[ bared teeth // sparrow x retribution ]

[c a l a m i t y]

"yeah I grew up to be exactly what you xxxwanted."
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yeah I been living out the dream that you dreamt up."xxxx△ △ △

Jase Griffin/Seven/27/agender/he, it/asexual/6'2"/mech about 85'

Jase, now known as Seven, was a troublesome person, especially in tow of Maar. The two plotted for power of their suburbs, slowly envelop each gang of the streets, slowly funding their projects before the two 'accidental' deaths of Maar's parents gave them a large sum. As they took hold while the war started to rage, they collectively defended themselves, the survivors deciding upon 'the chaos.' Many tried to join and were rejected. Part of being the chaos meant that the chaos had to accept them. While expanding territory, Jase found a large amount of waste, receiving harsh burns and damage. From that point, to sustain his life, Jase was given the only mech to support his life. This is where he received the name Seven, after the seven sins, and upholds the chaos with eagerness to please Maar.
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"And I woke up today and found you were waiting here for me and I thought old friend xxxxxxit's bittersweet.
xxxxxxx ▷ ▷ ♕ ◁ ◁

[sinensys]

[ ❝ C A L . ]
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e-

eggs-

d-d-dooooo-oon't forg-ge-ge-geeeeeee-et the eg-g-gs.

her words replayed in static, locking up on some of the consonants and stumbling through the vowels. despite the mechanical stutter, she knew one thing: if she was up, so were the eggs. this meant that they were hatched in cryo already, and that she could go wake them up in a minute. she hastily started moving around, waking up her body after quite some time of sleep.

she was supposed to wake up now and go wake her dinosaurs - they were scheduled to wake up any minute now. if emma had programmed it correctly, cal was supposed to wake up before them. somehow emma had convinced her to get into cryo before cal could personally put the eggs into cryo; maybe it was the doubt that they'd survive, maybe it was the anxiety of the government's collapse. either way, she didn't see them off, which meant that she needed to get up now to check on them.

eagerly opening the cryo chamber up, she hopped out of the case, ready to open the other chamber despite her still-asleep foot.


[ ❝ O R I O N . ]
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hhhhn… stiff back…

his first few thoughts weren't very inspiring or even optimistic. but neither was the bed he laid in. whoever engineered it clearly didn't sleep much at night, or didn't understand the concept of 'comfortable bed'. or maybe they just slept on the floor come night time. whatever the reason was, it was awful.

the cryogenic chamber's lid loomed over him, graphs and stats dominating the opaque cover. it was a few seconds before orion let his fingers move, and then his toes; he hadn't dealt much with cryo chambers, but from what he did know, sometimes waking up after a forced coma could have nasty after effects: sometimes blood vessels didn't thaw right, cracking slightly; or the blood overexpands, bursting vessels and puncturing nearby organs; or sometimes nerves promptly died from hypersensitivity, the frozen. whatever the price was, orion just didn't want to have to pay it.

he remained there, warming up slowly, for at least ten minutes. it was peaceful, as the outer world’s calamities couldn't penetrate the cryo chamber’s insulated walls, blocking all sound and heat from the outside world. god, that had to be a mess right now; last thing that happened was his entire home, practically, lit up with warnings of the state of emergency. every single device, from vehicle to the freaking roomba, went off as they warned him about the incoming nuclear fallout. so he went to the nearest cryogenic hub and set his coma for a century. wait, was it a century, or two centuries? he didn't remember. he supposed it didn't matter, really, since he spent a good long while in the sarcophagus regardless.

orion finally reached forwards - or upwards, in this case - and entered the code to open the door. the door slid over, revealing the dark metallic grey of the facility’s roof. he sat up rubbing his eyes as they adjusted to the bright light.


[ ❝ A M A L . ]
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she was up moments after she was down. she knew that would happen.

WARNING: THREAT DETECTED. INITIATING EMERGENCY WAKEUP CALL.

blaring alarms. not what she expected. but it did summon a rush of adrenaline, raising her temperature and prodding her swimming focus. the translucent door of the cryo chamber was webbed, the thin lines spreading outwards blearily. someone must be breaking in, she reasoned.

it shattered as the cover slid open, revealing amal’s frame to the world. the slight hiss of the door covered up the gain in sounds, including yelling.

