The Loop: Reawakening

Community Role Playing
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37

You watch as a few soldiers break off from the main group and start sprinting off towards another member of your party as the soldiers in front of you turn their attention back to you.

“Jenkins you know who he’s talking about?” The one on the left said as he readjusted his grip on the rifle, finger hovering over the trigger

“I do, but orders are orders. Doesn’t matter if he’s one of us we have a kill order and I don’t intend to get demoted when I’m about to catch my lucky break.”

Unfortunate, seems that even your class an acting wasn’t enough to persuade them, maybe something a bit more direct would be in order?

Norda, as you announce your name to the assailant you feel the pressure on the back of your head lessen and the barrel removed entirely. You swear you hear the soldier behind you whisper “meemaw Aardvak.” Turning around you find yourself face to face with someone quite familiar. A young boy you helped set back on the right path named Thomas Martin, seems your guidance really did help him out in the long run.

“Ms. Norda, what’re you doing out here? Especially with terrorists?” He ask kneeling down and helping you onto your foot.

You look around and spot another undamaged water container, the pressure inside that thing would sure make a great improvised explosive if you could compromise its structure, too bad that there’s now several soldiers heading your way, better act fast

Ari your throw is more then successful, you watch as the rifle and ammo soar right past the soldiers and into Adam’s hands which were opened in surrender just moments before.

Silas, unfortunately for you the soldiers do not hold. In fact one of them whips around and fires a bullet straight through your thigh, at this several other soldiers turn and ready their weapons at you too.

Too little too late. Mr. Tod here seems content to find some cover in the nearby rubble. However the whirring sound of the colossus is getting much louder and much more dangerous sounding, perhaps now would be a good time to escape.

Tod you find yourself a nice little cover made of wood to hide in, you climb inside ignoring the splinters and shards of wood poking you and curl up hoping, no praying that you will be spared.

But no answer comes, and the only thing that meets you is darkness.

The group can see as the colossus falls onto the ground, crushing Tod and his place of cover. You all watch in horror as blood splatters out from the colossus as it hits the ground with the deafening sound of crunching metal and machinery breaking down, however it’s not down for long as the wings on its sides extend and open up revealing a set of strange looking turbines, then suddenly begin to spin and the colossus rises once more, perhaps it would best if you got out of dodge faster than right now ehre.

status report
Ehre:injured
Rose:active
Ari: active
Norda: injured
Silas: injured
Adam: Active
Ottar: injured
Tod: Deceased

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38

That could work Rose thought, and while sliding down the rubble she picked up a few nuts and bolts. “I have to make this shot” she loaded a bolt in her sling and threw it with all the force she had towards the container, hoping that the accident had done at least some damage. As soon as she threw she began running, she didn’t know to where, she just needed somewhere narrow, or dark where she could have a little bit more chances.

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39

Blood rushed to Adam’s ears as he heard the words of the soldiers. Once again, he was reminded of the importance of his job, as he made sure that the “shoot now ask questions later” mentality of the military doesn’t cause unnecessary suffering to the people of sikkerhead.

As rage began to boil in his veins, he felt the impact and familiar weight of gun in his hands and he new what he needed to do. He quickly closed the gap between himself and the soldier closest to Ottar, attempting to body the gun out of his hand while shooting a single round at the barrel of the other soldier’s gun. He hoped to disarm both soldiers and knock them unconscious, but he was prepared to kill if necessary. but why? he thought. why am I willing to kill my colleagues to save a single child. What makes his life any more important than their’s? while his mind pondered, his heart knew that this child, these other people being attacked by the soldiers, they meant something to him. At least, they meant more than some soldiers whom he’d never known and who had never known him.

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Ehre hangs his head and gives a short moment to mourn for the loss of the strange man, Tod his name was, though how he knew the mans name Ehre wasnt sure.

Now no longer fighting to accomplish something, the still severe state of his concussion combined with the shock of being shot and blood leaking from his numbing shoulder finally overwhelmed him once more.

Ehre slowly collapsed on the ground with one end of the rope still loosely in his hand, while his consciousness drifted out to some other place, leaving behind just a battered, bloody and utterly exhausted corpse of a man to lay upon the ground.

