~Inception~ Season 3: Genesis

[Rissole25]

Tia Rydia

Berlin

1942

"You!", shouted Tia, "But...the sewers...".

With a flick of his wrist, Walter sent Tia flying towards the stage, towards him. Coming at him, he released Tia, and she fell and rolled onto the stage. The 115 shard dropping to the ground and trailing along with her.

"Bah", smirked Walter. "Zat was merely a scratch, dear child".

With both girls down, he walked past Tia briskly. Leaning down, he had acquired the other piece. The 115.

Tia struggled to get up, but she couldn't. Her strength failed her. She need time to recuperate, to rest. Just a little.

Walter noticed this. Using his telekinesis, he lifted Tia up into air, as if he was her puppeteer.

"Let me help you girl", smirking as he held her by seemingly nothingness. "I should zhank you. I now know about zhe others, about ones I didn't know, and ones I zhought were dead", smiling devilishly.

Suddenly, a shot was fired, echoing around the theater. It was Kasady, pulling her gun out and shooting at Walter. But nothing happened. Tia's eyes grew wide with surprise. The bullet was just inches from his temple. A kill for sure. And yet, Walter had seemingly stopped it in his tracks.

"Ugh, she is becoming an annoyance", sighed Walter. "I was foolish to keep her alive for so long". The bullet started rotating. After a 180 degree turn, it stopped. Right on Kasady.

He turned his head and waited for her to say something, say anything. But she was silent, and she stared at him. He gave a half smirk, and dropped it onto the ground.

"You're not going to kill me?", questioned a cold Kasady.

He laughed out loud. It bounced and reverberated off the walls, creating a ripple effect. It was a horrible sound.

"Do not mistake me, I vill. But certainly not a quick painless death a firearm delivers. You vill not make it out alive, I guarantee that".

"We did it last time...we can do it again!", piped Tia, still being held by Walter.

He flung her across the stage, towards Kasady. Like a rag doll, she toppled into her friend, and both girls lay confused and dazed on the old performance stage.

"You von't. The Wehrmacht have zhis place surrounded, so even should I fail here, you vill not escape. And once you are caught, I vill personally kill you both myself". He walked up to the girls, still dazed.

"Oh zhis will be so much fun! But...it feels too one-sided. And not because zere is two of you". Crouching down over both of them, he put his hands over both of them.

"Get your fucking hands off me!", screamed Kasady. Her emotions were all over the place, and the 115 was not helping it.

Walter ignored her. A green glow appeared over both their bodies. Tia felt all warm and fuzzy inside, and her injuries started healing, as if time was reversing on them. Walter was healing the girls.

So this is what it feels like

As for Kasady, she took the chance to use her restored strength.

"EMMERICH", shouted Kasady. She pulled her knife at Walter and thrusted at his face. But he held her arm in place. She tried with all her strength to move it just inches forward, but to no avail. He got up and walked to the far side of the stage, releasing Kasady once he reached it. She helped Tia up, and together, the girls took a stance, ready to face off the powerful Walter Emmerich.

==============================================================================================

Raolf Chasings "Chase"

Oregon, North America

1969

Chase awoke with a start. He layed in darkness, the bush surrounding him. He looked at the roof, and made the roof of leaves part. The sunlight shined in, though it was a distinctive orange colour due to the orange mist acting as a filter.

"Gotta go", he said, waking himself up by slapping his face. He shook it, and raised his hands. As if hitting a heavy drum, all the leaves collapse around him and fell to the ground with a light whoosh. Immediately he regretted it.

A dozen or so zombies had stumbled down the road, some silent, some groaning. The pack heard the leaves, and immediately turned their attention towards Chase.

Not good!

[Undead]

Tia cried out to Kasady as she bolted toward Walter with a determined grunt.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" She cried angrily, with her knife clenched tightly in hand.

Walter grinned, and merely flicked his hand upwards, sending Kasady crashing into the ceiling. She fell, breaking herself a foot above ground, then flopped onto the wooden stage in pain. Tia was scared, she wasn't sure what to do. Walter could take them both on without moving and everything they could do, he could to better, quicker, easier. But she couldn't do nothing, she tried to think of something she could do to help, but what? She quickly pressed her hand against Kasady, healing her once again, then it dawned on her; the other power. Walter seemed to be in favor of just playing around with his newly acquired abilties like it was all a game to him; it was a game to him.

She had to get close to him, but how? And even if she did, she hasn't used that in a while, she didn't like to use it. But she certainly didn't want this to go on long enough for Walter to be able to. Tia stood, waiting for the first possible moment as Walter and Kasady threw random objects at each other from across the stage. Kasady grew tired, she hasn't used this much will power so fast, but her anger drove her to press on, throwing more and more until Walter was swept off his feet as Kasady ripped the plank out from underneath him and hit im with a stage light. He felt to his side, pushing Kasady down as he fell and sending her sliding across the stage.

"Wait Kasady!" Tia cried, running up to Walter. Before she could even begin, Walter turned, looking at her with insanity as he held his hand in front of him as though he was choking her. Tia began to lift off the ground from her neck, she left out a faint gasp before it was pinched off by his grasp. Walter stood with confidence as he stared into Tia's horrified eyes.

"So much of zis vunderous power, wasted, on mere children..." He muttered evily.

He turned to see Kasady still rolling over to pick herself up, throwing Tia towards her again. He began to walk towards them with nothing but sinister thoughts of what to try next. Kasady rolled, noticing Tia's rod lying on the ground. She waited...

"But then again, it's never been so much fun..."

"FUCK YOU, WALTER!"

Kasady threw her arms forward, sending Walter flying back into the wall, impaled by Tia's rod. Walter shouted in pain, his cry echoing off the theater walls. Anger filled his eyes.

"Tia, the stones!" Kasady shouted.

[Rissole25]

Tia Rydia

Berlin

1942

Tia had never seen so much violence. There in front of her of eyes, was Walter, impaled by her rod. She couldn't believe it. Right through his stomach, and the man was still alive.

