World's End, FINE

[Pheonix-IV]

World's End, or World's Beginning depending on which angle you look at it. The only major town to survive the falling pieces of Heaven, World's End is situated in a large clearing in the middle of America. Grasslands stretch for miles in all directions, with mountains visible on the horizon to the west.
The buildings are a motly collection of wooden shanties and reinforced concrete bunkers, the UCS posts are made of rusty steel and pitted concrete while the tattered remenants of fencing and burned prefab shelters are scattered around the countryside and the outer edges of the town.

An area of intregue and mystery, a hazy miasma hangs over World's End during the day, a mix of noxious fumes from the various factories and labs and dust thrown up from the dirt roads, World's End is not pretty, nor is it particulary safe, but it does have the only neutral World Jumper in America and it is considered to be fairly neutral ground by the various syndicates and brotherhoods. If you want something, somone in the back of a World's End tavern can find it, for a price.

[KalAldur]

Aleksii Demidov sighed, the mounting stress of the days activities instantly melting away as he slumped into a plump, silky smooth sofa, allowing his head to tilt backwards onto the sofa's headrest, one hand idly fumbling for a book on a nearby coffee table, while the other reached up to his face, scratching a much thinner beard than he remembered starting the day with. Of course, that all faded away as the most beautiful woman he knew slid down onto the seat next to him, pressing her body to his as she lay her head on his shoulder.

Luxuriant blonde curls cascaded down around her shoulders, obscuring the arm that had wrapped around them as she sat, contrasting with shimmering, sky blue eyes that would appear, disappear, and then reappear again as she blinked sleepily, yawning. He knew somewhere in the back of his head that she wasn't perfect, hell, he hadn't meet a woman who was, but if there was anyone who could pull the illusion off it would be her.

For some reason, he couldn't make out much about her figure, though something screamed at him that he shouldn't have to see it, that it should come to his mind's eye naturally, that having a clear sight of just your wife's face was a problem, but as he turned to plant a kiss on her forehead, it didn't seem to matter. That perfection he so often sought after during his day's work at the lab was made manifest for these few precious moments he was able to simply cuddle with the woman of his dreams.

She returned the kiss, sitting up slightly so that her lips could meet his on an even level, and after what seemed like an eternity of bliss, but far to short for his liking, her head was back on his shoulder, as she tugged on his arm. "H-" She stopped, yawning, "Honey...can we go to bed..?" Her eyes darted up to his in an almost pleading manner, and he couldn't help but nod, rising from his seat and pulling her up to stand with him, simultaneously pulling her into another, what he liked to think was passionate, kiss.

"Yeah..let's. I'-" he went to agree with her, but was rudely interrupted as something crashed through the roof of his house, inches from where they both stood. It looked to be vaguely metallic, but he didn't get the best view as the love of his life screamed in terror, literally jumping over the couch behind them to bolt for the door. He felt no shame in following her, but when he nearly knocked her over just outside their front door, he couldn't help but feel like an idiot.

"Don't stop Cel-" he tried to get her to move, before he caught sight of his surroundings. The neighborhood where they lived, he thought it was peaceful from what shreds of memory he could bring to his command, was currently in various states of destruction, roofs torn asunder, burning, collapsing in on themselves. It was obviously bad, the nerves in his brain told him.

Shaking his head, he grabbed his wife by the hand, and moved to pull her down onto the street, when everything went wrong. Or had it gone wrong already? His train of thought was 'derailed' as he found himself tumbling across his front yard, wreckage from some form of plane lodged in the front of his house, while also managed to scatter in various stages of 'messiness' across the lawn that he had recalled mowing the day before.

Rising to his feet, it seemed odd that he wasn't yelling, so his brain helped him rectify the situation, though, without words. It was more the roar of an enraged animal, as he walked-an immediate red flag for him, though he couldn't seem to pick up the will to run-towards where his front door was.

"Celia! W-Where are you?!" Words were good, he figured, as he scanned the wreckage for signs of his wife. Something in his gut dropped, when he noticed the upper half of her body jutting from between her garden-did they have a garden? It seemed out of place to him.-and what seemed to be a wing. As he dropped to her knees by her head, one of her arms clawed it's way into his lap as she lifted her head to look at him. She seemed oddly unscarred, save that half of her body was buried in debris, and as he lifted her hand to his lips, kissing her digits tenderly, he held the vague hope that things might be alright.

