Forum Thread

Everything seemed to go by as a blur. Within minutes Bree was escorted out of the room and eventually lead towards a helicopter. Not once did Bree put a fight. Although she did consider running away once they were outside. But she decided that the chances of her successfully escaping were near to impossible. With no knowledge of the terrain around her, she'd be lucky to escape, much less survive- and frankly, Bree wasn't getting very lucky lately.

Bree fought the urge to analyze the multiple auras within the helicopter and instead focused on glaring towards the guards who had roughly pushed her down onto one of the seats. She wasn't too sure, nor interested in whenever or not her glaring managed to scare them. She sat in silence, listening close to the sound of their retreating footsteps before daring to focus on the auras around her. Some seemed familiar, while a few were new. Not that any of that mattered, after-all, they were all the same to her. No matter what anyone said they were all humans thrown into an unnecessary and neverending war. They were all pawns that could be thrown away and replaced. They were all like her. At least now I can help ensure that they don't die. A stab of guilt hits Bree. How many people died during her absence? Bree didn't want to think about that. The best thing to do was keep her focus on the current situation. How she felt about being here didn't matter, what mattered was making sure that these people didn't die for the higher-ups that didn't care less about whenever they lived or died!

Quote

─────────╴─╴─╴─╴ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐂𝐎𝐍 ❝𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍❞ ╶─╶─╶─╶────── ─
𝙵𝙻𝙲-𝟸𝟶𝟶𝟷/𝟢𝟢𝟫𝟪𝟧𝟥𝟥𝟨𝟢𝟢
android
allegiance blue
tagging guards, the recruits
location red airport
feeling curious, analyzing
wc; 766
──────────────────╴─╴─╴─╴╶─╶─╶─╶─────────────── ─

there was a sparrow outside her window.

silently, the android came up from the depths of her dormancy, eyes focused entirely on the tiny avian as it ruffled its feathers, hoping around aimlessly as if unbothered of the predator on the other side of the glass. so small, and so delicate. somehow, she wondered what it was doing there, what purpose it had in such a large world, and whether there was any true meaning to its existence. who cared if it lived, if it died. as quickly as the thought surfaced, she dismissed it. killing such a small, tiny thing was not worth the effort. as if reading her thoughts, the simulation distorted, and the cool mirror-smooth wall returned. just another simulation designed to distract her. the lights attached to the ceiling reflected off the polished walls, enforcing the clinical environment each android grew up in. with a huff, erin threw back the sheets on her cot, and gave herself the luxury of a quick stretch before tucking on her usual military attire. deft fingers quickly folded back the sleeves and the collar-wings folded to hug gently hang over her collarbones. the actions were so effortless to the android it was almost second nature. artificial and clinical, just like everything else around her, but so deceptively humanoid. feeling prepared, she opened the sliding door with a flick of her hand, the wireless connection connected and broken with barely a second to its name.

automatically rejoining the facility's network, as she did every morning, the android noticed a notification hanging around at the edge of her vision. she pulled it up with half a thought, and the messaging simulation appeared on the 'screen' in front of her vision, informing her to make her way to the airport for immediate deployment. the android frowned as she shut the door, walking swiftly towards her designation, all the while reading over the message. the corridors, a veritable labyrinth to any inexperienced wanderers, was as coldly polished as her quarters, cold and spotless. it emphasized a sterility that symbolized unfaltering resolve. but that wasn't erin's focus today; in fact, most of her attention still remained on the message.