"TIA", shouted Kasady. Brought back to earth, Tia regained her self. She ran across the stage to where Walter had dropped the two 115 shards. The one she had found in the foyer, the other being one Walter had found. Scooping them both into an old box laying around, the girls rushed to the teleporter. The third 115 shard that connected with the teleporter still remained there in the box, so if they could just get there...

"AARRRRGGGHH!!!", screamed Walter. He pulled the rod out with his telekinesis. Angry, agitated, and pissed off, he sent it flying towards Tia. She did not see this, but Kasady did.

"Watch out!", she yelled. Pushing her friend aside, Kasady jumped into the path of the rod. Getting hit with the full force of the rod, Kasady rolled multiple times in the air before crashing into the ground, pushed back several meters.

Tia gasped. "No!", she screamed. They were almost there, but she couldn't leave Kasady. She started running back, when she was suddenly tugged backwards.

"I DON'T ZHINK SO!"

Walter staggered towards the teleporter, his arm stretched out at Tia. The impaling had obviously taken a huge effect on him. But he still kept going. In fact, his wound was disappearing. The familiar green glow was around his stomach, where his other hand was placed.

No...

"YOU VILL NOT LEAVE!", he bellowed. He tugged his outstretched hand. Tia was being pulled back towards him. Slowly, but surely.

"Kasady!", she yelled. Kasady was stirring on the floor. The crash had taken a toll on her.

"Let go of me!", Tia continued. Walter laughed at her feeble attempts to escape.

"I vill travel across space and time to find the others. Power that magnificent should not be veilded by vermin!", Walter shouted. Tia was finally pulled back towards Walter. Grabbing her neck with his hand, the two of them were just inches away from the teleporter. The 115 Tia was holding was starting to react with the teleporter. It was at this time Tia clicked what was happening.

He's kidnapping me! He's going to take me away from Kasady so he can kill me easily!

They had stepped into the teleporter. Electricity began forming around the two.

"Your father vas a veakling, just like you. Easy to manipulate. Just another pawn, who helped me create another pawn", he started to laugh. "Zhe locket I gave him suited you. Can I have it back? Can never have too much 115!". At this point, he lost it. He could help but bellow out laughing. If someone didn't know the source, one would think it was a Walrus.

Tia however, had lost it as well. Walter had insulted her father, had insulted her, and had insulted her entire life until this point. She had been a puppet of his, as had her father. Walter had been there from the beginning. He had known her father, and she didn't care how. But was he involved in her fathers disappearance as well?

A feeling she had felt a long time ago started to spark alive again. Not felt since she had been in the Asylum, it started to take over Tia's body. She screamed. Walter stopped laughing. Kasady looked up.

Looking at the teleporter she could see Tia, holding the box of 115 shards. Walter stood behind her with a grip on her. The electricity had started to take over the teleporter. But that was not what caught her attention. Orange eyes, only seen once before on Tia, but on the undead they encountered came to life, like a fire in her eyes. The event's that happened so fast.

Tia had dropped the box of 115. It clattered to the ground, rolling along the teleporter floor. With both hands, she grabbed Walters hand on her neck, and flung the grown man over her shoulder.

Kasady gasped. She had never seen such strength in Tia. Even so, it was used on Walter. Tia than placed both hands on Walter's head. She was doing the same thing she had done to the zombie at the Asylum. She was sucking the life, the pain out of it.

"AARRGGHH!!..........SSUUCCHH......PPPOOWWWWWWWWEERRRRR!!!", screamed Walter, clearly in agony. Tia screamed at this. It was too much for her to handle. Walter was not dead, and had 115 in him. That zombie's pain was nothing compared to Walter's. In too much pain, she let go. The orange fading from her eyes, and she soon collapsed in the electrified teleporter.

Walter, on his knees, gasped for several moments. Following suit like Tia, he fell unconscious, and the two lay next to each other as the electricity filled the chamber.

Kasady took this as her chance. She did not know if either Tia or Walter were dead or alive. But they were teleporting, and she would lose them forever. With her limited strength being boosted by the locket, she rushed towards the chamber and collapsed in it. Laying there between her nemesis and her friend, she started losing consciousness, just as the chamber was completely filled with electricity.

In a moment, Walter, Tia and Kasady, teleported away from the theater in Berlin, from 1942. All of them unconscious. All to an unknown time and location.

When the electricity disappeared and settled, all that remained was the two 115 shards, and the box that contained them.

[Undead]

Andrew, United States, September 24, 1969

The sizzling warm ground crackled beneath Andrew as scorching hot tempatures of the rising lava made lying on the ground unbearable to lay on, quickly bringing back his conciousness. Andrew brought himself to his knees, weak and tired, pulsing with dispair. His head was throbbing, his legs and arms felt numb. Almost careless of what took it's toll on his physical condition. Andrew didn't know if he jumped minutes, days, months, years, it was all the same to him. He felt his heart sink as he began to gather what was going on. The entire world, devoured smoke and ash, the air reeked of death and smog. It smelled familar, too familar. As all of his emotions piled, he finally let out an angry and desperate cry. But to no avail, the world was dead, or so he thought...

Andrew hesitated to make it to his feet, when he suddenly heard gunshots echoing off in the distance.

[Ehjookayted]

Gabriel Gardon

Berlin, 2012

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the premises."

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to go fuck yourself."

Hahaha. Everything is so funny when I'm drunk. Shit, my bottle, oh there it goes, down the drain. Oh well, there wasn't that much left anyway. Besides Skyy gets old after a while.

Well there's this officer, you see, and he's trying to kill me. Yes, a baton. Synonymous with death.

"You don't want to see me when I'm angry."

That's totally from a movie. But what movie? He's charging at me now. Well, I guess it's time to use those fancy powers.

"Hard on!" Haha, oh the double entendre.

------------------------------

He crashed into Gabriel, whose skin was as hard as dragonscale. Recoiling back against a wall, the guard charged again.

