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Post by John Roberts on Feb 8, 2004 10:33:35 GMT -5
* * *
Two hours slowly ticked by and Carmen was now laying back on a small arm chair. She was at that moment cleaning around her own wounds, changing the dressing. With all the stress and the strain that was put on her during the mission her stitches had somehow held together. She flinched in pain as she secured a fresh bandage over her injured abdomen. She rested her head back against the chair and leaned it to one side, relaxing her chin onto her shoulder. She let out a sigh of relief as her eyes focused on Ryan sleeping on a bed in far corner of the room. He slept silently, his breathing was steady and calm, his chest was heavily bandaged. She was confident that he would pull through, she did all she could for him, all that can be done is to keep him comfortable and let him rest.
Rest.
Carmen’s eyes slowly closed and the feeling of exhaustion succumbed her body to an almost immediate sleep. Her mind started to slip away to distant thoughts, to old memories. She dreamt.
Carmen was abruptly woken from her light sleep by someone’s hands gently brushing through her hair. Carmen sighed enjoying the touch. She smiled and opened her eyes to see Tamara kneeling down next to her. Her smile quickly faded.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” Tamara softly spoke, smiling. “You’re so beautiful when you’re sleeping.”
Carmen sat there in silence, she felt awkward and still ashamed that she couldn’t find the courage within herself to talk to Tamara, to tell her of her true feelings. She looked away from Tamara’s gaze. She felt Tamara’s paw leave her head fur and rest just above where her bandaged wound is. Carmen flinched but not in pain, instead she recoiled from the touch itself, and how uncomfortable it made her feel.
“Nack told me everything. About the mission, the Lieutenant project. All those swat-bots, Carmie, you so lucky to be alive. ALL of you are very lucky to still be here.” Tamara said as she moved her paw again and placed it over Carmen’s shoulder, gently squeezing.
“Please don’t.” Carmen whispered.
There was a long pause, but Tamara eventually retracted her paw from Carmen’s shoulder and stood up. Carmen carefully sat up in the chair and also got to her feet. She turned her back to Tamara and walked over to where Ryan was resting. Carmen felt lost right now. She knew she had to say something, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.
“Carmen,” Tamara’s voice sounded worried, “what’s wrong?”
Carmen didn’t answer, couldn’t answer, she just shook her head slightly and remained silent. She listened to Tamara’s light footsteps walk up behind her.
“What’s happened? Tell me what you are thinking, please. Earlier, you didn’t even want to kiss me, and just now you wouldn’t even let me touch you. Why am I getting the feeling that you don’t even want me here?” Tamara implored.
“Because It hurts,” Carmen simply replied, still standing with her back to Tamara, “it hurts to be with you.”
“Carmen, I don’t understand.” Tamara sadly said.
“I loved my mum, and seeing her final moments was hard to deal with.” Carmen sadly spoke, her emotions feeding her every word. “Even now, I still see her death in my dreams, my thoughts. It hurts so much. I-I just want to put it behind me, but I can’t. When I’m with you, I see her. And-and it’s....killing me because I can’t let go of her memory, I can’t move on. I used you, Tam, I compensated for my mum’s death by growing close to you. I didn’t want to face the pain so I overshadowed it with your love. I’m sorry, but I can’t be with you anymore.”
She finally turned around to face Tamara. And she saw that her friend was crying. Tears were emptying from the corners of eyes and soaking into her furrie face.
“I-I love you, Carmen, I love you so much. You are one of the few things in my life that makes sense to me. You make me feel whole inside. I am truly happy when I’m with you.” Tamara wept.
“I’m not.” Carmen gently said, a tear of her own distilled from her eye.
Carmen’s arms dropped to her side as she watched her friend continue to cry her heart out. She hated herself for what she had just done, but she couldn’t go on with her life like this, she had to let go of the past. She couldn’t leave Tamara in the darkness any longer, she deserved to be told the truth. No matter how much pain Tamara was feeling now, Carmen knew it would eventually be for the best.
“Tell me,” Tamara heavy-hearted started to ask, “why now? What made you suddenly see us in the light that you now see?”
“I....I think I always knew, deep down, but I was too afraid to admit it to myself. I didn’t want to be alone, I was so lost. And instead of confronting those demons, I hid them by getting close to you. I thought I was in love with you, I really did. It wasn’t until someone else’s feelings for me opened my eyes to what I have been really missing.” Carmen said regrettably.
“And-and that is?” Tamara sadly asked as she wrapped her arms around herself, holding herself, comforting herself.
“To be happy,” Carmen responded, “to be in love.”
Another long pause happened between the two. Tamara’s soft sobs was the only thing stopping complete silence. Carmen was thinking about leaving Tamara so she could be alone with her feelings. She thought being here was only making it worse for her friend. But before Carmen could act on her thoughts, Tamara spoke up.
“It’s Ed, isn’t it?”
Carmen looked up at her with amazed eyes. “Yes.” Carmen said, a hint of surprise in her voice.
“And he makes you happy?” Tamara asked again, rubbing her eyes clean of tears.
“He does.” Carmen responded.
“Then....then he did what I couldn’t.” Tamara somberly said. Tamara turned around and moved to the arm chair that Carmen was sitting on earlier. She sat down on it, lifting her knees up to her chest; she hugged her arms around her legs and rested her head on her knees. Fresh tears were trickling from her eyes. “I’m sorry, Carmie, I just want to be alone right now.”
Carmen looked at Tamara, her shoulders were shaking as she hid her face away from Carmen’s view. She could hear her gentle sobs. Carmen hung her head down in shame, she felt terrible for breaking her friend’s heart, but she knew there was no other way.
“I’m sorry, Tamara.” Carmen whispered. She took one last look at her broken friend and then slowly walked across the wooden floor and out of the hut. She stopped just outside of the doorway, she rubbed her own tears away from her eyes and looked ahead of her.
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Post by John Roberts on Feb 8, 2004 10:36:25 GMT -5
She saw Kaige looking back at her studiously. He cocked his head to one side and winked at her. Carmen’s face immediately became a smile. She walked over to him and looked him up and down. Now that it was daylight, Carmen could clearly see his burnt scales covering his body. The damage seemed only superficial at the most.
“I’m still mad at you, wise guy.” Carmen joked, playfully poking him in the chest. “You think you can get yourself burnt without me knowing about it?”
“Oh? You don’t approve of the new look? Barren seemed to think it was, as he put it, really, really cool.” Kaige said smirking.
Carmen’s eyes went wide. ‘Oh no, you don’t mean....”
Kaige winked again. “At this very minute, Barren is in search for some black paint.”
With mock anger, Carmen again playfully slammed her palms against his tough chest. “You encourage everything that kit does. Don’t think I don’t know that.”
“Me?” Kaige laughed.
“Oh, have you already forgotten about the time he tried to fly by jumping out of a tree. He told me it was your idea that he should build himself some wings.” Carmen said, poking her finger into his chest once again. The shocked expression on Kaige’s features was too much for Carmen as she broke down in laughter. She leaned onto Kaige to stop herself from falling.
She looked up at Kaige, hugging her arms around his large form and smiled. “I’m glad we’re back home, big brother.”
Kaige smiled back down at her, returning the hug. “And I’m glad to see your blossoming smile, little sister, much better than those tears that I saw you wiping away from your eyes. Am I wrong to assume that it doesn’t have anything to do with Ryan’s recovery?”
“No, Ryan will be fine, just needs his rest.” Carmen said, her smile slightly losing it’s glow. “It’s Tamara.”
“So you told her about you and Ed.” Kaige said, stating it as more of a fact than a question.
Carmen simply nodded. “I made her cry, Kaige.” she said, with great sadness in her voice. Her smile had now completely gone, replaced was a look of doldrums.
“Don’t do that.” Kaige said, hugging her gently again. “Do not shed any more tears, Carmen. For what ever reason that you have decided to walk the path that you’re on, always remember, it was a decision that you made for yourself, no one else. Our own feelings as individuals should be the priority to us all. We must take care of ourselves before taking care of those around us. If we are not true to ourselves, true to our own hearts, how can we be true to the hearts that are closes to us? How can we be absolute true to those that love us?”
Carmen’s smiled returned as she looked up at her dragon friend, understanding exactly what he was saying to her. She had made the right decision, she knew that. But it still didn’t change the fact that she had to hurt someone’s feelings for the sake of herself. She still felt selfish for doing it, but Kaige’s words helped sooth her thoughts. There’s still guilt, that hadn’t changed, but at least now she knew that it was okay to follow her heart and to be true to herself.
“Thank you, Kaige, thank you so much for being here.” Carmen said weakly. Once again, the fatigue had started to show itself within her. She needed rest, she needed sleep, she needed time to recover from her injuries. And most importantly in her mind, she needed to be where her heart feels content, where her love is fulfilled. She needed to be with Ed.
