was this house? Some type of poorhouse for a poor Sylvetican? Maybe the hospital across the street was a free-clinic of sort and this was a poor Sylvetican neighborhood. Why not?

He walked over to the bed in the corner and examined the lantern. The fire was encapsulated by a crystal-shaped glass container; the fire could be lit through a small glass door in the front. Daniel jumped as he heard a pitter-patter of scurrying feet from below the bed. He grabbed the lantern and set it on the ground when a jumped from beneath the bed and ran circles around Daniel's feet. The creature was knee-height, black, and stood on four legs. If he had to compare it to any Earth animal, Daniel would have called it a very large rat. Daniel stepped away slowly, making sure not to trip. The creature seemed to be satisfied that Daniel stepped away from the lantern and thus returned to below the bed. Daniel knew he would need a light to explore the basement. He reached for the lantern again when the rat jumped from beneath the bed and yelped at him in a very un-ratlike manner. The yelp was more like a human scream that caused Daniel's stomach to fall. Against his better judgment, he tried to ignore the rat and grab the lantern anyway. In response, the rat tackled the lantern and knocked it over, breaking the glass that contained the flame.

Daniel jumped back quickly as the floor quickly caught fire and the fire spread. Automatically, Daniel continued to back toward the door as the flame blocked entry to the basement and threatened to engulf Daniel in seconds. He clenched his right fist and commanded time to stop for him long enough for him to escape. He exited the house, released his hold on time, and stood mesmerized at the fire. In a matter of seconds, the flame engulfed the house and collapsed it. He saw the ratlike creature jump from the flaming debris of the house, unharmed, and scurry down the street. Once the creature was out of sight, the flame went out.

Daniel felt suddenly stupid as he realized for the first time that the creature was an Outsider. This Outsider had some control of the lantern or magical fire of some sort. The fire had spread too quickly and had extinguished suddenly; much too quickly and suddenly for any normal fire that Daniel had seen. He had tampered with a possession of the Outsider and, as a result, he was almost burned alive. If he had not had his Timefist he probably would have been. He thanked the device for saving his life.

He turned to the hospital. He felt as if he failed a challenge. He almost didn't stop time quickly enough and he didn't even find any crystals inside the house. Maybe there were some in the hospital. There was bound to be something useful in there. Maybe he could still salvage some nice piece of tech or some crystal for the Warden.

Daniel crossed the street and entered the hospital.

Synthia opened her eyes, but the darkness did not pass. She could not tell where she was, but from the cold dampness of the air she could tell she was somewhere underground. She smiled. It was just like being back at home, in the hallowed halls of the Deep. She felt like she was once again in the calm shadows of her humble abode within the great House of Knowledge. However, something was different about this darkness. It was pitch black, yes, just like the caverns she was used to, but even in the absence of light within those caves, her eyes were still capable of discerning shapes in the shadows. This darkness was something deeper, and sinister, and Synthia couldn't shake the feeling that the darkness was watching her. She switched on her flashlight.

She stood in the presence of a great brute, with no discernible shape or features. It bellowed a mighty roar and charged at her, smashing crates and barrels and other items of storage in a mad dash to end her life. She dived into a roll out of the way, and the beast crashed into the wall behind her. She charged an orb of energy at the beast and fired. Her strike was true, and the blast hit the beast square in the back. It did not flinch in pain, but it turned toward Synthia again, and issued another roar from its formless maw. This time it did not charge, but Synthia knew another attack would follow. She wielded her staff.

The two stared at each other in the darkness, intimidating each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

Finally the beast roared again and charged her with surprising speed. Synthia barely had enough time to lash out at the beast with her staff, wounding one of its arms. She dove into another roll as the beast stampeded past her. Synthia scrambled to her feet and fired another blast at the brute, this time hitting its leg. The beast toppled over, roaring the whole time, and hit the ground with crash, where it lay still.

"This is nothing like the caves of the Deep," Synthia said to herself. She pointed her flashlight around the room looking for a way out. She spotted a long corridor at the far end. She felt a familiar breeze issue from the corridor that reminded her of her last moments of the Deep, and she cautiously moved onward. After a few minutes of walking she finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel, and emerged on the surface, yet again.

Turning off her flashlight, she looked around at the place she emerged. She seemed to be standing in what used to be a park. Looking behind her, she seemed to have emerged from a small shed. Looking further ahead she saw a large courtyard, with a large statue in the middle. Synthia decided to get a closer look. She strode forward, kicking up clouds of dust behind her as she crossed the cracked earth beneath her. As she approached the courtyard, she saw that the statue was of a small human girl, who held a glowing blue gem in her hands. This must be one of the gems the Warden was talking about.

Synthia was about to take a step forward, when she heard a familiar bellowing roar behind her. Turning around, she saw the great brute scrambling toward her. She turned to dodge again but the monster knew better this time. He reached out with his huge arm and grabbed her by the tail. Moved by anger and sheer embarrassment, she swung her staff at the beast as it dangled her in the air. This time, her staff did more than wound its arm. She cut it clean off. She landed on the ground on all six limbs, then jumped up and stabbed her spear straight into the beast's heart. It roared in anger as it began to disintegrate into nothing.

