Revealed Part 1

[Kyira]

((Here it is!))



Humans have recently discovered new land, new races..... and new power.

Scientists have discovered how to create fire from thin air, manipulate electricity, and freeze water, all without the aid of technology.

Following this discovery of power, the Earth fell into chaos. Every volcano erupted, every country experienced a high level earthquake, two meteors crashed into the seas, and tsunamis flooded continents on every side. In the midst of all this chaos, seven scientists of power survived. Somehow, they stumbled upon a new land; possibly a new world. This world seemed to be of a fantasy story. Suddenly, dragons didn't seem so imaginary.

The scientists looked upon the new land, and sought to conquer it, which they called "rebuilding Earth," considering it an improvement. However, it would be a more difficult task than they imagined, but with their newfound power, and scientific intellect, they could take over this world with careful planning.

However, there existed twelve other humans; humans that would find power as well, though not until they at least reached this new land. How they landed there was a mystery to them, but soon will they discover the scientist's plan, and it will be their job to stop it before it escalates into a war, though this may not be possible. Regardless, the Conquerors must be stopped, and the Conqueror's plan must fail, if this new world is to regain peace. The scientists however are more powerful than the Twelve, as they have had experience, so the Twelve must learn of their Powers, and become stronger.

To each of the Twelve is bestowed, in one way or another, a necklace. Each necklace carries the symbol of its wearer's Power. The necklaces shine with a peculiar light (Spirit color defines what color they shine) when the wearer reaches into the Source, draws, and unleashes a terrible display of his/her Power. The necklaces, as the Twelve will soon find out, cannot be taken off, nor can they be destroyed, that is until the wearer dies, at which point, the necklace will be passed down to a successor.

The mission of the Twelve: To discover his/her own Power, to ally the nations of this new World, and most of all, to survive. All of this must be accomplished if stopping the Conquerors is to be possible.

The mission of the Conquerors: To conquer/ally the nations, to build an army, to grow in power, to built/take a stronghold for the seven Conquerors, and to survive



Accepted Characters
(Red is for the conquerors, and blue is for the good people)

Melody Bringsley - [Shadowseldil]
Skip Barr - [Skipper.]
Rachel Lawrence - [Winds of Faith]
Keith Torindell - [Shadowseldil]
Tyra Adair - [Kyira]
Alex Jackson - [Big Al545]
Blake Russell - [LUColt27]
Evelyn Smith - [Winds of Faith]
William Burk - [Skipper.]
Mathias Jackson - [Big Al545]
Alice Wilson - [Kyira]
Thanatos Anasati - [Kangaroo Hopscotch]

 

[Shadowseldil]

(((PLEASE: go here before jumping in: Revealed Rivived?
We'll be happy to have you, but it's polite to ask first .
I'll go ahead and start things off, then shall I? In lieu of anything better, I'll just wing it.)))

It had occurred to Keith Torindell(((sans adjustments))) that he did not like Tuesdays. It had also occurred in his thinkings that maybe Tuesdays did not like him, either. Tuesdays always seemed to go wrong in one way or another. He remembered... remembered... or was it a dream? It was probably a memory, but he was not certain now. Either way, dream or memory, it had happened on a Tuesday.

~~~

Keith had been sitting on the hillside, watching his father's sheep with Athos, his faithful sheepdog. There was little to do these early autumn days but enjoy the waning warmth of the summer while the sheep grazed out in the pasture.
As the sun faded, and dinner time grew closer, Keith sent out Athos to rally the relatively large herd his father gave him to watch. It was not the only part of the herd, but they found better pasture use if they dispersed the herd rather than keep them together. Each of the shepherds were given a group of sheep and sent out to pastures, but Keith, being the son of the herd owner, was given the largest group, with the understanding that one day, the herd would be his.
That was fine by Keith. Sheep herding was generally uneventful, and it gave him plenty of time for thinking. He liked thinking, and often the creative powers of his own imagination. However, sometimes his imagination got the better of him, and all the horrible, unimaginable things somehow became quite imaginable.
Such was the case, that when, rounding the final hill before the homeward path, and home was actually in sight, the smell of smoke came so strongly, he quickened his pace slightly, then chided himself for doing so. "It's nothing. Nothing ever happens out here," he reassured himself, "I'm just imagining thing, is all. Probably a bonfire, or a barbecue, or a... or--" He stopped, mouth agape, mid-thought to see the farmhouse, the barns, the whole of his life a torrent of oranges, yellows, and reds. The sheep, not fully ignorant of the happenings, bleated uncomfortably. They knew something was wrong, but they were too stupid to know what. Keith knew. He was about to rush headlong toward the house when he saw a shape coming up the path. It was a farmhand, one Seth Cawdwell by name. He was moving quickly, but limping, clearly hurt but also clearly more worried about what he limping away from. It was when he saw Keith that his pace simultaneously slackened and re-doubled. He knew he was almost there, but he knew he had to get there as quickly as possible.
"Seth, what--?" Keith began
"Run Keith," Seth said quietly, but with great intensity. It was the sort of tone used by soldiers who, having been shot in the leg with enemy soldiers advancing, clutch a weapon and several pounds of explosives to their chest and say roughly the same thing. "Run," he repeated, "Take this and run. Keep it hidden. Find the others. Take it! Run! Don't look back! Run."
"I don't understand," Keith said helplessly.
"There is no time to explain. Put it on and run. Run like Cerebus was nipping at your heels."
"But dad, and mom--"
"Run, or you'll never have time to learn what happened. Find the others. They'll help you. They'll explain. Now run."
Sounds of war came from not far away. Seth shoved the thing into Keith's hands. "Go!" he said with one final imploring before turning and running best he could back toward the sound of the fighting, "I'll be right behind you."
Keith obeyed at once. He was a little ashamed to leave Seth to whatever it was that back there, but there was something in the fervor of his voice that told him worse things would happen if he did not take whatever he had been handed and ran as far as he could with it. That was just what he did. He ran. He ran as fast as he could for as long as he could, over field, over rocks, through trees, down to the forest. He had never actually been in the forest, but his dad had taken him there once. Wolves and other predators lived in the forest. Never take the sheep near the woods. But whatever was behind him was probably worse than wolves.
Keith remembered tripping over a stone, flailing wildly to try to keep his balance, tumbling once, a sudden bright red light, and nothing after.