Carmen stepped back away from Kaige and looked up at him through tired eyes.
“Now, Carmen. Go find yourself some rest. There’s no need for you to be standing around any longer.” Kaige gently spoke.
“I...I will. I just want to find Ed first.” she said.
“Well, then you will find him inside his hut. That was where I saw him walk into not too long ago.”
Carmen smiled and nodded. She then turned around and walked in the direction of Ed’s hut. Before she had gotten to far, Kaige called out again to her.
“Now remember, Carmen. I did say REST.” Kaige said with a wink.
Carmen responded with a wink of her own, she then cracked up in laughter again as she continued to walk away.
* * *
Carmen gently tapped against the wooden door of Ed’s hut. Butterflies were filling within her. She couldn’t help but smile when she heard his footsteps approach the other side of the door. The door slowly opened inward with a creak.
“Hello.” Carmen said, her face flourishing into an even brighter smile.
“Carmen. Oh. . .hi,” He fumbled, “I’m glad you’re your. . .oh! How is. . .”
Carmen broke him off mid-sentence. “Ryan will be fine.” She chewed her bottom lip, looking intently into Ed’s eyes. “Can I come in?”
“Oh!” Ed said penitently, “Of-of course. Sorry. Please, come in.”
He stepped aside to let Carmen pass him by. She took two steps inside and as soon as she heard the sound of the door closing, she slowly turned around and grasped her arms around Ed’s body, squeezing him warmly. She kissed him softly on the cheek and then nestled her head onto his shoulder. She melted even more when she felt Ed’s arms enfold around her, gently stroking her back.
“Ed. . .I’m so tired.” Carmen weakly whispered. “Can I sleep here?”
“Of course, of course you can, Carmen. You can have my bed, I don’t need it at the moment.” Ed replied innocently as he moved Carmen to his side and started to walk her to the side of his bed. He held onto Carmen’s hands as he helped her lower herself onto the soft mattress. Carmen looked up at him with a faint smile.
“Will you lie next to me? Would you hold me?” she again whispered to him.
Ed smiled sweetly at her. “I will.”
As Carmen fully laid back and sunk into the softness of the mattress, her body let a massive cry of relief. She closed her eyes, almost falling asleep there and then, but she felt the bed gently move under her with Ed’s body weight shifting next to her. She leaned herself over to her side and let herself lie over Ed. One arm was pressed over his chest, she rested her left leg over Ed’s and her head she nuzzled into his neck. She sighed in pleasure at the feeling of Ed’s arms holding her. The warmth of his body pressed to hers filled her with nothing but absolute comfort.
“I. . .I love you Ed. . .” Carmen’s whispered voice slowly faded as she felt the darkness take her. Her own words echoed through her thoughts as her mind drifted to a dreamless place, to a deep sleep. A fulfilled smile was etched on her lips as her gentle breathing became soft snores.
OOC: For me, this is the end, but for the rest of you, I look forward to reading all of your final posts.
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Post by Scott Reese on Feb 17, 2004 4:41:15 GMT -5
Ed watched Carmen as she ran in the direction of the medical hut to tend to the critically injured mercenary. Nack and Wildfire were standing a short way off, having a distracted conversation as they too watched the doctor. Ed felt an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach as he saw Tamara DeClaws approach and suddenly embrace her. It was obvious that Carmen felt uncomfortable too, though from his distance, he couldn't tell the exact exchange that was taking place between the two. Carmen broke away as soon as she heard Kaige calling. Realizing he was staring, Ed turned quickly back to the bike and started to remove his pack; the absence of his laptop was no small annoyance to Eddy as he hefted the bag over his shoulder. Turning back towards the village, the uncomfortable feeling in his gut intesified. Tamara was walking towards him; he could see her face was clouded, her emotions confused. She spoke. "What's happend, Ed?" she inquired. For a long moment he couldn't respond, his mind drawing a complete blank. Finally he gathered his wits enough to respond. "The mission... well, ah... you should talk to N-Nack about that. He was in the Lieutenant... that is, inside the c-computer core..." He trailed off, realizing he was stammering in front of Tamara, something he normally didn't have a problem with. The Centerpoint villagers were his friends; he knew them well enough that he usually didn't experience anxiety when talking to any of them. But being in her presence was unbearable; he felt he was betraying her trust. Patches nodded slowly, her expression impassive. "I'll, uh, talk to Nack then. Fill out a report for debriefing, okay?" "Will... will do, Patches," he faltered as she continued towards the two figures beside the other speeder bike. He was unable to make eye contact as he passed her, keeping his head bowed in inner humiliation. Once inside his hut, Eddy put away his equipement and sat down at the small metal desk in the corner. He took a pencil and paper and tried to formulate the report Tamara had asked for, but he only managed to get a few lines scrawled down before his mind started to wander. So much had happened in the last 24 hours; now that he had a chance to sit down, alone with his thoughts, it all rushed into his head. For a few minutes he sat, chin in hands, and stared into space. He finally shook his head and stood. Ed couldn't concentrate on the report, and thinking was starting to become unpleasant. To many uncertainties to be resolved and no clue how to do it. "Maybe I should find something to do..." He mumbled to himself. Flipping on the light above his drafting table, he scanned over the neatly arranged diagrams and blueprints. Then he turned and began to remove the canvas tarp covering his latest endeavor. A partially assembled, treaded robot about his height stood upright in the corner, awaiting activation. There was still a lot of work to be done on it, though, before it would have any potential. Ed opened his tool chest and retrieved the necessary tools, a bit more annoyed now at the loss of his computer. Ignoring the glaring absence, he set to continuing his work on the 'bot. He managed to keep him mind occupied by the engineering problem for a while, but his attention with that too began to wain. It just wasn't the same anymore. For a long time, research and design had been his only pursuit; it was so much easier to deal with problems he understood, problems with set solutions. In life there were no predetermined conclusions or concrete answers, so he tried not to deal with it. He simply didn't deal well with others. But over the years he found people who cared for him, despite his flaws.
*****
A trail of graphite followed Eddy's pencil across the drafting table as he sketched out schematics for a hardware upgrade to Centerpoint village's radar. Most of his time he devoted to enhancing the small community's early-warning systems and mobile capabilities. But lately, the others had been asking him to join in their recreational activities. He did, sometimes; but most of the time he remained alone in his cabin, immersing himself in diagrams and blueprints and prototypes. There was a knock at the door, and a voice called, "Anyone home?" He continued writing for a second, then responded. "Yes- come in." The door opened halfway and Kaige stuck his head in. Eddy nodded at him from behind the table. "Hi, Ed. Tamara was wondering if you were going to come down to the campfire tonight?" About once a month, the villagers would gather around the firepit in the center of the village and try to forget about Robotnik and the war. For a little while, at least. Usually, Eddy didn't feel the need for recreation; he was a loner. "Well... I don't- I'm a little busy." Ed murmered. "I need to f-finish the plans for the radar enhancements tonight.... start building the casing tomorrow." He trailed off as he began to sketch again. Kaige shook his head and grinned wryly at the preoccupied wolf. "You're a workaholic, Eddy," he said as he began to leave. "It couldn't hurt to let the drawings go for awhile." Markus nodded absently. "Mabye next time," he replied. "Carmen said to tell you if you didn't come with me, she would drag you down there herself," Kaige said in a humorous tone. Eddy smiled slightly, his head still bent. "Well... tell Ms. Rosemary she is c-certainly welcome to try," he said. Some time after Kaige left, there was another knock at the door. Carmen didn't wait for him to answer, but opened the door and ambled over to the desk, hands behind her back. She didn't try to drag him, but instead leaned over his shoulder and stared intently at the drawings. After a moment, her silent presence finally prompted him to speak. "Y-yes, may I be of assistence?" He asked politely then continued to work; but he could feel her amused gaze. "Well, I figured if you're pretty busy, I'll just see if I can help you," she smiled sweetly as he sighed. She didn't know the first thing about engineering, but after three years in the village with him, she was getting to know the engineer. "No, um, not really, no. I'm doing fine, but thank you, uh... anyway," Ed stammered, know full well she wasn't going to just leave him alone until she had given him sufficient teasing, or until he joined the rest of the group. "Then is it okay if I just watch?" she asked cheerfully as she pulled up another chair before he could reply, which he finally did. "Uh..." "So what are you working on tonight?" she asked him, grinning innocently as she glanced from the drawing to his face. "The ah- the upgrades for the radar..." He stopped. She was looking attentively at him as he spoke, still smiling. He stared steadily down at his drafts, uncomfortable at being so closely scrutinized by the pretty teenage koala. She had figured out well how to distract him from his task; all it took was sitting and staring at him. Threw him off every time. And it was bugging the heck out of him, but he never did have the nerve to tell her she couldn't stay. After all, she always sat quietly and just watched; it drove him past the point of distraction. After a minute, he gave up. "I- I suppose you want me to join the rest..?" He nodded towards the door. "Howdja guess?" she chuckled. "We all want you to come be with us, Eddy. C'mon, some fresh air will be good for you." She stood up, beckoning him to come. "I really should-" he looked at her, then at the blueprints, then back at Carmen. Ever since the war began, he'd distanced himself from everyone else, emotionally. Relationships were complicated and painful. He almost lost the courage to overcome his fear, without Katrina. But he knew deep down that he had to start opening up again. "Aw, h-heck," he finally mustered. "I ah, guess a break w-won't hurt."