"You punk ass kids need to sit down!"

Gabriel threw out his hand, grabbed him, and crushed on his throat.

"GAH. LET ME GO!"

"You fuckers don't quit. I hope you burn, you ingrate."

In a flash, fire engulfed the officer. Gabriel released his grip, and a charred, beaten, and bruised body fell to the ground.

Gabriel picked up his body, took flight, went to the nearest flag pole, and hung the officer.

Flying back to the abandoned theatre, he could hear shrill screams in the distance.

Gabriel smiled.

------------------------------

Damn officer. Why can't I catch a movie? Hehe.

Now, let's find this teleporter, so I can get to getting my life back.

Mystery man wants my help, but he didn't say not to have a little fun.

Alright. Here it is. How the fuck do you use this thing? Ah, ha! It's working.

Bang bang, here we go!

Wait, I can't go yet.

-------------------------------

As he walked to the teleporter, Gabriel stopped. He turned back, flew to the nearest convenience store, and walked in.

5 minutes later, he walked out, the store in flames and liquor in hand.

--------------------------------

Miller High Life? It'll do.

Alright, let's do this. I wonder where I'll end up. At least I've got 11 more beers.

[MyLittleHellhound]

The knives wavered at her throat as the girl stared at her with fire in her eyes.

"Please . . . just . . . take the knives away. I'm not going to hurt you" Ji said softly.

The girl continued to glare at her as she slowly drew the knives away, leaving them at her sides. They stayed, however, at the ready position. Ji looked around at the surprisingly spacious bunker. There was a separate room by the far wall and she could see a nicely kept bed. The room didn't smell, which she realized only after a couple seconds. That was a surprise. The girl in front of her suddenly straightened, almost like she'd had a sudden burst of confidence.

"What . . . what's your name?" she spoke softly.

"My name is Ji. Ji-eun. What's yours?"

"Sh . . . Shizune. What are you doing here?" the girl spoke softly again, sounding a bit on edge.

"I teleported . . . here. To Japan. I don't know this place."

"You don't. This . . . this is my home. Ummm . . . " Shizune looked around before grabbing some cans of food.

They were some sort of chunky Japanese soup. Looked quite good to Ji, running away from hordes of zombies did make someone hungry. Shizune went over to what seemed to be a cooking area in the bunker and opened them, grabbing a small jug of water. She then set to pouring the soup in a metal pot.

"Are you from Korea?"

"Yes. Seoul to be exact."

"Was it destroyed by the missiles too?"

"Yes. But the city was completely annihilated. Not like here."

"So then they were different missiles which means . . . that . . . " Shizune drifted off into her own thoughts again and left Ji standing there.

Shizune moved and Ji caught another glimpse of the scar running down her face, her eyes automatically being drawn to it. Shizune noticed quickly and turned to her, covering it with her long hair.

"I don't . . . I haven't seen a human in . . . a long time . . ."

"Well here I am. Thank you for giving me shelter."

"It's ummm . . .alright . . ." she said before busying herself with fixing up bowls of soup.

There was suddenly another loud crash, but it wasn't a building falling down. Ji undid all of the locks despite Shizune's gasps and opened the door, letting the darkness fill the room. A bright beam of light arced down from the sky and hit the ground somewhere, resulting in a bright flash and crackle of blue electricity which sprang between buildings. The spectacle faded away without a trace soon after.

"Did . . . did you see that?" Ji exclaimed, pointing to the spot.

Shizune came up next to her timidly, peering out. "I didn't see anything but the lights."

"What do you think it was?"

"I . . . ummmm I don't know."

"Let's go then! It . . . it could be them . . . " Ji said to herself as she readied her weapons.

Shizune paused. "Wait. Ummmm . . . I don't think that's a good idea . . ."

Ji sprinted out, slow compared to what Shizune usually traveled at.

"W-wait!" Shizune exclaimed, "I could ummm . . . carry you . . . "

Ji paused before wrapping her fingers around Shizune's bracer. "Ready."

And then they took off towards the blue lights.

[Faust]

“Touch down in thirty, fixing for vertical landing, check clearance!”

“Clearance is good!” the copilot of the VTOL spoke as he lowered the landing gear of the gunship. “Alright whiz kid, this is where you get off!”

Jason reached for his duffle bag in the seat next to him and flung it over his shoulder as he stood up in the hold of the aircraft. He waited patiently for the glowing red light in the cabin to flash green just before the rear ramp dropped onto the street. He fixed his sunglasses into place as he shielded his eyes from the sun that shown back at him. Once they were on, his eyes could easily adjust to the setting as he sauntered off the ramp and onto the tarmac just as the rotation each of the VTOL’s three jets slowed to a stop.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Year: 2025

Wismar, Germany

Jason Chaser

CIA

The surrounding site bustled with activity. Armed patrols swept the shipyard with K9 units as they ducked in and out from hastefully erected canvass tents and shipping containers. The brine in the air naturally didn’t sit right with Jason. While he had grown up near the ports like this, he quickly learned to hate the smell of the sea on the wind. It held too much salinity and wreaked havoc on electronic systems. Though the air ran thick, even he could not deny the beauty of the quant village that surrounded him. In the current age of steel, glass, and electronics the red brick structures and chimney stacks seemed a stark contrast to the world he was used to. A cargo ship in the distance loomed over the entire scene as a colossal specter of the spectacle amongst the enormous industrial cranes that JSOC marksmen had position themselves on. Jason activated his radio and instantly tuned to the frequency he had been instructed to access as soon as he landed.

“Y’all seem to be taking whatever this is seriously.”

A second voice called back over the frequency. The seemingly young radio operator would have been a bit unsettling for anyone but Jason, but he had long been familiar with it.

“That’s how you say hello? Not ‘I’ve arrived, who am I to meet with?’ Not ‘what is the situation?’ Just ‘Oh, shit, sure looks busy!’” it shouted back.