~~~

That had been some time ago. How long he was not sure. He had tried to keep track, but lost it rather quickly once he started to question how long he had been out.
He had woken in the forest, at night. He keep going, though much slower. Day broke, and he kept going. He found a stream, and without much better to do, he took a drink, though he knew he should not, but he was so thirsty, and then started walking down-steam. His head hurt horribly, but the cut had scabbed up properly, and, although he still had plenty of adrenaline, his will power was starting to waver. He had no idea where he was going or why he wanted to go there, and these questions really make for slow going. He walked, slower and slower, until he eventually just sat on the flattest rock on the wooded bank. Sunk was more accurate. He examined the thing. It was a necklace, of sort. A clear crystalline oval gem, in the center of which was black star. Not a star shape, but a shimmering ball of pulsating blackness. At least, it looked like it was pulsating, but that could be his nerves playing on him. He looked it over and found a golden "XI" on the bottom of it. He ran a finger over it before placing it around his neck and tucking it under his shirt. Then he kept walking.
As was expressed earlier, Keith had trouble keeping track of time. He guessed by his best calculations, the first time he had been attacked by wolves, that it had been a Tuesday. Since then, he figured, that all the bad things happened on Tuesdays.
This Tuesday trouble had come by a strange shrieking scream. Keith had no idea what made it, but he did not exactly want to find out. He had a feeling he would, though. Tuesdays were like that.

 

[Big Al545]

((Your posts are always so good Shadow))

Alex was once again sitting by his tree. He was wondering why his brother was such a jerk towards him, and then his mind wandered to other things. He watched the sunlight burst into the forest, then disappear when the leaves repositioned themselves at steady and slow rates. He spent about an half an hour there wondering what it was like to be a hero, to have importance in life. Alex had always been slightly better than Mathias, he was stronger and faster, braver and smarter than Mathias, and Mathias was usually a jerk to him for it. Their parents had passed away from disease a few years ago, now Alex was twenty-five, as was Mathias.
Alex got up and stretched, he was sore from sitting by his tree for so long. He started back towards his small farmhouse. He walked along slowly, watching everything with a burning curiosity on what it was like to be a small animal, or a massive tree. He finally made his way outside of the forest and looked towards the east. A small, steady stream of smoke was rising in the air from a farmhouse far off into the distance. Alex watched it for a few more seconds then turned towards his own house.
There was Mathias, standing outside the house leaning with his elbows on the fence. He had a look of worry on his face for some reason unknown to Alex.
"Hey Alex, did you see a kid while you were in the forest?"
"No Mathias...why?"
"Well when I went looking for you, I saw him take a drink from a stream, he had some weird necklace thing...and-"
"Mathias, shut up, yeah I'm sure you saw somebody in an old forest that is full of wolves and who knows what."
"Alex I'm not kidding, unlike you, I don't have to lie to be taken seriously."
"Okay Mathias, shut up and tell me what happened."
Alex had listened with interest as Mathias had explained how he went looking for Alex in the forest. Mathias had heard somebody walking and he thought it was Alex, so he hid behind a tree and was going to surprise him by jumping out. But as he looked around the tree, he saw it wasn't Alex, but another person. Mathias guessed he was around eighteen, and he watched him take a drink from the stream. Then Alex interrupted the story.
"So he took a drink out of the stream, so what?"
"Alex shut up and listen to the rest of it."
"He had a nasty cut on his forehead, and was holding something, but I couldn't see what."
"Maybe he fell or something Mathias."
"I knew you wouldn't even care about it, have a heart Alex, he could be seriously hurt or something."
"Who are you and what have you done with Mathias," joked Alex.
Mathias was really worried it seemed, which was weird because he usually only cared about himself. Alex went with Mathias into the forest to look for this stranger that Mathias had said he saw.