she believed humans were capable of efficient time management, but they weren't the same ones who programmed her. it was pointless to juxtapose a wolf and sheep; the wolf was the impetus to galvanize the flock into action. the sheep had no drive to succeed when there was no threat. they ran like lemmings into the net, driven by their own foolish ignorance. maybe the war was merely sleight of hand for natural selection but the thoughts of men playing god with the concept of science as their facade bothered her in ways she could not explain just yet, so she dismissed the thought. it seemed to be a pointless action to keep going down that thread anyway. too, human. ironically, unbeknownst to the android in question, at the last board meeting regarding the android

at her brisk pace, she reached the three guards standing alert by the door, all of which stiffened at the sight of the android. captain wilson, the one in the center greeted her with cold, military precision. "𝙵𝙻𝙲-𝟸𝟶𝟶𝟷. we were just ready to take off." his featureless mask gave away none of his tone, but the sophisticated technology hardwired into erin's android brain gave his impatience anyway. the restlessness of his feet, the tensing of his broad shoulders. a small nod befell her chin, but otherwise, her features were schooled into a cold indifference that was typical etiquette of such situations. "sorry for keeping you." she replied coolly without much of an apology in her neutral voice. androids and humans regarded each other with a sort of grudging respect, even the skillful ones. erin, naturally, didn't pay it much mind, deeming it more tolerable than the subpar treatment she witnessed outside the facility. the tension dissipated like smoke, and the soldier scanned open the door without a glance. she paid him no more heed than the dust on her shoe when the balmy summer air fell upon her skin.

climbing inside the chopper, she was greeted with the stuffy cramped compartments which weighed heavily with anxiety and stress. everything became a little too loud, the thmp of her black combat boots, breathing, shifting weight, the feeling of others eyes on hers. she didn't realize how large the deployment force was, and tried not to make eye contact with any of the other members. the android focused her attention inwards, sitting down elegantly in her seat.

There, the final member of the angst-filled joy ride crew had arrived. Dantier had this one engraved in his memory, as they were so predictable it was scary. Well, they were a robot after all, but a highly advanced one at that. He had a terrible experience with machinery, and Erin was no exception. Even when he encountered the strange work of science the first time, he immediately hated her. His hatred and fear only grew when he interacted with her more and more before each 'reset', analyzing everything about her to make sure she wasn't a threat. He still shivered at some of the unnerving memories, hoping this time would go smoothly. She didn't seem like a threat, but he couldn't gain hardly information from her compared to everyone else he had met. He looked up and stared at her, not budging at all as she settled down. He tried not to make any noticeable movements that would show his fear, but a gulp slipped by anyways. "Look who finally arrived..." His voice was quiet and low, almost skeptical.

---

Chip nodded. "Yeah." He said faintly, as he's never been fond of the android either. He was very social, but not with particular people. This girl wasn't an exception. He folded his hands. "So, we're gonna take off now?" He grumbled. Although Chip hadn't nearly been interacting with people as he should, he still knows everything (at least what everyone told him) about them and as far as he knew, they know everything about him.

They're playing, they're happy. The world is a cruel place, yet these younglings play.

---

Upon hearing the reply from Dantier, Andrea rolls her eyes. “And yet if I were to be dramatic this would be very different. Erin…Bree…Dantier…Grey..Rey…Sans all familiar names, perhaps not so familiar faces. She knew, from quiet observation, how they would, and could behave. Perhaps Blue’s side was more vicious and brutal, especially in their experiments. Andrea had gone through very few experiments….or maybe a lot. She couldn’t tell. At least, if she had been through experiments they weren’t painful. The very fact that there seemed to be so many healers…well you could say she found that weird. Behaviours were very tricky things. Andrea thought of the others as not-books. Perhaps you could say they were tangled strings. Each person had different stories to tell. The ones their hearts chose to convey, and the ones their mind conveyed. Each person had different personalities, appearances, powers and more. When she had no assignments, she liked to analyze others. Human minds were complicated. So was time. She wasn’t going to be like the others— what all that was about the information given in sufficient, I know everything about them. Humans were complicated beings, troubled souls. This was precisely why she liked people around her. They weren’t books, to be opened easily and read at leisure. They were tangled strings, like plucking hairs one by one off a head, or unravelling haystacks by removing it straw by straw. It pleased her when she finally got an untangled string. These human experiments were more difficult to unravel. Guards were easier. And then……out of all these there was a robot. A clever robot, to put it into simple English. Erin was perhaps the most interesting of them all. Erin-was-a-robot. She figured there would always be some things in life she couldn’t solve through quiet observation. She stared at Erin, eyes never blinking once, considering her, as if contemplating the why’s of the universe. To be quite honest with you— Andrea liked people around her, but found their meaningless chitchat about the weather, what they had to eat highly annoying. She preferred more sophisticated conversation, those she thought had more actual value. In response to Chip’s question, she responds in a voice oh-so-quiet yet perfectly clear. “One would think, that if everyone had finished boarding. They would take off. To where? I do not know. But maybe he does” Andrea points at Dantier