Synthia breathed a sigh of relief. She did not enjoy combat, especially with foes that took her by surprise. She remembered the Molliches in the Deep, who always used that tactic. She turned toward the statue, but just before she stepped into the courtyard, she was taken by surprise yet again. The arm of the slain creature grabbed her by the leg, and started writhing in the most ungodly manner possible. Synthia shrieked, and kicked the arm off her leg. It flew through the air, and landed in the middle of the courtyard. The blue gem in the statues' hands glowed white, and a bright blue beam shot forth at the mangled limb, and incinerated it in an instant.

"Curse these wretches! I hope by the end of this they are all slain!" Synthia grumbled. She was not enjoying her time on the surface.

She looked at the gem in the statues' hands. This must be one of the security devices the Warden was talking about as well. She looked cautiously at the cobblestone courtyard she nearly stepped on. It seems the severed arm had saved her, in a disgustingly ironic way. But now the trap has been found, and all traps can be disabled fairly easily. Synthia charged an orb at the statue, and blasted it to pieces. The gem clattered to the ground, unscratched. Synthia tossed a branch from a nearby tree onto the courtyard, making sure it was safe, before cautiously approaching the gem herself. It sparkled with a beautiful radiance. No wonder the Warden wanted them so much.

Golan was reassembled in a murky, humid cavern. He switched to night vision, then into thermal vision. There was large eggs, obviously a nesting place.

I better get out of here before mama gets home.

He quickly formed a message and sent it towards SIdekick's signal.

I am releasing a tracking signal, the frequency is locked into this message. Trace it to my location, though be careful, right now I am in a breeding cavern, of something rather large. Once we meet up, we can decide the best way to get Ven on our side, and find his wea

He heard the sound almost too late, as he dove out of the way; sending the message as he tumbled out of the way. The large brown claw came at Golan again.

SHHHHNNNNK!

The Abyssion flew off Golan's back, and blocked the claw. The large creature was covered head to toe with natural shell armor, but it looked as though his face would be a weak point. The creature smashed with his other claw, forcing Golan back with the force. His hands glowed with magical energy, that imbued with his sword. He forced up, breaking the beast's strength pushing down on him.

"AURORA SLASH!"

A purplish pink wave flew out of the Abyssion as Golan swung upperward. He combo'd with a stab into the beast's eye, as the magical wave left a large burn mark in its shell. The mutated crab like monster went limp, as the blade ruptured its brain.

Pushing on the crab with his foot, he withdrew his sword, quickly destroying the eggs around him. He noticed a light, indicating which way he should go to get outside.

- Once again, Ven found himself in a situation where his body felt seared and broken. He growled, and shook his head violently, jolting his senses and breaking the heavy feeling that restricted his movement. He could feel something around his arms, something cold. He opened his eye and looked around for the first time, surprised to find that he was in a room. He looked down and saw that he was laying on his back, on some sort of surface, though it wasn't a surface at all, it seemed hollow, intangible. He looked at both of his wrists and saw that he had been restrained, glowing green particles pulsed around him, contouring to his body's shape and supressing his movement. A voice broke the air, crackling with an electric tone. "I wouldn't strain yourself friend, those bonds are tested for rather large occupants, and that isn't exactly a criteria you fill." Ven felt the presence of life nearby, and looked over his shoulder to his right. The room was a square, maybe 20 feet in either direction. An array of destroyed computer equipment dotted one of the walls, and a large black wall of glass spanned another, reflecting the image of Ven strapped to a table. He glared at the glass, and a unsettling silence filled the observation theatre. Voices, Ven could hear them on the other side of the glass. He relaxed his body and listened in, figuring he might learn something before he killed every last person in that room.-

"I thought you said he couldn't see us?" -A woman's voice asked, a detectable note of anxiety in her voice.-

"He cannot, I assure you." -A man cooed, an air of arrogance plagued his words. "After all, even if by some miracle he could, we are perfectly safe in this room. There is but one entrance, and our guard is well armed, you've nothing to fear from some trouble man wearing a mask."