-~-~-~-~-

Mathias walked along side Alex into the forest. It had turned from a bright sunny day, to a dark night in a matter of hours. He and Alex had eaten dinner before leaving to search and Mathias was feeling satisfyingly full.
"Alex...it's kind of creepy out here, can't we wait until its darker so-"
Mathias was cut off as he tripped over a tree root sticking out in the air. He did a face plant as Alex laughed at his brother.
"Shut up Alex," muttered Mathias.
Alex helped up Mathias and they continued, Mathias was limping a little from his fall, he landed on his knee and wasn't going to admit to being a wimp in front of Alex.
Suddenly, a small branch cracked. Mathias and Alex both jumped and turned around to where the sound came from. Two glowing, yellow eyes suddenly appeared from the darkness and a low growl issued from the unseen owner.
"It's a wolf," whispered Alex.
"Why'd you make me come here," whispered Mathias
"It was YOUR idea, Mathias!"
Suddenly the wolf jumped out from the bushes and Mathias let out a loud yell, startling sleeping birds and animals. They were in luck, as it seemed that this wolf was alone. But one wolf still was one big problem, thought Mathias.

 

[LUColt27]

Blake awoke with a start. He initially had no idea as to how he had fallen asleep, but as he got up and looked around, his memories slowly started coming back to him. He had recently finished the day's training with his father, Thomas, on how to utilize his sword most effectively.
"You're doing very well, Blake," he said with a warm smile for his son. "You have learned everything I've taught you, and have improved to the point that I feel you could take on anybody in this countryside, and beat them."
"Thanks, Dad," came the reply. "Of course, with you being the best swordsman of your generation, I had a great teacher."
Thomas laughed and put an arm around Blake. "I try, son. But I think you've earned the right to use the family's prized heirloom."
"You don't mean..." Blake asked, looking excited and a bit nervous at the same time.
"Yes, I mean the Excalibur." He said with a grin, drawing the sword and presenting it to his son. "It's yours now, like it was mine, and my father's before me. Go on, take it."
Blake took the sword and put it into its sheath.
"Now, go and talk to Victoria. I know she's quite taken with you, son, and I know she'll be impressed."
"Thanks, Dad."

 

[LUColt27]

As Blake walked towards the sunlight, he remembered that right after his father had given him Excalibur, he had made his way towards Victoria's house. it was storming, and he had begun to run, trying to make it there before he was soaked through. He turned down the lane towards her house, but before he got to the gate, he saw a bright flash of lightning, and almost immediately, a loud peal of thunder, and that was the extent of his memories. He guessed that either the lightning had hit him, or it had otherwise caused him to trip and fall, and get knocked out.

Well, whatever the reason, he was not where he was trying to go. He noticed that his surroundings were completely unfamiliar to him, yet he didn't feel frightened. He simply decided that he would head in the direction of the sunlight, and he was eventually bound to reach something, or someone.

 

[Kangaroo Hopscotch]

Thanatos Anasati looked down at the surrounding land from his viewpoint atop a plateau, his steel-gray eyes drinking in all he could from the sight before him. The slight breeze ruffled his short, black hair as he stood in contemplation of the sight before him, stroking a neatly groomed black beard as he was lost in thought. The last thing he could remember since waking up had been re-fortifying his position in his bio-lab against the onslaught of a crazed mob, which had been assaulting the laboratory for days. In the midst of the cries of the caged animals around him. He had only just completed his task when a large rock was hurled through one of the upper windows, striking him on the head.

Thanatos had awoken on top of the plateau in a dazed and confused state, with dried blood on the right side of his face. His skin was slightly sun burnt, leading him to believe he had been unconscious for some time, and the sun had been high over-head. He had since dusted himself off, ditching his lab coat to keep himself cool, and was clothed only in what he had managed to salvage for himself during the siege of his laboratory. As such, he wore a black, sleeveless shirt torn in many places, a pair of pants made of a material much like polyester which were also torn in places, and an old pair of shoes. He had walked in the direction he believed to be west, and had finally made it to the edge of the plateau to survey the land before him. And now, it was time to plan.

 

[Shadowseldil]

