:Alive: The Southern Sufferring | Co-hosted by Baron Von Hollow

[Dad]

BGM:  Ain't No Rest for the Wicked

 

The winds were harsh, kicking up heavy dust and mild debris.  What few trees that still stood were barren, and were being swayed in the wind.  Cars were covered in rust and dust, and the streets were disturbingly lifeless.  The sun was dark, being heavily clouded by a sickening brown fog that seemed to close around the sky.  Eyes carefully observed their surroundings, as seven new, unlikely life forms crept into an abandoned arena.  But they wouldn't sit back and watch a free meal simply get up and walk away.  They lunged from the shadows, taking into account that this was their world now.  They attacked quickly, and with purpose, intent on blood.  But as their cowardice prey retreated into the large structure, they were held back by a powerful, but invisible magical barrier.  With rage they slammed at the wall that seemed to keep them at bay, but to no avail.  Their targets disappeared into a parking lot, with a large ground floor that led into an even bigger Super Dome.

 

Inside, the Survivors found themselves walking onto the field of the now dilapidated football stadium.  The once green field that had formerly been painted with symbols for home and away teams had faded, turning brown and ragged.  The stadium was of course empty, and even the slightest noise could be heard throughout it, echoing all over.  It was easy enough to get into the stands from the playing field, and vice versa, so the survivors had plenty of room to work.  There were tables stacked neatly along the walls of the bottom level of the seating stands entry way, with steel chairs accompanying them.  Two stacks of four milk crates were stacked neatly beside the large folding tables, and an assortment of boxes littered with  "maps" of the Super Dome, t-shirts, t-shirt cannons, props, and other paraphernalia accompanied everything else.

 

Upon reaching center field, the survivors were greeted by a powerful explosion, knocking them onto their backsides as the force and shock from the suddenly appearing Golden Cross had just reoccurred.  Zephiel had now made his presence known, appearing to the survivors in a translucent form.  He was covered in what appeared to be decorative ceremonial robes, wielding an enormous staff which was embroidered with symbols and carvings of an alien language.  His bald head was shrouded by the mist that made up his current shape, and his pointed ears appeared to dance as he turned his head to observe the seven survivors before him.  His form towered over the Survivors, unintentionally intimidating.  When he spoke, a droll but fatherly voice boomed over the stadium, with a powerful, vibrating echo.

 

"Greetings, Survivors.  I am Zephiel, and I will assist you in what I assume you cannot possibly understand," he said as he waved a hand.  A vision of earth appeared before the survivors, as they stood back up to get a better look at it.  "This is your planet, Earth.  It has been overrun by a race of powerful cur, named Ma-jin.  These Majin are incredibly dangerous, and are the sole reason you are in the predicament you are at this time."  The Earth began to spin, stopping on the Western Hemisphere.  "You are currently in the United States of America, and have been relocated to the state of Louisiana.  The largest city-state among this is New Orleans, which you currently reside.  But before I go further, allow me to address when you are."

 

The Earth illusion remained still, as it zoomed into the outside of the Super Dome, and flashed occasionally between the small area that surrounded it.  "You have been transported ten years into the future, in order to save the past--in order to save your world," he said pointing his staff at the Earth that the survivors were currently staring into.  "The Majin race have completely devoured the human race, except for you.  It was your dormant power--your Fayth--that has protected you and the reason you were chosen to end the tyranny of the Majin.  But you must find their source.  You must find when, where, and how the Majin arrived on Earth.  Only in doing so can you return to the past, to prevent this future from ever occurring."  With that, the Earth disappeared, and the survivors turned their heads back up to Zephiel.  "The tool you carry with you--the Survival Application--has been recreated to fit your Earth devices, and made easy for you to use.  And with it, comes a guide.  And her name is Yuel."  

 

At this moment, the Survival application opened on the red headed girl's phone, against her will.  An illuminated fairy like creature appeared as a hologram from the girl's phone, her bright silver wings fluttering as she spoke.  "Greetings, heroes!" Yuel chirped excitedly.  "Yuel's here to battle!  Well, not really, you have all the powers and stuff.  But I'll be your guide through the Survival app, and I'll be here to answer whatever questions you may have when old man Zephy isn't around."

 

Zephiel shot the fairy a nasty look, before returning to his point.  "As Yuel has stated, she will be your guide to combating the Majin, and making it to your target destination.  Where that is, is currently unknown.  However, Yuel is a very intelligent creature, and will prove to be useful in your journey.  Do note, that if even one of you dies, you will all fail, and your mission will be over.  You will be trapped in this period of time.  Permanently, until your own deaths.  Good luck, survivors.  May your journey be fruitful."  And with that same powerful explosion, Zephiel disappeared into nothingness.

 

Yuel, who still floated outside of Christina's phone, disappeared back inside of it, and replicated herself multiple times to appear out of each individual survivor's phones, as she began to bark orders.

 

"Listen up!  We've got a lot of work to do!  I don't know where to begin, and I hardly know where you are, but stuff is going to happen and its going to happen now!  Oh, and, er, I should mention, that this location will only be protected for so long.  Now that Zephiel is gone, his barrier of protection will begin to fade.  There's no telling when, but its going to happen.  I suggest gathering supplies as soon as possible, and reinforcing what little you have.  And of course, if you need me, or you can't reach one of the other survivors, I'll be ready for action," she said cheering up.  

 

But how does one suddenly go out and save the world with six strangers at their back?  Who were these people and how could they be trusted?  This was a rather dangerous mission, and it had been issued suddenly and without warning.  And to top it off, no one could die.  No one wanted to die.  So what was their goal?  To live?  Or to just stay alive?

[a bad post]

Blackness. That was the first thing Mia Greyson noticed as he awoke from what felt like a very, very long sleep. Groggily rubbing the tiredness from his eyes the silver-haired teen slowly began to take in his surroundings.

 

"What's happened...?" The smell of ash and burning assaulted Mia's senses as he began to observe the destroyed state of his surroundings. One might image that for most people waking up in a world of fire and brimstone would scare, might be enough to even break them psychologically. To know their entire world had literally come crumbling down around them, and yet...

 

"I see..."

 

was all Mia could offer up. He felt no emotion, no sorrow, no gladness. He was simply empty... as it should be. Around him others seemed stirring to, awakening to the hellscape that surrounded them, Mia imagined many of them would probably freak out. He really didn't take time to notice what the others reactions might be, no Mia's attention had already shifted to growling sound he had begun to notice. It appeared that several inhuman(?) looking creatures had appeared, and seemed to be moving in a rather predatory manner.

 

Leisurely Mia rose to his feet, and pointed at one of the creatures, his own attempt to notify the others of the creatures, before turning on his heels to walk in the other direction from them. It seemed Mia's intent to flee did not go unnoticed, as the creature's speed increased, and they seemed to spring into an attack. Mia couldn't really say what happened, maybe some latent survival instinct kicked in, who knows, but for some reason Mia found himself running as fast as his short legs could carry him from the area. Not sure of exactly where he was running to Mia soon found himself on the field of a football stadium, the creatures nowhere in sight.

 

"Where'd they go... I wonder?" Before this question could be answered however a robed figure appeared before the group with a large explosion. This new person was quite familiar to Mia. It was the one who had saved him from death. 

 

Greetings, Survivors.  I am Zephiel, and I will assist you in what I assume you cannot possibly understand," he said as he waved a hand.  A vision of earth appeared before the survivors, as they stood back up to get a better look at it.  "This is your planet, Earth.  It has been overrun by a race of powerful cur, named Ma-jin.  These Majin are incredibly dangerous, and are the sole reason you are in the predicament you are at this time."  The Earth began to spin, stopping on the Western Hemisphere.  "You are currently in the United States of America, and have been relocated to the state of Louisiana.  The largest city-state among this is New Orleans, which you currently reside.  But before I go further, allow me to address when you are."

 

The Earth illusion remained still, as it zoomed into the outside of the Super Dome, and flashed occasionally between the small area that surrounded it.  "You have been transported ten years into the future, in order to save the past--in order to save your world," he said pointing his staff at the Earth that the survivors were currently staring into.  "The Majin race have completely devoured the human race, except for you.  It was your dormant power--your Fayth--that has protected you and the reason you were chosen to end the tyranny of the Majin.  But you must find their source.  You must find when, where, and how the Majin arrived on Earth.  Only in doing so can you return to the past, to prevent this future from ever occurring."  With that, the Earth disappeared, and the survivors turned their heads back up to Zephiel.  "The tool you carry with you--the Survival Application--has been recreated to fit your Earth devices, and made easy for you to use.  And with it, comes a guide.  And her name is Yuel."  

 

At this moment, Mia's phone buzzed rather violently in his pocket. Pulling out the thin device Mia noticed the presence of a rather unfamiliar app.  An illuminated fairy like creature appeared as a hologram from the his phone, her bright silver wings fluttering as she spoke.  "Greetings, heroes!" Yuel chirped excitedly.  "Yuel's here to battle!  Well, not really, you have all the powers and stuff.  But I'll be your guide through the Survival app, and I'll be here to answer whatever questions you may have when old man Zephy isn't around."

 

Zephiel shot the fairy a nasty look, before returning to his point.  "As Yuel has stated, she will be your guide to combating the Majin, and making it to your target destination.  Where that is, is currently unknown.  However, Yuel is a very intelligent creature, and will prove to be useful in your journey.  Do note, that if even one of you dies, you will all fail, and your mission will be over.  You will be trapped in this period of time.  Permanently, until your own deaths.  Good luck, survivors.  May your journey be fruitful."  And with that same powerful explosion, Zephiel disappeared into nothingness.

 

"Listen up!  We've got a lot of work to do!  I don't know where to begin, and I hardly know where you are, but stuff is going to happen and its going to happen now!  Oh, and, er, I should mention, that this location will only be protected for so long.  Now that Zephiel is gone, his barrier of protection will begin to fade.  There's no telling when, but its going to happen.  I suggest gathering supplies as soon as possible, and reinforcing what little you have.  And of course, if you need me, or you can't reach one of the other survivors, I'll be ready for action," she said cheering up.  

 

Rather than join the others, Mia backed away slowly aiming to separate himself from the others. This where the last people left alive in the world, huh? What an interesting development. Mia almost laughed to himself. It was funny, the world had quite literally come crumbling down, and yet Mia could still not get close to these people. He could still not find it in himself to try to connect with them, to understand them. So, instead Mia simply looked around the length of the stadium, rather aimlessly wandering around it in hopes of finding something semi-useful. 

 

Alone with his thoughts Mia turned the idea of being the hero to save the human race over and over in his head. The old world had not been kind to him, yet he imagined most of the others would much rather return to that world, and quite frankly Mia sighed, resignedly resuming his search for useful items.

[Hälō]

"Listen up!  We've got a lot of work to do!  I don't know where to begin, and I hardly know where you are, but stuff is going to happen and its going to happen now!  Oh, and, er, I should mention, that this location will only be protected for so long.  Now that Zephiel is gone, his barrier of protection will begin to fade.  There's no telling when, but its going to happen.  I suggest gathering supplies as soon as possible, and reinforcing what little you have.  And of course, if you need me, or you can't reach one of the other survivors, I'll be ready for action," The fairy chimed after somehow manifesting herself from his phone, presumably from the app. 