(Hrm. Apparently there's a word limit. Going to have to make a second post...this hasn't happened to me before.)

[KalAldur]

The hope didn't last long, sadly, and as his lips touched her, she simply began to crumble to dust. It seemed oddly dispassionate to him, in the back of his conscious, that he could recall with perfect memory how it started first where he held her, and as each inch of her body solidified into ash it melted through his finger tips, spreading as he clawed for something to hold onto, until he wasn't even left with a dress to hold on to. Had she been wearing a dress? The thought that he couldn't remember tormented him, and he began to thrash around in a fit of rage, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Then he woke up. The analytical side of his mind noted that he was still crying, but he found that it didn't bother him that much, and as he sat up in what seemed to be a back alley, next to a tavern, he figured, given that's how one usually got to an alley unbeknown to oneself, he slid to sit against the wall, pulling his knees to his chest as he sobbed uncontrollably for some time, managing to moan the name "Celia." repeatedly in his grief.

The dream, more like a nightmare he thought to himself, was unusual in that it was the first time he had dreamed of his wife, or any of his past life for that matter, since he had lost them. He found his tears fading as he pointed out to himself that it hadn't happened anything like that, and it was merely just the cruel machinations of his psyche. Using that thought as a brace, he rose from his fetal position, patting the book that was chained around his belt. Still there, good...

This was a minor consequence of his actions he presumed, his eyes narrowing as he brought his emotions under control. It might happen again, but...any moment spent even with a dream of the woman he loved would be worth it, no? And perhaps after he mastered these 'black' arts...maybe it wouldn't have to be a dream. Yes. Perfect. A grin spread across his face as he stepped out of the cold darkness of the alleyway, only two things were on his mind, Celia Demidov, and a ride home. He paused. No, not a ride home, immortality. What was he thinking? I don't have time for movie theaters...

He turned to his left as he exited the alleyway, moving to re-enter the tavern he had presumably been thrown out of, sighing to himself as he glanced at the sign-"Lei of Lillies." What kind of tart had come up with that? And why did he walk in...

[Pheonix-IV]

...to find a place so starkly in contrast to the run of his thoughts that it seemed almost to mock him.
The Lei of Lillies stood before Aleksii in all it's glory, the main common room was large enough to accomodate a dozen round tables with four chairs each as well as a wide space in front of the fireplace. Inside the flames a pair of Stone Pigs rotated slowly, their greyish skin flaking off to reveal the succulent pink meat beneath.
The Lei of Lillies was almost half full, and a half-dozen waitresses in rather revealing blue and white dresses wandered between the tables and the big kitchen at the back, their heels striking a complex stattacco upon the polished wooden floor. In the corner, Mary stood behind the bar, industriously cleaning a wine glass in front of the myriad of bottles and barrels that stood lined against the wall.
The opposite corner of the large ornate doors leading to the kitchen contained the staircase to the upper levels, a series of corridors with rooms spaced down the sides. The Lei of Lillies was three stories high and boasted impressive quarters, each containing a bedroom and a bathroom. The beds were stuffed with the finest down while the bath was made of carefully fitted Ternbark Wood, one of the native trees that had an impressive resistance to water.
Aleksii's gaze was focused on the scene downstairs however, the fire threw long flickering shadows on the opposite wall, shadows that were softened slightly by the oil lamps that hung from the roof, electric lights still stubbornly refusing to work properly on baseline.
A number of the customers eyeballed Aleksii as he walked in, most simply turned away again, but a large, gruff looking man contined to stare at Aleksii out of the corner of his eye, his mug of beer untouched on his table.

Perhaps Aleksii would have made a motion at that point, perhaps not, before he could act a slim and attractive redheaded waitress bustled over, a faint look of disgust on her face as she looked him up and down and noted his tattered appearance. One who was good at reading faces could have told that she doubted if this man could afford anything in the Inn, but she wasn't paid to turn away potential customers.
Curtsying slightly, she spoke in a high alto and asked Aleksii if he needed anything.

(By now you've probably worked out how this will work. You tell me where you just went, i'll then tell you what it looks like and give an overview. If there turns out to be problems with this system, we'll see about other methods.)