Keith's walking eventually lead him into clearing. The stream ran into a sort of pond here before continuing out on the other side of the glade. The trees, which stood about twenty feet or more, made a hedge all about the little enclave.
He took a break here, starting a fire with the lighter he had in his pocket. It was a lucky stroke he had it; it was the only tool besides his knife that he had. Not that he was often without it, but he was the more grateful now. He still had a little game left from the day before, and he made a makeshift spit to roast it over the flames. It was rabbit, difficult to catch, but he managed somehow.
The horrible shriek peeled overhead once more, filling the forest with the awful noise. Keith tensed at once, but his curiosity caused him to look upward when a sudden shade fell over the glade. He wished he had not.
Above him soared an enormous metal thing. It filled the sky above the clearing, flying, he could only guess, maybe a hundred feet from the trees. He guessed it was a sort of ship or cruiser, but really did not want to know. It was a mass of technology and power, such of which Keith had never seen. It passed in a second, but one second was enough to completely terrify Keith.
He scrambled back to the trees once it had passed out of sight, then, remembering himself, rushed back to the pond, did his best to put out the small fire, abandoned the meat, and turned to run. But he did not run. He stood stock still, stiller than stone, except that his left hand trembled.
Before him, in the direction he had been traveling, stood one of them. He had heard stories, but they were distant stories; the events of the world had little impact on sheep ranchers in the field. He himself had never seen them, but this was probably one.
They were clad completely in metal: smooth, clear, pristine metal, a sort of armour. The breast plate was cylindrical, the shoulders spherical, the arms and legs elliptical. They were far from plain, but on the far side of plain. This was calculated, as if numbers figured largely in the decorative process. It made plain look wild and colourful. These made you feel largely insignificant, as if your removal from the world would only be a statistic. Consequently, they made for rather large statistics.
They were not evil, necessarily; in reality, they made evil look down right polite. At least evil cared enough to hate as it extinguished populations. Evil valued you enough to consider you worth destroying. These things thought about it as much as we think about tearing a piece of paper in half, or about doing a sum to subtract one from one. Problem was, when these things did subtraction, you were the one left with nothing. Including yourself. The worst part was that they did not even care. At least evil would enjoy it.
Their faces were the worst. There were no features except for the glowing eyes. The terrible greenish-grey glow. There was no mouth, no nose, no openings, just the glowing eyes.
They were called the Soulless.
But now that Keith had had a few seconds to look at the soulless before him, he was having some second thoughts about it. First, the soulless generally traveled in armies, not alone. Second, the face, while a metal mask, had facial features on it, even if they were slightly distorted, and there were eye-holes. Thirdly, the figure was clearly feminine. The hair was sort of a giveaway, but, in spite of the metal breastplate, there were other... features. Keith blushed a little as he realized he was staring. He looked at her feet.
"Are you the rookie?" the mask said.
"What?" Keith replied.
The figure lifted the mask, revealing a smooth and rather attractive face, Keith thought. She took a few steps closer to him. "Are you the rookie, the new guy?"
"I-I..." Keith hesitated, "I don't kn-know?"
She stepped a little closer, and Keith instinctively took a step backward. "It's okay," she said reassuringly.
"Is it?" Keith said flatly, "Only I haven't known so for some time now, you see."
"I mean I'm not going to hurt you," she said irritatedly, "Although I'm having second thoughts about it."
"Oh, okay."
She came closer, placed a hand on Keith's shoulder. Keith shuddered at her touch as her warm hand touched his neck. She gently brushed her hand down his neck until she touched the strand of the necklace. She drew it from his shirt and looked at the gem.
"Hey!" Keith said, louder than he meant to do, "That's mine! Don't touch it!"
She ignored him as she looked at the star. "Hmm..." she noised as she looked at the bottom of the stone. "XI" she said, pronouncing the letters.
"Yeah, so?" Keith said, yanking the necklace from her hand.
She huffed, but calmed in a moment, saying, "Well, you have taken a nasty blow to your head, I suppose it's only natural to be a jerk."
"Hey!"
"Nevermind. Here, look." She fished into the breastplate, causing Keith to blush as he turned his head. "Look," she repeated. As Keith looked back, he saw that she was wearing a similar necklace. His curiousity got the better of him as he took her gem and looked at it. Inside was the shadow of a small bird, and while he swore that the bird flapped its wings slowly, whenever he focused on the bird, he never saw it move.
He looked at the bottom of the stone and saw, in the same golden script, the letters "VII".
"Seven," he gasped, "They're Roman numerals." He looked back at his own and muttered, "Eleven."
"You've got a name, Eleven?" the girl asked.
"Uh, Keith."
"I'm Melody, Melody Bringsley. Come on." She said, turning.
"Where?" Keith asked accusingly.
The scream of the ship passed overhead as the ship began to slow above them. "Anywhere but here!" Melody shouted as she lowered her mask, "Come on!"
Keith did not need to be told again. He followed after Melody, almost out pacing her. He probably could have, but he did not know where they were going.

 

[Big Al545]

Alex took a step back quickly from the vicious grayish-black wolf that was snarling at him. Flecks of drool dropped from its mouth, Alex's eyes focused on the teeth, the slightly blood stained teeth, yellowed from age, sharp as a knife. Alex picked up a hefty stick that he planned to use as a club, or to fend the wolf off, but it wasn't long enough, and one swipe of the wolfs paw and the stick would break.
"Mathias! Back up before it kills you!"
Alex watched as Mathias backed up very slowly, then stumbled over a rock. That slight movement was enough to provoke the starving wolf and it lunged toward Mathias. Mathias opened his mouth and let out a blood curdling scream, as Alex stepped up and swung the stick down onto the wolves head as hard as he could. He stick made a loud cracking noise as it snapped it two, and a dull thump sounded as the stick hit the musty, dirty fur. The wolf shook its head, and then growled at Alex as it changed the target to the boy who attacked it.
"That is so unreal," shouted Alex
Now it was Mathias who would have a go at the wolf, Mathias had picked up a heavy rock while Alex had hit the wolf, and Mathias prepared to drop it on the spine of the wolf. The wolf swiped a massive paw at Alex's leg, cutting his leg deep with black claws, covered in dirt and wet blood. Alex fell backwards, clutching his leg where his pants we're torn and bloody.
"Mathias! Now," screamed Alex, as the wolf pounced onto Alex.

-~-~-~-~-

As the wolf pounced onto Alex, Mathias threw the rock at the wolf with all his might. The wolf bent up in a U-form as the rock hit it in the middle of the spine. Mathias stood there unbelieving that he actually did something heroic, as the wolf landed on Alex, dead from the blow to the spine.
"Ugh! This thing smells terrible, smells like your room Mathias," joked Alex,"Now help me get this thing off me."
Mathias helped Alex push the wolf body off of Alex and onto the ground. As Alex tried to stand up, he slumped back down to the ground clutching his leg, his face twisted in a suggestion that he was in terrible pain, he let out a low moan.
"Mathias, I think those wolf claws were infected or something," moaned Alex.
Mathias tore a few strips of Alex's pants around the torn area around his lower calf, and tied them in a crude imitation of a bandage as Alex laid there his face twisted in pain, gripped the ground with white knuckles.
"Can you walk,"asked Mathias.
Alex slowly stood up, using the tree for support. "Yeah, I'll be fine."
He bent down and picked up the longer end of the stick he used to whack the wolf, and used it to help himself walk.
"Good idea," commented Mathias.
The two of them continued their search for the boy who Mathias had seen earlier.