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41

Ari didn’t have the time to check if the man heard her words, nor could she see if the gun landed in his hands, so she could only wonder how he was dealing with the situation he found himself in. But the loud gunshot that rang out behind her back moments later, followed by an audible thud, told her that it certainly wasn’t peaceful. Well, at least she wasn’t the one getting shot this time. What a reassuring thought.

If that man survives, he’ll be owing her a drink, that’s for sure. There isn’t such a thing as too much free alcohol.

Ari’s sprint towards the water canister was interrupted yet again, this time by the impact of something enormous hitting the ground and causing it to shake violently, followed by a deafening metallic noise. She turned around to see the vile machine crumbled on the ground, motionless. She could only wonder if some poor soul was unlucky enough to end up right under that thing when it fell.
Well, it wasn’t her, so… not the worst outcome.
That thing was certainly not dead, but it now was on the ground. If there was a chance to hit it, it was now. And the water canister was close, so perhaps-

Ari watched in horror as the colossus started rising back up, as if nothing had just happened to it.

You unkillable son of a gun… If only I didn’t waste so much time…

She bolted towards the canister as fast as she could, taking one last quick look at her arm. The mechanism appeared to be in operable condition, but she wouldn’t know for sure until she tried it. She wouldn’t need to wait long to find out.

As that thought crossed her mind, a couple realisations suddenly hit her. She threw away the only thing that could shield her from the powerful stream of water that would follow the punch a while ago in an attempt to save the kid. And, even if the arm worked perfectly, the impact against the hard metal would likely crush all bones in her shoulder. What she was about to go through certainly could not be called a pleasant experience. On the other hand, neither could anything from the last three years of her life. And backing out at this point would be silly, wouldn’t it?

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42

You ram yourself into the first soldier, successfully knocking him off balance and sending him falling into a nearby pile of rubble. His grip on the gun, however, remains strong.

Your shot at the second soldier’s rifle seems to have not been quite as successful. The bullet whizzing past the rifle by a mere inch. To add to your misfortune, the soldier grabs his government issue revolver and draws it on ottar. “One more move, and the kid gets it!”

As you collapse to the ground, you look up to the heavens, in your mind hoping for something to spare you from this grim reality, but your eyes only meet the wing of the colossus, a panel opening in it exposing some kind of rotor spinning faster than you can possibly comprehend in your concussed state.

Wait, is it getting closer?

Rose, you sling your ball of shrapnel towards the canister near the group of soldiers. Instead A gust of wind arriving from the colossus’s wings, picking it up and boosting it towards the canister near Ari at an increased pace. Your run remains uninterrupted, aside from a bullet grazing your temple.

Ari, you watch as a piece of shrapnel hits the canister with a loud pang. The event severely damaged the tank to a significant degree. This is perfect you think to yourself as you close the distance and prepare to cause some damage to the nearby soldiers.

As you all carry out your individual tasks, you all witness a horrific grinding noise as you see Ehre be sucked up into the turbine on the colossus’s wing, shredding him to pieces and sending his remains scattering out as nothing but a red mist.

Fortunately, his sacrifice wasn’t in vain, as the wing begins to catch fire from the sudden intervention of Ehre’s now humidified form into its mechanical parts.

status report
Tod: deceased
Ehre: deceased
Ottar: injured
Norda: injured
Silas: injured
Ari: active
Adam: Active
Rose: active

@DuneToa @Cordax @TheCobaltCorsair we need them posts

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43

Oh f——
Jacques glanced up just in time to see Ehre become ground meat.
“Good thing that wasn’t me…”
He glanced around the warehouse, eyes darting past the well-dressed man who was standing nearby to the crates sitting in piles around the room.
*Wait, there’s someone else here…”
He turns around and asks, “Do you know where I can get some medical attention?”

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One soldier hit the ground, audibly impacting the rubble beneath him. Still concealed, Ottar could only discern by the sound where exactly he had landed, but it had coincided pretty well with the explosion of gunpowder which rattled his eardrums.

And was very swiftly followed by another sound which took clear and uncontested precedence.

Knows I’m here. How? What happened to- Oh yeah, me bellowing my head off.