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Post by Scott Reese on Feb 17, 2004 4:41:46 GMT -5
***** Eddy shook his head. Working on the robot wasn't giving him the same satisfaction it used to. He found he cared more about his friends and their futures now then he cared about designing a better machine. He contemplated the changes he'd dealt with over the last ten years, and the one that had yet to be faced. Some time had passed before there was a light knock on his door. His heart skipped a beat as he realized it was Carmen. He tried to think of what he was going say as he opened the door. "Carmen.. ah, I- hi," he faltered. "I'm glad to see you- uh, how is..?" "Ryan's going to be fine," she replied, biting her lip. "Can I come in?" She asked. "Oh, of course- I'm sorry," he apologized and stepped aside, gesturing for her to come in. He shut the door gently, and turned to Carmen. She embraced his body, wrapping her arms around him. She kissed his cheek as he held her closer, comforted just by her touch. "Ed... I'm so tired," she murmered. "Can I sleep here?" "Yes, of course," he said, "You can have my bed, I don't need it a the moment." He walked her to his bed and gently laid her down, careful of her wound. She looked up at him. "Would you lie next to me? Will you hold me, Eddy?" "I will," he said, glad just to be with her again. He stretched out beside her on the bed. Carmen turned to lay on her side, resting her body against his. He hugged her close again, forgetting all his worries as she nestled close to him. "I love you Ed," she whispered faintly, as sleep overtook her. He smiled down at her, content to just hold her for as long as she slept. But he didn't feel like sleeping, so he laid beside her, content and at peace. The worries of today and uncertainties of tomorrow didn't seem to matter to him anymore. "I love you," he breathed back, absently wondering what tomorrow would bring. OOC-And that's the last for me. Sorry if its off, I should have been giving this background much earlier in the game. But I'll do better in the next one, I think.
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wildfire
Socially Acceptable
I'm spastic with a handgun
Posts: 206
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Post by wildfire on Feb 26, 2004 12:51:43 GMT -5
Wildfire jumped off of the back of the Nack's hoverbike. A smile crossed his face for the first time in hours as he looked at the rising sun. So much had happened in so little time, and he was greatful for the small chance to relax. He glanced over his shoulder at Nack as he walked up. "Always glancing over your shoulder. You act like I make you uncomfortable or something." Max chuckled a bit at the weasel's remark. He had to admit that despite Nack's being a bounty hunter, the guy wasn't half bad. "Well, I think it's no secret by now that i'm more than a little weary of bounty hunters." "Had a few sent after you eh?" "Not really." Max remarked. "I just always thought they would look out for number one before anyone else. Sell out those that they were protecting for a quick profit." "You'd be surprised." Nack said. "There's a lot more to most bounty hunters than that. But don't get me wrong, there are some assholes out there who live by creds and creds alone. I ain't one of em myself. Just because i'm a bounty hunter don't mean I take on the job that'll get me the most pay all the time. These days it don't do any good anyways. But lemme ask you something." "What's that?" "If I had turned on you guys, what exactly would you have done?" "I'dve killed you without a second thought." Max smirked as he remember that he very nearly did try to kill Nack. "I'dve loved to see you try it too." Nack laughed heartily. It was the first time Max had seen Nack more than grin at anything these past few hours. "You know Nack, you're not a bad guy, for a bounty hunter." Max remarked. "Hey, now don't you go spreading my secrets around Maxy boy. I don't need everyone thinking I went soft on em." "I hear ya Nack, I hear ya. Hey, when do you suppose the name callings gonna stop?" "When you prove you're worth having a better nickname Escort Boy." Nack took a deep breath and smiled again. "C'mon, lets go see if there's any good grub around here."
It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off of Max's shoulders. The mission was over, and it was time now for some much needed rest and relaxation. He found it odd that even after all that he had done to him, Nack still thought enough of the vulpine to invite him to share lunch. He supposed his opinion on bounty hunters had changed greatly since he had met Nack. A lot about himself had changed. He walked down the trail with a smile plastered on his face, laughing and talking with someone he was planning on killing only hours before...
(This is my last bit. I hafta say this was a load of fun and I lok foreward to doing it again soon guys, is we waiting on anyone else now? Jimmy perhaps? It seems right that the person that started this thing be the one to finish it...)
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Post by chief on Feb 26, 2004 17:08:03 GMT -5
The order goes Kaotix-me-Jim. Thats whats left
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Post by Kaotix on Mar 3, 2004 21:03:41 GMT -5
OOC: Here is my final post, gentlemen. I have enjoyed this project immensely and have enjoyed reading your posts. I hope you will enjoy my final post for the Lt. Project. I put my heart into it.
IC:
The charcoaled dragon had made it safely out of the city and to the small collapsed cave where the bikes had been stashed before the mission began. He had made it out of the city easy enough even though he was a bit on the toasty side. Carmen was going to have a conniption when she saw him. He was almost totally black from burns and soot. His scales had taken most of the damage but he was sore in some areas due to some minor burns that had gotten through his scales. He would be fine though. He would heal and his scales would replace themselves soon enough. It had just gotten too hot for the dragon to handle in that factory. And that was saying a lot because Kaige had been born and raised inside a volcano, and he liked it hot. But the fireball inside that Lt. Series factory was hotter than any volcano on this planet.
What is taking the others so long? Kaige thought as he scratched at some of his most damaged scales removing them so new scales could grow in to replace them. Despite Kaige's seemingly annoyed attitude, he was actually very worried about his comrades. Where they ok? Were they able to make it out? Are any of them hurt? All these questions danced in his head nearly driving him insane with worry.
A twig snapped. Kaige bolted to his feet and tensed up in preparation for an attack. He silently waited for whatever or whoever was out there to make himself known.
"K-Kaige?" Came the soft question from Ed as he and Wildfire poked their heads over a small outcropping of rocks that concealed the old cave entrance.
Kaige exhaled a sigh of relief and relaxed as he saw two of his friends. A small smile adorned his features as he now t least knew that two of them had made it back safely. "Are you two ok?"
"We're just fine," came the crisp reply of Max Wildfire as the fox and wolf clambered over the rocks and down into the small indention into the earth. "We met up with each other right after finishing our objectives and were able to sneak out of the city without many problems."
"M-most of he SWATs are busy trying to control that big fire you caused in that factory. There weren't enough actually patrolling to cause us any trouble," Ed responded after Max had finished. The introverted wolf looked at Kaige with a bit of anticipation, "Have you seen Carmen?"
Kaige shook his head sadly. "Not yet. You two have been the first I've seen since I left the city. I was starting to wonder if any of you were okay."
*********
Time passed as the trio waited for the last three members of their team to return. Ed was getting antsy in his worry over Carmen and was fiddling with a few of his tools that were in his bag to keep himself occupied. Kaige was just as worried and was almost unable to restrain himself from just taking off and heading back to the city to search for Carmen, Ryan, and Nack himself. Max had borrowed the dragon's binoculars and was currently watching out for any signs of their friends. He looked a little silly using the oversized spyglasses but it did the job. He had been scanning the horizon for almost another half an hour when he finally spotted something.
"I think I see them!" he whispered urgently to the others. Kaige and Ed climbed up beside him and looked out over the horizon.
Indeed, Kaige now saw them as well. Two silhouettes were moving against the darkened sky. Where was the third? No there it is! The two were carrying the third but from this distance it was hard to tell who was who. But they had made it out! He took to the sky with a few mighty flaps of his wings and quickly made his way to his comrades' shadows. Kaige roared out in relief as he grew closer to them. He could see Carmen and Nack looking up at him. as he descended toward them and landed with a thud.
***********
Within a few moments after greeting Carmen and Nack and having the injured Ryan strapped to his back, Kaige had once again taken to the air. This time his destination was home. He could hear the engines of the two hoverbikes getting closer to him in the distance.
"You still with me, Ryan?" came the gravelly voice of the dragon. He had to keep Ryan awake and alert. "It sounds like your bike could use a tune up. Great Walkers, it is loud."
