((I'm writing this through my phone. Please excuse any mistakes.))
<A shooter, probably more--but given the current firepower it may be one person (or a synchronized team at worst) Catwalk area. He's busied by the other gunmen out there--I worry for them as much as my host, Irene.
Of note, he's armed, heavily. Probably armored too if the idea of an assault comes (especially given explosive ordinance?) I'll be staying with Awena and working on getting her stable.
Irene, I'll be aiding Awena by the doors. I'm not...erm, telepathically able as you, but I've knowledge in the physical and if anyone decides to trespass here, I'll know. Until then...>
Focus energies to heal Awena. Poke at interface (not literally :v), wonder what info it has to give based on River's information.
You don't think you can heal Awena because she doesn't need healing. Physically she's fine. Mentally, she's a bit shaken, but healing can't fix the troubles of the mind.
You project a general and undirected feeling of quandary to your interface. It beeps and its screen lights up with an orange light as it speaks in an emotionless deep male voice.
<Defend human known as Amelia until the time limit expires.
4.8 time units remain until time limit expires.
Do you require additional data?>See Lenglon's turn for more about what Awena is doing.
Irine
<Understood. Victor, if your men can't get things under control soon I'm going to have to take extreme measures, risking the destruction of this facility in the process. Give me a better option.>
Demand
If he says his men can handle it, asks me to wait, or gives me a better option, then leave my flames (still under my control, and growing them if I'm able but otherwise just leaving them idle) at their position blocking the door.
If he tells me to do it, then (conditional action PMd)
Zoe
I don't want to stand too close to that door in case they decide to breach it with explosives. And I don't want to leave Boris alone with Amelia either, there's no knowing what he might do to her while I'm not looking.
Ah, now I really want to do that action.
<Are you kidding me? 'Destruction of the facility' is your best plan right now? Just relax and don't do anything stupid. If you're lucky you will win and you won't have to lift a finger. If there's any immediate danger, Boris should feel it. Is that good enough for you?>Zoe ponders getting up and further away from the sealed door but decides she can wait a bit longer. After all, the sounds of gunfire don't seem to be getting any closer and Awena looks like she needs some emotional support. Zoe may know her for less than a day, but Awena has been trying to help her or at least it seems so. Zoe keeps her hand on Awena's shoulder and looks around.
Boris seems to have finished speaking to the man and is now waiting for something near the door. Now he's just sort of staring forward into nothingness, swaying slightly.
Amelia... well, everything looks brighter in that shell of machines, brighter and discouloured.
She turns to look at Boris again.
"Boris?" she shouts.
"Yes?" he responds without moving.
"Is Amelia OK?""Who?""Amelia." she says a bit more angrily and points to Amelia.
"Is she OK?"Boris looks at Zoe's extended arm and then at Amelia for a few seconds.
"Oh. Yes. Don't worry. Almost ready. Then all will be fine."Zoe woders if he is even capable of ordering people around. He looks to be becoming more distant by the minute. But what more can she do? Should she try to force him to accept her help? To stop ignoring her? Should she just kill him and get out of here, try to fix things on her own? Those people are the ones who are causing this to Amelia for all she knows.
As she ponders this, she is interrupted by Awena.
"What's happening to her?"Zoe turns to look at her. She's currently looking at Amelia. She appears to be a bit calmer now.
"I... I'm not sure. Boris says it's some kind of power. You... can you 'see' something? Are your spirits telling you anything?"
Bryan
Ugh, I really messed that one up.
Faron
Take in as many of the guards' positions as you get into cover as close to the door as possible
Your host keeps running, trying to get to cover. As he does so, you and him both try to spot as many enemies as you can. There's four up in the stairwell, two taking cover near a box in the left and one on the right. At least those are the ones you can see.
You manage to reach cover just as one of the guards on the left notices you and turns to point his weapon at you. You're hidden now, both from the men at the stairwell (who are currently shooting at someone else from the sound of it) and the guard that noticed you, although he's probably waiting for you around the corner of this box, if he hasn't relocated to a more optimal position.
Your host reaches beneath his coat and removes his oversized pistol from his holster, his other arm instinctively moving to ensure his knife is on his belt, before the pain makes him realise that this is a bad idea.
Ike WayneIke Wayne is without cover, with no means of escape and about to be shot by a firing squad. So he does the only logical thing. He creates cover. He pulls the pin from one of his tear gas grenades while it is still on him. And then he starts running. The tear gas grenade explodes a second later, engulfing him in whiteish smoke, the blast causing him to stumble but not fall.
The bullets come a moment later. The smokescreen appears to be paying off, since only two of them hit and both are stopped by his armour. Okay, next order of business: distraction. He retrieves another flashbang and throws it at the general direction of the shooters and keeps moving without waiting for the bang. This should give him some breathing space.