-Ven smirked. The voice crackled to life again, radiating from a small speaker on the ceiling. "Now, Tell us who you are and why you are here." -barked the man's voice. Ven cracked his neck to either side, and then sat upright with relative ease, the energy bindings pulsing and fading as they were broken. Apparently, the man had left the microphone keyed, because Ven was quite delighted to hear a woman's scream and a man's panicked voice as he ordered someone to come and shoot the prisoner. Ven hopped off the table and walked towards a dark outline on the pure white wall, what he imagined was a door. Before he could investigate it, it hissed and slid to the right, revealing a short man dressed in a grey tattered uniform, toting a weapon of some kind. He leveled the weapon at Ven's chest and unloaded an arc of blue lightning into his chest. Ven looked down as his leather scorched and crackled, then the energy dissappated. He looked up into the eyes of the man, obviously shocked that his weapon had no effect. Ven chuckled and grabbed the man by his throat, throwing him back into the hallway from where he had come, slamming his back into a wall. The man had struck the wall with such force, that his spine snapped under the impact, and he slumped to the floor in a heap, blood dripping from his mouth. Ven investigated the corpse, and pocketed the energy gun, which surprisingly wasn't very large. He stood and walked down the hall a few paces, and continued around a corner to a door that read, "Observation". Ven punched through the door, not having the time nor the patience to try and figure out how to activate it. As he tore through the surprisingly flimsy material, a man lunged at him with a long steel object, some makeshift weapon. Ven took the blow full force on the side of the head. The pole dented and bent at the middle, and the man dropped it and backed away slowly, frightened beyond words as the Demon walked towards him. The woman sat slumped in a corner, her sobs muffled by her uniform as she cried quietly into her sleeve. The man fell back onto his bottom, and pushed himself along the floor, until his movement was halted by a wall. Ven walked up to him and crouched before him, his eye piercing the man's own pair.

"You're going to tell me what this place is, and then I'm going to kill you. If you refuse, I'll kill you anyway and then ask her." -He gestured towards the crying woman with a single finger. The man started to shake, and the smell of urine greeted Ven's awareness as the poor bastard soiled himself. Ven tilted his head at the overwhelming spectacle of cowardice, and stifled a laugh. He looked down at the man's lapel, where a small metal rectangle house a burned electric word, "Thomas." The man, Thomas, struggled to speak through his tears. Ven gripped him up by the chest of his uniform and held him against the wall with his arm. Thomas squealed and thrashed against his grip. Ven growled and slammed his fist into the mans stomach, grabbing the bottom of his ribcage with his hand and tugging on it. "Now now Thomas, tell me what I want to know or I'll make things rather uncomfortable for you." -Ven mused, obviously enjoying the quality fear he had instilled in this man. Thomas cringed as he felt the searing pain at his abdomen, and spoke the best he could. "I'm a scavenger, and this was a laboratory. They used to make weapons here, so we came to see if we could scavenge anything useful.." -Thomas spoke faster, panic siezing his logic. "[color=blue]W-we were supposed to grab whatever we could and get back to our camp, it'll be dark soon, and the monsters come out at night mostly. -He sputtered, and spoke through gritted teeth as Ven lifted his hand slightly, pulling on Thomas's ribs.- "We found you laying in a pile of rubble, and brought you back here. We didn't know if you were a refugee or a raider, so we locked you on that stasis table so we could question you." -Ven pondered what the man had told him, and asked him something else. "What do you know about a woman who calls herself The Warden? And where is the nearest tall building?"

Thomas blinked in confusion. "W-W..what?" -Ven growled and broke a rib in his hand, moving up to the next one and grabbing hold of it. Thomas screamed, the woman in the corner did aswell. Thomas began to beg- "Please! I don't know what you mean! The tallest building in Sylvetica that still stands is in the center of the city, but it's been declared off limits to survivors." -Ven broke another rib, and moved to a third. Thomas screamed louder this time, and bit off the tip of his tongue as he tried to bury the pain and keep from blacking out. "How do I get out of this building?" Ven asked politely, thoroughly enjoying himself. Thomas, on the brink of consiousness, lifted an arm towards the door and pointed to the right. "Out that way, walk right down the corridor past the guard station, then out the airlock." Ven looked Thomas over, then thanked him the only way he knew how. Thomas screamed as much as his lungs would allow, as his ribcage was pulled from the bottom out, and ripped from his body. He fell onto the ground, a bloody void where his ribs used to be. The woman in the corner clutched her chest as her heart siezed, and then burst. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she fell over to the side. Satisfied, Ven walked out, following Thomas's directions. As he past the Guard station, he noticed several men inside, arming themselves. These men had different weapons, they were larger, black shapes with red lines on the side. Ven stood outside the room, and tapped twice on the glass that seperated him from the Scavengers. They all looked up simultaneously, and Ven replied with a concentrated blast of Hellfire, the column of super-heated flame ripping through the men and engulfing them in flame. Their screams were drowned by the shear volume of flame that rushed around them, filling the room and melting down anything that stood. Ven lowered his hand, and walked in, stepping over puddles of charred flesh. On the wall, a shelf full of weapons, of various sizes and shapes. Ven looked them over, and frowned. He wasn't a fan of firearms, but figured that they might make good bargaining chips later. He found a duffel bag inside the arms locker and began to fill with the weapons, as much as it would carry, and slung it over his shoulder. He stepped out of the guard station and walked towards the Airlock. Again, his ignorance of Sylvetican technology hindered his advance, at least in the traditional sense, so Ven simply broke the damn thing. A hurricane wind ripped through the corridor as the improper method of exit was employed, comprimising the air sanitation of the entire complex. Ven pushed against the copper-red dust storm as the outside air rushed in eagerly to reclaim the inside of the complex. Ven found himself in an abandoned field, the surrounding area desolate and saturated with decay. He looked up towards the sky, his sight unable to penetrate the haze that plagued the air high above him. With no sun, he'd have to rely on land marks to navigate the city. He looked to his left and noticed the tops of crumbling buildings, and headed off in that direction. As the Demon made it's way towards the crumbling shell of a once proud utopia, a group of shadows watched from a distance, waiting.-

A ripple of energy surged through his body. An evil presence was at work in this city. Not just the Outsiders – but Ven. He could sense the energy discharged by Ven’s elemental powers, and by the feel of things, Ven was enraged and out for blood.