Jason chuckled before responding “The CIA told me you would be here. They figured that they owed me that much during debrief. Glad to hear you made it out of Bosnia.”

“Yeah, you too. Meet me inside the command post, we can talk about the situation there. We can’t be sure who is listening to these comms.”

Jason turned to the nearest soldier. He wore the telltale DEVGRU multicam uniform that set him apart in the sea of workers and security officers. He clenched tightly to his assault rifle, ready to use it at a moment’s notice. Jason’s heads up display told him everything he needed to know about the soldier. What branch he was in, what weapon he held, even what his blood type was. No doubt when the soldier looked at him however, all that reflected back was a tab that read “TOP CLEARANCE High Value Individual.” The CIA allowed him to pull off tricks like that, and it opened the door to nearly any government base under JSOC control.

“Which way to the command post?” Jason quizzed.

“Sir,” replied the captain, “Follow the main walkway until you reach a checkpoint, then continue into the large tent adjacent.”

“Many thanks.”

The checkpoint itself was even more protected than the rest of the compound. ASD combat drones patrolled the surrounding area as sentry turrets scanned any contacts approaching the check stand. Upon Jason setting down his duffle bag near the gate, a skittish security officer marched over to meet him. Rather humorously, the constable insisted that Jason recalled what was in his bag.

“Working materials sir,” Jason replied in German as he fiddled with his GCM, “I’ve been told on my way here I am to give you the authorization code ‘altar.’”

The guard nodded and stood aside, letting Jason pass.

“Vielen dank, Herr Chaser. Command post is to the—“

“Left, I know. Vielen dank.”

Just before he ducked into the tent, the scream of an A-10 Thunderbolt tore across the sky.

Warthogs? Shit, what are we expecting, the whole fuckin’ SDC army?

Jason stooped into the tent, his duffle bag still around his shoulder. In every which direction there seemed to be a team of personnel working diligently on various electronic systems and relays. In the very center laid a plastic table, covered in several scattered cups of coffee and empty chests of donuts. He quickly cleared a small area and place down his gear without so much as waiting to be acknowledged by the other members of the room. A younger man in a pressed suit rushed over to him, greeting him with a pat him on the back. Jason turned to take a better look at him. It had been a while since the two had seen each other, and Jason had forgotten exactly what the man’s face looked like. The operative’s Hispanic heritage and charming smile remained just as then had, always complimenting his jet black hair. Now though, a large burn marred his face, leaving patches of scorched flesh standing out against his skin. Somehow though, he made even that look good.

“Titan,” Jason greeted with a smile, “It’s good to see you in one peace.”

The two chuckled briefly for a moment.

“Yeah, considering DeFlaco gave it his best shot to see me otherwise. Thank god the dipshit has a thing for theatrics or I would be a dead man right now.”

“I’m guessing that’s where….”

“The burn? Yeah. The fucker poured kerosene on my face and lit it off. Sadist could have just shot me, but he wanted me to suffer first.”

“When I heard the PMC had located a mole, I was so sure I was burnt. I felt even worse when I figured out that is must have been you.”

“No worries man, the Agency got me out of there” he spoke solemnly, “More for their benefit than mine but… At least I am here right now, right? So, what did you get on the mercs?”

“I had to debrief on the way out there. Needless to say, I think we can both assume that DeFalco is our connection between mercenary groups and Cordis Die. He has his fingers in a lot of pies in the black market, which means all the money he is getting from these PMC contracts has to be going somewhere. I managed to secure a quad drone and analyze. Product identification matches exactly with Tacitus serial numbers, but the first IP access came from Malaysia. They must have… Some sort of 3D replication technology.”

“Hold up a minute,” Titan interjected, “You secured a quad? To my understanding we had to pull you out in a rush. I read the mission report; a chopper had to fast rope you out. I know you had a quick layover to transfer to a VTOL, but you said that you had to debrief in flight.”

Jason looked blankly back at his friend for a moment or two before he began to open his duffle bag, revealing the cache within. A MQ-27 Dragonfire drone had been placed right in the center with a control tablet lying atop its shell. Beside the machine laid a lazily stashed supply of assault weapons and submachine guns.

“Holy shit Crito,” Titan cursed, calling Jason by his callsign, “These are sensitive materials. You… dios mio, esto no debería estar aquí!”

“Titan, I know you are upset,” Jason spoke placing his hand on his comrade’s shoulder as he attempted to stop himself from laughing, “I can tell because you are speaking Spanish again. But trust me, I have kept these safe this far. They just need to get back to command safely. Stop worrying.”

Jason removed a Vector submachine gun from the bag and loaded a magazine into it. The sleek black paintjob seemed to make the weapon shimmer as he eyed its custom attachments. He powered up the millimeter scanner and ensured the suppressor was tightened down correctly. He could feel different personnel in the room eyeballing him as he pulled out another piece of equipment, this time a Storm PSR rifle. It all seemed like heavy equipment for average Hungarian Mercenaries on a Slovak pay role. No doubt, whatever operation DeFalco was running with Raul Menendez, it was deeper than anyone in the CIA could have known. Months of field work, months of placing himself closer to Menendez and Cordis Die, all ruined by one emergency extract. Whatever was needed of Jason, it had to be important.

“So do you know why yet?” Jason asked Titan, “They sent me an emergency message at zero dark thirty in the middle of an op while I was deep undercover to tell me pull out of a base and all the way to my extract point in a nearby town. No SOC-Ts, no advance warning, they just told me to grab what I could and haul ass thirteen miles into town so they could transfer me to God-knows-where. Tell me they had a good reason for all of this.”

“Higher ups told me enough. You were the only tech expert in the immediate area that the Agency can trust. Apparently a local shipping company bought out an abandoned lot of land to build a new dock. They came across a bunch of old World War II era shipments stashed away in an abandoned boathouse. I didn’t have the need to know about what else we found, but they’ve already moved most of the containers to a different location. Don’t bother asking me where. They have a heavier piece of equipment, but we don’t know if it is safe to move it or not, so they want an egghead down here to make sure it is secure first.”