 

Jared starred back at Yuel, his expression completely blank from the shock of what he had just been told. "...damn it." Was the first word that the boy actually managed to utter. Ironically, this was also the very first word he had said when he had originally awoken in this hell hole... Taking a drag from the cigarette that had been hanging from the side of his mouth, Jared exhaled deeply, causing a cloud of smoke to wash over the pixie-fairy-sprite- or whatever the hell this Yuel-thing was, causing her to cough violently. 

 

"Hey! What gives?! Is that how you tre-" Almost positive that she had already said everything that would be useful in their predicament, Jared casually slid his phone back into his pocket, causing Yuel's voice to be reduced to muffled shouts from within the fabric of his trousers. He didn't have time to exchange banter if it was true that whatever was stalking him earlier would be able to enter the stadium soon... Majins, huh? Couldn't they have thought of a better name for them? 

 

Sighing loudly, the boy took a moment to inspect the faces of his fellow survivors. "Hm, they're all just a bunch of normal people, huh?" He thought with a hint of disappointment, before blowing out another small puff of smoke. From what he could tell, the woman with the red hair was the oldest of the bunch, and the little one in the skirt was the youngest. The rest seemed to all be around his age, with none of them really standing out in particular besides the Goth. Allowing his gaze to slide up and down the girl's figure for a moment, Jared let loose another sigh; had he not been suddenly thrusted into a life or death battle for the survival of the human race, he'd probably tell her that she was pretty cute. Oh well, apparently he'd be seeing a lot of her anyway, right? 

 

"Hey." His nerves now calmed, Jared flicked his cigarette to the side and stepped towards the rest of the group, his voice making it very apparent that he wasn't thrilled about being the first to speak up. "Let's not turn this into speed dating... I'm Jared Strider." As he spoke, the boy combed his fingers through the back of his hair, something that he only did when he was thinking or very irritated. "I'm 19, and from New York." He paused for a moment to watch the the girl in the skirt wander off. Shaking his head and sighing, the boy continued. "I'm sure you guys saw those things out there too, right? After we get acquainted, I say we find a place further in this joint to hold up until we get our s*** sorted out..." 

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

The survivors were all spread out as the were brought to this new world, separated from their kin, and left to fend for themselves for the most part. Destiny Barrach was one of those survivors, and as she scanned her surroundings, she noted there was not a single thing that wasn't in ruin.

 

"Well ain't this ironic," Destiny mused aloud, "Our world would always prosper, they said. Life would never truly hit rock bottom, they said. Bloody conformists."

 

Des shook her head just after she said this to herself. What she was thinking in her head wasn't. What she was seeing wasn't right. Hell, if she didn't know any better, Des would've outright assumed this would just be another one of the umpteen nightmares that she often suffered from from time to time, and if that were true, then she'd wake up a few seconds later after some cheap scare tactic was executed. As such, Des knew exactly what to expect as she examined the decimated city that lay before her. Sure enough, various intimidating figures materialized and vanished from her vision, and one of these figures had spotted Des from the distance and growled at her, no doubt licking its chops as it sized her up as some sort of meal... probably breakfast judging by the current time of day. Des slowly backed away from this thing, not because she was scared of it, but because quite frankly there was no other option. Except that didn't go to plan...

 

...

 

"funking... wanker... P.E. teacheeeeEEEEEEEK!!" Des shrieked as she narrowly evaded a bite from the mysterious beast's fangs, adrenaline pumping as she tried her damnedest to keep ahead of it. However, as little as those cursed high-heeled boots were helping here, this would not be a possibility even without their hindrance.

 

Thankfully, Des caught a break. Although she herself managed to pass through just fine, the beast crashed straight into an invisible barrier just as it made one last reach for the flesh on her bones. It gnawed at the barrier from quiet some time to no avail, before abandoning its prey and leaving Des to recover her stamina. Des was extremely perplexed; she knew damn well that a few seconds ago was about her cue to wake the hell up screaming, but that just wasn't the case. Perhaps that scare tactic wasn't enough... but what could possibly be next? A second beast popping up from under the ground just as Des turned her back on the first one? Or maybe she'd look up at the sky after unexpectedly sweating heavily, only to realize the sun was on a collision course, that being right on top of her. Or maybe Des' body weight might be too much for the weakened ground to hold, her falling into a jagged crevice and dying as a result. Or perhaps... just perhaps...

 

...

 

"Oh, bloody hell," Destiny muttered under her breath as she caught sight of the other survivors. More conformists, just what she needed. But then all of a sudden it'd hit her. The destruction that New Orleans, where everyone had seemed to wind up, was real. The beast that was trying to eat Des and gobble her up was real. Hell, the fact that Des could've died back there just because she was that incompetent at running was real. It all hit her rather hard, but after a while, Des shook it off.

 

Two beings by the name of Yuel and Zephiel explained everything, and one of the survivors broke apart from the rest of them. Destiny herself wouldn't have been too happy to spend life with six complete strangers either, but she'd have done if she knew she didn't have a choice. Maybe this other survivor needed to be reminded of it. Or maybe they needed some space so that what they were told could sink in. Des kept an eye out nonetheless. Hopefully this person wouldn't be stupid and go out to throw their life away.

[Yosuke-kun]

The world began to spin within Riku's head. Everything had been coming down around him in his life and now he found out that everything in the world was destroyed by some horrific race of monsters. He wasn't selfish enough to think that this had anything to do with him initially, in fact he knew that his own personal crap mattered very little in the grand scheme of things, but it still felt as if he were being further crushed by these events. in the past few weeks Riku had lost his father, his girlfriend, his best friend, and now everyone and everything Riku had left was gone. A small tear began to form on the edge of his eye, but he managed to blink it away before the others saw it. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to see him burst into tears.

Looking around at the others, and forming a few first thoughts on them, Riku decided it would be best to help in looking for supplies. It had appeared as if the Super Dome had been in the process of being turned into an emergency outpost for survivors before it was overrun by the Majin, as there were a few cots set out as out well as what looked like what was going to be a medical tent. Food appeared to be scarce, but there was a chance some of the medicine was still good. It was better than just ignoring something that could possibly save their lives. However, just wandering off would have been a poor idea, so before leaving, he gestured to the nearest person, who happened to be the busty Goth chick, then said:

"I'm... gonna check that tent for any supplies okay?"

As he approached the tent another thought occurred to him. Hadn't they been chased into the dome by some of those Majin and didn't the other thing, Zephiel or whatever, say that the barrier around the Super Dome was coming down? If that were true, then soon the Super Dome could turn into a battle field. Riku wasn't sure that they were ready or equipped for a real fight just yet, and he wasn't sure that he'd even be able to stand his own if it came to that. He was, as Riku usually put it, just average. Not particularly smart or athletic, he had no unique properties or capabilities. Completely average. 

 

In any case, it was best if they moved quickly. A least that was what Riku thought as he rummaged  through the tent, picking up as much medicine as he could find that hadn't expired or in some cases, been soaked in blood. That was one thing that he'd noticed. The field was splattered with blood all about, but there were no bodies in sight. Not even bones. Did these Majin eat the bones as well or were they just brought back to some nest for some reason? What exactly were these things anyways? Riku supposed that was part of what he had to find out.

 

Taking all that he found useful -a few old bandages, a half empty bottle of Tylenol, a few antibiotics, and ointment- and crammed it into a small backpack near him, then walked out of the tent somewhat hastily, then rushed back to the group with the pack over his shoulder. As he did, the voice from his phone chirped up again.

"There's really no need to be in such a rush yet Riku. Those Majin gave up after you got here." Yuel said, prompting Riku to pull his phone from his pocket.

"You can tell where they are?"

"From a certain distance yes. I DO specialize in mapping and tracking as well as several other skills I think you'll find quite helpful here!~" The small digital girl straightened herself out as she spoke, clearly proud of herself, then smiled at Riku. "Anyways, the others are introducing themselves. So far we know that Jared likes to breath smoke in the screens of cute young ladies like me... That jerk..."

This actually managed to make Riku laugh a little as he rejoined the others just as the introductions began.

"Hey. Let's not turn this into speed dating... I'm Jared Strider. I'm 18, and from New York. I'm sure you guys saw those things out there too, right? After we get acquainted, I say we find a place further in this joint to hold up until we get our s*** sorted out..."

 

Jared Strider. He was the first to talk. A real badboy from the look of it. Riku had seen people like him at the school he used to go to all the time. Adults saw them as trouble makers, but they were usually the ones that Riku found it easy to get along with. In fact, Jared actually reminded Riku a little of Yusuke when he first met him, but without -at least he hoped without- the backstabbing betrayed feat.

"I agree. Oh! Um, I-I'm Riku. Riku Satsura. I'm 18 and just entered college. I grew up in Tokyo, specifically the Minato ward." Riku looked nervously around at the others who were now looking to him, blushing a little bit before continuing. "Umm I found a little bit of medicine. I hoped for more, but it looked like this was all I could find really. Anyways, Yuel says those... things... left earlier, but they might still know we're here. So I think... maybe we should follow Jared's plan and look for somewhere safer."

[Mr. Hyde]

Well, this sure was quite the pickle good ol' Leroy had gotten himself into.  He supposed it wasn't his fault though, and as the being in the sky calling itself Zephiel droned on about their situation, Leroy couldn't help but be totally confused.  This area wasn't familiar to him.  It was way to urban to be the outback that he had called home moments before being transported here.  The atmosphere was all rusted and bleak as well.  Before he had stumbled upon this stadium, he had heard the low roars and grumbles of what were supposedly the "Majins", but luckily Leroy was fast on his feet, and made it to the safest looking place in time.  The world had gone to s***, but it was a world that Leroy was going to somehow stay alive in.   

 

"Listen up!  We've got a lot of work to do!  I don't know where to begin, and I hardly know where you are, but stuff is going to happen and its going to happen now!  Oh, and, er, I should mention, that this location will only be protected for so long.  Now that Zephiel is gone, his barrier of protection will begin to fade.  There's no telling when, but its going to happen.  I suggest gathering supplies as soon as possible, and reinforcing what little you have.  And of course, if you need me, or you can't reach one of the other survivors, I'll be ready for action."  His phone was speaking to him.  So far that was only the second strangest thing to happen to him today.  

 

"Oi!  You're quite the spunky brewstah' aint ya?  We're gonna need a cheery attitude like that in this dump now ain't we?  It was nice meeting ya Yuel!"  Leroy placed his phone back into his pocket.  So if he had understood everything, the barrier that was protecting them was going to fade?  Guess they couldn't save the planet from within a bubble.  Leroy also had forgotten about these other youngsters who were in this abandoned stadium as well.  They all seemed distant, not to mention frazzled about their new situation.  However, one guy spoke before anyone else had, flicking his cigarette to the turf.

 

"Hey.  Let's not turn this into speed dating... I'm Jared Strider.  I'm 19, and from New York.  I'm sure you guys saw those things out there too, right? After we get acquainted, I say we find a place further in this joint to hold up until we get our s*** sorted out..." 