He was close, that was for certain. If his eardrums could stop stinging for a moment, perhaps he would be able to more clearly identify exactly where he was…

There. Ottar had him narrowed down to an area of a meter and a half, that he was sure of. Getting to him, however, would be another issue, and unless this unseen soldier walked directly up to the correct barrier and peered over, there was little he could do.

But… Why does it matter? How do I know things won’t… behave like the dreams? If the clock’s about to roll back-

Ottar looked up in cold horror at the giant before him, struggling to keep itself aloft as the powdered mist of a former human being tinted the air. How the figure had been concealed this whole time from his vision Ottar didn’t know, but as the burning pain in his leg quickly turned to one of ice, the overwhelming sense of penultimate horror finally reached across his psyche, coloring the world in the horrible realization of what this all was.

The end. It’s the end.

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45

Once again, Adam reacted as quickly as he could, crouching down slightly as he charged toward the soldier, shouting “Ottar, get down!” As he did so. With his mind still on autopilot, he didn’t even stop to think why he said that name specifically. As soon as he closed the small gap between him and the soldier, he brought his hand up towards the elbow of the soldier to knock his aim up and hopefully knock the revolver out of his hand. He was also hoping to slide past this soldier so that he was in between Adam and the soldier on the ground.

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46

Suddenly Ari noticed something get launched towards the water tank and leave a sizeable dent in its side with a loud pang.
Where did that come from?

That was lucky. Now that the structural integrity of the canister was compromised, perhaps making a hole in its side would be easier.

The canister was just a dozen steps away. At last, it was time. Ari wound up her arm and heard a familiar click sound. She’s heard it so many times, that hearing it now was almost reassuring. The mechanism was primed. It was no going back now.

Ari took one last look at the machine, to determine its exact position, just in time to witness something suspiciously human-shaped get lifted into the air and rapidly head towards one of its numerous turbines. The horrific sight that followed made it very clear what that object used to be before turning into a reddish mist.

What a horrible way to go, she thought. Her heart filled with burning anger. Had she acted quicker, this death could have been avoided.

However, this horrific incident proved something very crucial, as Ari watched the vile mechanism’s wing falter and catch on fire. The darn bird was not immune to moisture.

The pain that was about to follow the punch was nothing compared to the chance to take the colossus down for good.

Ari lined herself up as best as she could, to hit the canister from such an angle that the following explosion of water would be directed right toward the bird, clenched her teeth so hard she risked breaking them, and, gathering all of her might… finally threw her metal fist forward, activating the last charge.

She was going to try to run right after the impact, but she knew very well that there was no way she could avoid getting caught in the explosion herself. It was a risk she was willing to take. After all taking risks has been the only thing that kept her going over the course of the last three years.

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47

“T-Thomas, what are you-”

A shooting pain rockets up Norda’s entire left side, cutting her off before she can finish her sentence. She seethes and breathes in slowly before attempting to speak again.

“I don’t know how I got here”, Norda lets out. “A-all I remember was hitting the ground and that thing”, she says, gesturing to the colossus wreaking havoc nearby, “was above me and a few other people.” Norda rests her head against the rough ground for a few moments before starting again. “Please, just try to help that wailing child survive. I can fend for m-myself”

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48

Silas, as the soldiers begin to fire at you, a voice rings out from behind you. You’re vaguely able to recognize it as one of your allies, all though, in the heat of the moment, the name seems to be slipping your mind. Of course, the bullet that just shredded your thigh isn’t helping with that either.

Adam Unfortunately, the soldier’s grip on the revolver remains true. Your attempt to knock it away from Ottar is fruitful; your slide, however, is very much not. As you tried to slip past the soldier, he brought the grip of his pistol down onto the top of your skull mid slide with a sickening crack, sending you reeling.

Ottar, as you carry out your objective of “trying not to die,” you watch as the soldier that had been knocked into the pile of rubble begins to stir, his eyes locking on the confrontation between Adam and his comrade. Silently, he draws his own revolver and, with shaky hands, lowers it towards Adam, waiting to get a clear shot.