*filler post, most of it is just Andrea’s thoughts*

---

Gently kneading his pounding head, San let out a little sniff. That hurt! His brain was still attempting to burst out of his skull with the raging headache anyone would get after getting cut open and played around with, but now that it had a rendezvous with the wall of the helicopter, it hurt even more! Of course, said wall also didn't come out undamaged, a faint dent pocking the metal where San had hit it. His ears flattened against his head as San's fingers danced across the sore spot at the back of his head, pouting all the while.

Soon enough one of the people in the helicopter, San recognized her from the compound as another experiment who had arrived a year after he had, come over and gently lift him up. "I know it hurts, Sannie. It's okay, don't cry." She cooed, more or less used to San's dramatics and scheming as she carried him over to the seats. Gathered on one side was a group of experiments from the compound, most of them reeking with nerves. It was most likely their first mission and San made a small sound of distress before draping himself over the laps of the most nervous recruits. A rattling purr that more shook his chest than made any sound as hesitant hands began to run over his ears and back, a soothing ritual that never failed to calm rattled nerves. All of them should have been kept back in the compound, either in their cells where at least they could sleep the day away, or playing with the other experiments. San had once tried to bargain that only experiments who had been perfected be sent out on the field but that had only resulted in them implanting paw pads on his feet, which in theory was super cute but in practice was hell.

As he slipped into a better headspace, San cracked an eye open and blinked slowly. His vision was much sharper than before and he winced slightly. So they really had messed around with his eyes but he wasn't mad about it. He could see better and in much more detail so he used it to his advantage to observe the other occupants of the helicopter. Some of the people who had been recruited because of their genetic powers looked distinctly uncomfortable about the sight of a person acting so much like a cat so San ignored them just like others were ignoring him. Some people, like a young boy who couldn't be any older than 20 with a swooping row of blond hair or a short woman who looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here, caught his eye. Those people seemed much too young or fragile to be sent to war and a small spark of anger was added to the fire at the thought of the higher ups being heartless enough to do such a thing. Still, he pushed that feeling down and focused on the grounding touches instead. Even if he was angry about it, what could he do?

---

Bree's aura analyzing ability was sometimes more of a pain than a blessing. Especially in moments like this. She was surrounded by multiple people with abilities. Their auras were all begging for her attention and focus. It would only be worse on the battlefield when there would be more people with abilities, all fighting each other.

Focus... Something was off about one of the auras. She turns around in her seat and stares straight towards San. A frown appears on her face as she slowly watches his aura morph into what could almost be described as a humanoid looking light. She could just barely make out a head, a body, and very vaguely, his legs, arms, and tail. She turns her head slightly, staring at the red glow where his head would roughly be. He is injured? Already?

Her body moves on it's own accord, as if she were drawn in by the red glow. It wasn't long before she was standing in front of him, silently staring down at him. Say something! Don't just stare at him like a creep!

Clearing her throat, Bree turns her head away embarrassedly. "Is everything okay?" She asks. "You're injured" she explains pointing to her own forehead. "I can help heal that if you want" she says while offering him a kind smile. "My name's Bree by the way" she adds.