 

"I agree. Oh! Um, I-I'm Riku. Riku Satsura. I'm 18 and just entered college. I grew up in Tokyo, specifically the Minato ward.  Umm I found a little bit of medicine. I hoped for more, but it looked like this was all I could find really. Anyways, Yuel says those... things... left earlier, but they might still know we're here. So I think... maybe we should follow Jared's plan and look for somewhere safer."

 

Leeroy smiled.  He took a guess that now was his time to shine!  He pounded on his chest and shouted.  "OI!  The name's Leroy Scott!  Been on this planet for about seventeen years now!  Currently attending High School in Sydney, Australia.  Good on you Jared for breakin' that thick ice surroundin the place!"  Leroy walked up to the Japanese boy and slapped his hands down onto his shoulders.  He smiled at him.  "And good on you too Riku!  Taking that initiative to find some supplies.  This numb skull o' mine woulndta' even thought about scavenging around the place, despite my outback survival skills!  Not many unattended stadiums we have next to the ol' red rocks if you know what I mean?"  The rest of the group looked reluctant to speak.  Two females preferred to stick to the back.  A girl with bright red hair took his attention next, and he had to concentrate really hard to make sure his jaw didn't drop on the spot.  Another man of Asian decent was also due for an intro.  "Well, whoever you lot are, It's grand to get to survive with you all!  I can tell we're gonna be the best of mates!"  

[Dad]

She ducked, dived, rolled, and dodged her way towards the giant golden cross in the sky.  Whatever it was that was chasing her, she was sure she couldn't be dreaming.  They were fast, but obviously not that bright.  And it looked as though all of that dedication to boxing wasn't going to pay off right now.  Leaping past a stone barricade, Christina reached the underside of an abandoned parking lot, just as one of the many raging monsters behind her slammed into a powerful barrier, seemingly erected from nowhere.  She tried her best to rationalize it, but after waking up to this, she was already exhausted.  She placed her back against a concrete wall, and slid to the floor.  "Why the hell am I in New Orleans?" she wondered to herself.  She had recognized the Dome from football games she would watch with her dad, and of course hearing about the city's hurricanes, but that was about all she knew about the city.  She was breathing heavily, and she could feel her heartbeat racing.  She had to calm down and figure out just what the hell was going on.  Panicking wasn't going to get her anywhere.  Christina took a deep breath, holding her hand over her heart.  That golden cross had been the only sign of anything that didn't seem to want to doom her to a certain death, so she was obviously welcome in the Super Dome. But who sent a signal like that?  And were they trustworthy?  Christina decided to check things out, albeit warily.  She stood back up at last, got her bearings, and rounded the next nearest corner.  She walked up a slight cement incline, and found herself wandering into the middle of a bloodied and dried football field.

 

Inside, others were gathered at center field, no sign of monsters among them.  Christina approached carefully, but was knocked backwards when the dome erupted again, and a strange looking gentleman who called himself Zephiel appeared before herself and the others.

 

He went on to explain the situation, and how Christina and these six others were apparently chosen as the saviors of the human race.  He explained that monsters had apparently devoured all of their friends and family, and that now, they were supposed to just get up and bring the bastards down.  And to top it all off, this place wasn't going to continue being a safe haven for much longer.  As Mr. Zephiel disappeared, his apprentice of sorts decided to let them know that the barrier protecting them would fade.  Lovely, isn't it?

 

Christina let out a rather exasperated sigh, as Zephiel vanished and Yuel introduced herself.  The little lady sprite had the right idea however.  There was a lot to do, and apparently one other also understood this.  A boy of Asian decent made his first venture one to the medical tent established in the middle of the football field.  It seemed this place had been previously set up as a place of refuge, similarly as if a terrible hurricane had occurred.  Another girl appeared to be backing away, as if this whole thing was too much for her.  Christina couldn't blame her, however.  This wasn't exactly easy to take in.  Christina however, was suddenly over come with a feeling of anxiety and angst.  Not out of worry, or fear, but more one she was comfortable with.  Right now, this situation was bleak, but she was used to that setting.

 

She had seen the bottom of the barrel and she had scraped up scraps from it.  She turned bottomed out situations totally upside down before.  This wouldn't be the first time, and she would make damn sure it wasn't the last.  Right now, the stage had been set and her challenger had been named.  She heard the announcer's voice in her head, as the stage lights came down.  

 

"In the red corner, Majin, destroyer of the human race!" 

 

She followed the crowd's eyes, and felt the pain in their boos.

 

"In the blue corner, all the way from California, weighing in at one hundred and thirty-five pounds, your leading human champion, Chrissssssssssstinaaaaaaaaaaaa  Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatesssss!"

 

They erupted into cheers and applause, standing to their feet, and--

 

"Let's not turn this into speed dating... I'm Jared Strider.  I'm 19, and from New York.  I'm sure you guys saw those things out there too, right? After we get acquainted, I say we find a place further in this joint to hold up until we get our s*** sorted out..."

 

Christina had managed to daze off into one of her boxing fantasies, but was snapped back to the harsh reality as someone finally broke the ice.  Jared seemed to be the stereo-typical New Yorker.  They had all seemed to carry that heavy attitude with them if they toured Cali.  But she could of course be wrong.  But this one seemed to have his head on his shoulders.  He had analyzed what he wanted to do, introduced himself and got right to the point.  But before Christina had a chance to introduce herself, the Asian kid returned, a backpack full of medicine behind him.  

 

"I agree. Oh! Um, I-I'm Riku. Riku Satsura. I'm 18 and just entered college. I grew up in Tokyo, specifically the Minato ward.  Umm I found a little bit of medicine. I hoped for more, but it looked like this was all I could find really. Anyways, Yuel says those... things... left earlier, but they might still know we're here. So I think... maybe we should follow Jared's plan and look for somewhere safer."

 

So he was Japanese.  Close enough.  Well.  He was quick to hop on the up and leave train, yeah?  Christina was going to make sure that wasn't a bad habit.   But of course, before any of the ladies could speak, another gentleman thought it upon himself to eye them, cheer in his voice.  He had a hell of an accent, and it was thicker than syrup.  

 

"OI!  The name's Leroy Scott!  Been on this planet for about seventeen years now!  Currently attending High School in Sydney, Australia.  Good on you Jared for breakin' that thick ice surroundin the place!  And good on you too Riku!  Taking that initiative to find some supplies.  This numb skull o' mine woulndta' even thought about scavenging around the place, despite my outback survival skills!  Not many unattended stadiums we have next to the ol' red rocks if you know what I mean?"

 

Ah he was from Australia.  Well, it was no surprise he was cheery.  Christina read about Australia before.  It was a destination she wanted to tour in her boxing career--which was ended before it started, thanks to the Majin--and the place was huge.  With that in mind, so was every critter and animal out there.  These Majin were probably just household pets to this guy.  Then he gave Christina an interesting look.  He was eyeballing Christina hungrily.  He was either a Majin, or--this was not the time and place!  

 

"Well, whoever you lot are, It's grand to get to survive with you all!  I can tell we're gonna be the best of mates!"

 

Christina slid her phone back into her pocket, taking a mental note to ask Yuel some questions later.  Trying her best to not give in to the gloom and doom, Christina spread her arms wide as she introduced herself, and walked in front of Jared and Leroy.  "Since we're all givin' grand introductions, you can call me Christina," she said with a smile.  "I'm the best damn boxer you know, and the best one you'll ever meet.  And with that established, the last thing I think we should do right now is to leave immediately."

 

It was still dark out.  Sprawling across a city you didn't know in the dark surrounded by the enemy seemed flawed.

 

"I say we search this bucket for every canned good, water source, boards, and planks that we can find.  If that barrier thing is coming down, we need to be ready for those Majin dudes.  And right now," she said pointing to the two opposite sides of the football field, where teams would normally enter or exit the field.  "There are two gaping holes in that plan.  And if we board both of 'em up, we're screwed if we get over run."  Christina walked over to one of the milk crates and snatched a map from inside of it.  She kicked over a table and stretched out its legs, and opened the map of the stadium wide.  "Let's figure out what's where and make a game plan."

 

What the survivors didn't know, however, was that the pantries, kitchens, and dining areas had been mostly emptied.  Before Zephiel had erected a barrier around the Superdome, it had been over taken some years prior.  It had already been scavenged, and save for a handful of canned goods and a few bottles of water, there wasn't much there to be found.  Staying in the Dome for any longer than a few days would prove to be fatal.  At present time, it was 10:30 p.m., and the survivors would be safe for the next eight hours.  But shortly after sun rise, Zephiel's barrier would fall, and they would be exposed to new elements.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Deeper

 

Amaris couldn't move nor bring himself to move after this explanation from Zephiel. His fists clenched tightly as he could only think about this tragedy that befell the world he once called home...but this was not his home...this wasn't HIS world.

 

He watched as a few of the survivors began moving, searching for supplies and even to make the introductions they needed. But his thoughts began to stop as he heard a voice.

 

"Amaris?"

 

"Oh...I'm sorry Yuel. Please don't mind that...I...sorta tend to do that." Amaris said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as he held up the phone.

 

"What the 'staring into space thinking' thing?"

 

"Y-Yeah, that."

 

A few bubbles popped up the screen as Yuel began to speak again. "On that note, Zephiel did say I was a guide on your journey! Would you like me to run a tutorial real quick?" Amaris only nodded, as Yuel continued. "I also come with a Majin Bestiary list, which will help you in identifying the monsters you and your fellow survivors run into. However, since you haven't run into any yet, the list is barren." Suddenly, a PING sound was heard as a file quickly was pulled up. "Oh delightful! It seems you and your fellow survivors have their first entry! An Elusive Screecher! Contributed to the list by a Mr. Riku Satsura!"

 

"Now that's kinda handy!" Amaris smiled as he put the phone away, before approaching the group as the introductions began.

 

"Let's not turn this into speed dating... I'm Jared Strider. I'm 19, and from New York. I'm sure you guys saw those things out there too, right? After we get acquainted, I say we find a place further in this joint to hold up until we get our s*** sorted out..."

 

"I agree. Oh! Um, I-I'm Riku. Riku Satsura. I'm 18 and just entered college. I grew up in Tokyo, specifically the Minato ward. Umm I found a little bit of medicine. I hoped for more, but it looked like this was all I could find really. Anyways, Yuel says those... things... left earlier, but they might still know we're here. So I think... maybe we should follow Jared's plan and look for somewhere safer."

 

"OI!  The name's Leroy Scott!  Been on this planet for about seventeen years now!  Currently attending High School in Sydney, Australia.  Good on you Jared for breakin' that thick ice surroundin the place! And good on you too Riku!  Taking that initiative to find some supplies.  This numb skull o' mine woulndta' even thought about scavenging around the place, despite my outback survival skills!  Not many unattended stadiums we have next to the ol' red rocks if you know what I mean? Well, whoever you lot are, It's grand to get to survive with you all!  I can tell we're gonna be the best of mates!"

 

"Since we're all givin' grand introductions, you can call me Christina, I'm the best damn boxer you know, and the best one you'll ever meet.  And with that established, the last thing I think we should do right now is to leave immediately."