"we got a breather, boys!"

immediately, she rolled out of the chamber, and the yells increased. her eyes refocused on the world, taming the wild beast named panic inside. there were two standing before her, one with crossed arms and a blaster at his side, the other with a dagger in hand. both wore wild and malicious grins. footsteps ensued, but the echoes denoted distance. she pulled out her pistol and fired at the larger one, the one with the blaster. he crumpled to the ground, and she assumed he was dead. amal lifted her pistol to fire at the other.


[ ❝ M I L E S . ]
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---


[ ❝ F A I R E S . ]
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[c a l a m i t y]

ＳＭＯＫＥ
The room was a dull, dark, grey collection of boxes, and had set rows of smaller grey boxes, half of which reported to be open. Although the bleak rooms held little interest, Cal's treasured loot took a good chunk of floorspace.

A short puff of freezing air sounded in the room and the sound of tapping claws and teeth on bone stopped.

No tail?

He had encountered very few of these; those beforehand had not stayed long. In the periods of time they decided to emerge from the long, thin pods, he had gone unnoticed.

A frill of feathers peaked above the stout box that had contained the now broken and rather moldy shells that had served little more as food, the blue blanket, which had once insulated the tank, was shreds upon the floor. Snake eyes watched, dilated pupils casting suspicious looks towards the approaching figure. Nothing moved. Nothing dared. Apart from this creature; eager and ready. If it left, much like the others had, this would be his first chance at escape.


ＣＨＡＲＬＩ
A deep gasp pulled her from the deep sleep as something in every joint popped and crackled from stiffness and bitter cold. As her heart pumped furiously to warm her shaking body, distant shouting echoed as though war waged beyond the glass barrier. She choked on rising anxiety and raised an arm to push at the glass which trapped her in the small, frozen world she had never imagined surviving through. Pulling her mind from the blaring noise, she dismissed the alarm emanating from her own cocoon and the door swiped open.

Grinning over her wasn't the most pleasant greeting. A smile of yellow teeth and strained eyes, and a face painted with the shape of a skull staring at her like death himself. It was at this point where she was yanked from the vertical chamber and onto the floor, her shaking body attempting some form of communication; some way to save herself from any forward danger. Her breath rattled in her chest, her eyes resting upon a fallen figure while her mind attempted to create a theory of escape.


ＥＭＭＡ
The bag on her back was heavy, brick-like. Morning sun had only begun to warm her as the silken sand beneath her was marked with each step. What she'd give for a pack-mule. She wracked her brains for the next stop, which direction she was to head next. She was perplexed when a blankness came to mind, a distant alarm sounding. She was unsure is this was in her head - she had been hearing things in her recent lack of water - but reaching for the worn pair of binoculars, it was easy to view to blocks of half-sunken cryo blocks on the horizon. "Remind me," she whispered to herself, "when did I promise Cal?" Years. Years ago at this point. How many was unclear, just like the small amount of smoke that had just began to seep from the block on the right. Her mind bounced ideas, back and forth like it was playing a game of tennis.

She was breathless at this point, the bag almost breaking her back as she struggled to run across the sand, her boots slowly sinking and the holed shirt slapping about crazily in the wind. "Cal!"

I'm going crazy.

However, it was the point of no return. If Cal didn't exist, if block 27 was empty, Emma would be lost, but for now her legs moved at full pelt, the fine grains finding gaps to bug her feet like tiny ants. She's there. The thought wasn't reassuring.

"I'm coming to help." Her voice was lost as a dry whisper on the wind, her throat beginning to degrade quickly as she powered over the wasteland's sand dunes


ＭＡＲＬＯＮ

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ＪＡＳＥ

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[sinensys]

[ ❝ C A L . ]
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she stepped out, and looked about her, reminding herself of the goal - the goal. recalling. she needed to check on the creatures that hopefully survived the gently brutal sleep that overtook a good portion of the building. so far, the wing seemed quiet and dark - darker than her illuminated sarcophagus. there were no windows. to the left - countless other tombs yet to be unveiled or already empty and warm. to the right - an already open case, but dark - it too had already been open.

it was hard to miss the distinct tapping that shot through the corridor, followed by a scrape. the silhouette of a rather large being appeared and stilled, calculating the human's movements evidently. cal stilled, attempting to identify which of the four had awoken. remembering. a frill was visible, and cal did nothing but release a sound - a small shirrup - as a call for truce and curiosity.