 

[Skipper.]

Katie

Odd, wasn't it? One moment, he was on a date with his girlfriend, and the next, he was here. And here wasn't the best place to be at the moment. In the middle of the sea during a storm? How does that happen?
In all honesty, he didn't remember what had happened. As a matter of fact, everything seemed lost to his memory. He couldn't even bring to mind his name. But of course, this wasn't the matter to be dwelling on. For now, he had to focus on not drowning.
He tried to glance around to find something other than seawater before the next wave pulled him under. Nothing. . . He surfaced. Try the other direction. Nothing. . . He surfaced. Try over there. Was that? . . . No. . . He surfaced. Now gasping for breath, he tried to remember something -- anything that might help him. . . Nothing! He cleared his head. What about his name? That'd be a good start. . . Ssssssomething with an "s". . . He was buried under the water again.
He surfaced again, coughing and spluttering. He was almost certain he'd swallowed a fish. Lightning sounded overhead. Too close for comfort. He wished everything would just freeze.

Much to his confusion, it did.

* * *​

The storm had long gone, but thunder could still be heard in the distance. It was still a bit windy, which didn't help the sopping wet sixteen-year-old as he trudged across the water. He may have survived the storm, but what good did it do? He was a soaked-through, tired, freezing amnesiac. Not much to celebrate.
It was weird, walking on water. Stranger still was the flatness of the seawater's surface. . . No, no, the walking on water thing was still weirder. It was as if the water had just stopped completely. The wind still whipped his face, but at least he wouldn't drown. The calm waters were actually a bit eerie. The open sea wasn't supposed to be like this. Of course, he wasn't supposed to be walking on water, but that didn't stop him.
"Fine. Comprimise. If you keep still, I'll keep walking on water. Let's just both be weird then together, shall we?" He liked having his conversation with the sea.
"Yes, I am talking to the sea," he now spoke to himself, "an' yes, it is odd, but hey, you'd be odd too if you could walk on water. . . Oh, you can. . ." He chuckled. This was amusing. He just wished he knew why. . .
He stopped. It would probably be best to try to remember things before he went on. "Right, well the best way to start would probably be to look at what Ah'm wearing t'see 'f I c'n figure out who I am," he explained to the sea. His attention was first drawn to the thing around his neck. It was a necklace with a blue gem of sorts. He assumed it was a sapphire or something. He stared at the center, wherein he saw the black shape of an otter. Who had given this to him? Then he remembered.

* * *​

"What's this?" he asked curiously.

"It's a necklace," she said like it was obvious (and it was), "You like otters, right?"

He smiled warmly. "Yeah, I like it." He didn't much like it.

Katie shrugged. "Well, I tried." How did she do that?

"No, really, it's good," he tried to reassure her, "Where'd you get it?" He raised an eyebrow, examining it. He was eighty-three percent certain that the question would work, though, honestly, he was a bit curious as to where someone would find something like this.

She smiled sweetly -- almost suspiciously so. "Well, I could tell you," she said quietly, holding back a wide grin, "but then I'd have t'kill you."

He laughed, and an awkward silence ensued. People at other tables were starting to stare at them, which made him feel self-conscious. Either he had laughed too loudly, or they'd just heard Katie's comment. Again, he laughed nervously, but this time much more quietly.

". . . Really?"

* * *​

"Hm, flashback," he said to himself. It hadn't helped -- his name wasn't once mentioned. Well, at least he knew his girlfriend's name was Katie. . .​

. . . Katie. . . "Oh, wait, I remember!"​

* * *​

"Well, c'mon, Skip, aren't y'gonna put it on?" she asked impatiently. Still smiling. He loved that smile.​

"All right, all right," he said, "don't kill me."​

Skip donned the necklace, giving Katie a look as if to say, "Here, see? I'm putting it on." Strangely, once he'd put it on, he didn't want to take it off. It felt like it belonged there. "I think it's growing on me," he mused aloud.​

"Oh, stop it," Katie said, "You can take it off if you want to. I just thought--"​

"No, no! I mean it," he said sincerely.​

Katie gave him the benefit of the doubt. "W'll okay. . ." she said hesitantly. "But if yore not wearin' it tomorrow, I-- Skip? Are you all right? Skip!"​

He wasn't listening. Skip's body went stiff, his hands were shaking violently, his eyes tried to roll back into his head, and he knew he was falling out of his seat. Everything around him was flickering, changing color, and he began slipping into unconsciousness.​

"Skip!"​

* * *​

"Skip," he rolled the name around in his head. ". . . really? Skip? Kind of a weird name. . ." He didn't much like it, but if it really was his name. . . "Oh hey, land!"​

Surely enough, a dark smudge could be seen on the horizon. Without realizing it, he had been walking during his flashbacks. Apparently, he'd covered quite a distance. Long flashbacks, he thought. Shrugging off the questions, he began to run toward land.