“All this trouble for a history project?”

“It ain’t like that man. I know I’m just a spook in a suit now, but I know defensive modus operandi when I see it. Something has Langley scarred enough to deploy counter-terrorism forces to protect this place. Whatever we found, SDC wants. They have already sent Washington a message that unless we let them send Chinese Scientist to investigate, they will send their own forces to disperse American involvement. All the politicians are blowing it off as typical SDC hot gas, but clearly the Agency doesn’t think so if they have Warthogs and Seals guarding the site. This is going to end up being something big.”

Jason pulled his Black Hat PDA from his belt, only partially paying attention as he worked to find a way to reactivate the Dragonfire.

Something big… Ha, what does this make me then? America’s IT guy?

////DragonfireOnline-ser.10346346. (Alice)///

>Escortmodeineffect…

>Scanning/targets/onmatchingIFF….

///WeaponOnline... Check./WeaponTest…Check…..

>Mission Ready

[Lizizadolphin]

Sometime in 1969

Though it had taken several painstaking hours, Cici finally found safety in her shelter once more. The dismal world of the undead was traded for a pristine white room. The heels of Cici’s boots clicked on the shiny surface as she walked to her quarters, but she stopped for a moment and stared in the center of the room.

A few inches in front of her was a large white capsule. Wires connected the contraption to another room full of computer screens and an odd power switch. Cici gently placed her hand on the capsule then continued walking again.

She reached the room filled with computers. A small pile of blankets and pillows were crushed into a corner, next to a shattered mirror and some cosmetic products. Throwing the bow and quiver on the ground, she plopped down onto the blankets, still clutching the bag in her hands.

Carefully observing her surroundings, even though there was a slim possibility that anyone were around, Cici opened the bag. She reached both of her hands in and pulled them out, both full of strange objects. There were fragments of some artifacts, as well as some scraps of food and a small bottle of rum. The food was devoured swiftly, but she drank the rum slowly, trying to make it last as long as it could.

Once everything was finished, Cici laid back in the pillows and curled into a ball. She rested for a moment before closing her eyes and drifting into a deep sleep.

Everything was the same as before, yet it was different. When she closed her eyes, she awoke in a world similar to the real one, except this world was an entirely different realm. It was aether, the astral plane. Rather than dream, she lived and interacted with the world in a different way from how others interact. She could travel wherever she desired without physically moving there, and she could also see those who once inhabited the desolate towns.

Lifting herself off of the pile, Cici turned back and looked down at herself. Her body made of flesh and bone lay there, still asleep. Pivoting back, she walked across the small room to a large metal door. She glided right through, her body intangible in this state.

Cici walked up a flight of broken stairs. Once she reached the top, she felt a hand wrap around her neck from behind. She did not move or fight back, but a corner of her mouth twitched into a tiny smile. The hand slid up her neck to her jawline and held onto it tight. A shadowy figure leaned close to her, another arm snaking around her waist as it whispered into her ear.

“Welcome back, darling.”

[Rissole25]

Raolf Chasings "Chase"

Oregon, North America

1969

"Do you ever think there is more to this world, than just us Jess?"

"What do you mean? Like...aliens?

"Yeah. This book. It describes a man who stumbled upon this alien race who live underground in the earth. And they use this energy source to do literally everything. Supposedly, when they run out of room underground, they will come out and claim the surface world."

"Hmph...come on Chase. I doubt...Edward Bulwer-Lytton...funny name heh. Oh yeah, I doubt its true like everyone is saying. This Vril, or whatever they're called is just made up. It's just a story. Don't worry about it."

"Maybe..."

Out of all the conversations he and Jess had, Chase did not know why that was sticking out in his mind now. Especially when the undead were making there way towards him. Perhaps it was one of the few times he disagreed with Jessica, though he didn't know why he thought of that right now.

"Ugh...Piss off you dogs!", yelled Chase. They ignored Chase, and it almost seemed like they were mocking him for even trying to reason with them, even though that wasn't possible. But it only fueled Chase even more.

Dang it, that usually worked on the kids at school

With that, he started jogging towards the meat eaters. He had to conserve his energy. In this world, you cannot let fatigue have it's grasp on you. Otherwise, you become one of them. Reaching the first of the group, Chase pulled back his right fist. Running past it, the head of the zombie smashed in, making contact with the brass knuckles on Chase's fist.

"Booyah!", cried Chase, expecting some form of applause or cheer. All that sounded were the zombies groans.

That'll have to do

Dashing up to the second and third zombie, he dodged between the two, making them clash with each other and getting tangled and caught. Using the opportunity, Chase drew back as far as he could, and let go the strongest punch he could muster. The first head was obilterated, just coming off at the neck. It stuck in his hand as contact made with the second head. It wasn't as strong having made contact first, but the second zombie died due to it's skull collapsing.

"Ew", said Chase with a disgusted tone, noticing the mush of whatever was left from that zombie on his fist. Wiping it off, he was knocked off guard when one of the zombies started sprinting at him.

WHAT!? They've never done that before!? Shit, it's close!

Performing a roll to the left, he narrowly avoided the zombie, it rushing past him. Fortunately, the thing couldn't control itself, so it couldn't do quick turns, arcs, or even stop quickly like an alive human could. Seeing the zombie finally turning at about 10 meters past him, he used this opportunity to deal with the others before they started running as well. Quickly and efficiently, he took out three more zombies, leaving only three left in front of him, when the sprinting zombie had made it's way back and smacked right into Chase.

"Arrghhh!", screamed Chase as he was knocked back several feet. The zombie had broken it's legs upon impact, but it could still use it's arm and head to drag itself. Before he could take any action, the zombie had climbed on top of him, pinning his body down.

"Get away from me freak!", yelled Chase, but the zombie ignored him. It's soulless blue eyes stared at him, as he used his arms and hands to hold off it's snapping head and teeth. The three remaining zombies made their way towards him limping, but to Chase, it seemed like they'd be at him any second. The weight of the sprinter on him was too much to push off him. He'd need his hands, but he couldn't afford to let go of it's head. Otherwise he'd be bestfriends with it.