Ryan heard him and came up with a reply. "Your Ed better not damage my bike... If I see one ding in it..."
"How would you tell that ding from the myriad of others?" Kaige said with a grin as he caught another thermal rise in the air allowing him gain a little altitude without much work.
"Ugh... Shut up, Scale Belly..."
Kaige chuckled for a moment tbut hen stopped. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been *cough* thrown around by a bunch *cough* of SWATbots..." Ryan's voice then descended into several body racking coughs. Kaige knew that he had to hurry back to Centerpoint Village if Ryan was going to have a chance.
"Don't worry. We'll be there soon and Carmen will get you patched back up." The Great Forest was just ahead and within that was home. The sun was beginning to come up. It's warm rays began peeking over the horizon shedding light around them. Inside the Great Forest a few of the Centerpoint village's sentries noticed the big dragon coming in. They quickly radioed in to Tamara who was slumped over the communication panel in exhaustion. She had finally been able to put Barren to bed. She couldn't sleep though, not until she knew the condition of her friends.
The radio beeped loudly and the sentry reported in, "I see Kaige heading this way, Tamara! It looks like he has something strapped to his back and he's coming in full throttle. We also see two hoverbikes trailing behind him on the ground."
Tamara snapped to full alertness. She was almost giddy with relief. "I copy that. Let them pass. It may be that the one Kaige is carrying is hurt." She just hoped it wasn't Carmen. "Tamara, over and out." She shot up from where she was sitting and headed out into the still dark village.
"We're almost there, Ryan. Ryan?" No response. "By the pit. Don't you dare give up on me now! I didn't carry you all this way out of the goodness of my heart so you could just die!" Kaige was getting nothing from his little prods at the mercenary.
The village was within sight now and Kaige's form sank into the forest canopy as he descended for landing. He landed as softly as he could so that he wouldn't jar the unconscious Ryan any further. Kaige could hear the hoverbikes pulling into the village as he gently loosened Ryan from his back and began carrying him to the medical hut. He caught sight of Tamara heading out to them but he had no time to greet her.
The dragon pushed into the medical hut that doubled as Carmen's home. He set Ryan onto an examination table gently and began removing the rest of the makeshift harness from the fox. Ryan started coughing again, but now he was coughing up blood with it. His breaths were shallow and laboured, and he was sweating profusely. Ryan looked up at the dragon with wide, fearful eyes. Kaige had nowhere near Carmen's skill in medicine but he knew when someone was very sick.
"Carmen!" Kaige called out as loud as he could to make sure that the Koala would hear him. He wasn't going to let the fox die if he had anything to say about it and right now Carmen was the only person that could save the mercenaries life. "Carmen, there's something wrong with him. Hurry!"
Within a few moments, Carmen burst through the door. She quickly ran over to Ryan's side and began examining him. Kaige immediately got his large form out of her way to allow her all the room she needed. She looked distraught as she looked over Ryan. Carmen finished and ran over to her medical supply cabinet and began putting surgical utensils onto a small tray.
"Carmen. Carmen, what's happening to him?" Kaige asked alarmed.
She explained what was happening to Kaige as best as she could as she prepped her tools and Ryan for surgery. Kaige didn't understand most of it, but he did understand what she meant when she said, "He's going into shock."
She stooped over Ryan and gently touched his face and whispered to him that she was going to take care of him. That she needed him to relax. She then took a needle and emptied it into his arm.
"Will that help him?" Kaige asked as he looked warily at Ryan and all the sharp instruments that Carmen was sanitizing.
"Help? Yes, but it won't save his life," Carmen said as she retrieved a scalpel from the tray. "He's taking a very heavy blow directly to the chest causing a rupture in an artery or a blood vessel resulting in blood flooding into the body. That's why he's coughing up blood. He is bleeding internally. I have to cut him open, find the rupture and stop the bleeding."
Carmen was about to begin the operation when a cheery voice startled both the dragon and the koala. "Carmen! Big Red! You're back!"
The scalpel clattered back onto the tray as Carmen looked over her shoulder at the excited young kit. "Barren," she said breathlessly. She had forgotten that the fox cub was in the other room. Barren leaned against his crutch as he grinned excitedly at his idol and Miss Carmen.
"Kaige, get him out of here!" Carmen quickly snapped with such authority that it nearly caught Kaige off guard. "I don't need the distractions!"#nosmileys#nosmileys#nosmileys
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Post by Kaotix on Mar 3, 2004 21:07:13 GMT -5
Kaige didn't wait to be told again. He quickly walked over and scooped the little kit and the crutch up into his strong arms and carried him out of the hut. He turned back just before he closed the door to see Carmen with her attention on the wounded Ryan. Kaige knew that Ryan was in the most capable paws in the Great Forest at the moment. He would pull through. Carmen would make sure of it. But Kaige had other concerns for the moment, namely a little kit by the name of Barren who was now fiercely hugging the neck of the dragon.
"I knew you would come back just fine, Big Red!" Barren happily squealed as he hugged his idol's neck tighter. Kaige wasn't showing any discomfort. It wouldn't do at all for Barren to know how sore the big guy actually was. "I bet you trashed scores of SWATbots!"
"Nah, I didn't trash scores of them, Barren," Kaige said in a low voice. Barren looked at him and his ears flopped down in confusion. "I trashed hundreds of them!"
"Yay!" Barren squealed happily.
"They weren't regular SWATs either but these new beefed up things that had a hyper intelligence controlling them. I took out a whole factory of those things by myself!"
"Cool!"
A new voice chimed in. "So is that where you got all crispy?"
Kaige turned to see Tamara deClaws standing before them with her paws on her hips as she regarded the two 'boys' with amusement.
"You think I look bad? You should see the Lt. Series SWATbots that I scrapped."
"Kaige, you look like you were scrapped," Tamara interjected with a shake of her head.
"No, he doesn't, Miss Tamara," Barren whined from atop Kaige's shoulder. "I think he looks really, really cool! And I'm going to look just like him!" Barren squirmed a bit and Kaige put the young kit down and helped him with his crutch. Barren hobbled away muttering to himself something about finding some black paint. Tamara didn't hear that but Kaige did. He raised an amused brow and turned back to Tamara.
"Kaige, I want to know what happened to you in Centropolis that got you all singed. I know those scales will take a while to be replaced."
"I overstayed my welcome in a factory," Kaige said with a smile. "Right after I set the charges I got visited by a squad of Lt. Series SWATbots." He raised a claw to cut off Tamara's comment. "I could handle them that time. The AI, which I'm sure Nack has told you about, was no longer actively controlling them thanks to Ed. They were just beefed up regular SWATs. I handled them pretty well, but the timer nearly caught me. The place blew apart right as I escaped. The fireball singed me a bit."
"Kaige, you could have gotten hurt." She poked him in the chest with one dainty claw. "Or worse."
Kaige just grinned down at Tamara. "But I didn't, Patches. You worry too much."
Tamara put her paw to her mouth and laughed. "Someone has to worry about you, because you sure don't." Her face then turned serious. "What happened in Centropolis with Ed and Carmen? Ed's avoiding me and looking ashamed and Carmen doesn't seem to want me near her."
Kaige looked down at the ground for a few moments. When he looked up again, his face was somber. "That is something you will have to talk to Carmen about after she finishes with the mercenary, Patches." Kaige turned and walked slowly away leaving Tamara to her thoughts.
"Looks like I will need to talk to Nack about what happened in Centropolis after all." She turned and made her way to see the weasel.
*******
After returning from the river and cleaning himself some, Kaige's scales didn't look as bad as they did earlier. He scrubbed the most damaged of them off so that his body could replace them faster. As the dragon walked back into the village square, he saw Patches walk into Carmen's hut. Kaige let out a sigh and sat back on his haunches and waited. One of them was sure to come out in a few minutes and Kaige would be there for his clan members.
Sure enough, within a few minutes Carmen walked out of the hut while wiping her eyes with the back of her paw. Kaige studied her as she looked up at him. She stopped as she noticed him watching her. Kaige tilted his head to the side and gave her a wink that brought a smile to her pretty face.
"I'm still mad at you, wise guy." Carmen joked, playfully poking him in the chest. "You think you can get yourself burnt without me knowing about it?"
Kaige suppressed a grunt again from the small amount of pain the poking brought to his sore body. What was with the poking today? "Oh? You don't approve of the new look? Barren seemed to think it was, as he put it, really, really cool." Kaige said smirking.
Carmen's eyes went wide with unbelief. "Oh no, you don't mean...."
Kaige winked again and grinned proudly. "At this very minute, Barren is in search for some black paint."
Carmen looked up at him with a look of mock anger and began beating her palms against his chest. "You encourage everything that kit does. Don't think I don't know that."