Yet, he decided to cross that bridge when he came to it, and decided that for now, he needed to concentrate on finding friendly allies and items for the Warden.

He headed north up the street. The scenery stayed the same, throughout. Desolate shells of broken buildings painted red by the flurry of crimson wind that pounded them, effortlessly; heaps of twisted, charred car bodies plagued the ground; and vermin ran rampant, emerging from their homes to scour the city for food.

Shadows prowled in the distance, snarling and screeching. Yggoc’s blade was unsheathed and gripped firmly in his hand, not wishing to make the same mistake twice. It looked to be only a small group and he knew that a group that size, he could easily overwhelm; however, he was smart enough to know that looks can be deceiving.

Playing it safe he retreated into the back alley of what looked to be an old bookstore. This reminded him of the book he still carried. He slumped down against a tarnished fence, retrieved it from the small brown satchel around his waist and attempted to read it. He hoped that in this strange place the language would become clearer – useless! The book’s writings still very much eluded him. He hoped that the Warden may be able to shed some light upon its mysterious origins when he eventually returned. He placed the book back in his satchel.

He buried his head in the palms of his hands and retreated into his thoughts. He stayed like this for a few moments before he was interrupted by the sounds of tiny feet, scurrying in front of him. A small white mouse stood at his feet, its nose twitching. Yggoc picked up a small breadcrumb that lay beside him and held it out in front of the mouse.

The mouse snatched it from his hand and scurried off. Yggoc smiled, faintly. This was the first sign of life he had seen since his arrival on “ground level”. He rose to his feet and proceeded to walk casually down the alleyway, humming to himself while chuckling. Yggoc felt at peace, for the first time in a long time.

His ears picked up the faint sound of stampeding feet. He hurried into the
bloodied doorway of a small shop and peered through the remains of a shattered window. The Outsiders were aggravated and searching for something; perhaps him. It looked as though he had severely underestimated their numbers. They had amassed in the centre of the street and begun to let off a synchronised piercing shriek, almost as if they were communicating.

Yggoc thought it foolish to hang around any longer, and carefully made his way back on to the street. He ducked and weaved cautiously between the colossal piles of rubble, metal, and glass that now littered the streets of Sylvetica.

A tall, high-rise tower came into view and he began to head there.

Surprised at the mouse's sudden vanishing, Ash dropped the DAR on the ground, where it landed by her feet with a thud. She held her hands in the air, as if caught in a robbery, while simultaneously backing up from its position on the floor. After a moment, she cautiously inched forward and bumped it with her toe. Nothing happened.

Reassured, she picked it back up and put it back in her pocket, surprised, yes, baffled, maybe. Put off from ever using it later in dire circumstances? Not quite.

Ash puttered down the hallway at a leisurely pace. if this was a game, which she was pretty certain it was, then the least thing she could do was enjoy herself. She hadn't even stretched her legs outside solitary confinement for who knows how long. For now, she was satisfied with just exploring someplace new.

This drab hospital setting's kinda bumming me out. Whadya say I take over and find us someplace new to play?

I think I can do that perfectly well on my own thank you. You're not getting the body today Fee, sorry.

But admit that was a good try.

Yes, okay, touche.

At this moment, Ash found herself facing a series of elevator doors. Out of function, but the doors could be pried open with any luck. Curiously, she couldn't seem to find a set of stairs to use. Either the people of Sylvetica had either made a major misstep in never inventing the stair, or they didn't think the elevators could ever be damaged enough to make them necessary.

Or she was just too bored to locate them properly. And anyway, Ash thought, what was the point of playing a game if there was no challenge to it?

Ash curiously poked the "Elevator Down" button with her pinky, finding no response, as expected in an abandoned hospital. Using her nails, Ash pried open the doors to the center shaft, grinning when she found them sliding apart with a loud clank. She found herself faced with dark.

Ash stepped forward into the abyss, letting her toes peek over the edge as she peered into the blackness. There was an open door towards the bottom of the shaft, from which light was flowing into the chasm from. If she had to hazard a guess, she was maybe, 2, 3 floors up. Maybe not fatal if she fell, but she'd likely break a limb, and that's probably not a good thing to have when you're living in a battle royale. Either way, she wouldn't be jumping.

But the metallic pole running down the shaft did look promising. Really, if Ash thought about it, if wimpy firemen could do it, so could she.

Ash backed herself up in the hall to get a running start, then took off in a sprint toward the dark. For one brief, tantalizing moment, about the time her first foot left the platform, and her other knee bent to leave it completely and make the leap, Ash considered if this was the right decision. if this was really the sane thing to be doing in this situation.