Think Chase, think!

And it came to him. Letting some of his energy go, Chase focused. The zombie's head got ever so closer to his head, and it was just centimeters away from kissing Chase. When all of a sudden, a barrage of leaves came tearing at it. The force of the leaves knocking the zombie off of Chase and towards the others. The leaves continued at them all, cutting, shredding the zombies. Finally, legs, arms, heads, their limbs just fell off, and they all dropped to the ground dead.

Chase panicked. He had alot of cuts on his hands and face. But he was thankful that these were caused due to the rushing of the leaves, and how close the zombie was to him. He was lucky to have been cut by the leaves and not by the zombie.

Several minutes passed before Chase decided he was ready to go. His destination was far off, and he did not know how far it would take him. But he knew the general direction. He looked at the dead zombies killed by the leaves, remembering the force threw the zombie off him.

Of course!

[Rissole25]

Raolf Chasings "Chase"

Oregon, North America

1969

This is crazy! I'm gonna fucking die!

"Get a hold of yourself man, you gotta do this for Jess!", replied Chase to himself. He knew what danger was involved, the chance that it would not work, the chance that he could fall and die. But he couldn't continue on foot. Not at the rate he was going.

He had spent the past morning growing and growing an abundance of Western Larch leaves from the tree he had spent the night in. He had at least rebuilt the dome tree 10 times before stopping, and gathering up the leaves. With the leaves from last nights dome, this was at least a ton worth of leaves that covered 10 square meters.

He hadn't encountered anything in that time, nor seen anything. The fog had dispersed, but he couldn't see anyone for miles in any direction. Not even any zombies! He concluded that those he had fought not hours ago must've been a pack that strolled off from a distant town.

All he saw was empty cars, run down houses, cracks in the ground and small packets of lava spilling through them. Nothing out of the ordinary. It was usual to see this sort of stuff now.

"Okay...just breathe in and out slowly. You can do this!", said Chase slowly. Taking what seemed like his final steps toward death, he walked and tread on the huge pile of leaves he had accumulated the past couple of hours. He looked up at the sun. Judging from it's position, it was about midday. Plenty of time.

He held his pack tightly, and not a moment later, the leaves under him started to pick up. Than they all started moving! Almost like a magic carpet, the leaves were lifting Chase into the air. The sheer amount of leaves pushing upwards kept his body from falling. Fear slowly slithered out of Chase, and he soon came to love the feeling.

His next challenge was to get them to move forwards while simultaneously keeping his body afloat. Forcing the leaves behind him to move forward, he moved very slowly.

Geez a walker would be faster than this!

Changing tactics, he made all the leaves underneath him move diagonally upwards, so they were pushing forward as well as up. The speed had considerably improved, moving about 50km/h. This was as far as he pushed it. He felt safe. It was slow enough to admire the view, not that there was much anyway to admire. But it was also fast enough to get to any destination. He was about 10 meters in the air, but he felt safe. He knew he'd be doing this again. It would be very useful.

[floofy55]

Being holed up in this ruined building was very representative of my life. Anyone who wanted in would have to tear down the boards, and it was equally difficult to leave. I suppose seclusion was preferable to company, if one's company had the goal of devouring you.

I wasn't normally one to hide from something like this, but even I need to sleep. When I would leave, however, was a different story altogether. The longer I waited inside the more vermin would swarm outside, making leaving even harder.

The more I dwelled on this, the more I realized how bad an idea this was. I should be moving, I should be finding food. I was starving.

Rising up and dusting myself off, I walked to one of the boarded windows, observing the surrounding area. Apparently my fears had been simple paranoia, with none of the undead roaming the vincinity.

Well, zombies present or not, my mind was made up. Today would be the day I found food. No rest until I ate something.

"That's a stupid idea and you know it." I said as I began to dismantle the barricades attached to one of the windows.

"Well, it's the only one we've got, so if you've got any suggestions," I said as I heaved the heavy board off the wall and onto the floor, "I'd love to hear them." I was silent as I removed another board. "Mhmm," I exclaimed. "That's what I thought." I said as I climbed out into the lava-encrusted world.

"Ugh. Such a boring landscape for an apocalypse." I said, surveying the area. A thick, dense fog obscured most of my visibility, but through it there seemed to be nothing to see anyway.

Blindly making my way though the mist, as I had become accustomed to in my time here, I walked forward, searching for anything to poke it's head into visibility. With only the lava in the ground to light my way, progress was slow.

* * *

Later on that uneventful day, the claws of sleep threatened to wrap themselves around my mind again. "Still think this was a good idea?" I said.

"Better than starving to death," I replied, removing sweat-soaked hair from my face.

"Not by much." I said, "Why don't we just eat the zombies?"

"Dude, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Yeah, that's pretty fucked up." I said, disgusted with myself.

"Why?" I asked, insulted. "It's just meat, like any other."

"Yeah, but, it's people, man!" I said, appalled.

"Plus tons of diseases and who else knows what are probably crawling around in there."

"Ok, you have to be my least favorite mes I've seen yet. The real Dempsey would never get squeamish over this. I live a life of the flesh, why not partake in it's flavor as well?" I asked smugly. Eager to see my counter-arguments.

"OW!" I exclaimed, realizing my foot had been singed in the time I was speaking. "Fucking fire." I muttered as I continued on my way to nowhere.

[MyLittleHellhound]

The two girls traveled at an extraordinary speed, weaving and whirling through piles of rubble, bodies, and abandoned vehicles. They were heading in the direction of the beam, northwest of their position. Suddenly they grinded to a halt.

"Why did we stop?" Ji asked, looking around.

They were near some kind of broken monument, the person standing on the pedestal half broken away onto the dead grass below it.

"I must rest. If only for a bit." Shizune said quietly, setting herself down on one of the stone steps with a sigh.