"Me?" Kaige said innocently while putting his claw to his chest in mock surprise then broke into laughter at the look of bewilderment on Carmen's face.
"Oh, have you already forgotten about the time he tried to fly by jumping out of a tree. He told me it was your idea that he should build himself some wings." Carmen said, poking her finger into his chest once again. She began giggling wildly as she saw the look of surprise on the dragon's face. She leaned onto Kaige and wrapped her arms around him.
"I'm glad we're back home, Big Brother."
Kaige could agree with that. As he held her, he thought back to all that they went through during the past 24 hours from getting split up to thinking that Carmen and Ed were dead, to finding everyone again, to getting split up again and captured, to being freed by the weasel, and to finally taking the AI down. Kaige thanked the Walkers that they all survived. Kaige wouldn't have known what to do if he had lost Carmen.
"And I'm glad to see your blossoming smile, little sister." Kaige went on to ask her about Ryan and then Tamara, which she answered. She was distraught over causing Tamara to cry, but Kaige calmed her and gave her a few words of advice and sent her off to find Ed and 'to get some REST,' as Kaige jokingly admonished her.
After Kaige watched Carmen enter Ed's hut, he turned and looked at the medical hut where Patches was still inside. He debated with himself about going to talk to her, but decided that she could use some of the ol' dragon charm to cheer her up. Besides, Kaige hated to see any of his clan mates sad, especially Carmen and Tamara.
Kaige rapped his knuckles softly against the door. "Patches?" He said softly. "May I come in?" He pressed his ear to the door and listened. He heard some faint sniffles and a few deep breaths.
"Yeah... Come on in, Kaige," Tamara sniffed.
Kaige opened the door and slowly stepped inside. Ryan was still sleeping peacefully from the successful surgery that Carmen performed on him earlier. He would be out for a while. Kaige turned and looked at Tamara. She was still seated in the chair that she was in when Carmen had left. Her lovely eyes were a little puffy from crying and her cheeks were damp.
"You're looking a bit better," She said as she tried to smile.
"It's amazing what some water and some scrubbing will do," Kaige replied ruefully. His face then grew serious. "Are you alright?"
"No," Tamara whispered. "I'm hurting, Kaige. I'm hurting alot. I loved Carmen more than anything. When Nack told me about all the things that had happened to her in Centropolis, I was appalled and wanted to comfort her. She didn't want my comfort though...."
"She wanted Ed's," Kaige spoke. It was a statement, not a question. "Carmen faced a lot of personal demons in Centropolis, Tamara. She was able to confront and defeat some, but there were a few that she didn't beat."
"She told me, Kaige. My head understands what she said, but my heart still hurts."
"It will go away in time. Carmen has to be herself, Tamara. We can't deny her that."
"I know... It will take a while to get over the fact that I lost a lover."
"You didn't lose anything, Patches. If anything, you've gained a sister. She still cares about you and loves you. That will never change." Kaige smiled softly at Patches and gently wiped her face of tears. The dragon was big and strong, but he could be very gentle when he wanted to be. This was one of those times. "No more tears. We all still love you and trust you, Patches. You are clan."
Tamara grinned a bit at Kaige's statement. The big guy had a big heart, and he just proved that now by comforting her and telling her what she needed to hear. She stood up from the chair and embraced the dragon. He wrapped his arms around her as well hugging her tightly. "Thank you, Kaige." Smiling now she looked up at his face. "Who knew that under all those tough scales lies a softy?"
"Just don't tell Barren. If he knew I was in here wiping away your tears, he would think I had gone soft on him. Barren wouldn't- Oh no! I forgot!" Kaige exclaimed as he remembered earlier with Barren.
"What is it, Kaige? Is something wrong?" Tamara looked at him in surprise.
"There will be if Barren finds black paint. Carmen will have my hide!" Kaige said quickly as he let go of Tamara and scooted out the door as fast as he could. He headed in the direction of the supply hut. #nosmileys
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Post by Kaotix on Mar 3, 2004 21:09:59 GMT -5
Tamara looked after him a bit puzzled. Now why would Barren want black.... "Oh!" Tamara squeaked out loud and laughed as she figured out what Barren had in mind with the paint. She collapsed back in the chair laughing heartily. The young fox cub was a pawfull at times, but he always brought joy and the occasional laughter fit to the village.
"Just a bit more... Almost there." A small paw stretched forth for the can off paint that sat upon the highest shelf in the supply hut. Barren had searched for hours for a can of black paint. He had finally found it, but it sat high out of his reach. But that wouldn't stop Barren. He was going to be just like Kaige and since Big Red had some black mixed in with his red, so would the little fox.
Barren stood haphazardly on the top of a back of a chair, which was placed upon two boxes that were not so carefully placed. His crutch lay on the floor forgotten as he tried to grab the can of paint. However, with every slightest movement the kit made, his improvised stepladder shook threatening to make him fall. Barren paid this no mind. The fall wouldn't hurt a big tough dragon after all.
Barren stretched as far as his little body could and almost touched the can of paint that was his prize. But his efforts finally unbalanced the makeshift ladder and it toppled forward and then back. He screamed as he fell backwards toward the hard dirt floor of the hut. Barren closed his eyes in fear of the impact.
The hard landing never came though. Something grabbed him before he could hit. Barren slowly opened his eyes to see the face of one amused Kaige. "Big Red!" He gasped in surprise at his idol.
The grin never left Kaige's face. "Just what do you think you were doing?"
"I was gonna be just like you!" Barren exclaimed proudly. "But I needed the black paint..."
Kaige laughed as he placed the kit on his shoulder and stooped to pick up the crutch. "I bet you were. It wouldn't do you any good. My scales would replace themselves long before you got the paint out of your fur."
"Aw..." Barren folded his ears down against his head as he realized that he would not be able to mimic his idol this way.
"But instead of painting yourself, why don't we go for a flight?"
Barren lit up at that idea. "You remembered your promise!"
Kaige smiled as he ruffled the kit's head fur. "What have I told you? A dragon's word is his bond."
"And a dragon never lies!" Barren squealed happily.
The two stepped out of the supply hut and into the fresh afternoon air. Kaige held onto barren securely as he gave his strong wings a flap to get them aloft. For the next few moments the only sounds in Centerpoint village were the flapping of Kaige's wings and Barren's excited laughter as the two soared above the forest canopy into the bright blue sky.
OOC: There you are. I hope you enjoyed my post. It was a pleasure participating in this with each of you and I look forward to the next RPG.
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Post by chief on Mar 8, 2004 21:51:05 GMT -5
OOC: Well... Its been good guys. I know this will probably suck, but I could'nt think of much... Hope ya like it.
*****
He saw everything, Carmen standing over him. She was saying something.. But Ryan couldn’t hear.. He didn’t want to hear any more… Ryan was tiered.. He just wanted to sleep.. Everything went blurry then just….
*****
“Can I buy you a drink?” Ryan asked a attractive fox who just walked into the bar. She looked his age, 17 at least. She had a slim build, extremely nice figure, and shorter than him from what he saw. Ryan looked her up and down then gave her a friendly smile… Which she took as a sneer more than anything,
“What? Do you plan to get me drunk so I’ll be easy to get into bed with?! Try again you dirty prick!”
“Well um… No I wasn’t planning that… I was just offering to buy you a drink” He said in a very serious manner. His sarcastic/childish side seemed to completely disappear when he said this.
“Well…!” she sighed “I’m sorry” She said while taking a seat next to him “Its just that… Last few times I’ve been at a bar I’ve always had some sick perp trying to get me into bed.. And when I first saw you I…”
“No worries, what would you like?”
“Oh” She blushed “Just a water please”
“Just a water? Ok.” He looked at the bartender who was standing close by and had already poured a cup of water in a glass that didn’t look to great, but what do you expect?
“Thanks” She took the water and took a quick sip
“Oh, I’m Ryan by the way… Ryan Scott”
She blushed again “Danielle Cousteau” She said “I hate to be rude but… You are a lot nicer then what I thought you would be….”
“I get that sometimes”
Danielle glanced down at the full ash tray in front of Ryan “That’s not yours is it?”
“Um…”
“IT IS!” She looked at him seriously, giving him a cold stare. But not before grinning “Well we shall have to change that. Come on lets go for a walk!”
*****
“We have to get him back to the village fast!” Ryan head a voice, it sounded very distant, as if in another room. ‘Just who’s was it?’ He thought. Sounded like Carmen’s, but yet…
“We will have to get him up first… Here, we will use my coat as a stretcher” ‘Who’s voice now?’ Ryan thought ‘Nack… Must be’
But then he felt even weaker. Ryan could no longer hear the voices just….
*****
“Do you Ryan Scott take Danielle Cousteau to be your wife?”
“I do”
“And do you Danielle Cousteau take Ryan Scott to be your husband?”
