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

/appropriate anime reference

[controlledvariable]

[No, that's... gonna take a moment for her to process, as she just stares at Saul.]

What?

[She'll answer his question when she makes sure she heard that right.]

[limitstorm]

[ he wobbles just for a bit, feeling weary with emotion and exhaustion before he follows sheena. he doesn't think of showing off, not wanting to attract attention. he needs to rest. for stellaluna's sake. a moment passes; ]

Seen Axel? I pulled him in with me.

[bloodyantivan]

[The ship follows very well - it really does bring to mind a dragon.

If he could get somewhere high, he might have a chance to mount the thing and take out its drivers, but it's impossible when he's carrying someone, and after all this trouble he can't very well leave the man behind.

But Zevran remains very aware of his surroundings, and seems to lose the ship once and for all as he leads it through a cluster of blazing buildings. He twists and darts through this area, feeling his skin bubble when he gets too close to places. At least he can stand the smoke alright, but it's a relief when they break free of this, free of their follower, too.

The buildings break into a paved and tree-lined area, an open space by the river that runs through the city. He wonders what the river is called.

There are bodies floating in it, alas.

Zevran finds a bit of cover behind some overturned garbage cans and a bench, and finally sets his captive invalid down, wheezing and coughing a little.

They are not toast, but the fire gambit was a dangerous one, and perhaps they are a little roasted.]

[curatesecrets]

[he had been patched up already, and ordered to stay and rest. it wasn't the sort of thing he'd been inclined to listen to, but ... well ... he had Claudia to contend with. and seeing as how he'd been hurt in the effort to keep her safe? he figured he could at least lay low when she told him to.

he's lying in one of the cots, trying not to think about how close they both could have come to being killed, trying to think about how he'd brought her into all of that in the first place, when he hears the song, and opens one eye.

did he really just hear that?]

[maddeninghatter]

[ He's silent for a moment, just staring. And then: ]

Ha! Haha!

[ Mad, uncertain giggles. ]

Ahahahaha! I wasn't hurt at allllllll, just a scratch. A bullet in the spine, and three for the heart. Five or six for the lungs, but who's counting, ha HA!

[ He leaps off the supply cart (scattering tongue depressors) and lands lightly on his feet. ]

But as you can see, I'm fit as a fiddle--ah!

[ He winces, clutching his side. ]

uguuu

[5055034455]

Details. Iffy. Also, just woke up from being dead. This is the best I can do right now. I don't know how many other people were hurt, but it was pretty messy. The guy went totally berserk.

[He sits on the vacant bed opposite hers, frowning at his hands.]

Give me an hour or two and I'll probably be able to give you a better idea of what happened.

[acts_of_claudia]

Up close and personal, huh? That's cool. You could probably boost it but in something like this you gotta be close anyway so what's the point? And I should probably shut up now and let you work shouldn't I?

[Yyyyyyyep she's rambling. She's rambling because Artie's been fracking SHOT and they're not home and this isn't fun anymore and what is her life right now. But techie things! Techie things are stuff she can talk about because she knows them and they're familiar and she can figure them out. This... this is just a big bag of NOPE tied up with whole roll of caution tape.

She gives Artie a look]

Don't sugar coat this, Artie. You were shot. That's not strawberry jelly on your shirt and those soldiers didn't go off to live on a farm in the countryside. I'm not 10 anymore, Artie. Let me help you.

[heirwithouthope]

Yet you are here.

[It's not phrased as a question--that is more subtle and hidden behind his words. She was here, but he knows her as someone that agrees the Initiates are idiots, and cleaved to her own ways.]

[hostage]

[He's totally doing it. He flips open the notepad and draws a great big dick on it. It takes all of two seconds. Then he presents the drawing to Saul with a sort of tada gesture.]

Anything for a fan.

[cw: character death upcoming] Japan once again; CLOSED to the Mekakushi-Dan members

[substitutable]

[1437]
[Who knows how much longer this would continue? His skin feels prickly; there must be a sunburn coming. Funny, how even when he's been dodging bullets and blades and explosives all day, the first thing he thinks about for the first time in a couple hours is a sunburn. He's sweating, the jacket too warm already but even more like a sauna from all the physical exertion he put himself through. His knuckles and fingertips are bleeding, and he can't remember where he cut his cheek. There are bruises on his arms and legs... but he's gotten through the last few hours with relatively little injuries, he thinks.