Of course, Ash really never was the sane type anyway.

Her fingers open in anticipation, she eagerly awaited the cool, smooth feel of the supportive pole to the elevator.

What she didn't anticipate was the amount of grease used to lubricate its movement. Her heart in her throat, Ash's body clung to the pole for a short moment before the motion of her body and the slickness of the pole threw her past it, her arms desperately reaching for it. She hit the opposite end of the shaft front first, running her nails along the walls looking for something, anything to catch onto.

When Ash had first broken onto the art scene, she took a look at a few performance art galleries. She had a direction in mind for what she wanted to do with Entrapment, but couldn't get it's execution right. Really, metal work was the best choice. The most broody shows she could find featured speakers acting out the time their drunken father showed up late to pick them up from Little League practice, the whole time wearing a baseball cap and holding a bat. Again, metal work. Best choice.

However, during her 5 seconds of freefall in the central elevator shaft, her thoughts drifted back to one specific piece that stayed with her, even now. A woman, dressed as a swan, continuously walked herself up a golden staircase to a gate at the top. She would eagerly push herself through the threshold, only to find the land beyond the golden gate without promise, or a floor for that matter. She'd fall about 20 feet and land on a large foam pad, only to get back up and repeat it, adding dialogue ad verbatim.

Ash sincerely doubted a giant foam pad was awaiting her at the bottom of this shaft.

What was waiting for her was a frayed elevator cable, dangling from the nearby elevator carriage from the neighboring shaft. Gripping it with her hands, her palms sliding over the oil, she slowed herself to a stop at the bottom of the shaft, right in front of the open door. She let out a sigh of relief.

Um... I'd let out some bad ass line of banter that makes an elevator pun but I can't for the life of me come up with anything.

Ooh, ooh, how about, "Looks like this is my stop?"

...Yeah maybe I'll just skip the one-liners for now.

Ash hefted herself up onto the floor outside the open door, before pulling herself to her feet. She inspected her nails half-heartedly. Chipped. Predictable. Probably not a good backup weapon. If she found some free time she might try sharpening it with the blunt end of her scalpel. Currently, she had to face the present matter of where she was.

Where she was, was the central lobby to the hospital. Sleek white waiting chairs littered the corners of the room. A few vending machines lay toppled among them. What few lighting fixtures were left lay hanging by frayed cords. Ash made a mental note not to stand underneath any of them.

Dead center stage of the lobby was a large black smear of ash and cracked tile. Some sort of explosion had taken place her. Maybe what took out the power in the hospital? Whatever it was, it was sure unexpected, judging by the corpses that lay among the rubble.

It was in the middle of this thought she looked up to see Daniel walk in through the front doors. Never had she been so happy to see a man with a time-controlling mechanical gauntlet on his hand.

Which had never actually happened to her before up until this moment, but still.

The high-rise tower grew closer with every step. Yggoc did not know why that was his chosen destination; although, it felt as if something was there, beckoning out to him.

A subtle sound caught his attention. A sound unlike any other he had heard since his arrival. A chirping sound. It grew louder. The air around him began to vibrate as the sound intensified. He darted around, frantically searching for the source of the incessant noise.

It became apparent as a pack of Outsiders galloped furiously around the corner. The ground shook as they moved. These were unlike the brutes he had seen earlier. They ran on all fours, almost like a dog, except considerably larger and definitely quicker.

They were incredibly agile and made quick work of the obstacles scattered around Sylvetica. They moved swiftly as one, never breaking formation.

Yggoc began to sprint, all the time clutching his weapon. They grew nearer with each passing second. It became clear that he could not outrun them. If he could only make it to that tower, however, he would be safe.

He carried on sprinting, taking careful effort never to slow nor falter. His legs began to ache and his heart pounded in his ears. Sweat trickled down his face. The tower was directly in front of him. It was different up close. There were no windows on the ground level, only a huge steel door. The upper levels seemed to be ablaze and shattered glass occupied most of the street outside.

Yggoc dove through the door. It seemed to be motion controlled and the door began to close automatically. One of the Outsiders made it through with him. It began circling him, growling and panting. The thought of tearing Yggoc apart lay fresh in its mind. This time, Yggoc would make the first move.

An intense torrent of swirling water shot from Yggoc’s right hand, slamming the beast against the tough steel door. One of them had to give and it wouldn't be the door. The Outsider cried and writhed in agony before rapidly dissipating, leaving a pool of water in its place. Yggoc sighed with relief.

He inspected his surroundings. Nothing but a few chairs, rotten plants, and a large desk. A distinctive sign read "Hotel". It seemed that Yggoc had taken refuge in a derelict hotel.

A bright light shone from the level above him, easily illuminating the vast corridor that lay in front. Yggoc climbed the stairs leading to the first floor. The corridor was vast and bare, no rooms lay throughout it, bar the one at the end.

Yggoc made it to the end of the corridor, eventually. The room appeared to be a dining room, an extensive one at that. The strange thing was that the tables were all set: plates were positioned perfectly, polished cutlery lay lifelessly next to them, and a towering chandelier was at home above.