“I do”
“With the power invested in me I now declare you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride”
*****
“Congrats man” The Wolf said “here” and he gave Ryan a cigar
“You know if Danielle catches me smoking this she’ll kill both of us Mike”
“Acting like a married man already… Sad..” And he lit the cigar in Ryan’s mouth “So, where are you off to now? Danielle was telling me earlier that she wants to move up north to a village up there”
“Yeah… She also wants to have a kid” Ryan laughed and tapped of f the ashes on the end of the cigar “ Can you imagine me being a father?” The two laughed
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen any day soon eh” Make said
*****
“Ok Mrs. Scott, push!”
“I AM PUSHING YOU BASTARD AGRAHHHHH!!”
“Its almost over Danielle” Ryan said and held her hand
“YOU! YOU DID THIS TO ME! YOU SON OF A BITCH!”
“Uh… Doctor?” Ryan looked nervously at him
“Its almost over” He said, “just one more push”
“GAHHRRRRRRRAAHHHHHHHHHHHhhh……” A loud crying broke the scream
“Congratulations to the both of you. You have a new son”
*****
“Here comes Kaige” Ryan head Carmen say. He opened his eyes up a little bit and he was looking straight up at the night sky. The stars gleaming over head. It was a beautiful night. Ryan heard other talking, but couldn’t pick out what was being said or who was saying it. He didn’t care at this moment. Ryan just kept looking up at the sky, that beautiful night sky. In till he heard Kaiges voice shoot through his skull, which took him out of the trance that the night sky had brought upon him.
“I walked into a door” Kaige said “What happened to him?”
“He..” Carmen started
“I walked into a door” Ryan said then grinned up at Nack, Carmen, and Kaige. It took a lot of strength to say that, even more to hold onto the grin.
“Ryan, please don’t talk” Carmen said “Save your strength”
Ryan didn’t answer, but instead he looked back up at the sky, the sky that almost spoke to him. That beautiful night sky….
*****
“Are you still with me Ryan” Kaige said. Ryan now found himself in the air on Kaige’s back. He didn’t want to answer, he felt to tierd to. All Ryan wanted to do was look at the sky. But he felt it would be better to answer,
"Your Ed better not damage my bike... If I see one ding in it..."
"How would you tell that ding from the myriad of others?" Kaige said with a grin as he caught another thermal rise in the air allowing him gain a little altitude without much work.
"Ugh... Shut up, Scale Belly..."
Kaige chuckled for a moment but then stopped. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been” He started coughing “thrown around by a bunch of SWATbots..." Ryan's voice then descended into several body racking coughs. Kaige knew that he had to hurry back to Centerpoint Village if Ryan was going to have a chance.
"Don't worry. We'll be there soon and Carmen will get you patched back up." Kaige said. Ryan didn’t reply to this. He just looked back up at the sky. He could taste blood in his mouth again.. The sky seemed to go red… blood red. But then just blurry, then everything went black.
*****
“Your going where!?” Danielle said
“To find work… We need money if you have not noticed” Ryan said while packing a small bag
“Yes but I know what kinda job your looking for! And NO!”
“I’ll be fine.. Besides if I find a good one there will be a lot of pay… And it shouldn’t take very long. I’ll stay out of any long tern things. Just going to find someone who needs something done and that’s it. I’ll be back before you know it”
“But… Its getting more dangerous out there. And by the rumors There is a new type of…” She was cut off
“Still doesn’t change the fact that we need money fast. And now with Thomas…” He looked down at his son sleeping in his crib “We really need money… I’ll keep in touch. And I’ll be back as soon as I can. Besides I can’t miss his first birthday.”
“You better not!”
*****
Ryan awoke laying on a exam table staring up at Kaige. He looked around but started coughing violently. Blood started spewing out of his mouth onto the table and onto him.
"Carmen!" Kaige called out as loud as he could to make sure that the Koala would hear him. He wasn't going to let the fox die if he had anything to say about it and right now Carmen was the only person that could save the mercenaries life. "Carmen, there's something wrong with him. Hurry!"
Within a few moments, Carmen burst through the door. She quickly ran over to Ryan's side and began examining him. Kaige immediately got his large form out of her way to allow her all the room she needed. She looked distraught as she looked over Ryan. Carmen finished and ran over to her medical supply cabinet and began putting surgical utensils onto a small tray.
"Carmen. Carmen, what's happening to him?" Kaige asked alarmed.
Ryan felt extremely cold and weak. He was sweating heavily and coughing up more and more blood.
‘I’m dying’ he thought ‘This is it… The end of everything’ He glanced up and saw Carmen bending over him.
“Everything will be ok” She whispered “I just need you to relax”
Ryan tilted his head over so he could cough to the side instead of in her face. He did not answer but he did relax a little bit. He saw her inject a needle into him, and almost immediately he started to feel very tierd. Everything started to go blurry, he could hear some talking. The last thing he thought he heard was a child’s voice saying "Carmen! Big Red! You're back!" Then everything went black.
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Post by chief on Mar 8, 2004 21:51:33 GMT -5
*****
“I won’t” Ryan said “I’m going to go south, suppose to be some villages trying to hire some people for a job… Or what I’ve heard anyways”
“How about I come too?”
“NO!” Ryan yelled “There would be no where for you to stay, and its to dangerous for you and Thomas”
“And its not to dangerous for you?” Danielle said
“No its… Well yes it is. But I can’t let anything happen to you two” Ryan hugged his wife “I love you”
“I know…” A tear rolled down her cheek
“I’ll be back soon” Ryan picked up his son who was now awake “Take care of your mom for me k?”
*****
Ryan awoke in a dark room. He was in a lot of pain, but no one was around. The moonlight streamed through the window next to him, and he could see the stars. Bright as ever. It was a beautiful night.
*****
“Ryan … Ryan are you awake?” A voice asked him. Ryan couldn’t recognize the voice, nor did he really feel like it. His eyes were shut and he was extremely tierd. But he opened them anyways to great his ‘guest’
“Yeah, I’m up” he muttered, and saw that his guest was Kaige
“How are you doing?”
“Good I guess…. I’m still alive.. I think”
Kaige laughed “Yup, your still with us”
Ryan looked out the window and saw a nice clear blue sky which was hidden by some trees. “The mission… Did we..”
“Yup, its all over” Kaige smiled
“That’s good…”
“Well I’ll let you get some rest, I was just checking up” Ryan watched Kaige walk out.
‘Its all over’ he thought ‘We did it…’ He started laughing
“Hello…” A child’s voice said. Ryan looked over and saw a fox cub looking at him
“Uh… Hello” He said and smiled “Who are you?”
“Barren” the fox cub said “Were you with Kaige and Carmen?” He asked excitedly
“Yup” Ryan said quietly. His throat was becoming extremely sore
“Barren!” Carmen said quietly but firmly as she ran in and grabbed him
“But I was just..”
“He needs rest, don’t..”
“Its ok Carmen” Ryan said “He was just keeping me company”
“But you need your rest” she said
“Neh… I’m awake now”
“I’m the doctor here!”
“And what a lovely doctor you are” Ryan gave her a grin
“I see you have’nt changed one bit..” she laughed “Barren, please go find Kaige for me”
“Ok Carmen” Barren smiled then ran out
“What did you do that for? The kid is fun to talk to” Ryan said
“Because I don’t want you teaching him anything!” Carmen laughed “Look on the table next to you”
Ryan looked over and saw the cylinder with his cigar in it, and his zipo next to it
“I’m turning a blind eye… Only this ONCE!” She sat down in a chair next to him
“Are you feeling ok…?” Ryan asked as he slowly reached for the silver cylinder and the lighter
“Yes… Just don’t mention this to any others”
“To late for that” Kaige said as he walked in followed by the rest of the team. Carmen just laughed
“Hey guys” Ryan said as bit off the end of the cigar and lit it “Its all over” He took a huge drag of the cigar. He felt the smoke with all of its chemicals fly into his lungs. How could something so harmful be so good?
“Wuss” Nack said “You owe me… My coat is covered in blood!”
“I’ll pay you back” Ryan laughed and he took another drag.
OOC: Your up Jim
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Post by Jim Doe on Mar 17, 2004 5:28:53 GMT -5
"Hey, when do you suppose the name calling's gonna stop?"
Nack the Weasel smirked inwardly at the question as he watched the drama unfolding outside Centerpoint Village's medical hut. "When you prove you're worth having a better nickname, Escort Boy," he told the knight, then took a long, cleansing breath. "C'mon," he said, "let's go see if there's anything to eat around here, neh?"
"Sounds good to me," Sir Escort said. "If they set everything back up like it was before, the mess hut should be over-"
"On second thought," the bounty hunter interrupted, placing a hand on the other man's shoulder, "why don't you go on ahead. I'll catch up with you later . . . it looks like someone wants to have a little chat."