He just feels sick to his stomach. He hasn't had water since an few minutes before the alarm went off in the Hold. He's been running around under the sun all day. His eyelids feel heavy and he stumbles when he realizes that he's as dehydrated as a man lost in the Sahara. This is bad.]

Ugh...

[He slaps a hand over his mouth. He stumbles over to a pile of building nearby, grasping one piece of debris and leaning over it... and emptying whatever was in his stomach at the moment. It's mostly stomach acid. His throat burns. This sucks.]

[acts_of_claudia]

[Claudia had been sitting in a chair by Artie's bedside, idly plucking at her guitar to give her nervous energy somewhere to go when she'd heard that song. Waitwhat?

She looked down at Artie]

You hear that, too, right?

[affections]

Mr. LeBeau.

( She shoves debris out of the way, without it really requiring much effort. Just a casual concrete slab in her way, no big deal. This is awful. This is worse than home, because as far as she can figure it out, it is humans doing terrible things to other humans. Anger rolls off her in waves, and disgust, but she's trying to shove it down as she approaches. )

Are you hurt?

( Are you all right? seems a laughable question. None of them are, and she doesn't imagine any of them will be for some time. Her tone is graver than it ever might be normally, although it is rich with concern, worry. She had always wanted to go to Paris. She'd never quite envisioned it being like this. )

[fujibayashi]

I'd feel bad if I didn't try to help or something. Maybe I'll deliver bandages.

[She really should drop by more often. Even if he can be insufferably at times, they're friends.

She lets out a little breath, and it's like all her bravery deflates. Now that she's off the battlefield, the exhaustion is kicking in ten times as strong as it was before.]

Mm. Okay.

[She turns a little toward him and moves her hand so that he can get a good look. It's been twisted, all right-- and then used to throw her down. She has some deep cuts and bruises aside from that, but the blood has stopped so it's not a big deal.]

[debtor]

[Allen rolls onto his side, gritting his teeth, biting back any sound he might've made, and lifts himself up on one trembling arm

when Lenalee falls out of the sky.

He gasps, round-eyed; for an instant, he can't remember which world he's in, who it is they're fighting. He pushes himself up fully with a fresh rush of adrenaline, Crown Clown maneuvering him as he grabs for the hilt of his sword. He needs to help her. But— no, that man, he's—

His eyes snap up towards Kaneis.]

I'm not.

[Going, that is.]

[curatesecrets]

He hears the reluctance, even as he takes his third shot. He knows she wasn't ready for this, has known it since he told her to come, and he's already regretting it horribly and not at all, all at once. It hurts him, knowing he has to do this, that he has to lead her into this to make her strong enough to be the soldier they brought her here to be. Back home, he'd be more than willing to let her make her own choices. But here, that's a luxury they may not be able to afford... there are too many things they don't know, too much they can't predict, and he has to swallow down everything he feels about this and do what will keep them alive. What will keep her alive.

"Claudia."

He purses his lips for a moment, wishing he weren't stuck like this, wishing he didn't have to put up cover fire and that he could look her in the eye, put his hands on her shoulders, give her some small comfort even as he pushed her forward. But he had to settle for trying to put it into his voice.

"Claudia, you have to. Think of what these people have already done. They didn't hesitate to do any of that. If you give them even one moment - they'll take it. And God knows how many more after it."

He winces.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But you have to."

[bumbles]

This isn't about us.

Atlas had always been more defiant. It isn't about what she wants, not about him. While the fight still rages, his place is on the field. There are good people out there, they need me.

Maybe he isn't much for making friends, but he has allies, and there are other people putting their life on the line. Atlas can't abandon them, and this isn't the first time he and the Sphinx have clashes, either. New York was home, not as much as Boston, but it was the place where he'd finally realised the possibility that he could be something, and he'd stood over its ashes. That is not a thing to be taken lightly, it wasn't something he could let go.

I have to go back. And then he rests his hands on her shoulders, tries to catch her gaze. Death doesn't matter, here.

[5055034455]

Thanks. I'll treasure it forever.

[He sounds so enthused.

But hey, at least he didn't crumble it up and throw it out!]