Rolling over to see who was talking with him, San was faced with the small girl who he had noticed earlier. To be fair, it was quite to turn around when he was sprawled across multiple people's laps, but he managed to do it and pouted up at her. While he wanted to talk, it would only be when they reached the field that a device with a text to speech function would be given to him so he would have to talk through other people. His hands made a thumbs up and from his shoulders he drew them across his chest, letting his palms open and pushing them back out before twisting his fore and thumb on both hands together twice over his chest. It was undoubtedly a childish manner of signing. "Everything hurts." The girl from earlier who had picked him up translated, giving San a weary look. It wasn't like they didn't trust Bree but usually people with healing powers were experimental at best. Usually they only caused more trouble than help and even if this person could heal, they didn't know to what extent. Besides, pain was just another sensation to them at this point. A throbbing head was more of an annoyance rather than anything in need of medical attention. Although a bit reluctant, San gently pressed his right thumb against his shoulder before flicking the open palm out and down. The same thumb the flicked out from under his chin before his right hand brushed over his left twice. "But I'm okay. It's nothing new." Each sign was careful and methodical, to the point where one would assume that he wasn't fluent in sign, but really he was doing his best so that his claws wouldn't rip through his clothes or puncture his skin on accident. It had happened before and each instance was as embarrassing as the last.

To Bree, who couldn't quite see, it was as if she was talking to a woman. But to anyone else on the helicopter, it was clear that San couldn't speak for himself. It sparked doubts in some about the other's ability to work with them but for others, especially those form the facility, it was just another part of their upbringing.

---

"The hell you pointing at me for?" He held his arms out as a part of his outburst, but lowered them soon after. Well, Andrea wasn't wrong, he knew exactly when everything would happen and what was going to happen. "Fine, fine, whatever. But if any of you guys want to know anything I know, we're gonna have to make a deal." He looked around at everyone, watching as they turned their attention to him due to what Andrea did. "If I tell you to do something, do it. Got that?" And right at that moment, someone new to him loudly made their entrance onto the helicopter. "Hey, kid, I make the calls around here, got that? If I tell you freaks to do something, you do it, and only listen to this fella if I say so. Everyone here understand?" God his voice was loud... He seemed to be in his 50s, and he was in full uniform. Something stood out about him though, and that was his badges. He was a general, one of the highest ranking ones too. He decided to ignore the man for now, but still kept him in mind due to never seeing him before. "Whatever man... Anyways, when are we leaving?" Dantier held up his hand again, ignoring the continuous talking of the general, and held 3 fingers up. "In 3... 2... 1... Now." As soon as he said those words, the pilot announced that they were taking off, and the motors begun to get louder. The general then looked at Dantier in confusion, like he had no clue as to how he did that. "Really? You were put in charge of some of the most powerful human beings, and you didn't even bother to get to know them beforehand?" he though, looking back at the man in confusion and suspicion. This man was just weird... First, he showed up this one time out of billions, never announced his name or who he was, and doesn't even know his own soldiers? Dantier's fear began to rise as he thought of the millions of possibilities, and without even thinking about it, he pulled his hand gun out of his pocket and pointed it at his head. At this point, it was just instinct. Discover something new? Pull the trigger, start again. The fact that the sense of danger and uncertainty was looming over him like a massive rain cloud didn't help either.

---

Another collection of soldiers could soon be heard, these ones more unsettling than the average guard. Their footsteps were not only in sync, but nearly silent. They wore blackouts, the jet-black uniforms padded with vests and their faces hidden by cloth masks and glasses. Each one carried a weapon, their fingers on the triggers. Six of them, walking in a hexagonal formation, a single heavier set of footsteps breaking the unsettling silence. These were long, angry strides, each foot carrying enough weight to be stomping the poor leather boots they wore into creaking. The man who wore them was large, too large to be anything without an ability. He had guards, guards too dangerous and too numerous to be anything but dangerous. The guards halted just outside the helicopter, the first two stepping to the sides and back a few steps, their weapons trained on Jaxon States as he stepped into the helicopter and took his seat. One of the dark soldiers stepped forward, into the helicopter, and slapped Jaxon's cheek in a rather friendly matter, for the circumstances. "No trouble, alright?" His voice was camouflaged by some kind of voice changer in his mask, making it sound as if he were on the other end of a radio. States only grunted in response. Stepping out of the helicopter, the guard turned to the group gathered there. His voice was still electric, guarded jealously. "This is Jaxon States. He'll be your shield from heavy munitions, and your duelist when things start to get a bit messy." With that, the guard turned on his heel, the group reforming in a different, double-file rank, and marched away. Jaxon offered no greeting, only silence and brooding.