There weren't any zombies in site. Not yet, anyways. Ji decided to take the opportunity to get to know her host a little bit more.

"So . . . "

"No questions please."

"But I-"

"Please . . . ahjumma, no questions. Not right now."

Shizune scooted over, farther away from her. So she did know Korean, if a little at that. A few minutes later Ji was shaken from her own thoughts by a sudden rustling and clatter of knives. Shizune stood in a defensive position as three men approached them, one aiming a pistol, and the other two some ramshackle melee weapons. Ji, however, was on the other side of the monument. They didn't see her yet. She slid her sword out and bit her lip, loosening her pistol as well.

"Well well well . . . what do we have here?"

"A little angel I'll tell ya."

"Didn't think a girl could survive in this shithole."

"And would ya look at those weapon thingys on her arm!"

"I could do myself some knew knives . . . "

There was the crunch as the man stepped forward, Ji hauling herself up and placing a pivoting hand on the monument before vaulting and slamming the man in the chest with her shoes. There was a crack and the man's pistol fired into the air, the other two surprised by the event.

"Two girls . . . all the better for us . . . "

The two men started forward, tattered, worn young men. Shizune blazed forward and shoved both of her blades into his chest, lifting him up on them as he coughed blood and stared in shock. She threw him away to the ground, leaving him to bleed out. Ji blocked an iron pipe and kicked him in the groin before swinging her sword up in a twirl, opening him up like a tin can from belly to forehead. He fell backwards, dead already. The last man, the one with the gun, scrambled back as Shizune went over and stabbed him in the chest once, twice, three times, gurgling blood as he finally died.

Both the girls cleaned off their blades and stared at each other before sitting down again, letting the bodies sit . . .

[Undead]

Victors manical laughter echoed around Kasady like it did in her head, in her dreams, but felt closer, almost as if he was actually there, glimpses of so many images flashed before her eyes. She could see her grandfather, the destruction, her unusual allies she's come to know but not in situations that we're familiar to her. She watched as a large explosion devoured the land, then faded. Kasady cried in pain, her voice bending and echoing as did Walter's, clouding around her.

...

*gasp*

Kasady burst awake, sweating bullets as she did almost every night it seemed. Her vision was blurred, she frantically looked around, rubbing her eyes and trying to get a clear view of where she was. Glass cracked and shattered as she began to sit up, realizing whatever happened, she smashed right on top of some old rusted car. Pain immediately sent a shock down her spine, her head ached;

"Ugh... wh..what the hell?" She muttered, "Tia! Wh...where are y...you?"

Kasady rolled off the car and on to her hands and knees, still feeling numb. At this point she wasn't even sure why she was in pain, just that her body ached, everywhere. She looked down, the locket was missing.

"Fuck! Where's th...the locket!"

Kasady stood up and immediately fell back to her knees, the ground looked as though it were spinning. She held her head again, grunting as she tried to focus. The ground was pretty heated, the air smelled of death and ash. The smoke was so thick, she could barely see even if she wasn't struck with whiplash. Kasady caught a glimpse of the glimmering small golden heart, she slowly crawled towards it, it vibrated madly as she placed her palm over it's smooth surface, so much so that it gave off visible waves of energy. Kasady attempted to stand as she put the locket back on, the shock was so intense, supercharged with energy. She could instantly feel her strength return and her headache weaken. Kasady scanned the area again, everything was demolished, burnt and charred.

"Guess I was going to hell after all..." she muttered.

[MyLittleHellhound]

"You know how to fight well," Ji spoke, looking at the slowly rotting bodies.

"There are things you have to learn . . ." Shizune replied, standing up before dusting off her skirt, "Time to go."

Ji got up without another word and glanced at the bodies one more time before wrapping her slender fingers around Shizune's arm.

Ji had already scavenged the scarce ammunition for her pistol and looked at the buildings around her before they took off in the direction of that strange beam. The pair passed bodies, zombies, a lava lake covering a whole street. Japan, this city, it was dead. Ruled by the undead, while the living had abandoned it. Yet Shizune seemed to cling to it like many other survivors, because it was what they knew. Maybe . . . maybe the entire world wasn't like this. Maybe help was on the way. But no. Ji knew that the world wouldn't change. It would be like this for ages . . . possibly forever.

"We're . . . here." Shizune trailed off, prying her arm away from Ji gently and straying some distance from her. Ji looked to the spot, a small courtyard in the middle of some wrecked townhouses. Their windows were dark, and all of the lights had been blown out. There was a shadow . . . of someone in the smoke.

"Hello?" Ji spoke out softly, approaching the cloud of smoke.

The figure didn't move, but became clearer. It looked familiar, clearly female. She further approached it to the soft protests of Shizune before crouching down and lifting away the hair that covered her face before sharply inhaling.

"Tia."

[Rissole25]

Tia Rydia

Japan

1969

"Who?", questioned a wary Shizune, ready to take the strange girls life if she presented danger.

"Tia!", screamed Ji Eun, embracing her with a hug. She was expecting it to be Erich or Henry, but not Tia.

Tia's body was lifeless, unconscious. It did not respond to Ji Eun. Shizune stared on, at her new ally and this unconscious girl.

"...You know her?", asked Shizune, nervous.

"Yeah", said Ji Eun, a smile creeping on to her face. "She's...like me". She turned to Shizune, remembering she had seen her singing at the zombies prior to her being saved.

Shizune stood their in silence. Ji Eun had a power, and according to her, so did this new woman, this Tia person who lay unconscious in front of her. She had only known Ji Eun for what seemed like 5 minutes, and already she felt like an outcast. The two knew each other, and Shizune felt hurt by this, almost a form of betrayal.

The young dark purple haired Asian girl turned around, walking towards the broken entrance to leave the two. She figured she would not be missed, a tear rolling down her cheek, when she heard the groans.