Have you heard anything about what's going on?

OPEN

[ladyofrivendell]

[Celebrian went quickly after hearing the alert, grabbing supplies that she might need to help anyone that's injured and changing into pants and her tunic before strapping her knife to her belt before going.

As afraid as she was of going, she knew that there was more good that could be done by her going and helping. Combat wasn't her specialty, she didn't want it to be, but she could defend herself and she was a skilled enough Healer. Not so skilled as Elrond or Galadriel but she had learned from them both. And she'd never taken any lives which only improved her skills as a Healer.]

A - Beijing

[Hair braided and hanging down her back, Celebrian moved quickly and quietly as she could among all the destruction, avoiding UE soldiers where ever she was able to and hiding when she couldn't. She avoided the most heavily combative areas and found whoever needed medical attention and helped them however she could. Even if it meant carrying them back to a portal, which she was fully capable of, and getting them back to the Initiative.]

B - Moscow

[Just like in Beijing, Celebrian avoided the UE where she could to help any of the fallen Transports that had come to help Elmer's world. The difference this time being that while she tried to treat someone, one of the UE soldiers caught sight of her and before she knew it, there was a sharp pain through her chest. And she couldn't support herself.]

C - The Hold/lab

[This was... different. Waking up. Her body was sore and she couldn't remember the last time she felt that way. And she remembered dying with startling clarity, no longer able to deny the possibility of people coming back from the dead.]

[wilder]

Do whatever you like. Most nights the nightshift is boring.

[That's right, it's boredom that makes him want her to come by. That's all it is. Yep yep]

[But he'll look at the arm, grimacing slightly. That really isn't a pretty break.]

I'll have to set it back correctly before any healing can be done. It's probably gonna hurt a lot, you ready?

[Comm]

[originalgaangster]

"Uhh...looks like a mile, maybe a mile and a half to the south, down near the tip of the island. Look, there's a ton of United Earth out there and they are not really happy with us."

closed

[wolfchild]

SHARPE

[ Mayhaps coming was a terrible idea. She had seen the lands after; what battles she witnessed had been small and and there had been an end to the soldiers. This was on an entirely different scale.

(She forgets to remind herself that those memories are not hers. She forgets more often now.)

Morgana had not come. Morgana had not cared. And she wishes she had stayed behind as well. Butt there's a man she saw come this way and her feet followed.

Her stomach turns, but other than a grimace she does not outwardly react to the carnage. Dead bodies hold no terror for her. It's the living she needs to watch out for. She follows Nymeria, ducking from cover to cover until they find him. One of the soldiers does too. Without thinking, she draws her gun, aims and fires. ]

KIRK

[ Nymeria scrabbles at the ground for naught. As much as the wolf tries and as much as she tries, the girl remains painfully pinned. Her palms have been scraped raw from grappling with the block on her. She can lift it a breadth, and only a breadth. Every time she has to drop it, it settles more painfully on her hip.

She breathes a panicked sob. They will leave her here. She will be buried here alive for what is an ugly little girl worth? The only one who cares is her wolf and she can only remove the smaller stones.

Arya coughs and wipes her grimy cheek with an equally grimy hand. She wants her real mother now or her sister. But her sister is gone and her mother was never here and she is alone and far from home and scared.

She tries lifting it once more. It slips from her grip and cuts into her side. She cries out for help. ]

[Comm]

[speakveryclearly]

"A mile--" She is heavily displeased by this information. "I understand. I'm not sure though that we won't have to go on foot."

C

[knightofcourage]

[Emil happens to be near the portal in Berlin and squaring off against about half a squadron when Suzaku comes through. Emil recognizes him from the Australia mission and he could use a hand right about now, so if he's willing to fight--]

Hey! Over here!

[hostage]

[Jesse's mood drops instantly and he tosses the pen back into its cup.]

Yeah.

[fujibayashi]

[Sheena shakes her head.] No, I haven't. But if he can fight half as well as you, he'll be fine for a bit.

[She's starting to wear down, but she can still fight. She's been saving the bulk of her energy for her summons and pushing herself to the limit. It's what she's good at.

The warehouse isn't too far away. It's not quite the gateway, but it's clear for now. Sheena drops down and slips inside, attempting to catch her breath.]