Grey nodded, forcing out a slightly cheerful, "Yes sir!" He knew how this would go. He knew his role. And so he played it to a tea, doing it exactly as he needed to do. He would be the light-hearted one, the joke cracking soldier who pretended that evreything was better than it really was. But his red-rimmed eyes gave him away. As the helicopter roared to life, he doubled over, grimacing and letting out a groan of pain. But he straightened up quickly and cracked, "Guess I'm more of an all-natural guy, y'know? Ironic for someone whose personality was made in a lab." He tried to laugh quietly, his shoulders still shaking. He'd forgotten how hard this was, somehow, but maybe it was just worse here.

---

A shocked look appears on Bree's face when San denies her offer for treatment. Surely this awful situation they were in would be far more bearable if he wasn't in so much pain. Her shocked look disappears when he mentions how the feeling was nothing new, it's quickly replaced with a pitied expression. "It shouldn't be that way... You shouldn't have to be used to feeling pain." She sighs. Everything she said was obvious, yet it wouldn't change anything. It was a waste of words. Nobodies outcome would change by her pointing out the obvious. "Well, if you change your mind then feel free to come to me, I'll be happy to help heal you!" She says with a soft smile.

The sound of a voice grabs her attention. She was about to ignore the solider when she felt... Something. Her smile vanishes and the shocked look returns back onto her face as she turns to glance towards Jaxson. Could it be? No, it's impossible... "Excuse me for a second" Bree tells San. Slowly, cautiously, as if he'd disappear if she got too close, Bree moves towards Jaxson. She stops when she is a few steps away. "Did I hear that correctly?" She asks with an amused smile. "Jaxson? Is it really you?"

One of San's ears twitched at the arrival of a newcomer, and he peeked through his lashes to catch a glimpse. He had heard of the name Jaxson before from the lips of those who had been sent out on various missions. He had defended and saved the lives of many of those he had come to regard as siblings and San couldn't help but feel gratefulness towards a man he had never meet before. Anyone who showed kindness to freaks like them would always be San's favourite type of people. Many of his family owed their lives to this man and he could see why. Just from appearances, Jaxon seemed reliable and bared many resemblances to San's own physical stature, both being short and stocky. But still, he had no real investment in Jaxson. He would thank the man once he had the chance, but now was not it.

Closing his eyes, he yawned much like a cat would and clambered off the laps of the now much calmer recruits. They let him go, but not without obligatory whining and complaints which San shushed, reminding them that they were still being watched even if it didn't look like it. They could never bee to careful after all. Ruffling the heads of some of the younger ones, making sure to gently drag his tail over each wrist comfortingly, he sat down primly at the seat closest to the exit. If anything happened to them, he would be the first to leap into action.

---

Jaxon froze when he heard Bree's voice, his head lifting to look at who stood before him. His voice was heavy, slow... Familiar. Not just to Bree, but to everybody; a feeling of deja vu, in the form of a voice. "Bree.. I didn't realize they'd found you again." His aura seemed warmer, almost instantly after he saw her. Still, there seemed to be some dark force knotting itself up, just below what might have been his throat. It seemed hard for him to lose the sudden boost in brightness, despite how much the shadow in his neck pulsated and writhed. He wore a warm smile then, standing up and holding out one hand, offering something between a handshake and a hug.

For a person who's been alone for as long as he could remember, the sudden increase in people and noise took Rey by surprise, causing him to retreat to a small corner, attempting to stay hidden. Whilst the crowd and it's noise made him uncomfortable, no one was trying to kill him (yet), so it was acceptable. When alighting the helicopter, Rey was given a suitcase, in which had his daily necessities, as well as a high end laptop, no doubt to document information. But Rey had take much interest in this new device, and had already begun searching the web, in his small corner of the room, and had clicked on a Coding website. This new window to the outside world amazed Rey, making him temporarily forget about his nervousness and troubles.