[KalAldur]

(Oh mah gawd, it's like playing D&D.)

He regretted walking in almost immediately, and he couldn't imagine why he was getting so many dirty looks. He did his best to return them all, even going so far as to make what he thought would be a comical look, had he been in a movie, at the waitress, the lids of his eyes twittering as he let out a heavy, over-done breath. He let it down at that, nodding absently as he continued to glance around the room.

"Yes a uhh..turk-err, a table, yes, that's it." he muttered, finally noticing the man who seemed to have taken a special interest in him. Ha. Aleksii grinned to himself as he was led to his seat. No doubt he was some sort of...what was the word he used earlier...tart. Yes! He mentally congratulated himself, but stopped almost as soon as he sat down, his eyes dropping to see what he was wearing. Ah...that would explain it.

He hadn't changed out of his damn lab coat for some time now, and while he could clearly remember it had been white, he didn't think he could convince anyone of the fact now, given that it was now a deep shade of brown. He nodded to himself, whistling idly as if it would make himself less awkward. At least black didn't get visibly dirty...

When his waitress returned after making another set of rounds-why did they do that? What if he knew what he wanted to order?-he asked for a drink, 'Something light,' he had vaguely suggested, and 'Some turkey..or err...a bird, of some sort, meat, you see...anything really'. He would need to work on that. But there were more pressing matters at hand than food. As soon as the waitress turned from him he found himself making awkward hand gestures at the man watching him, things from spy movies, pointing at his eyes and then his observers, and things to that effect. He felt quite foolish really.

"Maybe i'm just a bit off..." he muttered to himself, forcing his hands to his lap as he began to whistle again, trying to pass time in an unobtrusive manner.

[Pheonix-IV]

Perhaps the man had been looking for something, perhaps not. Whatever it was he hadn't found it in Aleksii and he turned away, pulling up the fur hood of his coat that marked him out as a frontiersman, a rough and hardy bunch who usually had more money than would be expected from their attire.
As Aleksii looked around him, another frontiersman came down the stairs escorting a young lady with long raven coloured hair in start contrast to the burnished gold colouring on her skin. The rich wine-red dress she wore marked her out as clearly a woman of no little financial successa the discreet looks the frontiersman cast about her as she moved out the door suggested he was probably a hired bodyguard.
Though unusual, as Iuitl or Sleeth were usually hired as guards, it was not unheard of for the tough frontiersmen to be hired for similar purposes, living in the wilds they gained an excellent knoweledge of native plant and animal life and could usually be relied on so long as the pay was good.

By this point, everyone was ignoring or indifferent to Aleksii, and it was fairly clear that the waitress expected him to be unable to pay.
A sharp eyed person might have noticed the slightly deeper shadows around the door and corners of the room, and a sharp minded person might have made the conclusion that there were guards within those shadows.
Such a person, however, would quite probably have been wrong.

[KalAldur]

Congratulating himself in the back of his head, as he had become so prone to doing in the last few days, Aleksii watched the woman leave, chuckling to himself as he muttered something along the lines of 'Tramp' under his breath, reaching down to his belt to soothe his waitress's worries. Just because he looked like a slob did-he stopped the thought, frowning for a brief second before turning it upside down, trying to play the motion to his belt off as an itch as he leaned back in his chair, whistling again.

"Errr...I think i'd like to enjoy the atmosphere..." he offered, trying to form what he imagined was a wry grin. He glanced around the restaurant under the pretense of enjoying it's scenery, whilst he looked at the possible exits. Shadows were shadows, he told himself. He'd been paranoid as of late...people didn't sit in the darkness waiting to jump check ditcher's, it happened all the time...

His thumbs twiddled idly in his lap as he became less and less sure of his own reasoning, smiling dumbly. He wondered what would happen if he tried the sorcery he had been practicing on someone who tried to stop him, and considered it a bad idea for the most part. There were more of them than him, and he didn't exactly have the best command of the sacrificial energies he hoped to employ. Best to just wait...

[Ex-SoldierCloud]

Lasius walked, greeting back to those who acknowledged, mostly young girls, him on the way. He has only been in the town for about 5 months, but it seemed to him that he had explored just about every part of this town. However, each new day brought new discoveries...