Ari, as you land a devastating blow to the canister, a highly concentrated stream of water blasts out from the tank and, luckily enough, towards the colossus’s other wing. Unfortunately, your other arm is caught in the high pressure stream as you try to duck out of the way, ripping off several chunks of your skin, the water thinning the blood from your wounds making them bleed more profusely.

Thomas steadies you, shifting your weight onto him. “I’m sorry, Ms. Norda, but I can’t disobey my orders like that. I mean, take a look around; look what he and the group he’s a part of have done.” He looks into your eyes. “Child or not, these people have just committed treason, and you of all people should know the consequences for that.”

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Adam’s vision blurred from the impact of the pistol grip as water streamed from his eyes. The impact had stopped him from rising fully and his body was still low to the ground, so Adam struck out at the closest part of the soldier. Adam attempted to sweep the soldiers feet from underneath him, hoping that the soldier wouldn’t fall on Adam if he was knocked over.

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There he was.

His gun shakily aimed towards whoever was brave enough to challenge the unknown amount of guards on the other side of the barrier, and also stupid enough to tell everyone where exactly poor little Ottar was hiding.

Repeatedly.

However, as this unknown raised his revolver, Ottar could feel his muscles tense. Something had to be done. He had to close the impressive gap and clobber the fellow before this blabbermouth could die. He had to. His life was at stake. What else could be done?

…

Am I insane?

Ottar didn’t need his experience working in the mechanical sweatshops of the city to know how to calculate a sizeable gap. Even if he somehow was able to throw himself five feet horizontally while in tremendous pain and with only one functional leg, it still wouldn’t be enough to close the distance. And even if it somehow was, the guard would simply blast his head open the moment he landed.

So there was nothing he could do.

This guard would assist his compatriot in killing the loud stranger, and together the pair would turn on him, now that he had been snitched on. The most he could hope for was that somehow this stranger’s hands were more competent than his mouth, and he was able to eliminate one of the guards before he himself was eliminated.

Fat chance.

A violent explosion occurred somewhere behind him, and not daring to fully take his eyes off the scene, Ottar only got a glimpse of the high-powered stream of water making its way towards the reeling colossus, but dreaded what might follow.

Either a devastating blow to whatever this horrid thing is… Or an extremely angry whatever this horrid thing is.

…Or both, but I’m not picky.

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51

The impact of the steel hand against the hard metal of the canister resulted in a spike of pain going through Ari’s entire arm and ending in the shoulder blade. However, she did not have time to process it as her futile attempt to duck away from the powerful stream of water ended in that very stream of water colliding with her other, more healthy arm and sending her flying backwards, away from the canister. She hit the ground hard, unable to soften the impact, but the pain in her back was greatly overshadowed by the pain in her left arm. Ari was barely able to hold back from screaming, and, once she partially recovered from the shock, she took a glance at her arm. It was bruised badly and had several deep cuts that were bleeding intensely. Something had to be done about them if she didn’t want to slowly bleed out, but trying to bandage them up was no use with a right arm like that.

Suddenly a realisation hit her. The cartridge in her metal arm was still scolding hot from the charge going off. She could use it to cauterise the wounds.

Ari collected herself as best she could, sat up, slowly lifted the incredibly hot prosthesis and pressed it hard against one of the cuts. This time she couldn’t hold back a scream, as the intense burning pain was unbearable. But it seemed to work. She repeated the process several times until all of the wounds were successfully closed.

She needed something to help her dull the pain, so she instinctively reached her hand into one of her pockets and pulled out a familiar metal flask, now badly deformed from this day’s events. Much to her dismay, it was also empty, completely devoid of the cheap alcohol that used to be contained in it before. Ari swore under her breath and threw the now utterly useless flask into the nearest burning pile of rubble. Today was a horrible day…

Slowly she looked in the direction of the colossus, trying to determine if the water had done any damage to it.

Out of nowhere a thought crossed her mind: I wonder how that kid is doing… did he and the man manage to get away?

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52

Jacques flinched as a gunshot cracked through the air, landing with a nasty wet impact nearby. He blinked, then realized that it wasn’t he who had been hit, but the man in front of him.
“S-S-Silas?? Are you all right?”
And how did I just remember his name? That is his name, right? And this all feels so… familiar, he thought.