After a quick scan of the area, the knight spotted the approaching figure of Tamara de Claws. He snorted, gave Nack a quick slap on the back, and shook his head.
"Good luck," he said as he turned to beat a hasty escape. "And watch the claws!"
-----
The first few minutes in the war room went much as Nack expected they would . . . tense and quiet. The bounty hunter had helped himself to a seat and propped his feet up on Tamara's makeshift desk while the village leader stood silent with her back turned to him. Time slowly passed by as the calico slowly gathered her thoughts and feelings and put them in order.
"First off," she finally said, "I just want to say that I am extremely unhappy with the fact that my team has, for some reason I cannot fathom, apparently turned to you for leadership. Kaige was the official head of the team for this mission, and there is absolutely no reason that should have changed. And yet he and Ed both directed me to speak to you when I asked them what happened. Carmen . . . dammit, Carmen didn't even say one word to me when I spoke to her . . . "
Tamara trailed off painfully, then turned slowly to face Nack. Small wet beads hung in the edges of her eyes, threatening to drop at any moment. Nack sighed and laid his head down on the back of his seat, then shrugged slightly.
"To be fair," he said, "she did have something important to take care of-"
"I don't CARE about your damned mercenary friend!" Tamara screamed as she slammed a fist down on the flimsy desk, causing it to shudder and creak under under Nack's boots. Nonplussed, Nack simply raised his eyebrows slightly and half-lidded his eyes. The two Mobians stared at each other across the desk for several long moments before Nack finally broke the silence.
"Miss Tamara, here's the deal," he said evenly. "Whatever problems you and your little girlfriend are having aren't any of my business. Hell, until your outburst just now, I thought the vibe I'd been getting from you two yesterday was just my imagination. I didn't have anything to do with any change of situation between you two, so I'd thank you kindly to step off taking your anger out on me just 'cause I make a convenient target. What I do know about are most of the particulars regarding the actual mission itself. So if you're not going to pump me for that information and that information alone . . . well, I figure we don't got anything else to say to each other."
Tamara sighed, rubbed her eyes with a thumb and forefinger, then sat down across the desk from Nack. "Right," she said softly, but still with a slight edge in her voice. "Right. Let's get this over with, then. Tell me everything that happened, from the moment you left the village to second you stepped back in."
"Better," Nack said with a nod. Taking his feet off the desk and leaning forward, he told her everything. She listened to him intently, interrupting only once or twice to ask for clarifications. Her face twisted slightly when he told her about the Doc's injuries, then twisted a bit more when he told her that he was the one who had fixed the Doc up, but she never voiced whatever misgivings she was having. He finished up with their flight back into the forest half an hour earlier.
"And you're certain that this is the last we've heard of the Lieutenant?" she asked when he was done.
"This AI specifically, yah," Nack said. "Blubberbolts might build himself another one, but it'll take him quite a while without the Lt. Project files to work from."
"And he'll be blaming us for their destruction in the meantime," Tamara said with a sigh. "With you and Sir Max leaving and the mercenary out of commission, we're not going to be in any kind of shape to defend the forest or the village if Robotnik decides to retaliate."
"He may not decide to retaliate at all, neh?" Nack said half-hopefully. "Fellah's got that supposed Doomsday thing he's working on. He might be too busy to do anything for a while."
Tamara shook her head sadly. "No, ignoring us isn't something he's likely to do, under the circumstances," she said. "Ever since the war started, Centropolis was one of the few places that Robotnik hadn't stationed a commander-bot of some kind. For nearly ten years now, we simply haven't been a big enough threat to his regime. It's why he sent the Lieutenant here, I'm sure . . . we weren't supposed to even know about it until it was too late. This drastic of a change in our threat level . . . he's not just going to blow it off!"
The bounty hunter nodded slowly and twisted his lip, showing he'd actually come to the same conclusion. "Well," he said, "I'd stick around and help ya - even with the little bit a'shoutie-shoutie ya had at me a bit earlier - but I've already got prior engagements. You might get Escort Boy to stick around for a while-"
Tamara cut him off with a shake of her head and said, "A messenger came in from Knothole Village just before you got in. She brought in Sir Max's hovercycle and word from the Princess that the knight is to return tomorrow. She also brought your payment," she said, throwing a data cube on the desk, "for whatever it's worth."
"Don't know what to tell ya then, Miss Tamara," Nack said as he snatched up the cube and shoved it in a pocket, "except that I'm heading out tomorrow, too, and it's likely Chief'll be gone the second he's patched up enough to ride a bike. I wish you all the luck, tho'. Now," he added briskly, "if there isn't anything else, I'm gonna go catch a bite to eat before I collapse dead in my cot for a while."
Tamara nodded, but then stopped him abruptly as he was standing up. "No, wait," she said, "there is something else."
She slowly raised herself from her own seat, then walked around the desk and held out her hand. Nack stared down at it uneasily for a moment, contemplating the retracted claws laying in wait just above the soft padding of her fingers, but finally extended his own hand and placed it in hers.
"Thank you," she said, looking him straight in the eye. "Even if things get harder after this, it's likely that we wouldn't have survived to face it if you hadn't been here."
"Just doing my job, Miss Tamara," Nack said as he flashed a lop-sided grin at her.
"Also," the cat said as she squeezed his hand a bit tighter, "I'm sorry. You were right . . . any troubles I have between myself and my Freedom Fighters - personal or not - are our problems, not yours."
Nack let go of Tamara and dropped his hand to his side with a chuckle. "No need to apologize," he said. "Hell, if I tried to get apologies from all the clients that've yelled at me over the years, I'd spend more time listenin' to their jabberin' than actually gettin' any work done, neh?"
The Freedom Fighter laughed lightly herself as the two of them stepped out of the war room and went their seperate ways.
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Post by Jim Doe on Mar 17, 2004 5:30:37 GMT -5
"Ah, Chief . . . what the hell have you done to yourself?"
The dark of the room swallowed up Nack's lightly spoken words as he looked down at Chief's bed-ridden frame. If anyone had been around to hear them or see the look on his face, they might have come to the conclusion that he was actually concerned for the mercenary's well-being.
Fortunately for him, there was no one else around to see or hear since Draco and Miss Tamara had dashed out of the medical hut minutes before. For the moment, besides the recuperating fox, the only companion Nack had were his own thoughts.
A family. A family. Nack simply couldn't understand how Chief had allowed it to happen. How he'd allowed himself to paint himself into a corner like that. One of the cardinal rules for people in professions like theirs was that you had your family, or you had your job. Not both. Having both was simply an invitation to losing both when your enemies decided to hurt you through them.
When Nack had first met the Chief so many years ago, he'd seen great promise in the mercenary . . . while his style was gruff and immature, he truly did have the skills to become one of the best. An annoying little snot at times, but still one of the best. And here he was on the cusp of throwing it all away.
Actually, that might not be true, Nack mused. He had a kid now, apparently, so he'd probably been on the edge for quite some time. The bounty hunter wondered briefly if Mrs. Chief and little baby Chief had already been threatened . . .
Nack sighed, thinking back momentarily to his own brush with having a family . . . the glimpse of a past, present, and future that happened one decision apart from the life he was living now, a glimpse given to him by a machine known at the Opal Oracle. In that other lifetime, he had lost his daughter to a trap set by Robotnik - a trap that hadn't even been intended for her - and the resulting depression had caused that other Nack to take his own life as well.
So, he knew well enough that it didn't even have to be specific threats that could bring it all to a screeching halt. Sometimes pure chance could destroy everything you worked so hard to build.
Looking down at Chief's still form, Nack wondered if the mercenary had thought all this through. He wondered if Chief would have to learn the same bloody lesson, only without the comfort of knowing that it had happened to another Chief in another timeline.
But the how and when of that lesson would not be coming from Nack, not right now. He had given the young fox as much advice as he felt he could rightfully give back in the Centropolis command center. For the moment, all the bounty hunter could do was hope that his friend pulled through his current situation and made the right decision on his own.
Nack turned on his heel and left the room to find his hut, his cot, and the peaceful bliss of dreamless sleep.
-----
The next morning, Nack stepped briskly into the medical hut - followed closely by Escort Boy, Draco, and Tamara - just in time to see Chief getting ready to light up a large, hand-wrapped cigar.
“Yes," the Doc was telling him, "Just don’t mention this to any others!”
“Too late for that” Draco rumbled, surprising both doctor and patient. The Doc quickly recovered and just laughed lightly.
“Hey, guys!” Chief called out as he bit the end off the cigar and held the lit zippo to its end. "It's all over!" He took a huge drag from the cigar, filling his lungs with smoke and then exhaling it's sweet perfume back into the previously clean air.