He was heading towards the UCS Compound that he stumbled upon few days ago. He tried his luck at the World's End Tavern, but failed. The Seraphim did not like to do some... "underhanded" jobs that patrons offered at the Tavern. He was no soldier, but he probably could do some other odd jobs that they offered at the Compound. Lasius unconsciously fingered the necklace around his neck. It seemed like a habit that's unknown to him. Whether it was good or bad, well...

Lasius came up to the gates of the Compound, and let out a series of sneezes. His body still did not cope with the fumes that escaped from the Factory. It seemed that it didn't affect his body much, except for the occasional sneezes. After sneezing, he knocked on the gate twice, awaiting reply.

[Pheonix-IV]

A metal slat was pulled back and a pair of gray eyes peered through for a moment, eyebrows creased down in what could only be the result of a perminant frown. A cracked voice, echoes of suspicion creeped out through the hole, asking the newcomers name, race and buisness.
Lasius responded and with a grunt the slat was replaced with a sharp clang before the door ponderously opened. The compound inside was large and slighly run-down, the concrete prefab structures were dirty and marred, although still structurally sound. The guard, his raven black hair contrasting sharply with his gray eyes looked Lasius over carefully for weapons before motioning him in.
Across the compound was the large main building, the front doors open and light spilling through. Inside was the mess and recreation hall with the sleeping quarters off to the left. The guard post on the right contained the office of Lieutenant Tulaei and her subordinates. While reasonably well decorated, it was clear the office was that of a career officer, for apart from a few ribbons and a single picture of an attractive young man the concrete walls were bare. The desk was a simple affair of an unidentified wood and was covered in at least six inches of paper, with pens. books and other paraphenalia scattered across the top.
Lasius did not really take note of this however, for his gaze was locked on that of Lieutenant Tulaei's, her deep purple eyes glaring slightly as she looked up, the corner of her mouth in a slight frown. It was clear that she did not really want to be disturbed, but also it was clear to anyone with eyes that the compound was sorely undermanned, and she needed all the help she could get.
"If you're here for a job, there's a couple on the board over there." Indicating a large cork board on the left wall by the door with a number of papers pinned to it, she returned to her paperwork.

Lasius sauntered over to the board and looked at the notices that had been pinned upon it, cheifly among these was three large notices, one stating fairly good pay for some recon work to the north-east, there had been some reports of a new Demon Rift up there and the UCS wanted to confirm these and take appropriate action ASAP.
Another stated average pay for another recon mission, this time determining what was attacking outlying homes and making off with food and goods. Nothing much was known about these thieves, no confirmed sightings had been made.
The last stated poor pay to act as a liason to Princess Starleaf in Moonbough, the Tarien princess had requested aid in dealing with a local problem and had promised rewards for anyone who could help, the notice was unclear as to exactly what the problem was or what the reward would be.
"If you're interested in any of those, take it and ask Captain Parker up at the mess, otherwise get out. I have work to do."
Lieutenant Tulaei hadn't even looked up as she called over her stack of paperwork.

[Ex-SoldierCloud]

Lasius pondered on the three notices. He finally decided and picked the average pay notice. He took it up, and prepared to leave the office. He shot a glance back, to the Lieutenant who was working on her paperwork without even looking up at Lasius. The Seraphim had a hint of pity in his eyes, as well as admiration for her dedication for her work. He turned a second later, heading out of the office door and towards the large building with light spilling through. Before entering the building, he tried to control his hair and his face, thinking back on his first encounter with the UCS authorities. It was clear that he did not want any trouble before he even got the job. After combing his hair with his hands, he entered the door.

[Pheonix-IV]