[ ❝ O R I O N . ]
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this section was bright. the light, however, died down once it reached far enough down the corridor. the walls were grey and cracked, but not as dark and mangled as the ceiling above him. there it was - this feeling of impending doom, this imminent threat looming above, promising to collapse and crush them all. what would happen to those just waking, like him? and what of the people who didn't wake up in time? who would win? who gets to live?

the empty quiet simply bared its teeth back in a silent grin.

orion clambered out, clumsiness and strained expletives skimming and rippling across that massive abyss called silence.


[ ❝ A M A L . ]
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the environment slowed its pace around her, and yet it also expanded and quickened. it was an uneven spacing, a fickle beast breathing erratically. it wheezed and held its breath before sputtering again and gasping. amal felt herself do all at once, somehow. a single motion, a twitch of a finger, and the second one staggered back, shaking and gasping for a breath, staring time in the eyes. amal had missed, but the wound was still fatal. it was not a mercy-kill as she had hoped it would be. it may be a contest of who wins and who dies, but not in the amount of pain or malice dealt. no, amal was above that. she was part of the fbi, after all - their motto was "fidelity, bravery, integrity."

her shots had not gone unnoticed, however - footsteps in quick succession followed by yells of outrage. she moved quickly in search of someplace to hide - no, take cover. she tried to keep her footsteps down, and made it a few meters before she ran into another figure looming over somebody. this one had face paint, but amal didn't waste time deciphering it. a quick muscle twitch, a quick death, and a quick "let's go" rattled off amal.


[ ❝ M I L E S . ]
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sand. of course all that would be left of this miserable world was sand; the world literally crumbled and chafed under the weight of the nuclear explosion. nothing but sand stretched on for miles on end, only to be broken by the occasional stone hills or sandy plateaus, the obelisks of previous and alien civilizations. they were the only thing that allowed for a method of mapping without the help of not-too-accessible satellites. the entire planet eroded, and oddly enough looked like an old but cheesy post apocalyptic movie. miles wasn't sure how he felt.

all miles knew for certain was that he wouldn't be counting up money for someone else anytime soon.

instead, he hid in a small cavern he'd dug out in the side of a plateau. it took him seven hundred and ninety hours, forty three minutes and twelve seconds, not counting the downtime in between for sleep, scavenging, and hiding from the larger factions that emerged in this pit. it would have added up to a month, but only if he'd done it straight - he wasn't mechanical enough to do that. he only had brain augmentations, though he'd considered others to assist his merely average body. he wished he'd done so once he started digging out the meager dent of a room. it took two months total.

the only thing that aided him now was the fact that this small cluster of plateaus - his ruins - was overlooked by the domineering factions. there was a larger building within twenty kilometers - it was more west, and miles avoided it and its evident activity. he had his stats, and he could calculate when he needed the essentials: sleep, water, food. he couldn't risk hacking into wifi to call out for help because the networks were controlled by the larger groups who tracked hackers' locations and sent people to take them out. there was no law - only a bloody battle for control.


[ ❝ F A I R E S . ]
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---

[c a l a m i t y]

ＳＭＯＫＥ
Scanning the shape of the figure, Smoke snorted and raised himself into a crouched stalk, moving past the box, which had been the only item between the two. He has heard the noise, and paused briefly while attempting to decipher this creature. She didn't run nor fight so he released a short chir: A noise of curiosity, high pitched and faint although it echoed around the building's spacious arena. As he relaxed he shook himself of dust and dirt, his feathery tufts shaking this way and that in a rhythmic pattern, his tail bobbing to counteract any change in weight.


ＣＨＡＲＬＩ
The peace was shattered, and the man who had been overbearing had crumpled onto the floor. A new face met hers, a female, maybe her age, maybe a little younger, who was rearing to go. Well equipped too. She grabbed for the bag which had spent the eternity with her, removing a short blade from her belt which had been previously hidden by her baggy shirt. Her arms ached and her head pounded; there was no way to give it sweet release. She was back into the world, unneeded and temporary as last time, and at that point everything seemed to slow down.

As the blade whistled through the air on it's short journey, meeting it's target with ease, her focus was upon her savior. An explanation could come later: Life was happening now.