Even as he finished he looked out through the door of the warehouse, just in time to see a tank of water explode in a blast of compressed liquid, the water smashing into the Titan with incredible force. Nearby, some of the soldiers were aiming for the warehouse, one reloading after having shot Silas in the leg. Not a good sign…

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“That is a big distraction if i do say so myself!” Rose continued to run. the crazy lady must’ve done it, that absolutely sounds like something she would do. I still need a weapon though, a sling isn’t enough for this mess. She continued to scan the docks for something she could use “come on! surely some soldiers died with all of this chaos! I just need a decent weapon!”

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"Thomas, please. He’s just a boy" Norda turns her head towards the man and stares into his swollen eyes. “I’m sure he is just as scared and confused as we all are. Whoever he is and whatever he has done, that boy has much more to live for than I do.”

Norda attempts to shrug off Thomas’s shoulder, but is unable to do so. “Please, I can’t even hear him anymore. I can fend for myself” She lets out a shaky breath and drops her head towards the ground. “Is this really what she would want you to do?”

ooc: if Thomas could have some backstory that involved someone close to him dying that’d be pretty cool; otherwise I’ll edit the post

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Adam, before you’re able to gain your composure and even attempt to sweep the soldier’s legs, he’s upon you again. bringing his revolver’s butt across your jaw, knocking you back down to the ground. “You should’ve backed down when you had the chance, but no, you had to be the hero.” The soldier brings the barrel of the revolver to meet your forehead, his thumb pulling back on the hammer and rotating a fresh bullet into the chamber. “Look where that’s gotten you, terrorist.”

Ottar, you find you have the perfect view of the progressing disaster. You watch as Adam is beaten down, all of his attempts to counterattack so far wasted, pinned into a situation with very little hope of survival. However, if there’s one good thing you can possibly glean from this situation, it’s that the injured soldier not far from your position has lowered his weapon. Apparently, he’s assumed that his comrade has the situation handled for the moment. He breathes a sigh of relaxation among the chaos and takes a look around him. Wait, that’s weird. As he’s looking around, he seems to focus on your area quite a bit. Has he spotted you?

Ari, you watch as the colossus’s wing begins to spark slightly—nothing as damaging as the body of your comrade, who had been sucked into the other wing—but enough that it’s clear it won’t be flying anytime soon. However, the peace of that revelation is short-lived as you watch a panel on its chest open up, revealing what seams to be a bundle of tubes.

a gatling gun

You both see the colossus turn in the direction of the soldiers near the warehouse, the cluster of tubes extending out of its chest and beginning to spin. Before either of you can process this new addition to the colossus’ arsenal, you watch as it mows down many of the soldiers in a sweeping motion. This is a victory for sure, but a short-lived one, as the arc of the sweep includes the warehouse you two are currently sheltered in.

Rose, as you run, you hear the screams of many soldiers and a loud, continuous banging noise, as if hundreds of gunshots were going off in a matter of seconds. Risking a glance behind you, you see the colossus mowing down the group of soldiers you are currently fleeing from; unfortunately, if you don’t get out of dodge, you shall join in their fate.

Thomas goes to respond to you, the words catching in his throat for a moment. You see tears well up in his eyes. His expression was a mixture of sadness, grief, and blind rage. “You don’t get to talk about my mother like you knew her!” He pulls his revolver, not pointing at you, but his threat is clear. “I’m giving you one last chance, Norda.”

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Ottar swallowed to move his heart down from the top of his throat back into his ribcage.

Already quite close to the cover, he really only had one option available to him. Trying to close the gap with one leg was still just as impossible and still just as foolish. So would be pretending he didn’t exist; if the soldier had seen him, flattening on the ground would not only be a horrible defensive option but a clear indicator that he was in fact there.

So with little hope of surviving a head-on conflict, Ottar ever so slowly leaned fully against the rubble cover and chose a random spot in the distance to visually zone out on, keeping the soldier within his peripheral vision. With any luck, he might think he bled to death right there.

And Ottar hoped he decided soon. Because he could feel the lull of death creeping up from behind, and it felt almost nostalgic, in a way…

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