 

[LUColt27]

Blake continued walking until he came to a clearing. In the clearing he saw what appeared to be an old training hall, long left abandoned. Hmm, he mused. Looks like nobody's home, but why not check it out to see if anything good's been left behind. He did just that, moving towards the door, opening it and taking a look around.

Nothing caught his eye as he entered the first room of the hall, and the same pattern occurred through the next 4 rooms. As he entered the 6th room, towards the center of the building, he noticed a pedestal containing a necklace. The necklace's only adornment was a fist made of iron, and it seemed to possess a faint orange glow.
"Interesting. I wonder what this means. I'm guessing the fist signifies that the guys here were strong, if nothing else," He said after he crossed the room for a closer look. He lifted the necklace off of the pedestal and placed it around his neck. He didn't feel any different as he did, so he decided to head outside to look around and see if he could find any sign of civilization. As he turned the eastern corner of the hall, he noticed a faint trail. Figuring that there may possibly be people somewhere along a trail, even one as little-traveled as this one, he set off, following the trail back into the woods towards the northeast.

 

[Shadowseldil]

(((Time to get a little interaction.)))

As Keith and Melody ran through the whipping and stinging underbrush, a short tone buzzed a couple of times. Melody touched her wrist, and put her hand to her ear. "Melody here," she said as she breathed, "Being pursued 'ATM.' Is it important?"
Obviously, it was, because she stopped so shortly that Keith ran into the back of her. They stumbled forward a little, but neither fell. "Sorry," she said to Keith, then said, "What do you mean that one's been found?" Keith could see now that she was wearing a sort of ear piece through which, he guessed, she was communicating with... with... with who?
"Master Wei's?" she said in a tone of disbelief, "But Master Wei's went back after they killed him. So it's not found ... What! In Master Wei's old dojo? But--how did they miss it if it's been there all this time? ... Any chance it's a coincidence? ... Okay, but what about the rookie? ... Yeah, he's with me. ... Eleven ... What? ... Okay, we'll check it out."
She took the ear piece off and looked at Keith. "Change of plans, Keith. Turns out that another one of the necklaces has found an owner. It's right around the corner, maybe a mile or so."
"A mile isn't right around the corner!"
"Would you rather wait here while that ship finds you?"
"Which way?"
"It's only about five minutes hard running. We'll take it easy and try it at six. I may need some energy when we get there."
"Why?"
"It might not necessarily been someone friendly who found it."
Keith turned a little pale, but Melody started running in a new direction. Keith followed her.
In a few minutes, it was clear that they were now on a sort of old trail, but it was overgrown and it obviously had not been used for some time. Melody kept to it pretty well, which made Keith wonder how she knew it, or how she knew where they were going at all.
Then, rather suddenly, Melody slowed to a jog, and then to a walk. "Why are we slowing?" Keith asked.
"Someone is coming up the trail," she said coldly.
She walked until the someone came into sight. Whoever it was probably could not see it because of her armour, but from behind, Keith could see her shoulders relax. Obviously, she thought it was a good sign.
"Excuse me?" she called but kept walking. She was breathing heavily, but trying not to show it. "Excuse me, but you wouldn't happened to have found a necklace in a dojo at the end of this trail not that long ago, would you?"

 

[LUColt27]

Blake looked down the trail to see a pair of people approaching and calling to him. The woman was asking about the necklace he had found, it seemed, but seeing as how he didn't know them from Adam, he couldn't be sure about their intentions. She appeared friendly, at least, so he decided to go ahead. "Yes, I did find a necklace in that dojo. The place was practically falling apart, though, so I think whoever left it there didn't think it to be that valuable. By the way, how did you know about that necklace?" He asked with curiosity. Inquisitive by nature, he was taught early on that to find out the "whys and wherefores," as his dad liked to put them, was to gain wisdom and knowledge. Besides, the place had largely been abandoned, and despite his lack of general knowledge of the area, it seemed to be on an out of the way trail.

 

[Shadowseldil]

"It can't be that easy," Melody said, half to herself and half to the world in general. "My name is Melody, and this is Keith. I'm sure you have a lot of questions, we all do, but right now, we need to get out of here. There is a cruiser looking for... well, they're looking for him," she pointed a thumb over her shoulder to Keith, "but they'll be after you too very soon, if they aren't already coming here. I know about the necklace because," she fished in her breastplate once more, pulling out her own necklace, "I'm a keeper too. There are more of us, and more coming, supposedly, but that can all be sorted out later. Right now--"
A shadow passed over the sunlight shining through the trees as the awful shriek of the cruiser roared like a raptor overhead, furious that its prey had escaped under cover.
"Down the trail!" she shouted over the din, "Go! To the dojo! I know it; there's a place we can hide out and a secret escape if we need it."
She didn't wait for Blake's response. She dashed toward Blake, intending to run past him. Keith was after her like a rabbit, only more terrified. Whatever was happening, Melody seemed to know what was happening, and if he wanted answers, he'd have to stay with her. At least for now.