Yggoc was speechless. This room had remained untouched by the outside world for God knows how long. How the chandelier was providing this immense amount of light remained a mystery, also.

Studying the chandelier more closely, the mystery had been solved. A small blue crystal resided in the place of a bulb. The energy given out by the crystal was keeping the chandelier alive. He had to get that crystal, but how? The chandelier was at least thirty feet above him.

A light flickered on in his head. His palm faced the chandelier, suddenly a blast of wind rocked the chandelier, he was careful not to destroy it. The crystal slid out of position and descended into the hand that waited patiently beneath. Yggoc placed it gently into his satchel, beside the book.

He started to wonder where the other Contestants had ended up and if any were near.

David reappears across the street from the hospital on the third floor of an abandoned apartment building. The wooden floor is vacant. Several shards and sections of a lone window are missing, and the only light in the room is a small grey patch where the dim light is able to escape.

A pair of working boots magically appears next to David. He replaces them with his dress shoes, and starts peering around the room.

"Blue crystals for the crazy lady in the tower. Get on her side, and I won't be in a death-match against some freaks. Sounds good."

David lowers his hands to his hips and wonders out of the room. The entire building is empty. not a single piece of furniture, art, or anything is available down the hallway, or in any of the other rooms, which very mysteriously have no doors.

There's nothing of use here at all. Great.

At this point, a small creaking noise emerged from the room across from David. David quickly drew his sidearm and peeked into the room.

Nothing.

Fucking shadow creatures.

David heads down the ground floor view a central flight of stairs. A main lobby and parlor is before him. Several rotted and ripped couches and sofas surround the water and mud stained carpets that look as if they haven't been touched in years. The reception counter is empty, and the front wooden door is on one hinge. The gentle wind pushes it back and forth.

David hears commotion across the street, and decides to abandon the apartments forever. They have no use.

In front of him, an old and dark hospital stands, and David walks inside pistol drawn.

Daniel was surprised to see that he wasn’t alone in the hospital. He had barely walked in before Ashley Forrester, the escaped prisoner, bounded over to him. She walked over a large smear of ash and cracked tile that marked the remains of some type of battle or experiment. The explosion must have rocked the light fixtures out of the ceiling; they hung only by their cords. All in all, the run-down hospital was a pretty drab place. Daniel was certain he could find something useful for the Warden or himself.

“Hey, it’s Ashley, right? Did you do this?”

Daniel motioned toward the explosion remnants.

Ash folded her arms and smiled to herself. "Oh Dan. So silly. No I didn't do this. It was like this when I got here. I think some sort of like, BOMB must have went off or something. Poor people didn't even see it coming." She looked sadly at the skeletons. "Still, pretty neato place huh?" She motioned to the lobby. "Woke up on the higher floor. Had a fun time just exploring. What about you, where'd she put you?"

“Yeah, it's a pretty neat building. Certainly out of place though. Have you looked outside? Most of the buildings are completely desecrated. I’m surprised this place is still standing. She sent me to this house or apartment. Couldn’t find anything before the place came down, though. What about you, did you find anything useful?”

Ash clapped her hands. "Ooh, ooh, yes, I did!" She dug into her pockets and pulled out the scalpel with a gleam. "I found this cool like, blade thing, which I think might help me later. I chipped my nails sliding down the elevator shaft, see?" She held her nails up. "Lookit." She shrugged and put the scalpel back, before pulling out the DAR. "This I guess is something like a 'Dimensional Abnormality Remover,' or whatever. I think they use it in operations to take out stuff in people body's. I shot it at a dead mouse and it disappeared. Pretty cool."

Daniel examined the scalpel first. It looked similar to Earth medical technology; used to make precise incisions. Not really all that useful to Sylvetica or the Warden. Damn. And then he saw the other device; the Dimensional Abnormality Remover. With it, Ash deleted a mouse. Very interesting. Daniel figured it probably didn’t run on Earth batteries, either.

“Mind if I take a look?”

She handed the device over to Daniel. He flipped the device around in his hand and found a small slot that could be opened much like a tiny door. Inside, he found a tiny, worn down crystal that pulsed blue very weakly. He figured that this was some old piece of tech and wouldn’t last long with repeated use. He pulled the crystal out of the device.

“Alright, I think I can fix this.”

Daniel grasped the crystal tightly with his Timefist and closed his eyes. In his mind’s eye, he could see the crystal pulse weakly through his clenched hand. He visualized the object as it was and as it used to be. And then, the object's age was reversed. It was another function of the Timefist. He could manipulate objects to accelerate their growth or reverse their age. It was one of the more useful things that Daniel had found. When he opened his eyes and unclenched his fists, the crystal was shining brightly blue.

“Pretty neat crystal you found. I bet the Warden will like this.”

He deposited the crystal into the slot, shut the tiny door, and held out the DAR to Ash.