"We have to leave", said an urgent Shizune, abandoning her thoughts moments ago. Ji began to open her mouth, but heard the groans as she did so. She looked at Tia's defenseless body, noticing her locket was missing. But it was the least of her worries, as a lone undead man stumbled in from the back of the house. With a quick squeal, his head was ripped off, flying out a broken window while the body collapsed to the ground. The dead had arrived.

"To late!", said Ji Eun. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a simple second, and opened them again, calming herself, before saying, "We will have to defend Tia, at least until she's conscious". She instantly felt nostalgia, remembering she had defended Andrew's lifeless body in the dark cold house.

Shizune gritted her teeth. She did not like this plan. They would've easily escaped had the pleasantries and greetings been said back at the hideout. Time was wasted. But there was no time holding onto it. Reluctantly, Shizune walked back to the center of the house of Ji Eun and the unconscious Tia. The two girls readied them selves for a battle with the undead.

==============================================================================================

Raolf Chasings "Chase"

Between Oregan and Washington, North America

1969

"Hey Chase, years ago, apparently President Kennedy battled zombies in the Pentagon right before he died"

"What? As if"

"That's what my dad told me. Can't be true though"

"Yeah, that can't be right"

Chase questioned this as he dozed in and out of sleep. Could this have happened actually? It could've been reality now that they actually roam the place.

He had been traveling for what seemed like hours, on his flying leaves. The cold had gotten to him, and he burrowed down in the leaves to keep warm while they flew towards Washington. He felt content, at piece, when he was suddenly flying through smoke.

"Shit", he said. He was blind, and the only cause of the smoke was fire. If he was near fire, he would be at a disadvantage. He had no choice but to set down and continue on foot away from the fire. As he descended, he noticed bright orange moving lights from the smoke, seemingly floating in the air with him. As he descended and got closer, he ran smack into a flaming tall tree.

"Ahh", he screamed as he plummeted. The fire had set fire to his traveling leaves burning them and dropping him faster to the ground. Suddenly, limbs from the many trees spat out at him, winding around in the air chasing after him. He was using his power on the trees now, hoping they would catch him or slow him down. One limb, two, three, four limbs were around him down, slowing the descent greatly. He did not expect the ground to be so close though. He hit the ground hard, though not as hard had the limbs not been there.

The air was rushed out of him, and he fell unconscious, bouncing and rolling to a stop in the middle of the burning forest floor, somewhere in between Oregan and Washington.

[MyLittleHellhound]

The small courtyard was a kind of figure-eight shape, two fountains forming the holes and multiple entrances and exits on either side of each 'O'. The walls (or lines) of the figure-eight were townhouses, reasonably sized if not large and luxurious. Zombies began to trickle in, slowly at first, but they all knew it would turn into a torrent of undead soon enough.

Shizune, all of her thoughts now focused on the battle ahead, drew her high-powered and expensive handgun (looted from a store to her regret) and made sure a round was in the chamber, her other arm wavering with the knife unsheathed.

"Drag the girl to one of the townhouses. I'll meet you there," Shizune turned to Ji with a strange look in her eyes before turning back and stepping towards the undead.

The first to meet death (again) was an office worker, bloodstained shirt and all. Shizune's fist/knife rammed through his lower jaw and through the top of the skull with a *CRACK*, lifting him off of his feet and depositing the body a couple feet away.

Ji didn't pause and began to carry Tia to the most secure looking one. It didn't seem damaged, really, just had a smashed in door and the usual wear and tear of missiles.

She pushed open the door and sprinted upstairs quickly, her eyes darting around for any undead. There were none. She lay Tia on a bed before rushing back down, draggin the couch a bit closer so she could board the door.

"Shizune!"

Shizune was darting amongst the horde now, the zombies around her falling into heaps of meat. The girl suddenly paused, punching another one and ripping the knife out brutally before looking to Ji at the raised doorstep. A zombie hand grasped her from behind and she spun, shoving the pistol under its chin and blowing the brains out in a shower of blood and bone. And just like that, in the snap of a finger, she was beside Ji, pumped up from the action with a fleck of blood on her cheek.

"Help me move this!" Ji asked, pulling the couch.

Shizune grasped it and lodged it in the doorway with her before piling more things, chairs, tables, whatever, in front. They stood back to admire their handiwork, looking at each other carefully before breaking out into small smiles. They were already getting somewhere, or so Ji thought.

"Is the girl alright?"

"Tia? I . . . don't know. She's upstairs resting."

The blockade shook, and zombie moans echoed through the house.

"This won't hold forever."

"I know. Hopefully Tia wakes up by the time they break through . . . "

Both girls fell silent for a second, consumed in their own thoughts.

"I'm sorry . . . I led us into this mess," Ji looked at Shizune sadly.

"All that matters is that we get out. Alive."

Ji nodded and turned back to the doorway, her sword at the ready. Shizune's reply had put her a little off, but maybe it was just her being exhausted or something. The blockade rumbled again and a crunch was heard, followed by the appearance of a snaking hand and the scream of the undead. Ji stalked to the door and shoved her blade through it, feeling it sink into more flesh and felt the zombie go slack, hopefully for good.

A window smashed with the tinkle of glass as a zombie, then two, then a quartet crawled into the **** please report this topic, post ****, their eyes glowing and their mouths bloody. Shizune concentrated for a moment and zipped between them all, standing there as all of them slowly collapsed into little itty-bitty chunks.

More zombie hands broke through the blockade, Ji trying to stab them all, but there were too many.

"This isn't going to last long!" she cried out, burying her sword in another.

Shizune looked at her before spinning and punching another zombie out the window. They were all around the townhouse now, the walls shaking with their moans and screams.

"Come on Tia . . . wake up . . . " Ji murmured to herself worriedly before firing a bullet into a zombie head that poked through a hole.

Both girls began to feel a growing sense of dread as more broke in, getting past the defences.

"Upstairs. Go," Shizune sprinted up them and covered Ji with her pistol as the horde finally broke in . . .

[Undead]

Only by a few years now

[MegaAfroMan]

I'm sad this died.