 

[Big Al545]

Alex and Mathias had been walking along this trail for hours. Alex's leg had soon become infected due to lack of medical attention, so Alex had been forced to construct an immatation of a crutch using wood, and some tightly woven reeds. Mathias soon realized that shelter was becoming a prioity due to Alex's injury, and if possible, other humans.
"Alex, I know you don't want to stop, but we need to," started Mathias.
"Before you finish, No, I will not rest, it's fine Mathias," said Alex.
They walked in silence for a few minutes, until finally Mathias spoke.
"Look, Alex!"
Mathias pointed to a building that made a wet cardboard box look more stable than that. Mathias helped Alex walk a little faster by throwing his arm around Alex's shoulder and moving him along at a faster pace. They finally reached the abandoned building and Mathias stuck his head inside the door.
"Hello?"
Mathias's call echoed for what seemed like a few minutes...no answer, so the two brothers stepped into the building.
"Let's stay here," said Mathias, hoping Alex wouldn't object, but Alex had already sat down, leaning against the wall. Alex had already fallen asleep due to his injury, and being tired.
Mathias sat next to Alex, finally having a brotherly moment towards each other after so many years of hating each other.

 

[LUColt27]

Blake heard the cruiser and turned to run, following Melody and Keith. Since she had a similar necklace to his own, she evidently knew something about what to do, and the cruiser, or at least what he could see of it, didn't appear particularly friendly, and he didn't want to find out the hard way in any case.

As he ran, he was able to match pace with the two, and he made his way back to the dojo.

 

[Shadowseldil]

(((Since the jury is still out on the validity of the population of Re-earth, I'm going to ignore Melody's earpiece for now, but if it is approved, I may add a few details later. Depending on the decisions, I may have to edit a larger chunk of it.)))

As they entered the dojo, Keith noticed how decrepit it appeared. The walls were tattered, and pieces of some sort of foam or padding or... probably something soft, anyway, hung like large tufts of spanish moss. As some of the local flora was now growing in places where the broken floor opened to rich earth and the broken roof allowed the light to enter the sarcophagus of training, it looked much more wild than its placid building suggested from the outside. However, in spite of its derelict state, Keith could tell that it was somehow not that old. The wood that had not rotted still had that faint smell that fresh cut wood has. The walls that were not damaged still looked quite livable, and even usable for its purpose as a dojo. In places, particularly those places not looked upon by the sun as he danced across the sky, the floor retained its vivid colors, and some of it was still shiny as if recently waxed.
"This was Master Wei's dojo," Melody said sadly, raising her mask. "I trained some here with him. He was a good keeper, very wise, very sagely, a bit of a temper at times, but friendly most often."
She paused in a bit of sad, solemn reflection as she led them down one of the halls. She ran her hand along the pristine segments of it in fond reminiscence, until she came to a broken segment. Her face, content in her memories, turned to scorn and wrath, and Keith could see her tensing her fist.
"Until the soulless came," she said, continuing the narrative, "They came, mercilessly killing everyone, including master Wei, a task thought impossible. But there were too many of them. Too many."
She sighed, "We thought that his necklace had gone back to the other side. Sometimes they do, sometimes they stay here. We don't really know why yet, but since the conquerors never claimed their prize, we assumed that it must have gone back when he died. But, you said you found it here, in this dojo, so it must have been here all along. How they missed it is beyond me, but I'm glad they did."
"Is it the soulless that are following us in that... the thing?" Keith asked.
"Probably. There will be too many of them for us to fight off. The only hope is to keep from being found long enough to get away."
"How, exactly?"
"Master Wei built a secret escape tunnel in case the dojo was attacked so that his younger students could escape. We can hide out there until we get enough space to make an escape."
Melody led them back into the pedestal chamber, the very room where Blake had found the necklace. Melody pressed a secret button on the pedestal, and it slid to the side, revealing a stairway down into darkness.
"C'mon," she said as she started down into it, "Master Wei had a locking mechanism built into the other side. Even if they find the secret button, it won't open for them. As long as they have not found the exit at the other side, we should be fine."
"Uh, Melody?" Keith asked.
"Yes?"
"Um, no, nothing. It can wait."
Melody nodded and motioned for the two boys to enter.

 

[Big Al545]

It was a few hours after Alex had fallen asleep that he was woken by voices. He looked to the right, seeing Mathias sound asleep. Alex slowly got up, trying not to wake Mathias, for the voices he heard could have been his own mind. Holding onto the crutch, he limped towards the door, standing behind a pile of crates. A young woman walked into the dojo, accompanied by two other boys. The woman was speaking of the Soulless, Alex had heard rumors, but had never seen one. Alex silently listened to the conversation as the group headed towards a chamber door. The woman pressed something Alex couldn't see, and the wall slid backwards, showing a staircase leading into the dark. Alex almost jumped out of his skin as he felt someone tap his shoulder.
"Sorry," whispered Mathias.
"It's ok, there are other people here," Alex whispered back.
Mathias looked at the three people and gasped. "Thats the kid I saw," whispered Mathias.
"Be quiet Mathias," said Alex.
Alex and Mathias both crept out of their hiding place and quickly scrambled after the three unknown people.