Ash looked at the now fully powered DAR with joy, then back up to Daniel. "Oh god, thanks Daniel!" She hugs him, ignoring the shocked look on his face. She fiddled with the DAR a bit. "I think I'm in love with this thing. I wonder what I can magician away now..." She turned around and looked up to the ceiling. She aimed the DAR at one of the cables supporting a light fixture. With a button press and a quick pop, the cable vanished, and the unsuspended light fell to the ground, shattering a few meters away from Daniel and Ash with a shower of sparks and glass. She smiled and held the DAR to her chest. She looked to Daniel. "I think destroying things is fun."

He wondered how it worked. The device was titled to delete dimensional abnormalities; but what exactly was a dimensional abnormality? Ash was able to delete the cord that hung the light fixture. Maybe the explosive that caused the destruction was an abnormality? The light fixture’s current condition could be a result of that and was thus a dimensional abnormality? Or maybe, the device simply deleted things. That was a scary thought.

“Maybe we should just be careful with the device for the time being.”

Ash nodded. "Yeah, I wouldn't wanna like, delete a PERSON or something like that. Could you imagine, it'd be crazy." She chuckled quietly. "Don't worry, I wouldn't use it on you or anything. I know it's a competition and everything, but I'm kinda planning on not attacking unless I'm attacked first, you know?" In the back of her mind, some part of her, maybe Fiona, was telling her she should try and attack him, right now. But she shook that thought out quickly. He could just manipulate time to defend himself, and besides, Daniel seemed like a nice guy. Maybe paranoid, but nothing she was worried about. "Think we should head out? Find some more of these crystal things or whatever?"

“Yeah, sure. Have you explored the basement to this place yet? It might have some neat crystals in it. Let’s check it out.”

He couldn’t decide if he trusted her. If she wanted to delete him, she might have already. That was the deciding factor. He trusted her, at least, for now. His thought was interrupted as the doors behind him swung open. He turned and saw the rich brainy billionaire walk inside the hospital.

Spoiler:

- The air had grown hopelessly thick with the noxious dust. Ven growled as a few gusts beat against his advance into the city, the surrounding buildings acting as a nozzle as the air passed through them, concentrating on the streets that he wandered. As he went, he adjusted the duffel on his shoulder, finding the extraneous weight cumbersome, and he had considered a few times on just dropping it. Alas, if he intended on helping these other contestants in order to get a shot at the Warden, then perhaps arming them with some tech wouldn't be a bad idea. The street began to grow into a slow curve, heading off towards an entrance to a tunnel, which had caved in on itself. Ven looked around for an alternate route, but nothing seemed negotiable. The buildings were all about as structuraly sound as a wet paper bag, and all of the roads nearby led into that damned tunnel. He shrugged, and headed off towards the lowest building, figuring he could try and punch his way through. As he approached the building, he heard something. Ven turned around towards the source of the sound, he noticed something he hadn't before. Back towards the tunnel, under a large pile of debris, a faint blue glow. Ven thought back to what the Warden had said about Blue Crystals, and figured it was worth investigating. As he walked towards the rubble, he began to notice something mildly unsettling. The entrance, seemed extremely well constructed, steel beams spanned across to either side, and some sort of material made up the filler, much like concrete, only stronger. Towards the cieling, it seemed like something had blown away the material, like the cave-in was intentional. Ven charged himself for a quick sprint, just incase gravity decided to bring down some more rocks. He knelt next to the giant slabs that had landed deliberatley in one position, and started tearing through it. The slabs cracked and shattered under his blows, and eventually he found what he had been looking for. A Blue Crystal, and from the size of the thing, probably a valuable one. It was about the size of a coconut, it's edges cut to a fine edge on all sides, like a piece of jewelry. That wasn't all that was beneath the rubble however. The Crystal was housed in some sort of metal cage, crudely constructed, though sturdy. He tried his best to rip it away from it's prison, but to no avail. It was very much attached to whatever lay beneath the rubble. Ven leaned forward, figuring he could just kick the thing until it shattered into pieces that he could remove...

When a giant claw exploded from the rubble and sent Ven flying onto his back.

The duffel went sliding down the street and landed next to a burned out vehicle, and Ven skidded on his back into a wall, knocking the breath from his lungs. He jumped to his feet, and growled from gritted teeth as he fought the air back into his body. Something stirred beneath the rubble, the sounds of twisting metal and gears spinning drowning everything else. The claw, which was about as big as a small car, dug into the street, tearing away large segments as it dragged itself forward, and the body that as attached to it. The creature was an abomination, part machine, part flesh. It resembled that of a man, only significantly larger. As it staggered out from it's stone prison, it stood up, extending up to a full nine feet before it stopped and faced Ven. It's face was pure steel, with no eyes that he could see, save for a small circle in the center of it's forehead, which flashed green. As Ven dusted himself off and prepared to attack, the creature took a lumbering step forward, it's shoulder extending outwards as a rack of missles presented themselves. A high pitched whine pierced the air as a volley of the explosives exploded forward, moving at an incredible speed towards Ven. He sprinted towards his left and narrowly avoided several of the shaped charges, however a rogue missle intercepted his dodge, and caught him center-mass, exploding on impact. Ven felt his body absorb the shock, and tasted copper as he was blown back against another building, breaking through the weak wall and landing in a room within. The creature offered no repreive as it charged forward, lumbering towards him at first but gaining momentum as it charged. Ven's vision was blurred, his body searing with pain as he struggled to his feet. The wall that he had been thrown through seemed to devour itself as the broad shouldered cyborg ran through it, and tackled Ven into another wall, clear through the other side of the building. They landed in a heap in a dried up canal, with roads built on bridges crossing over it. The creature let out a bestial roar as it picked up Ven with it's massively inproportionate claw, and threw him across the canal. Ven's awareness dimmed, his mind barely conscious of the fact that he was losing. Ven, a Demon feared more than anything else on Earth, was about to be killed.