 

It was strange to see that these survivors were from all walks of life, so to speak. Though he was definitely happy to see that there was another Japanese person here. Now he didn't really feel alone. But still...it would be rude not to give the proper introductions...

 

"I'm Amaris Ishida of Kyoto...but I live in Tokyo." Amaris started, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm a kendo champion and...well...to be honest, I'm still wondering why I'm even here as humanity's last hope. I mean...I'm sure you all thought the same."

[a bad post]

 "Let's not turn this into speed dating... I'm Jared Strider. I'm 19, and from New York. I'm sure you guys saw those things out there too, right? After we get acquainted, I say we find a place further in this joint to hold up until we get our s*** sorted out..." 

 

"I agree. Oh! Um, I-I'm Riku. Riku Satsura. I'm 18 and just entered college. I grew up in Tokyo, specifically the Minato ward. Umm I found a little bit of medicine. I hoped for more, but it looked like this was all I could find really. Anyways, Yuel says those... things... left earlier, but they might still know we're here. So I think... maybe we should follow Jared's plan and look for somewhere safer."

 

 "OI!  The name's Leroy Scott!  Been on this planet for about seventeen years now!  Currently attending High School in Sydney, Australia.  Good on you Jared for breakin' that thick ice surroundin the place! And good on you too Riku!  Taking that initiative to find some supplies.  This numb skull o' mine woulndta' even thought about scavenging around the place, despite my outback survival skills!  Not many unattended stadiums we have next to the ol' red rocks if you know what I mean? Well, whoever you lot are, It's grand to get to survive with you all!  I can tell we're gonna be the best of mates!"

 

"Since we're all givin' grand introductions, you can call me Christina. I'm the best damn boxer you know, and the best one you'll ever meet.  And with that established, the last thing I think we should do right now is to leave immediately."

 

"I'm Amaris Ishida of Kyoto...but I live in Tokyo. I'm a kendo champion and...well...to be honest, I'm still wondering why I'm even here as humanity's last hope. I mean...I'm sure you all thought the same."

 

One by one the others began to introduce themselves, and it seemed at this point she and the goth where the only ones left, and though the logical choice would've been to say something Mia instead moved so that she stood near the table the red-head had opened up. Leaning over the map her eyes quickly scanning across the map, assessing the terrain of the Super Dome. With a resigned sigh, Mia pushed herself away from the table. She'd be little help here. She was no survivor, and she certainly didn't have any idea what useful places to visit would be in a football stadium. 

 

"Hey..." the white haired teen said walking towards the young man who had introduced himself first, "Jared, right...? Would you, uh... mind sharing?" Mia's vague question was finished by her making at motion similar to taking a drag on a cigarette, indicating the subject of her question.

[Hälō]

Christina, The Boxer, Leroy, Mr. Sunshine from the out back, Amaris, Kendo champ and captain obvious, and finally Riku, the college boy and volunteer medic apparently. Jared rolled the names around in his head for a moment, sticking them to their owner’s face, and memorizing them. He also took note that the other two, the girl with the white hair and the Goth hadn’t bothered to share their names with others. “They’ll come around… they’ll have to. “ He assured himself silently, as he turned his gaze to the map. “Welp, guys… welcome to the apocalypse.” He muttered to the others dryly.

 

 "Hey... Jared, right...? Would you, uh... mind sharing?"  Jared looked up to see that the white haired girl had moved to his side, and was motioning that she wanted a smoke.  Gazing at her with the same blank expression he had given Yui, the boy took in her features. Why did something seem… off? Deciding to mark it off as the “post-finding out that you’re the last hope for humanity syndrome” kicking in, Jared nodded at the girl before reaching into his pocket and retrieving not one, but two packs of cigarettes. Raising his eyebrow at the second pack, he remembered that he had been on a cigarette run for his sister right before this whole shitstorm had kicked off.  

 

“Yea, here.” Sliding the un-opened pack back into his pocket next his phone, the boy drew a loose cigarette  from his own almost empty carton and handed it to the girl before producing a gold lighter. He’d give her a light, before returning the lighter to his pocket and redressing the group. 

 

“Christina has a point. But I don’t think we should even bother trying secure this part of the stadium…” As he spoke, he motioned towards the two large tunnels that the woman had pointed out earlier. “Look around. We’re not the first people to have tried to stay here, and judging from the fact the placed is trashed, and big-man said that we’re the last people alive on the planet… I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that it didn’t work out for them too well.” 

 

Pausing a moment to let his companions maul over his point, Jared continued. “There’s a press box up there.” He pointed up towards the structure that was based at the very top of the stands. “It’s a nice vantage point so we can see if anything enters the stadium, and it should easier to fortify seeing that theres only seven of us.” Now he motioned towards the red haired woman, Riku, and the still unnamed girl who he had given the cigarette to. “Christina, Riku, and the kid were all on the right track. So now I say we follow through and split up into two groups. One fortifies that thing, while the other sweeps the place and picks up any supplies we can gather.” 

 

Running his fingers through his hair a second time, the boy waited for a response from one of the other survivors. 

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

Destiny continued to keep an eye on the white-haired... trap, she guessed, from a considerable distance; not too far away to see what exactly the kid was doing, yet not so close that she'd get herself made in an instant. However, another survivor had approached her as she was watching.
 
 "Hm?" Des turned her eyes, but not her head to the survivor, who just wanted to let her know he was gonna check the tent for supplies, "Yeah sure, good luck with that,"
 
She tried her best not to sound so sarcastic, but her tone couldn't be helped. In any case, Des returned her attention to the white haired kid, who eventually returned to the others, asking one of them for a cigarette. Turned out the event of one of them buggering off on their own wasn't gonna happen after all. That was fine. The next thing Des thought about, as most everyone else had introduced themselves to each other, was trying to look for a safe place. The Super Dome itself was a poor place to be situated in. The only reason everyone was safe was because of that barrier; once that was gone, all a Majin had to do was climb over the walls and the whole party would be vulnerable... unless they moved to the press box, perhaps. Interestingly, Des wasn't the only one to think of that.
 
"There's a press box up there. It's a nice vantage point so we can see if anything enters the stadium, and it should be easier to fortify seeing that there's only seven of us," said one of the survivors, Jared if Des remembered correctly. Des looked up at the press box, then turned to Jared.

 

"I'll go on ahead and keep watch from that press box. I'll also want to scout around for a safer place than here," as she said this, Des started to ascend the steps that would get her there, but turned to Jared again just as she walked up a few of them, "My name's Des by the way, just so you know,"

 

With that, she continued her ascent.

[Dad]

10:30 p.m.

 

 

She was in agreement, nodding along to Jared's statement regarding the press box.  "Sounds good.  If we leave these areas open, the baddies can get in, but we'll have a way out too if worse comes to worse."  The Gothic stranger introduced herself as well, at last.  She began making a bee line for the press box, right away.  And of course, the remaining mystery hero identified himself as well, a second boy of Japanese decent.  Well this was quaint, wasn't it?  Four boys and three ladies.  Not a bad ratio at all.  And to think, their only task was saving the world.  Christina called up to Destiny as she made her way to the press box.  "Be careful, and holler if you see anything unusual."  Meanwhile, Christina made her way to the locker rooms.  "I'm gonna check out the equipment in this place.  See if there's anything besides footballs and pads."

 

Because she was so near to the stadium floor entrance, Christina quickly made her way into the locker rooms.  Upon opening the door, she was disgusted, but not at all surprised at what she was seeing.  Dried blood littered the floor, lockers were caved in, and even knocked over.  Some of the helmets had been crushed, and most of the footballs had been deflated, either by accident or on purpose.  On one of the far west walls in black spray paint, a message that said "Overrun 9/24" gave Christina a chill.  They hadn't lasted long, had they?  Christina began rummaging through what few lockers she could, in hopes she could find something that could be a clue or of help.  But instead, she only found a corpse in the fetal position, rotting in one of the lockers.  "sheet," she whispered, covering her nose and mouth with her hand.  Slamming the locker closed, Christina stepped back, nearly tripping over the rotting wooden bench behind her.  In doing so, she did find something that would aid the survivors.  Hopefully.  A green leaflet with bold red letters was their first and only clue.  She stuffed it in her back pocket, and ducked out of the locker rooms.

 

11:25 p.m.

 

As she exited the locker rooms, Christina turned down a mistakenly similar hallway that would have taken her back to the main field.  However, she was instead led to an equipment garage, where machines had been powered down and backed into a corner.  "Man and machine," Christina said as she approached an open police cart.  It had been outfitted with a heavy riot shield on its front side, and oxygen tanks in its rear.  "There's no better team."  But she didn't have the keys.  But there was so much she could do with this police cart!  It could fit at least six, seven if someone road on the roof.  It was small, but fast and maneuverable.   However, even if she found the keys, the only place she could get the damn thing was onto the field.  At least, until she learned to navigate this stadium.  She had to keep the location in mind, but how would she know where to return?  An of course, this area was much darker than the inside of the dimly lit stadium.  She could barely make it out as it was.  Christina kicked the cart in frustration, and turned around only to bump into a cement column.  "Damn it!  Son of-- wait a sec."  On the side of the column, in black, white, and red paint was a numbered location.  "One-twenty-eight F."  She took her phone from her pocket, and unlocked it.  Yuel sprang to life, immediately asking questions.

 

"Whatcha doin' Christina?"

 

"Trying to take a picture of this column, if my camera still works."

 

"Camera?  That's so 2015!  Here!  I'll save the location as a return point on your phone.  Now, if you ever need to recall it, all you have to do is ask!"  Looks like Yuel would be useful after all.  "Sweet.  Then I should tell them what I've found.  We might be able to use this."

 

11:50 p.m.

 

Returning to the field, Christina began calling to the others.  "I've got good news and bad news," she said explaining how she found a large police cart, and where it was parked.  "But I couldn't find the damn keys.  They've gotta be somewhere, but this place is too big to check.  We'd be searching all night," she said disappointed.  Just then, Yuel spoke up out of Christina's pocket, causing her to reach in and snatch out her cell phone.  "It's nearing midnight.  You've got nearly hours until the barrier outside falls."  The survivors had two goals now.  To secure whatever food, water, and medicines they could, and to get some rest.  It was late, and if they were tired when the barrier fell, it would be much easier to be over taken by whatever wicked thing would come their way.  However, if they could secure the keys to the police cart, they would have a much easier time making an escape in the event that the Majin did manage to take the Super Dome.

 

Of course, the keys were always wherever the survivors looked next.

[Mr. Hyde]

10:30  p.m.

 

Now everyone had an objective in their heads.  Scavenge or fortification of the stadium.  "Well now aren't we jus' the little leader ay Jared?"  Leroy laughed and smacked him heartily on the back as Jared ran his fingers through his hair.  The others of the group had also introduced themselves, and now Leroy had a name to every pretty face.  He was good at that, mostly because his was good with people.  It was also really easy just getting away with calling people "friend-o" or "mate".  Part of the whole Australian charm.  "I'll go look for some eats and drinks.  I think it'd be worse to die of starvation or dehydration in the apocalypse.  You always have to go out like a hero..can't succumb to the bloody elements!"  With that, Leroy dashed off.  

 

11:00 p.m.

 

"Ahh buggah....I've gone and got myself lost."  In his excited haste, Leroy had ran through many hallways and corridors but was getting no where just as fast as he had left.  "This place ain't built like the Opera House now is it?  Silly me for thinkin' that!  Now eveyone's just gonna take me for the token goof...what will I tell them when they starve?!  'I'm sorry that you're dying of hunger mates, but at least we can starve together?'  crikey..."  Leroy sighed in defeat, turning around to try and figure out how to get back to the stadium, when his face smacked into a rather large cylinder.  As he shook his head in recoil, he noticed that he had walked directly into a directory stand.  Placing his fingers on the "You Are Here" point, he traced a path that would lead him to the cafeteria.  "Leroy you crafty son of a gun you!  You're gonna save the whole team!"  He hugged the directory cylinder and whispered, "Thank you you beautiful cylindah'."  A vibrate came from his shorts.

 

"You know...I probably could've just brought up a map of the place for you doofus!"  Yuel pouted.

 

"Hush little phone fairy, and thank the cylindah' like a good girl."  Yuel rolled her eyes.

 

"Thank you Mr. Cylinder."  Yuel almost couldn't help but burst into laughter, and Leroy's laughs followed shortly after.

 

11:50 p.m.

 

With the help of a directory, and maybe a bit more from Yuel, Leroy marched triumphantly onto the field.  He carried a case of generic brand water bottles that had been opened beforehand, but still retained most of it's content.  On top of that were a couple cans of chili used for the stadium's chili dogs.  The previous occupants of the place must've not been a big fan of chili, but Leroy wasn't going to start complaining.  Leroy had gotten to the group as Christina was talking about keys and searching.  "You know Red, I probably couldn't find my head if it wasn't attached to my shouldahs.  Same thing with keys you know?"  Leroy placed his prizes onto the ground and then checked his pockets.  He then gave a quick sigh of relief...at least that was still there.  Pointing to the food and water, Leroy smiled.  "On the other hand, I can find food like a Koala can find eucalyptus!  Pure instinct!"  Another vibration came from his pants, and he brought his phone back out.    

 

"Yeah right, you big dummy!  You just got lucky you found that Mfmfmmfmf!"  Yuel's shouts were muffled as Leroy shoved his phone farther into his pockets.  

 

"Well...If you'd all excuse me," Leroy gave off a yawn, "I'm gonna go retire in our sanctuary for the night before all the beasties decide to get in."  Leroy picked up what he had found and headed for the box that would serve as their haven of sorts.   

[Hälō]

                                                                    10:30  p.m.

 

"I'll go on ahead and keep watch from that press box. I'll also want to scout around for a safer place than here," Surprisingly, the Goth was the first to pipe up. Nodding approvingly he watched as she made her way up the stairs, Jared couldn't help but feel just a little bit more optimistic about their predicament. "My name's Des by the way, just so you know," And now he had a name for the girl too, excellent. "Noted." He called behind her just before Christina announced that she'd be be one of the members of the supply group. "Alright, sounds good."  He said as he watched the red haired woman vanish into the locker room. 

 

Just then, Leroy appeared behind him, smacking his back hardily. "Well now aren't we jus' the little leader ay Jared?" Jared could just feel the positive vibes quite literally oozing off the kid, and even he couldn't help but pop a small smile when in such close proximity. "Just trying to stay alive..." He muttered as he placed his hand on Leroy's shoulder, before watching the Australian dash off.

 

And then there was four. Glancing around at Riku, Amaris, and the kid, Jared motioned towards the press box. "I'm gonna get to work on making our humble little nest safe for night..." Satisfied that the two Japanese boy's would be able to figure out what they were going to do on their own, he began walking towards the broken medical tent at the far end of the field, only to stop and shift his gaze back to the still unnamed girl with the white hair. "Hey, wanna give me hand?" He did his best to remove the aloofness that always lingered in his voice. It was going to take all of them if they wanted to make it through this, even her. 

 

Regardless of the girls response, he would make his way to the tent; gathering the three undamaged polls that made up it's foundation, as well as the grey tarp that served as it's roof. Unable to carry everything at once, the boy decided to leave the tent's two folding chairs where they were, in hopes that someone else would pick them up. 

 

                                                                                                                                11:00 p.m.

                                                                                                                      

Destiny, and whoever else had chosen to head to the press box before him would alerted to his arrival by a loud grunt, followed the metallic rattling of the tent parts hitting the floor as he tossed them inside. Sighing at the amount of effort it had actually been to drag all of the materials up the stands, the boy stepped into the box and and immediately propped himself up against the nearest wall to catch his breath. "Majin, phone fairies, time travel, two Japanese kids, a boxer, a mute, pretty little goth girl, oh, and an Australian..." He addressed Destiny, before loosening his tie and inspecting the interior of the press box. Though it lacked any furniture, it would definitely be able to house all seven of them comfortably with a few adjustments, and the window would give a perfect view of the stands and field; maybe even an emergency exit if things got too hairy. "Sounds like the setup for a bad joke." Judging from her appearance, he assumed his dry sense of humor wouldn't be lost on her. 

 

Picking up one of the tent poles, Jared weighed it in his hand for a few moments before walking over to one of the box's four large windows. Sighing loudly, the boy raised the pole to his side and took a few practice swings. "Batter up!" He mumbled to himself, before slamming the pole into the window, shattering it and sending shards of glass raining down into the stands. Slightly impressed by the fact that he had broke the window on his first try, the boy turned to Des again with smirk. "Any ideas on what the punchlines gonna be?" 

 

With the window broken, Jared quickly grabbed the tarp and laid it over it's jagged edges to allow for him or his fellow survivors to lean or even climb down into the stands should the situation demand it. "And now we have a guard post, and the glass down there shouldn't be too bad of a alarm system..." He explained to any who were listening.

 

                                                                                                                                  11:50 p.m.

It didn't take long for his fellows survivors to begin returning from their individual scouting. Leroy had actually managed to find some supplies, which honestly had surprised Jared quite a bit. Even more surprising however was the fact that Christina had located vehicle that could possibly hold all seven of them. Unfortunately, the chance of them simply stumbling across the key was pretty low...

[Yosuke-kun]

10:30, Super Dome, Field

 

"I'll go on ahead and keep watch from that press box. I'll also want to scout around for a safer place than here. My name's Des by the way, just so you know."

 

The goth girl had finally spoke, and revealed her name to be Des. Riku rationalized that this was likely short for something, like Desiree or Destiny, but Des was fine for now. As she walked up, he looked after her with, momentarily noticing how fine her booty looked, then shook his head and called back.

 

"Be careful. Even if the Majin can't get in we don't know what else could be here." 

 

After she left, Christina, the redheaded boxer girl, offered to go an find supplies and search the Super Dome, which was a good plan. Riku was going to offer to go with her, but before he could she had already taken off. Next up was Leroy, who after a hardy laugh and a quick morale boost, made it his job to find food for the group. It was only then that Riku noticed how hungry he'd been. Once again, Riku wanted to offer his aid, but Leroy had already made his way towards the tunnels. As Jared made his way up to the press box, and beckoned for the cute, but for some reason unappealing white haired girl, Riku looked to the remaining person, who seemed to have been lost in thought. Not wanting to disturb him, Riku sighed and wandered off towards the tunnels to see what he could find.

 

10:50 PM, Super Dome, East Wing Spectator Hall

 

"Hold up there Mr. I'm already having this problem with Leroy, so I'm not gonna have it with you too!" Yuel chimed as Riku entered the tunnels. As she spoke, Riku pulled out his phone and glanced at the screens digital angel/pixie, who wore a proud look about her as if she'd done or thought of something extremely clever.


"You're.... huh?" This had thrown Riku a curve. Was Leroy somehow in trouble? Wasn't the barrier supposed to be up still?

"Oh don't worry!~ The Kangaroo Kid's just gotten himself lost is all. So to make sure you don't get lost too," Yuel said, mimicing Leroy's accent as she declared Leroy the "Kangaroo Kid", then floated across Riku's screen and into the background of the app to open a page listed as 'Map Data'. "See? It's pointless to wander around aimlessly. So let me be your guardian angel Riku~." 

 

Riku couldn't help but smile at the pixel fairy as she opened up the map and declared herself Riku's guardian angel. It almost felt as if Yuel was flirting with him, at least a little, but he dismissed it as a part of the girls programming. Now that he actually had time to consider it, it was really amazing how advanced Yuel seemed to be. If Riku didn't know any better, he'd say she was just as real as he was.

 

"Thanks Yuel. This should be helpful." Riku said as he made his way through the tunnels, using the map as his guide. 

 

11:20 PM, Super Dome, Security Office

 

After several minutes of using his phone light and the map Yuel had provided to navigate his way through the tunnel, passing by the former concession stands as he did and discovering that they'd all been emptied out long ago, Riku found himself right next to the stadium's security office. He was certain there would be something useful inside, but his first problem was getting in. The door was metal. Rusted, but still metal, and Riku wasn't strong enough to break it down. If it were rotting wood maybe, but this was more than he could force. From the look of it, something else had already tried to force it's way in. Large gash marks were all across the door and a part in the center was severely dented by some massive force. By the handle, a number pad with a small fading light on caught Riku's attention.

 

"If the light's on, then it must run on some sort of LED batteries... which means it might still work... Yuel, think you could?"

"Waaaayyy ahead of ya Riku." Yuel said as a few light's flashed across the number pad. "Okay, try 4017." 

 

Riku wasted no time in punching in the code, and to his delight, the light blinked green and the door became unlocked. Almost immediately after Riku opened the door, the light faded out, and Riku could tell that that was the last ounce of energy that could be mustered by batteries alone. At least Riku was able to get in though. However closing the door would mean he would not be able to access the room again, so scanning every inch of the room was a must now. 

 

As he entered, a blast of stench struck Riku's nose. The air was so foul that Riku felt himself begin to hurl from the scent alone. As he thought about what could have possibly made such a disgusting odor, his light flashed across something that Riku had hoped he would not see in this world. The sight alone was enough to deal the final blow to his stomach, and he could not hold back his vomit anymore as he dropped his phone and reached for the trash bin by the desk, heaving out bile and what remained in his stomach from his last meal. 

 

At the back of the room was a nearly fully decomposed body, that still had bit's of flesh rotting off of it's bones. The body wore an old tattered and moth eaten police uniform and held a gun in the remains of it's left hand. All around the floor beside it, rotten flesh that had fallen off had scattered itself around the body, as well as the years old feces left upon death. The bodies innards had been spilled out, due to the sate of his decomposition and we similarly rotting among the rest of the filth. But despite the grotesque visage of this mans appearance, what drove Riku over the edge was not this body, but the similarly rotting body of a small child in a jacket and skirt lying next to the body of the police officer.

 

For five whole minutes, Riku could not do anything other than cough and hack as the contents of his stomach forced their way out of him, causing him to choke and tear up as he lurched and spat into the trash. The overpowering stench, the sight of the dead girl and police officer, they were just too much for him to handle. He wasn't a soldier or the protagonist of an anime, he was just a regular boy. He wasn't meant to handle this sort of thing. As his stomach fought to escape his body, Riku could hear Yuel calling to him and attempting to comfort him from where he has dropped his phone, but he could not make out what she was saying. 