 

[Kangaroo Hopscotch]

Thanatos stood once more at the edge of the plateau, prepared to escape his prison in the sky. There wasn't anything to eat up here, and to remain would be a death sentence as sure as falling. Sitting down, Thanatos prepared himself for what he was about to do. He had only done this a few times before, but each time he repeated the process it grew easier. Closing his eyes, Thanatos cleared his mind of all other thoughts except one.
Within his mind he felt his own consciousness become overlapped by a bestial consciousness, his senses sharpening and overpowering instincts consuming him. Even as his human mind struggled to control the beast's mind, his body began to change. His back arching, he let out a loud cry as pain ripped through his body. Bones began to break apart and his body was in turmoil as his body began to change. Within moments there no longer stood a man, but rather an eagle.Beating its wings powerfully, the eagle's body that Thanatos now possessed rose quickly into the air, spreading its wings to catch the thermal waves beneath it. After he had risen nearly one hundred feet into the air he banked sharply, and pulled into a dive. Quickly descending the mountain, Thanatos pulled back sharply, pulling out of the dive a good hundred feet above the ground and circled twice before landing.
Releasing the animal mind, the bestial consciousness left him and his body swiftly reverted to its original shape. After returning to his original form, Thanatos found himself on his hands and knees. Laughing loudly, a strange thought occurred to him. Why in the world do my clothes change with me?
Laughing, Thanatos stood and surveyed the area around him. It looked much different on ground level than it had on the plateau, but he could see the forest he had spied on his right. Contemplating his next move, Thanatos began to stroke his beard again in his habitual gesture before he stopped short. Something felt wrong, but he couldn't place exactly what. His eyes narrowing in concentration, he wondered what it was that made him feel this way.
Thanatos performed a quick scan of his surroundings, but found nothing out of place. Beginning to feel a little silly at worrying about phantoms, Thanatos chuckled to himself and went back to his contemplation, once again performing his habitual gesture before he froze, eyes wide with shock. It was not his surroundings that had caused him to worry, it was himself. Bringing his other hand to his face, Thanatos rubbed his now beardless face. Even the old scar on his cheek he had gotten as a child was gone, replaced by flawless skin. Worry filled Thanatos' mind, before being quickly replaced with a sense of elation. In all other aspects he was still human, it was only his appearance that had changed. Grinning broadly, thoughts of the possibilities of such a discovery filled his mind as he walked toward the forest.

 

[Skipper.]

William

William gazed over the city. Every structure, down to the lamppost had been struck down. And to think, all it had taken was the wave of a hand. He held up said hand, examining it carefully. How much power did humans really hold?

Thunder boomed over head. Will glanced up at the sky, lowering his hand. It probably wasn't safe here, standing on the only building in Manhattan. . . He laughed. Like he should be afraid of lightning. Shaking his head at his own forgetfulness, he started toward the door.

Lights flickered on and off to highlight the lone man ambling slowly down the hallway. The loud, crackling sound of thunder shook the ceiling. He should have taken the stairs, as the elevator had no electricity to draw from, but he stepped through the sliding doors anyway. The lights came on, and he began to descend. Every button had lit up, but he didn't stop until he'd reached the ground floor. The doors slid open long enough for William to exit the elevator, at which point, the lights flickered out one final time.

Moments later, William stood in the middle of the street, glancing to his left and right. He laughed aloud. "H-hm, no chance of being hit," he murmured to himself. Turning back to face the only building in miles, he glared.

He crouched slowly, placing his fingertips on the black road, on either side of him. His eyes rolled back into his head, as every window in the skyscraper suddenly shattered, from the ground up. Glass fell to the ground, sounding almost like rain for a moment. The noise subsided, but the man remained still, not moving a muscle.

Then, a rumbling sound began to emanate from the structure. Metal groaned, stone cracked, and William sighed. Rising to his feet, the fifty-six year old man stared absently at the scene. Minutes later, nothing remained but a heap of rubble. Even William himself was gone.

* * *​

An eagle soared through the air, as though having just left its nest for the first time. It's flight had been too wobbly for a bird of its age. The eagle disappeared behind or beneath the canopy of trees.​

Moments later, on ground level, a man laughed aloud. Footsteps could be heard, and it seemed that Thanatos had discovered the forest for the first time. . . and quite possibly, his wings.​

A dust covered William approached, seeming to materialize from the forest. "Thanatos!" he greeted, relieved that one of his colleagues had made it. Waving his right hand, the middle-aged man jogged briskly up toward the shapeshifter. "You are all right?" He refrained from asking further questions, deciding it best to allow Thanatos to explain himself on his own time.​

As he drew closer, he saw that Thanatos looked surprisingly well for someone who'd just survived the apocalypse. William, however, looked a great deal less pleasant. Other than the fact that he was covered heat to toe in dust and rubble, he was dressed in a simple grey T-shirt, Nike tennis shoes, and blue jeans. He was supposed to be on vacation, but it was obvious that he wasn't feeling very relaxed.​

 

[LUColt27]

Blake had heard the story of Master Wei as they walked through the dojo, and couldn't help but feel a pang of regret for the old man, and what had happened to him and his entire dojo. He wished he could have helped out in some way, having been raised to help those less fortunate and those in need, but he realized that despite his best efforts, there was nothing he could do to help them. He could only try to keep the necklace safe from those who desired it for less pure reasons, and try to be worthy of the emblem that the necklace bore. That idea now settling into his brain, he followed melody and Keith into the tunnel.

"So, um, where does this tunnel lead to, exactly?" He asked. "It seems that Master Wei was a very good and intelligent man, so he knew what he was doing, at any rate, but I am curious as to where we're going. For that matter, where are we? I don't know anything about this place."