"Alright, ya wuss," Nack said, making "gimmie" motions at the cigar, "don't be stingy! You owe me, after all . . . my good coat's completely covered in your blood!"
"I'll pay ya back for it," Chief laughed as he took another drag. "Later. Maybe."
"Nah, nah," Nack said, flashing a wicked grin. "I think you'll pay me back now. Definitely."
Chief gave his friend a sly look before finally handing the cigar over so Nack could take a puff. He settled back into the pillows on his bed and asked, "So, fellahs, what's on the agenda today?"
"We're just seeing the fuzzball and the knight off," said Kaige. "We came over to ask Carmen if you were well enough to come with us. I'm guessing since you're obviously well enough to rot your lungs . . . "
"Hmm," the Doc mused for a moment. "Yes, I suppose it would be fine, but he'll have to stay in a wheelchair the whole time. No unauthorized movements whatsoever, understood?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Chief said with a mock salute.
"Alrighty then," Nack said as he handed the cigar back to Chief. "Let's be skollyin' on, then, shall we?"
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Post by Jim Doe on Mar 17, 2004 5:36:56 GMT -5
Fifteen minutes later, the entire group was assembled at the edge of the village. Sir Escort had already made his goodbyes to everyone but Nack, who was shaking his hand as he warmed up his hovercycle for the trip out.
"I guess that sparring match has to wait for a while, neh?" said Nack.
"Looks like," Escort Boy replied. "But when Princess Acorn says to get back, you don't argue."
"You don't, maybe," the bounty hunter said with a wink. "Safe trip, mate."
The knight gave a quick thumbs-up, then activated the lifters on his bike and sped off into the forest. Nack immediately drooped his shoulders and looked back with a long-suffering look.
"Thank the Walkers I don't have to be nice to that guy anymore," he said. "Anyway, time for me to head out, too. Miss Tamara, it's been a pleasure . . . "
"Likewise," Tamara said as Nack took her hand and kissed the knuckles. The weary look of forced cheerfulness suddenly left her face as she felt a small piece of paper slide onto her palm, slowly pushed there by Nack's thumb. He gave her a quick wink and stepped over to fit his hand inside Draco's massive clawed paw.
"So," the weasel said, pretending not to notice the crunching bones from the dragon's killer grip, "do ya trust me yet?"
Draco pulled Nack closer as he leaned his massive head down to let twin jets of steam from his nostrils ruffle the bounty hunter's fur. "Not one bit," he growled, showing off his razor sharp fangs in a menacing grin.
"Good deal," Nack growled back, not intimidated in the least. "'Cause the next time I come through here, I might just be out to collect a bounty on dragon hides." He took a moment to look Draco up and down. "Even one as burnt up and scraggly lookin' as yours!" he amended.
The dragon threw his head back and laughed. "You're always welcome to try, fuzzball," he said with one last squeeze on Nack fingerbones. "I'll appreciate getting a good meal after a little bit of exercise!"
"He's just kidding, you know," the Doc said, jabbing Draco slightly in the ribs.
"Sure as hell hope not," Nack chuckled. "The harder it is to get the hide, the higher I can jack my prices up."
"Oh, Nack," she said with a rueful smile and a shake of her head. "Still not wanting to be a hero?"
He gave her a brief, friendly hug. "Never said I was one, never said I wasn't one, Doc. Though I am known to say silly crap from time to time." He stepped back, flashed a smile, and pulled a datapad from his pocket. "One thing I have said that wasn't crap, though," he continued, "was that it's hard to find a doc out in the wilds at the moment. So if you'd be so kind as to give me your commlink frequency . . . "
The Doc looked skeptical for a moment, but then reached forward and tapped the number into Nack's pad. "I won't be available all the time, just so you know," she said, "and not just for just any job . . . "
"Oh, no worries there," Nack said as he stuffed the datapad back into his jacket. "Hopefully, I'll never need to call ya at all, neh? And no worries about recompensation, either . . . I'll make sure you're well paid for your services. Until then . . . you," he said, pointing warningly at Gearbox before shaking the wolf's hand, "had better make sure this little lady stays safe and sound, savvy?"
The engineer nodded slowly as he looked Nack straight in the eye for the first time since the weasel had set foot in Centerpoint Village.
"Good man," Nack said. "And speaking of good men . . . since there ain't any left in the village to say sayonara to, I guess you'll have ta do, ya flea-bitten pirate!"
"Hey, now, if I wanted that kinda treatment, I'd be sittin' this damn contraption closer to the living furnace!" Chief turned his old-fashioned wheelchair towards Nack and slapped his hand tight into the weasel's. "Gonna come back and visit me sometime, ya old coot?"
"Feh, by the time I get back in this area, you'll be long gone, mate."
Chief's face suddenly went unreadable for a moment, then slowly clouded over. "Ah, actually," he said, "I was thinking about askin' the cat lady if I could stick around here for a while."
Nack nodded slowly and asked, "Finally made your decision, then?"
"Not . . . not quite," the mercenary replied, rubbing the back of his head. "Don't worry . . . I remember what you said. It's just . . . well, it's just something I wanna think on for a while, y'know? And here seems the best place to think about it. I might even bring the fam in here soon. It'll certainly be safer here than where they are right now."
Nack took a moment to look around at the Freedom Fighters standing nearby and let a genuine smile creep across his face. "Yah," he said, "I figure you'll all be in good hands here for the moment."
"Thanks, man," said Chief as he shook Nack's hand one last time. "You have a safe trip, alright?"
"Bah!" Nack exclaimed. "You know well as I do ain't nothin' safe 'bout the trips I make, neh?" He grinned, gave one last wave to the whole group, then straddled and switched on his hovercycle. "I'd say something inspirational here at the end, but that's not quite my style," he said, activating the bike's lifters. "Adios, chumps!"
And with that, he was gone.
-----
Tamara and Kaige watched as Ed and Carmen had a lively chat while they wheeled a complaining Ryan back his room in the medical hut. Tamara quickly swiped a tear from her eye as she watched the two of them go, then surreptitiously glanced up at Kaige to see if he had noticed. Though he kept his eyes studiously on the retreating doctor and engineer, she felt certain that it had not gone unseen.
Still, the dragon knew better than to broach the subject again if she didn't say something first. Instead, he just silently placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. She placed her own paw over his and laid her cheek against it, quietly thanking him for his support.
"So," Kaige said after clearing his throat and breaking the silence, "that's another mission down. When do you think the next one will be, Patches?"
"All too soon, unfortunately," Tamara said softly. "We'll need to set up a meeting for tomorrow morning, in fact. But for today . . . I think we all just need a rest."
"Some of us more than others," the dragon agreed, lightly picking one of the few charred scales left on his shoulder. "I'm actually almost disappointed that the purple fuzzball didn't stick around for a little while. I'm sure he could have done with some downtime himself."
"Well, now, this is a far cry from your attitude a few days ago," said Tamara, biting Kaige's knuckle playfully. "I take it you two reconciled your differences?"
Kaige shrugged. "Not exactly," he said. "But he has managed to give me an interesting perspective on things . . . "
Talking about Nack suddenly reminded Tamara of the piece of paper the bounty hunter had slipped to her, and that she was still holding onto it lightly. She looked at it, puzzled, then slowly turned it over to read the print on the other side.
Kaige frowned, peering down at her with concern when he saw several different emotions suddenly start competing for dominance on her face, primary among them being embarassment and indignation. "Something wrong, Patches?"
"I'm . . . not sure," she finally said. "Kaige . . . do you have any idea why Nack never called me by a nickname like he did the rest of you?"
"Did he not?" the dragon asked, surprised. "Hurm. At a guess, I'd say it's because you already have a nickname."
"Perhaps," she said. "Perhaps." She took one last look at the card . . .
"Hearts heal, Miss Tamara. Give me a buzz sometime, neh? 14229.2 THz"
. . . and then shoved it in her jacket pocket. She ran a hand through her hair, then started to walk back towards her hut. Kaige moved into step alongside her and looked down at her, still worried.
"If anything is the matter, Patches-"
"No, no . . . nothing to worry about," she reassured her friend. "But, you know, you're right about one thing."
"Funny, I thought I was right about a lot of things," Kaige said jokingly. "What was I right about in particular this time?"
Tamara smiled lightly. "If there's one thing Nack excels at," she said, "it's altering your point of view about people. Now, c'mon, let's go see about setting up a nice post-mission picnic, shall we?"
Kaige smiled back, stretched his wings out languidly, and said, "Sounds like a plan to me."
END.
Roland "Jim Doe" Lowery, Scott Reese, John Roberts, Paul "Chief" Scott, Bryan "Kaotix" West, and Wildfire April 3, 2003 - March 17, 2004
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