 

Finally, after dry heaving one last time, his stomach settled, leaving Riku to gasp and pant as an aftermath of the experience. Turning away from the bin, that had now filled with Riku's vomit, he rested himself against the table and took a few moments to recover before finally hearing what Yuel was saying.

 

"Are you feeling better Riku? If you'd like, I can set this room as a waypoint and direct Christina or one of the other's to it. All you'd need to do was prop the door open..." 

 

Riku shook his head, realizing that he did not have time for this right now and forced himself to stand and walk over to retrieve his phone. It was hard, and Riku knew that he'd likely be seeing a sight like this again, but this was the world he was in now. He couldn't turn away or pretend otherwise no matter how much the disliked it. 

 

"I'll be fine... We can't waste anymore time..."

Forcing himself to look at the bodies one more time and fighting back a tear as he looked at the body of the young girl, Riku began to search the room. There was not much, but he did manage to find a few unused batteries, as well as an emergency kit with a small supply of extra medicine. He also found a few flashlights and three walkie talkies. From his understanding, Yuel would be able to communicate between them all anyways, but it wouldn't hurt to have these around just in case, so he put them in the backpack he'd found earlier as well. Lastly, he had to search the bodies. He hated the thought of doing so. In Japan, it was greatly taboo to disrespect the dead, but he couldn't afford not to be thorough now. Bowing his head to the girl and police officer, Riku silently apologized and began to search the two.

 

As he searched, he noticed a note in the police officers pocket, hanging out just enough for it to be noticed. While it was probably nothing, Riku felt he owed it to the man to at least look to see what he had said. There was a chance that he left behind valuable information too. As Riku's carefully pulled the note from the mans pocket, he heard a small clatter hit the ground. Inspecting the noise before reading the note, Riku found a pair of keys had fallen out of the mans pocket, complete with a beeper. Those would be useful for when they had to leave, so Riku pocketed them afer thanking the man, then looked to the note. 

 

"To whoever is reading this, I can't begin to express my shame at the situation you've found me in. Those things are pounding, slashing at the door. I can hear the others outside screaming as they rip them apart and can feel myself going to hell for leaving them to their fate. I was always a cowardly man. I only became a police officer so I could feel like I had some form of power. Worse, I was a dirty cop. I accepted bribes, let prostitutes of in exchange for free jobs, and worse. If my wife ever saw this, if my daughter ever knew... they'd probably hate me. I hate me too.

 

This was all I could do to protect my little Ashley in the end. Those monsters don't eat the dead, and when they do eat you, you're alive. I can't- I WON'T let Ashley suffer hat kind of death. I told her it'd be okay, had her face the wall, told her how much her Marlene and I loved her... then shot her in the head. She was 8 funking years old... I know I'll go to hell for my crimes, but I just couldn't let an innocent little girl like her go through that kind of pain. I'll be joining her soon anyways.

 

My only hope is that whoever reads this found away to slaughter those ungodly mother funkers and avenge my daughter. Bullets are useless to them. funk, I've seen these things live through rocket blasts and still tear the heart of the one that shot it out. But if my gun will help you in any way, take it. It's still got 8 shots left. Hopefully they help you. If by some miracle you find Marlene Sanders, please give her this note. Tell her it's from Teddy. I know she won't forgive me, but I cannot express how sorry I am. I betrayed her and she deserved better." 

 

"This is.... horrible..." Riku said as he finished the note and pushed it into his pocket. Yuel wiped a tear from her eye, then looked at Riku, waiting to see what more he would do. 

 

"Guns don't work on them... They lived through rockets... How the hell do we fight them?..." 

 

"You'll need your Fayth." Yuel replied in a serious tone, making a copy of the note as she did.

 

"Fayth?"

 

"The only weapons capable of harming a Majin. Fayth are the departed souls of us Tenjin who died to protect the human race. They appear to you as weapons that will help you face the Majin." As Yuel finished recording her note, she looked up at RIku and smiled faintly "You'll see what I mean soon enough. You've got a very powerful one Riku. So no worries." 

 

Lastly, Riku looked down to the gun in the man's hand. It wasn't going to help him, but he was unsure if that meant they would not need it. It may not work against Majin, but it could have other uses, so Riku knelt down and pried the gun from the corpses hand, nearly vomiting again as he did, and then slid it between his belt and pants above his rear. Looking about the room one last time, Riku decided that there was nothing more that he could use here, and left, closing the door behind him.

 

11:53 PM, Super Dome, Field

 

It had seemed that Riku had arrived shortly after the others, and that they seemed to have a bit more success than he had. Leroy for example, had carried back a large supply of water and canned food, what looked like chili, from the cafeteria.

"Don't believe a word of what he says! That doofus barely found that food without me!" Yuel shouted from Riku's pocket, but Riku chose to ignore that and instead set down his pack and handed Christina and Leroy one of the three radio's he found.

 

"I found these in the security office. There were some flashlights too, and..." At that, Riku stood and showed both of them the note he'd found. It did hold somewhat valuable information, so they deserved to see it too. As he reached into his pocket though, he felt the keys that came with the note, then remembered about the gun as well. Deciding that he should show them those as well, Riku pulled both out and held them out for the two to see.

"These were there too. I don't know how much the gun could help us, but you never know. As for the keys, if we can find the car he used we might be able to transport things a little easier for when we have to move. Oh an ummm... I think one of you should hold onto the gun. I... wouldn't even know how to fire it..."

[a bad post]

10:30, Super Dome, Field

 

“Yea, here.” 

 

Mia smilled slightly as Jared handed him the cigarette and lighting it. Taking a long drag on the cigarette Mia coughed as the harmful smoke entered his lungs. He'd never actually smoked before, and he probably looked really lame right now, but he'd always wanted to feel what it was like, and to be perfectly honest he wasn't to fond of it. With a rather disgusted look he tossed the cigarette to the ground, extinguishing it with his heel.

 

 "Hey, wanna give me hand?"

 

"Hm?" Mia looked back at Jared who appeared to be pointing at 2 chairs he appeared to have left behind. "Mmm... Sure, I guess..." Mia certainly wasn't making himself useful anywhere else. Hefting up the chairs Mia began to drag them across ground up towards the press box.

 

"Oh-h jeez..." Mia panted, "I'm really outta shape... haha..." Grunting the white haired teen lifted the chairs up the stadium stairs and into the press box where it seemed two of his allies had already gathered.

 

11:00, Super Dome, Press Box

 

Mia had been resting on the chairs he had been carrying up the stairs when the loud slamming of the black haired man dropping the tent supplies to the ground cause Mia to start. 

 

 "Majin, phone fairies, time travel, two Japanese kids, a boxer, a mute, pretty little goth girl, oh, and an Australian..." He addressed the goth girl who had been here long before Mia."Sounds like the setup for a bad joke." 

 

Mia watched curiously as the suited man picked up one of the tent poles, and picking up on what he would be doing covered his ears to the noise. "Batter up!" Mia could feel himself cringe as the sound of the glass shattering pierced through his makeshift earmuffs. It was only when Mia finally removed his hands from his ears that he noticed he was shaking. "Any ideas on what the punchlines gonna be?" Mia looked up Jared finally steadying himself.

 

"That would be rather nice, wouldn't it. If this was all some grand joke~" Mia sighed. He supposed she should be more upset about the world ending, but oh well. "By the way, my name is Mia. Nice to meet you." 

 

The two other acknowledged her introduction, Jared then proceeded to explain his reason for breaking the glass. "And now we have a guard post, and the glass down there shouldn't be too bad of a alarm system..." He explained to any who were listening.

 

"Wow, pretty smart..." Mia muttered looking at the shattered window, "I'm going to go see if I can find anything useful. I'll see you all later."

 

11:50 PM, Super Dome, Field

Mia had returned to the meeting place, thankfully he found something useful this time by digging around in the tents left on the field. The others, specifically the loud Australian, began displaying the supplies they'd acquired.

 

"I, uh found some medical supplies..." Mia shyly put the meager first aid kit on the table, "my mom was a doctor, so I tried to sort all the stuff that was used, or unclean. Unfortunately that was most of it... There's still some pain killers and gauze wraps left over though, so..."

 

A few minutes later one of the Japanese boys returned bearing flashlights, and... a note. Mia passed the note along before reading completely through. He hadn't needed to. He knew how it would end, and he wasn't sure he'd be quite willing to keep his emotions in check if he did. The next thing however Riku presented them was, well... interesting to say the least.

 

"These were there too. I don't know how much the gun could help us, but you never know. As for the keys, if we can find the car he used we might be able to transport things a little easier for when we have to move. Oh an ummm... I think one of you should hold onto the gun. I... wouldn't even know how to fire it..."

 

"I think we should get rid of it," Mia muttered, "the only thing it's useful for is killing each other."

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

Press Box: 2300 hrs

 

Due to her ten minute head start, Destiny had been rummaging around the press box for anything, anything at all that could possibly be of use. The only things she could find, aside from a whole bunch of useless papers, were an I-pod, a pair of headphones and a set of what looked to be car keys. Des put on the headphones and turned the I-pod on, searching through for anything that had been downloaded onto the I-pod itself that may've been worth listening to. There were a whole bunch of songs that had been downloaded, but the vast majority of it was crappy pop music. Not the sort Des liked to listen to.

 

"Jesus, what's with this conformists and their sheet? Don't they have anything..." eventually, something Des could tolerate came through the headphones, "That'll do,"

 

With the volume cranked up as high as the I-pod would play, Des stuffed the keys in her sleeve and stacked all the papers in a pile. If nothing else, they might serve as fuel for starting a fire, although heavier burnables would be needed if that fire was to be sustained. In any case, Des had just finished when all of a sudden...

 

"Majin, phone fairies, time travel, two Japanese kids, a mute, pretty little goth girl, oh, and an Australian. Sounds like the setup for a bad joke," that was the sound of Jared arriving, no doubt, and the kid that would later introduce themselves as Mia had tagged along to.

 

"I'm sure it does," Des replied nonchalantly. Even if that was supposed to be funny, Des wasn't really in the mood to crack a laugh; considering she'd found almost nothing of use. The next thing Jared did was start breaking down the windows of the press box. It was a good thing Des managed to find a second song to listen to after all that; the sound of it blaring into her ears drastically cut down the noise of glass shattering. Add one tarp over the edge of the broken windows...

 

"And now we have a guard post, and the glass down there shouldn't be too bad of an alarm system..." explained Jared.

 

"We'll see about that," Des stated as she pulled out an empty drawer and shoved all the papers inside, "Let's get going."

 

Picking the drawer up with both hands, Des made her way to the field.

 

Main Field: 2354 hrs

 

Des descended down the stairs when all of a sudden, the battery of the I-pod that she was listening to had suddenly died on her. Normally she'd just pocket it and wait until she got the chance to charge it, but she couldn't find the charger anywhere, and even if she did, she was pretty sure the power was out all-round the city; if that was the case, then the charger wouldn't have worked anyway. Frustrated by this, Des ripped of the headphones and hiffed the whole thing along one row of stands. She didn't have time for electronics that would eventually die on her.

 

Riku, Christina and Leroy were down there already, and Mia had just joined them too. Apparently it was a case of show and tell, with Leroy scoring a can of chili, Christina claiming to have found a police vehicle of sorts, Mia placing down some medical supplies and Riku bringing some walkie talkies and flashlights... and a gun of all things. Riku wanted someone to hold onto the gun, saying that he didn't know how to fire it. However...

 

"I think we should get rid of it," Mia stated, "The only thing it's useful for is killing ourselves."

 

"Or getting us killed," Des chimed in, "One of us could fire it and theoretically attract the attention of the Majins so the others can escape; it's certainly loud enough. But that person would probably be eaten. Hence the getting us killed part."

 

Des was the last one to read the note that Riku had taken out along with the gun. That poor tortured soul; damned if he did what was written on the note, and damned if he didn't. But alas, Des balled it up and dropped it in with the papers that she collected from the press box, before placing the drawer down

 

"In any case, I found ourselves some useless papers to start a fire with; we can probably burn the drawer I put them in as well if we need the fire to actually last," Destiny fished out the keys from her sleeve and dropped them down as well, "Found those keys up there too; hopefully they're remotely useful,"

[Dad]

MIDNIGHT

 

 

 

Destiny and Jared had gone up to the press box and returned successfully with news scrapings, and a set of keys, as well as securing the room for the evening. Leroy had returned with around twelve cans of chili, seven bottles of water, and Mia (who's name Christina was only just learning) had returned with more medical supplies.  And then, the more unexpected surprise, was Riku, who brought back three walkie talkies, two flashlights and brand new batteries, a set of keys, and. . .a gun?

 

"These were there too. I don't know how much the gun could help us, but you never know. As for the keys, if we can find the car he used we might be able to transport things a little easier for when we have to move. Oh an ummm... I think one of you should hold onto the gun. I... wouldn't even know how to fire it..."

 

Well, that was certainly unexpected.

 

"I think we should get rid of it.  The only thing it's useful for is killing each other."

 

She was certainly right about that.

 

"Or getting us killed.  One of us could fire it and theoretically attract the attention of the Majins so the others can escape; it's certainly loud enough. But that person would probably be eaten. Hence the getting us killed part."

 

"Well, ladies, I kinda have to agree.  But the fact of the matter is, it's a weapon.  One that probably won't be useful right away, but you never know.  Here, let me see it," Christina said as she took the gun from the table.  She took care to aim it away from the others and into the empty stands.  Checking the weapon, the safety was still on, which was good.  She opened the chamber to discover a single round already loaded.  Checking the clip, there were an additional six rounds in the clip, totaling seven bullets in all.  She lay the gun back on the table, still pointing it away from the others.  "So, let's take a look at what's what."  Christina walked over to one of the milk crates from before, and rummaged through it for something to write on.  She managed to come across a pen, but nothing to write on.  Instead, she took one of the many whit sports t-shirts and flipped it over, and began scribbling.

 

"So, we've got:

 

Twelve cans of chili, now with Leroy, alone in the Press Box--not sure if I should cross em out or not, he might be hungry.

 

Two dozen large bandages, a small box of gauze, a quarter bottle of rubbing alcohol, a small roll of medical tape, and two bottles of aspirin.  

 

Seven bottles of water.

 

Two flashlights, and six batteries.

 

Three walkies.

 

Two sets of keys.

 

Some burning paper and a burning drawer.

 

And uh, a gun.  With seven rounds."  Seven rounds?  It was almost as if--

 

"That's a pretty damn good haul, if you ask me.  But as far as the gun goes, I think we should hold on to it.  I know, its risky, but perhaps we could, like Destiny said, use it as a distraction.  Maybe there are some locks we need to break.  Maybe there's non-majin target we need to hit from a distance.  Ya never know.  And something like this is a very rare find.  The safety is on, so we don't have to worry about it going off in someone's hands.  But I think someone needs to hold on to it.  It's already midnight, so I think Leroy has the best idea.  We take what he can carry and bring it to the Press Box.  We'll decide what to do with the gun when we get there.  And as for the keys," Christina said taking both sets of keys in either of her hands.  "I'm gonna figure out which set will operate the police cart.  And I'll be back with the results shortly."

 

Christina took it upon herself to investigate the police cart.  She retraced her steps with Yuel's help, and found the cart sitting idly, prepared for departure.  She first took the set Riku found and tried to fit it in the police car's steering column.  "No good, huh?" she said taking the keys out of the ignition.  Well that didn't make much sense.  Keys on a cop that don't work for a police cart?  She dismissed the thought for now and took the second set of keys that Destiny found and repeated the process.  A smooth turn got her excited, but she was afraid to turn the engine over.  Even if the Majin couldn't get in right away, the risk seemed to great.  But, if the survivors had to escape tomorrow, and the engine didn't turn over, what then?  If it was cold, likely for years, her best bet would be to start the cart now, and hope it didn't cause much of a ruckus.

 

She crossed her fingers, and completed the turn with the keys.  The engine was actually quite quiet, almost unnoticeable.  There was a very slight whirring beneath the back end, but that was mostly it.  She was just relieved that the cart started up at all.  Now they had to plan an escape route.  Christina decided to take the police cart for a quiet stroll, attempting to roll it into the stadium for easier access.  Unfortunately, the lights on the cart did not work, and the back end of the stadium was incredibly dark.  Christina of course managed to turn the cart around, only to bump it into and topple over a large locker, rattling the giant metallic clutter and its contents onto the floor.  The crash was loud, but apparently not loud enough to attract any Majin.

 

"sheet," Christina whispered loudly to herself.  She turned the cart off and got out to investigate what she had struck.  She was able to stand the locker up, despite its size.  On the front, there was a pad lock.  Could this be what the keys were for?  She took the second set of keys back out of her pocket, and slid the key into the padlock.  With a thud, the tumbler flipped, and the lock dropped at her feet.  "Well, that's fine I guess."  Prying open the rusted doors, Christina was super excited at what she had found.  

 

In the bottom of the locker was a red metal container with a black handle and yellow writing.  She recognized it anywhere.  It was gasoline.  But there wasn't much in it, at only a fourth of the container.  Still, this was a ten gallon container, and that was useable gasoline.  Christina chucked it carefully into the police cart to grab on her way out.  And behind it, Christina found a second gun, much larger than the first.  It had a really wide barrel, and only held a single shot.  "A flare gun?"  It had its uses.  Christina took the flare out of the barrel, and sat it and the gun as far away from the gas canister as possible.  

 

The locker was empty besides those items, so Christina shut it silently.  She secured the contents of the police cart, and drove it quietly into the stadium, beeping the horn as she made her way in.  "We hit another loot chest boys!" she cheered as she parked the police cart beside the tables, facing it to the east exit.  

 

"It's not much," she said getting out and putting the gas can and flare gun on the table.  "But something tells me we can use all of this.  And there's no telling if we'll find anything else if and when we leave here.  I think the gas can should stay down here.  We can bring everything else with us."  Christina took what she could, from the table, can began carrying it to the Press Box.  And in good time as well, as Yuel chirped from her pockets, slightly muffled.  

 

"Guys, it's 12:30.  You only have five and a half hours until the barrier is down."

 

Christina yawned, climbing the stands.  "That she be plenty of time to get some shut eye, yeah?"

 

12:30 a.m.

[Hälō]

Later that night…

 

Jared sighed as he stared out onto the field, which had now adopted an oddly peaceful silence with the majority of the survivors no longer talking and scrambling about. A cigarette hung loosely from the side of the boy’s mouth, and every other breath seemed to set free a small cloud of smoke that vanished nearly instantly in into the night air.

 

He was leaning at on the edge of the guard window that he had created in the Press box that him and his follow survivors were now taking refuge in. Five other figures lay sleeping behind him, obviously exhausted from their first day as the saviors of the human race. Part of him wanted nothing more then to join them, but Jared knew all to well that he couldn’t do that. The boy had volunteered to take the first shift in the guard rotation for the night, meaning him and the red haired woman to his right were stuck with each other for the next 2 hours, at which point they will sub out with another pair in the party, before try to get some sleep for themselves.

 

“Colorful bunch…” Jared addressed Christina with his eyes still drifting out into the the field of the stadium. He was referring of course, to the rag tag group of teens that were huddled behind them. "Barring Des of course." The boy joked in his usual dry manner.

 

“And trusting.” His gaze shifted down to the pistol that placed directly in front of him, and his lip curled into perturbed frown. Not even three hours ago, the group had held vote to elect who in the party would be carrying the firearm that Riku so brilliant introduced to the equation. Jared didn’t know what possessed the others to think that he wanted the weight of something like that… but at least he can say he won the “Least likely to go postal and waste everyone vote”, right?

 

“If we’re going to have to watch out for each other, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to know a little about who I'm going to be risking my ass for… ” Exhaling another cloud of smoke, the boy turned to the woman, his standard brooding expression replaced with one that showed genuine interest. “What’s your story, Miss best damn boxer I know?"

 

 

[spoiler=OOC] This is an example of the guard watch posts we'll be doing. Like in my post we're going to leave the timing in these as ambiguous as possible to allow for all of us to post at the same time. Let's try to gives these little character interaction scenes a three post maximum, as to not have them drag out...

Watch shifts are: Jared/Christina, Destiny/Leroy, and Mia/Riku

 

 

[Dad]

w/Jared

 

“What’s your story, Miss best damn boxer I know?"

 

She raised a hand, politely declining the cigarette offer.

 

"My story?" Christina's eyes wandered over the field, landing on the police cart that sat ominously alone.  She folded her arms over the blanketed window, and began reminiscing.  A slight smile crossed her face as she reflected on her now literal past.  "I hail from Cali, and I'm a bit of a rough houser.  Grew up with mom and dad, who wanted nothing but the best for me--as most parents do--but I had other ideas.  School wasn't for me.  I didn't stay long, but I'm no dummy either.  My old man opened up his own gym and that's when I figured out what I wanted to do.  I wanted to fight."  

 

The police cart swirled, spreading, widening, until it was a flat white boxing ring.  And inside of it, a seventeen year old Christina was training with her father. 

 

"Dad and I, we never stopped.  Hardly ever took breaks.  Mom had to sometimes come down to the gym--nine, ten at night--and scold us both.  Dinner would be cold and we'd just pick up pizza or something crappy on the way home.  But they never stopped loving me, even after I dropped out of school.  They saw that I knew what I wanted to do.  They worked with me, instead of against me.  Most people can't say that."

 

The ring faded, and things returned to normal in her mind, as the police cart came back into view.  "Other than that, I'm just your average California red-headed girl.  Bit of a tomboy, but I can girl up when I want to," she joked.  Christina thought about the opportunities she had missed to do just that.  She hadn't gone to the high school winter formal, or the school prom.  She had made it to her senior year but she never went back to finish.

 

"I think about it sometimes, though.  Finishing school, I mean.  Getting a GED isn't hard.  And I'm sure it'll do me some good.  But, that's assuming we get the hell out of here."  Christina turned around, stretching her arms out and bracing her elbows over the window now.  New Orleans was an entirely new place to her, and she hadn't even crossed the globe.  This was likely as close to home as she was going to get, and these six strangers were her new family.

 

"So what about you, Jared?  You look like the typical bad boy from Brooklyn.  Any special ladies in your life?  I'm assuming you're a player too," she joked.  The soft snoring coming from the others sort of comforted Christina.  It was one of the few normal things that was happening to her right now.  She seemed to be the oldest among this bunch, so she felt responsible for taking care of them, so to speak.  But with things like a gun being brought into the mess they were already in, she was worried.  Hopefully, Jared wasn't the trigger happy type.  "And what'd ya make of this whole thing, anyway?  The old guy said we're the last ones on the planet.  Where do we even begin?" she said, beginning to wonder aloud.

[Mr. Hyde]

A little later that night… 

 

Leroy yawned.  He had been dreaming so peacefully before the patrol before him had risen him from his slumber.  Patrol sounded boring, even if this was the apocalypse, but he tried to find the silver lining.  At least he had someone to pass the time with...however it was the girl that almost put a damper on his mood.  Good thing that Leroy's mood was impossible to get down, that's just the kind of person he was.  

 

Leroy thought about the situation, and how calmly everyone had taken this situation.  No one in particular had a complete meltdown like he had seen in shows with this kind of premise.  Everyone here must have been mature for their age to not completely lose their head in this situation.  Leroy was only sane due to his fluid nature.  He could go with the flow in any new situation.  Much like the marsupials that adapted to their water-locked continent, Leroy could adapt to many different scenarios.  He gripped the key in his pocket, holding back some sorrow that always seemed to follow when he thought about it.  

 

His thoughts were interrupted by a snort from inside the box...must have been Jared snoring like a majin.  He had taken first shift, like any leader would do.  The lucky son of a gun got to stay up with that fiery beauty though!  Leroy couldn't help but feel jealous.  He looked to the side to see Des looking reluctantly out over the field.  The time they had shared together at this point was as much interaction as they'd had since they arrived here.  He was hesitant to speak to her, not in fear of a conversation, but in fear of being rejected of one.  He finally opened his mouth to try and speak to her.

 

"Uhm...Des, right?  Apologies for seeming distant, just haven't dealt with lolitas before you know?"  He laughed nervously.  "So, er....do you mind me askin', why all the gloom and doom?"  

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

Unlike Leroy, who'd managed to get in what would practically be a power nap, Destiny didn't bother falling to sleep. She imagined that she'd only suffer from yet another nightmare as per usual. One would think that she'd appreciate not having to put herself through such a thing, but in practice? Not so much, it turns out. She'd gotten so used to them that all one would actually do is disturb her from her sleep. Knowing this, Des opted to save everyone the trouble.

 

No doubt Des' time to keep watch had come shortly after Jared's and Christina's. Thankfully she was spared from Jared's dry humor... although in its place was Leroy's hopeless optimism. In a way though, the pairing would later prove to be comically perfect; the one person who couldn't help but dampen the moods around her, and then the one whose mood was impossible to dampen. However, Des watched the field that stood before the sleeping party with a cold, blank stare. She imagined all hell breaking the moment the barrier protecting the Super Dome had dropped. There were a total of eight entrances a Majin could choose in its pursuit of blood, and even if one couldn't fit through any of them, there was no stopping it from making a ninth. Des breathed a sigh at the hopelessness of the situation.

 

"Uhm... Des, right? Apologies for seeming distant, just having dealt with lolitas before you know? So, er... do you me askin', why all the gloom and doom?"

 

Des never relinquished her gaze from the field. Her eyes were starting to droop, but knowing that this would be punished by unawareness, she forced them back open again. Then again, she supposed that the quiet wasn't exactly help with her battle to stay awake. So when Leroy struck a conversation, Des obliged.

 

"Because it's all I've ever known," Des replied somewhat flatly, not saying anything more until several seconds later, "Maybe this is the change of pace that I need. Maybe it's the change that I'd been searching for my whole life. I don't know right now... but I'll know for certain in a few days time."

---

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Amaris laid down on the ground, just staring at the roof overhead. He was surprised with the style of this stadium that everything was still staying together, even this far into the future and during this strange end of the world. He threw his hands behind his head, sighing as he shut his eyes some. The others had been on guard duty for a while, so he was left to his own devices...but all he could do was ponder his thoughts about this new world he was brought to...along with his impressions of these survivors he was surrounded with. A small sigh left his lips, before his silence was broken by Yuel.

 

"Ya thinking again, Ishida-kun?~" Yuel's chipper voice rang.

 

Amaris pulled out his phone and looked at Yuel. "I question how you keep doing that, but I'll ignore it." he chuckled, before sitting up. "Actually, resting some and thinking. Either way...I can't just sit here and do nothing."

 

The young Japanese boy stood up quickly and exhaled slightly. "Hey Yuel? Are there any music functions you have available?"

 

"And the reason you ask would be?"

 

"I need to do something..." he said, grabbing up a small stick as he twirled it around in his hand. "I'm training some and I usually work better with music."

 

Yuel giggled only to answer back. "Well, unfortunately I don't have anything like that for you Amaris."

 

Hirari ~Unplugged~

 

Amaris sighed as he shrugged. "Eh, alright then. Had to ask either way." he said, putting his phone back in his pocket, proceeding to get in his stance as he began to move in a fluid motion. He swung the stick as if it was his bokken, making each swing fluid and strong.

[a bad post]

"Mmmkkkaaaa..." came Mia soft yawn. She'd managed to get a little sleep before the guard shift, and now found herself wandering aimlessly not sure of herself. "This could not be more awkward..." Mia thought to herself giving the her patrol mate, Riku, and sidelong glance. The two had not said a word to each other the whole time they'd been out here, and the silence was deafening.

 

"Ahem," Mia cleared her throat slowly approaching the young man, "so, uhh, you're, like, Japanese... right?" Mia looked down at her boots twiddling her thumbs unsure of how to continue the conversation. She usually wasn't one to carry a conversation, and quite frankly usually she just listened to other people talk, and didn't particularly make any comments of her in. In fact, most conversations with Mia where usually one sided. Perhaps that was people had liked about her, that she had never really made that great of an impact. She had simply existed...

 

"Hm...?" Mia looked up at Riku... she'd zoned out while he'd been talking... "Oh, I'm sorry. So what's Japan like. What was your life like before... y'konw... the apocalypse happened? Please, continue, I promise to pay attention this time."

[Yosuke-kun]

Later that Night

Archer's Theme

 

"A baron empty void... The loss of all he held dear...

 

This was his only reward for the hardships he'd faced all his life."

 

A man stood high on a hill, overlooking what looked like an ancient Japanese village. In his hand he held a long and beautiful Katana with a Koi fish forming the crossguard, and he wore elegant robes the likes of which Riku knew was only worn by royalty in that time. The strange thing about this man, was not the way he dressed, not the beautiful weapon he held, but they bright wings sprouting from his back. The man's face was bloodied and bruised, and he bore the haggard visage of one who's seen many hardships within the world.

 

"He desired very little in life. Seeking neither fortune nor glory for his deeds.

 

His wish was merely to save one he'd failed to protect.

 

However... the one he wished to save had no wish to be saved... and instead desired the death of her would be savior.

 

Still, despite his lovers hatred, he held vast on his defiance to her and fought arduously to protect the 1500 lives he swore to save each day.

 

But for his honor, he was given no wishes. The vow he'd made brought him nothing but misery, and in the end, he gave up his life to protect the humans he held so dear..." 

 

The man turned away from the village he had been watching over, and faced a massive hoard of demon's; the like's of which Riku could not imagine. Riku wanted to yell out to the man to run, that it was not worth his life, but he could do nothing but watch as the bloodied and bruised man made his pointless charge against the monsters, sword held high. He was about to attack, the monster's came down on him and-

 

Riku snapped awake before he could see the fate of the man's charge, as it came to be his turn to keep watch. To make matters worse, Riku found that he could not seem to fully remember the dream he'd had, nor did he understand it's relevance. In any case, Riku ignored it for now, grabbed his cellphone, which he'd fallen asleep with in his hand, and went to take his watch.

 

He was stationed with the weird cute girl with the white hair, Mia. Not Riku's first choice, but he was sure he'd find something do talk to the girl about. Still, something about her was somewhat off putting. As if there were something hidden that should be obvious, but very easy to overlook. From what Riku could tell she was nice enough and fairly normal, but he still felt a sense of something that can not quite be called caution around her.

 

This probably showed too, as what seemed like hours passed and yet still neither of them had said even a single word to each other. Of course, not for lack of trying. At least on RIku's behalf. True he had not said anything, but this didn't mean he hadn't been thinking of something to say. Problem was, Riku sucked at this kind of stuff. Especially when it came to girls. Hell even Chigusa had to ask him out, and Yusuke basically said yes for him.

 

As his thoughts turned to his old friend and ex-girlfriend, Riku became even more quiet. They were probably dead now. They probably have been for years too. He still hadn't forgiven either of them for what they did, but he didn't want them to die for it either. They were still his friends, they still had many fond memories together. The thought of them being torn apart by monsters...

 

"so, uhh, you're, like, Japanese... right?"

 

Rin's Melody

 

Finally Mia did what Riku for some reason could not do, and managed to break the ice. Albeit in a strange way that Riku wasn't sure she was fully aware of, but he welcomed the conversation none the less. Anything to take his mind away from his former friends.

 

"Y-yeah. Well, I'm actually only half Japanese... but I was born in Japan, and raised for most of my life there. My mom was American though, so we used to make trips to America to visit her family quite often."

 

 "Oh, I'm sorry. So what's Japan like. What was your life like before... y'konw... the apocalypse happened? Please, continue, I promise to pay attention this time."

 

Riku smiled at Mia, though he wasn't sure if she could see it in the darkness they were in. She seemed so tired or bored that she couldn't focus on Riku's conversation. It would have been cute if not for the offsetting feeling Riku had around Mia that constantly seemed to tell him not to "get in there" so to speak.

 

"It's okay. I'll try to be less boring this time. Japan is... pretty nice. We've got lots of huge cities filled with people, but we still find a way to keep our forests and nature looking beautiful. At least, for the most part we do. I'd imagine we've been slipping lately..." As Riku spoke, he made several hand gestures when talking about the size of the cities and the different parts he's been to.

 

"As for my personal life, well... It's not really anything special. I'm just a college entry student ya'know? My family was really loving and always stood by each other in everything we did, and my friends used to... used to go all sorts of places with us. In the winter, we'd all go to the festivals together, and every year during the summer we'd hit the beach and stay for a few days."

 

It made Riku sort of happy actually. Remembering some of the better time's he'd had with his friends and family. They were likely all he'd have left of them for his last few days. A small tear began to form in Riku's eye, but he blinked it away, hoping the darkness would hide this from Mia. 

 

"So umm.... what about you? Did you ever do anything like that with your friends? You must have tons of stories like that, given that your so cute."

The last word Riku said seemed to come out in slow motion as a loud warning bell went off in his head. He didn't even mean to say it either, it just sort of slipped out before he could think. It was too late now though, the damage was done. The most he could hope for was that Mia simply accepted the compliment and saw nothing more than what he had intended in it, rather than thinking Riku was intentionally trying to hit on her.