ＥＭＭＡ
Although her body urged her to stop her reckless activity, she continued on, each step getting heavier and heavier until it hurt to move and her legs began to jam. It felt as though she had impaled herself on a rose bush, her lungs scrabbling for breath and screaming with each pull for oxygen. The distance never seemed to shorten. Coming to the top of a dune she stumbled and tripped and fell, her bag pulling her sideways, allowing her to catch her face on a sharp rock. A groan emanated from her as she landed upon the floor. It all seemed a waste at this point, and after sitting up and wincing as she felt her cheek, she stared on at the trapped blocks.


ＭＡＲＬＯＮ

"Get off-oomph." The heavy figure wasn't appreciated upon his back: He'd already given in to them, but if it was necessary to but some rope around his wrists then so be it. Marlon was stranded with a pack of feral 'humans' who saw him as nothing more than a bag or animal. They were taking survivors to their 'leader,' whoever that was. The wasteland looked blank, and how far they'd traveled was known to no one, but as he was shoved west, his eyes came upon a towering building, black against the harsh sunlight in the sky. As he moved at an annoyingly sluggish pace to slow his inevitable doom, Marlon let out a holler for help, receiving a mighty kick in the shin in return, making his collapse and hiss in hostility and pain, a rare feeling which occasionally snaked to the top of his brain.


ＪＡＳＥ / S E V E N

"They're late." Although the voice sounded robotic, its contained sense of hostility and harshness was distinct. "I hope they've found something good."

They'd recently sent out a few squads to search for loot and humans, both were useful, however the latter was needed. They were quickly running out of grunts, and he could do no more than suggest ideas to Faires, for the men didn't respond well to commands. He was always told it would be a waste to send him out in his full suit, but the boss has his ways, and Jase had to follow in his footsteps.

[sinensys]

[ ❝ C A L . ]
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cal watched as the creature revealed itself - it lacked the dilophosaurus' telltale frill but was instead covered in feathers, which ruled out the carnotaurus and pyroraptor hybrid, which would have only had a few feathery tufts. it had to be the utahraptor, it just had to be. she'd only brought four eggs and three species total, so there was no other possibility. cal was certain of it, and something deep within her wanted to yell in victory or at least punch the air. instead, she took a tiny but measured step that mimicked the motions of that type of creature, making as little noise as possible. had anyone else looked on, they would have seen a human and a raptor facing off and they would probably have laughed at her methods, but cal couldn't bring herself to care. how could she when her tactics were based on trust and behavioral psychology rather than the standard rewards-and-punishment system?

it moved through the hazy light that hung above them, and cal almost grinned. she whistled softly, three notes: one, down, up, a question, a call to truce out of curiosity. there wasn't an established language, but cal had dealt enough with carnivores to know a few basic and universal sound types. warnings, threats, comfort, questions, and fear were among that list. she hoped hers was convincing enough to prevent her death. she leaned forward slowly, as though cautious but curious.

wait 'til you see this, em, came the instant thought. emma. where was she now?



[ ❝ O R I O N . ]
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there were sounds, tumbling through the hallways - something was close. something was really close, and clearly dangerous. he had to get out. he had to get out of there. there was conflict close, and orion wanted to avoid it.

last thing he needed was more blood to make him vomit or scare him into a panic attack.


[ ❝ A M A L . ]
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amal loved her job - ever since her father's death, she wanted to be a shield to those who couldn't, she wanted to help others somehow in a way that she was good at. her pacifist mother hadn't quite approved of her competitiveness, but to amal, it didn't seem like a big deal, so she let go of that connection as well. her mother would be more worried about her weak and sickly younger brother than the older child named hope in arabic. or at least that was what amal told herself.

the threatened figure moved, revealing a blonde woman about her age. a blade flew from her hand, landing in another body, which crumpled to the ground gracelessly. amal hesitated and let a semi-impressed huff, looking at the other; it was an offer to come with. she then turned down the hall to find a way to escape, away from where the attackers - there had to be more than one exit in a building so big, as it was against the law to have less than two escapes at all due to the increase in fires and homicides.

she moved down the corridor, looking up for the red exit signs. there had to be one close by, there just had to be.

[ ❝ M I L E S . ]
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sometimes it was easier to dissociate into a realm that likely didn't exist. it didn't raise the bars in the food, water, health, and sleep bars, but it gave him something to do. sometimes he watched as aliens descended and watched with interest; sometimes they were tourists, other times they were explorers. sometimes he watched as a massive creature emerged, surviving the crisis most earth life couldn't - it was a terrible thing, with an odd amount of legs and two coexisting heads - and stumbled after some new species of lizard or rat, which escaped the cryo chambers and adapted to the new harsh circumstances.

but today, he watched as a painted group carried a few bodies, only one of which has spoken so far. they mentioned a leader, but what struck him as odd was the struggling being - an ordinary human. it seemed a little too simple for him to imagine, but miles did nothing but watch as the group trudged along, camels in a huge desert on their way to some other place. what could he possibly do? he couldn't intervene, they were imaginary, after all.


[ ❝ F A I R E S . ]
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the mecha grumbled again, and faires looked up from the data pad on the table. "seven, you remember the last time i let someone return empty-handed, don't you?" it was a recent event, and resulted in several buckets of blood, scars, stitches, and screams. the blood, however, wasn't put to waste, since they could use it for either power generation or fuel for machines - anything they could get their hands on. they hadn't died, but probably generally wished they had.

"besides," he grinned, "good things come to those who wait, don't they? i mean, if you take things into consideration, it could mean several things: one, they did find something good and are struggling to bring it back mostly intact, or two, they're not dying." the if they haven't yet, they will wish they did if they came back empty-handed, remained unspoken, but implied in the heavy pause. "it's a cryo station raid, there's always something there - what's the probability that they'll be back empty handed as opposed to the probability of them returning with anything, including but not limited to tech, bodies, living people, or even knowledge? you can run the numbers yourself, i assume."

[c a l a m i t y]

ＳＭＯＫＥ
Reflecting her curiosity, Smoke approached, a slow, steady pace which unsettled neither of them. This- creature- had called for a truce, and perhaps it would suffice in this situation. His nostrils flared while his unsettled gaze searched for any weapon that could be used against him. Perhaps if would be an easy source of food: something he would discover soon.

It was at this particular point when the doors thundered with a metallic crash, some hinges buckling under the exerted force upon the door.

With a single, tremendous, screech, Smoke bolted, gaining speed in the opposite direction from Cal, struggling to gain grip on the facility floor as the wall neared, causing a second resounding clang as the wall took the impact of a sprinting Utahraptor. Dazed, but not distracted, he focused upon regaining sight and pelted for the empty hall, a transition between block 17 and 28, closer to the chaos which waned. He puffed, he snorted. Another metallic bang told of yet another accident, however no sound continued.

In the darkened distance Smoke lay, huffing with confusion. As his feet lay the lid of a cryo pod, discarded years ago by another escapee, unaware of another spectator. The roof above then shrieked and threatened to give, the light filament flickering with a hidden urgency.


ＣＨＡＲＬＩ
Charli held the silence while her savior watched, huffing before taking off. Was that jealousy or impatience? Without hesitation, she picked up her weapon and followed after, smearing red as the knife found it's place back in her belt. "I suppose you're not here by chance-" she shouted ahead, watching the figure move in front of her, graceful but powerful.


ＥＭＭＡ
From her perch Emma stared, holding back her fear and withdrawing her need to cry. At that point, curiosity took over. Small figures trudged over the landscape, holding bodies between them, most likely human. It as hard to tell if they were responsive. As she panned back to the blocks, almost identical silhouettes had began to batter the doors of block 27, revitalising her strength to push on, or try another approach. She opted for the latter. Using a small, handheld radio, now powered by failing batteries and solar power, Emma attempted to tune to the cryo block's frequency. Instead she picked up a broadcast located under the number 103, which emanated from the far North; A distant ominous building.

Something was breaking the frequency. Human or computer, it was close. Extremely close.


ＭＡＲＬＯＮ

Now being dragged along, Marlon gave one more feeble attempt at a shout for help. It was barely loud enough to reach out of the valley. He was still rewarded with a smack to the back of his head. He felt useless against the small horde that had captured him and the many more they had left behind, salvaging what was left of the cryo base now maybe... 500 metres away? A rought guesstimate, but the group moved fast, and he had no help around his fate was sealed.


ＪＡＳＥ / S E V E N

There was a minute silence where Seven considered returning the statistics or another response. Faires wouldn't appreciate it. Seven had learnt this years ago. "I'm surprised we never uncovered this place before. Might prove the best preserved station we've looted so far." His speech broke off, considering that they could be hitting a jackpot for fuel or people, settling back into a happier state, linking current and previous data into their shared map. Slowly, Seven picked up on a simple, foreign radio signal, emanating from the top of the hillside South-West of the base.

"We've got an intruder."