Well that simply wouldn't do.

Ven adjusted himself mid-flight and landed feet first on the opposite end of the Canal. Though his body had been hit rather hard, he could still fight. The creature wavered for a moment, then began to move forward, it's shoulder dissapeared into it's torso then came back out, fully loaded with another rack of the powerful missles. Ven waited for it to fire.. seconds passed, then the first missle left the rack, but this time Ven would be putting it to good use. Ven focused on the jet fuel that burned behind the missle, and stole it away. The missle fell to the ground a few feet from the creature, and exploded. Knocked back by it's failed projectile, the grossly unproportionate beast toppled onto it's back, letting out a cry of frustration as it struggled to right itself. Ven burst foward with frightening speed, closing the distance between them in an instant. He vaulted onto the creature, using the flame he had stolen from the missle and expanding it's power, delivering a fully focused blast of Hell fire into the face of the creature. Steel melted away, the smell of burning flesh, intoxicating and pungent, greeted Ven's senses. He smiled, finding comfort in the fact that he could torment the body of this abomination. The creature ceased to move, and Ven took a breath as he stood on it's broad chest. He looked himself over, frowning as he observed how damaged his leathers had become, his bronze skin gleaming from beneath charred patches of leather. Ven shrugged off the mild inconvenience, knowing that his wounds would heal very shortly. Ven hopped down from the creature, and looked it over from the ground. On the side, a line of black text that had been etched into it's torso read "Maelstrom." Ven perked a brow, finding the name to be curious. He stretched his arms and legs, limbering up, and then had another go at the Blue Crystal that was housed within Maelstrom's torso. His fingers locked around the edges, and he summoned all of his Demonic strength. The Crystal moved slightly, and Ven grinned, finding victory within his grasp.

A large spike tore into Ven's abdomen.

He fell off of Maelstrom and staggered backwards, the impact jarring his body. He looked down to find a large barbed piece of steel biting into his flesh, blood seeping from the massive wound. He fell to a knee and struggled to return to his feet, his strength sapped by the sudden attack. The ground shook as the lumbering Maelstrom struggled back to it's feet, smoke whisping up from the barrel of what looked like a large harpoon gun. Maelstrom let out a synthesized cackle as it grabbed Ven with it's freakish claw, and lifted him towards it's face. The plate of steel slid back to reveal a grotesque face, it's eyes clawed out and it's lips torn off, revealing two rows of inhuman teeth, it's maw opening as it sought to take a bite out of Ven. The Demon growled and glared at it's attacker, unable to accept this end. Ven brought a fist down against the harpoon in his stomach, and began to hammerfist the barbed spear through his body, punching it out the other side of his back with frightening ferocity. The steel exited his body and entered the fist of Maelstrom, breaking through it's metal palm and destroying the motors that controlled the formidable claw. Maelstrom let out a scream as it dropped Ven, clutching it's killing claw with it's significantly smaller hand, staggering back. Ven landed on his feet, standing weakly as he conjured another fireball, this one significantly larger. The blast engulfed Maelstrom, setting it's entire body ablaze, burning more viciously then Magnesium. The beast retreated, running off towards the end of the canal, scaling the wall and dissappearing into the city. The explosive blast of Hellfire could be seen or heard from a mile in any direction, which might not serve as much aid considering it flagged the position of the wounded Ven. He staggered back, biting back the pain as he began to run as hard as he battered body would allow. He felt the presence of an equally disturbed psyche nearby, the only other individual that he had encountered that was as violent as he was. He rounded a corner and ended up on a main drag, the street littered with debri and broken venues. He made his way slowly through the roads, clutching at his abdomen as he tried to cauterize his wound, knowing that he would surely bleed to death otherwise. Unfortunately, he didn't have an ignition source, and his last attack had sapped a majority of his energy, though it did at least ward off Maelstrom, and hopefully bought him some time. A large building came into view, and the feeling of Fiona grew stronger. Ven could make out the figure of a man entering the building, and another near the entrance. The Demon fell in the street, growling in frustration at his weakened state. He wasn't sure if he should confide in the others to help him, it was likely that they would finish him off, after all, that's what he would do.

Ven felt his consiousness fade as he fell face-first onto the desolate street, 60 feet from the entrance of the Hospital.-

Spoiler: