Other Worlds: V 2.0

[initiates]

Date & Time: May 21st, beginning at 0900.
Location: The Initiative Hold and all throughout Elmer's world
Characters: Anyone participating in the fighting, anyone staying behind.
Summary: Elmer's world is fought for and lost.
Warnings: Violence, death.

They reopen the portal at 0900, May 21st. The first scientist who stepped through was killed within thirty seconds; the rest who followed made it back through to Exsilium, albeit not unscathed. The portal was shut again by a panicked operator, although a second operator knew to keep the coordinates locked.

Within ten minutes, the alert had been sent out. There's no time to wait for the Transports to gather en masse; as soon as they have a sizable enough force to stand a chance at fighting through and clearing their gateway's location, the door is opened again.

Immediately inside the door is a desolate, grim scene. What had previously been the coast of Japan is now scorched earth, blasted sand, and little else. As the first point of contact for this world, it has undoubtedly suffered the worst. Here, the UE didn't stop at governments, financial centers, and capitols — the UE destroyed everything in sight. There are enough UE soldiers remaining in the broken country to give the Transports a difficult battle, although by now the bulk of their forces have moved on.

The Initiative will soon realize the necessity of opening more gateways, just as the UE had done. Transports will be deployed to London, Berlin, Paris, DC Washington, Moscow, Beijing, New York City, Hong Kong, Madrid. Through each of these windows, the destruction is staggering. Buildings are more husks than structures, everything that can burn is alight, and the death toll is off the charts. Blackened bodies seem to line every street, while pieces litter the ground among the rubble. There's no doubt that the UE has no need of the people of this world. They're after resources only, and anything and anyone already here is to be removed.

You can find UE soldiers everywhere. They move in coordinated squadrons of 20, and each of them carries a small arsenal. Even without their incredibly advanced and destructive weaponry, they're fearfully formidable. Each soldier, while still only human, is a genetically perfect clone, further enhanced by technological implants. They're all highly trained in physical combat. Even if you can disarm one of them, don't count on close-range attacks being any easier to handle. They've brought along cannons, small flying craft, and lightweight tanks. Each of these is the top of the line in terms of technology, geared toward destroying as much as it can, as quickly as it can. The United Earth is here to destroy, and they won't stop to wonder why their targets go from being civilians and scrambling, off-guard, comparatively primitive militaries, to trained and powered Transports.

For anyone staying at home, they'll find that any Initiative presence has withdrawn fully to the Hold. All Initiative employees are needed, and most of them in the med bays. The majority of the Initiative focus is on recalling and resurrecting fallen Transports, but attention is still needed for the living-but-wounded. Any Transports who stay in Exsilium and offer their help will have it immediately accepted; they'll be put to work in the medical wings, runnings supplies, or simply set at a machine and told to keep an eye on the numbers: Transport vitals, UE movements, and maps upon maps of changing statistics and colors.

At 1500, the Initiative will recall all Transport soldiers back to Exsilium and seal shut the gateway. The UE numbers are too great, their soldiers too powerful, and Elmer's world is lost.

Comments

a

[taijiya]

[Holy shit.

Sango nearly has a heart attack at the explosion, narrowly missing being sprayed by debris. From the groan and the clumsiness of the whole procedure, she knows enough to assume that it was no UE soldier that caused it.

Despite her screaming muscles and streaming blood, she vaults over the piles of rubble and drops to a crouch, moving rocks out of the way where they may have landed on him and looking concerned.]

Hey, are you alright?

[retraced]

[She'll find a dirt-caked man sitting there in the rubble looking more stunned than hurt, who would be embarrassed by all this if his brain had a chance to catch up with him.]

Huh? Oh, I'm -

[And cue another rock falling from the damaged area and smacking him right in the middle of the head. He reaches up to rub at it, sounding utterly offended by this whole stupid situation.]

Gah!?

[taijiya]

[Oh jeez. Sango grimaces.]

Well, you don't have any bleeding head wounds...

[retraced]

Ow...

[Still rubbing at his head, he cracks an eye open and finally looks at her.]

N-no, I'm fine. It just took me by surprise. [Or else he would have gotten out of the way before the damned thing came crumbling down on him. Maybe. He shifts his legs and finally climbs up to his knees, hands grasping the ruined pile of debris.]

Are you all right? Did any of it hit you?

[taijiya]

No, I'm alright. [She got stung by a few pebbles, but that's hardly worth mentioning now.]

Did you do that?

[retraced]

[He's still idly rubbing at the side of his head as he answers.]

Hm? Do what?

[taijiya]

The explosion. Or was that an accident? An attack?

[retraced]

It was -

[And it occurs to him then, his suddenly nervous expression speaking his thoughts before he has a chance to say them out loud.]

- an attack. We need to get away from here.

[taijiya]

[Well shit.

Sango grabs his hand to help haul him up, instantly scanning for the soldiers to come.]

Kirara!

[At that, a lion-sized demon cat with twin tails and flames tickling its appears, waiting. Sango swings one leg onto the creature's back without hesitation and turns, offering a hand up for Gilbert.]

Come on, she'll get us out of here.

[retraced]

[He's used to being pulled out of terrible situations like this with magical unicorns, that's not the part that makes him hesitate here.

It's the fact that the magical creature in question here looks an awful look like a - ]

C......c......ca......c-ca....?!

[Cats. The one thing that can force him to go from super badass fighter to useless statue of fear in a millisecond. He doesn't reach back, but he doesn't run away either. For now he's just stuck there with a stupid, terrified expression on his now-pale face.]

omg

[taijiya]

[Oh for gods' sake.]

Come on. I know she's scary-looking, but she's really very sweet, alright? She won't hurt anyone but them.

[Sango gestures towards the UE soldiers beginning to pick their way over the pile of rubble.]

I wish I could say that this is a rare occurrence, however...

[retraced]

[They might be closing in, but Gilbert is still trapped in phobia-stone.]

B-but it's a c-c-c-cat...!

[Meanwhile, the soldier closest to them readies to take aim right at the easy-to-hit-unmoving-target.]

poor thing. c':

[taijiya]

What the hell? Are you seriously more afraid of a cat than of--

[Kirara is taking things in her own hands. Paws, even. The giant cat swiftly makes to close her teeth around the back of Gilbert's shirt/coat/whatever it is he's wearing that is teeth-snaggable and leap into flight, dangling him like a kitten.]

/)_(\

[retraced]

[As the huge cat reaches over and picks him up by the (really badass looking tyvm!!) jacket that he's wearing, it's obvious that her question is answered in the affirmative. He really is more terrified of the cat in question than he is of being shot or stabbed or blown up at this moment. Or any moment. But this moment in particular because wow it's carrying him and he's going to cry.

That's not a joke.

He's actually whimpering as they take off, fingers clawing at his face. He tries to say something that would probably be 'put me down!' if his mouth could form the words, but they can't. He can't. He just can't...]

it's fine. he's hilarious :'>

[taijiya]

[Oh jesus. As Kirara flies, Sango buries her face in her hands for a brief moment, wondering why she has to deal with this right now.

Then she sighs and leans forward, hooking an arm around Gilbert's elbow to start to haul him onto Kirara's back with her.]

Hey, grab on. At this rate if she has to bite some soldiers in half, she'll have to drop you to do it.

[retraced]

[It's a hard life for anyone who dares to face Gilbert Nightray while a cat is nearby. Normal cats, even. But the overwhelming fear is finally starting to melt away a little, and now loud, fluttery panic is starting to take over instead. As she hauls him up, he finally finds his tongue again just in time to shout:]

NOREALLYTHAT'SOKAYYOUCANJUSTPUTMEDOWNANYWHERE!!

[But he doesn't struggle against her either, so unless she lets go and drops him, he'll end up on the back of this monster-cat alongside her.]

[taijiya]

[After she hauls him up, Sango pats his arm gingerly.]

Hey, we'll get you down, okay? Kirara will find a place to land. We just had to get out of there.

[retraced]

[He slumps forward as far as he can, breathing so hard that he sounds like he's pretty close to hyperventilating. But it's cool, he's a trooper...! He at least closes his eyes and tries to pretend like he's not sitting on a cat. Without sight, it could be a dog! Or a very fluffy duck! Yes, let's pretend like we're riding on a fluffy duck, that will make this all easier.]

Good...good, that's good, anywhere is good...!

['Good' no longer sounds like a word. :|]

[taijiya]

[She sighs and Kirara finds a nearby building to alight on. As she lands, Sango eyes her unwilling passenger.]

Alright, you're safe.

[retraced]

[A building is fine, he'll climb down the side if need be. With pleasure!! It's climbing off of this giant cat that is more painful. As soon as he feels that they're on solid ground, eyes still closed, he all but leaps off of the cat's back and lands on his feet.

At first.

There's a little too much momentum behind his movements, so he winds up stumbling forward and landing on his knees, which is just as well because he's lightheaded enough now that he'd probably fall over anyways.]

T-thank you...

[He says through still-frenzied breath.]

[taijiya]

[Sango eyes him for a long moment and then heaves yet another long-suffering sigh before climbing off Kirara and bidding the large feline to leave.

Once Kirara is gone, Sango leans down.]

You're welcome. Ah, do you... need anything?

[retraced]

[Slumped over on the ground as he is, it takes him another moment to finally catch his breath and look upwards at the young woman who, he has to finally realize, saved his neck back there. Though, upon seeing that the cat is nowhere to be found, he stands up clumsily.]

N-no, I'm...

What was that thing?

[taijiya]

[Sango straightens as well and ponders her answer.]

My friend Kirara. A very large flying cat, and no threat to anyone not threatening people she likes.

[retraced]

[He winces at the word 'cat', but aside from that he already looks like he's recovered completely. Aside from being a little red in the face from sheer embarrassment.]

I see. [He clears his throat.]

Thank you...for saving me. I've just never been good around cats.

[taijiya]

You're welcome, it's just... can I ask why?