And finally, the C4. He flips its switch and starts configuring this one. He's almost done by the time he exits the smokescreen. He spots the four men on the oppostie catwalk, most of them temporarily blinded by his flashbang. Great. Now one good throw and... Your host pulls his hand back, gets ready to throw, but at the last second one of the wires of the explosive gets tangled on his armoured glove, causing him to botch the trhow and drop it.
<Not again!>At least this time it remains on the catwalk and does not fall to the ground below.
This could go two ways, Zechariah thought. Well, four. This might be a car holding people that may or may not want to kill me. Or, it's a supernatural.. thing.. that may or may not also want to kill me.
Great.
>Get behind the dumpster and get a closer look at whatever that thing is. If it seems remotely dangerous, use the Shadow to darken the area and confuse the thing.
Your host stirs and tries to get a better look at whatever that is. The thing reacts and becomes bigger. Your host moves his legs, trying to push himself away. The thing hisses. Your host stays still and blinks a couple of times. The blurry shapes reform into a dark alley with an even darker black cat looking at you with eyes shining from reflected light, its ears down and its back raised in an arch.
Great. I'm going to die and my body is going to get eaten by stray cats. the thought crosses his numb mind as he notices he seems to be bleeding again.
You, on the other hand, notice that thee beeping seems to be coming from your interface. It's beeping faster than before.
((You're a bit more forward in time than the rest. Incidentally, I'm feeding a semi-stray black cat as I'm writing this. But she's a lot more friendly and purring.))
"What made you think I was gonna eat it? I was fighting for my life, there, for a while. Ah, well. What's next? Is this heaven? Or, more likely, is this hell?"
"I don't know. That's what people kill for usually, isn't it? Hunting, eating, things like that?"Your entity takes interest in the second question.
"Why? Do you believe you have done something in your life that you must atone for in your afterlife?" he asks intrigued.
"Thanks, Galatea." John took the spear and examined it, looking over it for various details and to learn its functions. After a physical exam, he used his abilities to study it in depth.
Study the Spear, both regularly and with power. Consider: would it be possible to duplicate this?
As you approach, Galatea kneels and presents the spear to you. When you pick it up, she plays some
triumphant music from her speakers, looks up at you and smiles before returning to her corner and standing perfectly still.
The spear looks a lot like the one
S0 showed you, perfectly straight, perfectly symmetrical, no apparent flaw or decoration on it.
You run your hand along the shaft of the spear. The metal is surprisingly warm and feels less smooth then it looks, its texture slightly different than you remembered it.
The spearhead is a lot colder, but still above room temperature. It also feels a lot smoother than the shaft, almost frictionless. Touching the tip with your index finger turns out to be a bad idea. It goes right through the outer layers of skin with no resistance and only stops due to the Staging Area not allowing your body to come to harm. It's sharp enough that you feel nothing as it moves through you.
You then twist the spear around and slash and stab at the air a bit, trying to get a feel for its weight. It feels light, its weight about equal to what you'd expect a spear made of wood to weigh.
Finally, you inspect the new addition, a ring of metal wrapped around the middle of the shaft, about thrice as wide as your index finger. Pushing it up and down does nothing. Looks like it's stuck there. The ring has a few circular depressions covered by what feels like gray plastic that are lit from behind by a very dim cyan light. Probably some sort of button. They have nothing to tell them apart except for a small notch above one of them.
((Rest of the examination later.))
duh duh Duh duh DUH duh DUH DUH DUH DUH DUUUUUUUUUU-
Make dramatic music.
I've been quoting one of the worst sci-fi movies of all time and I'm going to switch to quoting an even worse one. Are you sure you want me to continue?
I'll post a link to the movie I was quoting so far, by the way, in case you want to see it for some reason. When I get back to my PC, since I can't seem to find the YouTube link from my phone.
"Stand up if you still want to fight."
Let her stand up. This is an honourable duel.
If my remaining knife has a toothpick, then secretly hide the toothpick in my left hand.
Dodge any attacks she makes.
((Cool song. It definitely suits him.))
Do your Swiss army knives have toothpicks? You check the one on your hand. Hmm... No, this one doesn't have one. How about the other one? Oh yeah. Embedded in a hole in the base of the hook-statue you can see a metal stake. Near its base there's a hole surrounded by an intricate pattern carved around it. That was probably a sewing needle. That could double as a toothpick in a pinch.
While you were examining your tool, your sparring partner has recovered from the blow and has stood up.
"You should had used your advantage. You had earned it." she says as she removes some dirt from her clothes.
"But thanks." she adds and begins spinning her weapons around again. She stays low, one leg bent slightly more than the other.