Maybe he could put some of this new info to good use.

---

Jordan was mostly surprised that there were people in here who knew each other. Such a wholesome conversation for people about to put their lives on the line,but then again now they had an even better reason to fight to their fullest. Jordan felt relieved that there was another person with healing properties,yet the thought of him losing his uniqueness kept derailing his train of thought and pissed him off.

"You guys...know each other?" he reluctantly asked. It was a bit weird,since they're at least acquaintances. Then again,they couldn't have arranged that since most of them were force to join.

It took Bree a moment to react since she had to wait for Jaxson's aura to morph into a humanoid shape. Her smile widens when he slowly becoming more recognizable. She stares towards where his hand would roughly be, frowning slightly at his outstretched arm before finally understand. She grabs his hand and allows him to pull her in for a hug.

"I don't know how they found me" she admits. "I tried being careful and staying under the radar... I suppose I shouldn't have underestimated them. Maybe if I was a bit more careful I'd-" She pauses for a moment, suddenly being caught up with the memories of her life outside this place. "It doesn't matter... I'm here now" her smile tightens for a moment before dropping all together. She didn't need to fake a smile around Jaxson. As nice as it was being able to see him, it still meant being here. "I'm glad to see that you're still safe... Are you ready for this? Another fight?" While waiting for his response she hears Jordan speak. She turns around to glance towards him, her amused smile returning back onto her face. "I know it seems crazy, but yes, we do know each other" she responds.

Chip was unsure about Dantier. Sure, Dantier had tried to spike up a conversation in the past, but he never wanted to talk to Dantier. He was always weird, just killing himself randomly and coming back perfectly fine. Of course Chip did know-err, knew- Dantier's genetical mutation and its pros and cons. Well, he knew them. Once upon a time, but he had forgotten again. Classic Chip.

There is crying, and screaming. Flooding the area, flooding my ears. What happened?

---

Watching the two, San couldn't help but cackle silently as air passed through broken vocal cords, hands shaking with mirth as he pressed his knuckles together over his heart, wiggling his thumbs almost teasingly. Anyone who recognized the sign also smirked, but once San wiggled both open palms up and down his chest, they all nodded with and soft almost yearning look on their face. It was heartwarming to see two friends reunite even if it wasn't under the best of circumstances. Joy was a precious commodity in these times and it was to be cherished and held close whenever it was found.

Besides, those two seemed like they had complimentary powers. One was a tank while another was a healer. Add in a dps brawler like San, and it was almost like they had a the holy trinity of an adventuring trio!

Glancing towards the boy (really he was a boy. No one who looked any younger than 20 should be on this metal hunk of a death sentence) who had first spoken up, surprise colouring his voice at the two's reunion, he narrowed his eyes. Something was... off. Perhaps it was his own paranoia speaking but Jordan looked conflicted about something. It never bode well when someone was conflicted as it meant that there was something wrong. Or at least something that forced someone to be at war with themself. But then again, he did have a tendency to be a little jumpy around new people so he couldn't be blamed at all for being suspicious of any behaviors that he deemed odd

---

"Huuh~? Somethin' caught your attention,cat-eyes? It's rude to stare,y'know?" he said in a somewhat arrogant tone. Though the person's,if you can even differentiate his cat-like features from a human's,outfit and presense was one that commaned respect,Jordan talked big in a way to defend himself. Even though literally no one threatened him,he knew that his appearance wouldn't earn him any sort of respect or trust,especially in the battlefield. Therefore,he opted to create a sense of fake confidence to make up for his lack of intimidation. Other than the special bunch of people who boarded this helicopter,it was quite a feat that it hasn't already crashed due to excess weight but you won't hear him complain.

If anything,messing with San also allowed him to let the other two,Bree and Jaxson,continue talking.