And was nearly bowled back by the force of male personality inside.
Lasius had clearly walked into the mess hall during one of the recreation hours, because it was full of soldiers, the majority male. Some stood by the pool table in the corner, others played cards, gambling was frowned upon inside the UCS Compounds but in light of the unique stresses put on soldiers in Baseline, small stakes gambling was allowed in certain circumstances.
Most of the soldiers were lined up on the benches however, talking, eating or talking and eating at the same time. As Lasius walked in a large barrel chested man with a brown crew-cut and a well worn but clean uniform had stood up and moved over to stand in front of him, eyeballing the Seraphim. Although not particulary impressed by what he saw, the man clearly didn'nt find much to dissapoint him either, and after raising an eyebrow slightly he greeted Lasius in a rough voice before looking at the notice.
'Arhm Captain Parker, and i see you've got the rat run. Brief rundown is this, i'll only say it once so listen up. Something has been raiding some of the outlying homesteads around World's End and Hope, no sightings but we've got some tracks that look like large rat feet. We're guessing some kind of Kobold, although we havn't actually run into any ratmen yet they are mentioned in a few mythologies, so odds are something like them lives somewhere in this godforsaken world.'
'The best lead we have is a farm a few kay to the east, it was raided a few nights ago and the tracks should be pretty fresh. Normally i'd send soldiers to deal with this, but we don't have the manpower to go on a wild goose chase.'
'You'll have this red signal flare, if you get a solid lead on whatever is doing this, fire it up and i'll send a squad to investigate. Don't fire it unless you've got something good though, otherwise you won't get paid.'
'The farm belongs to Alexander Dawson, it's a bit battered but in pretty good shape, he's been farming those six legged sheep things with reasonable success as well as some of the native grains. Nothing spectactular, but he lost all his foodstuffs and he's a bit pissed about it. As i said it's out to the east, just follow the road through the fields, it's the only major structure out there so you shouldn't be able to miss it.'
'What're yeh waiting for? Get to it man!'

-----

Across down in the Lei of Lillies, the waitress smiled slightly at Aleksii's motions. Agatha's girls were all good at reading people, it was one of the first and most important skills anyone in their line of work picked up, and she didn't need to see any more to know the man didn't have the money to be here.
By this point, Aleksii was being pretty much ignored by the rest of the clientele, and the waitress saw no problems with doing the same.

[Ex-SoldierCloud]

Lasius grabbed the red signal flare. He studied it carefully, noticing how it works and how it should be carried. He then put the flare in one of the front pouches around his hip. He gave a simple nod to the captain, and swept the building with his eyes once again. His mind judged every last men in the building, including the captain himself, and sized them up. Lasius then left the building, and proceeded to leave the Compound itself. Following the road to the east-parts of the town, he passed many houses, small and large. As he was walking, his mind was filled with possible 'unwanted' situations that could pop-up during his 'job.' Worst of them would probably be that these ratmen actually existed. Lasius quickly shook his head to clear of those thoughts and continued to walk. Once the Seraphim came to the out-skirts of the town, he looked back at the town once, and turned to head towards the first large building he could see -- which was a barn.

[KalAldur]

Frowning, Aleksii furrowed his brow, eying the waitress coldly before standing up. They were sharp, no doubt. He'll get the last laugh though, something witty, to foreshadow their inevitable death. Yes, ha. He laughed to himself in his head, and something at the back of his mind told him he was only a little off.

"This isn't err...the end..." He stopped, frowning. He had never been good at insulting people. That had been more -her- cup of tea. She always won arguments concerning playful name calling. Interesting thinking about her so much, he pointed out to himself, turning to leave, muttering under his breath. He shuffled towards the door awkwardly, feeling almost embarrassed at his revealed poverty. Stupid whore couldn't just give him his meal.

Glancing over his shoulder, he looked towards either corner of the room closest to him, before darting outside. He would have to come back. To kill them of course, possibly. Who knows. Maybe he'd just buy a meal. Or see if he left some shred of his sanity in the back alley, here he was talking to himself...not a good sign, he figured.

[Pheonix-IV]

The farm was of a fairly atypical design, a central house surrounded by two barns a few hundred meters to each side. Around one barn a series of fields stretched off for a kilometer or so, around the other a herd of a few dozen cattle grazed peacefully, although similar to cows, these were ovbiously unlike any seen on Earth, the most ovbious difference being the shaggy grey hide and six legs, but the equine face and clawed feet gave it away too.
The buildings showed many signs of neglect, it was dusty and weatherworn, several vines had made a spirited effort to conquer the walls, and the barn in the fields was almost overgrown with the fast-moving orange grass-like crops. To the inexperienced eye it appeared the place had been abandoned for some time, but to those who knew the virulent Baseline flora, the farm had only been neglected for a week at most.
The central farm was again a fairly usual design, with a large common room\kitchen, complete with fireplace and table, taking up the ground floor and a bedroom perched precariously on the first. Most of the lives of the occupants would be lived on the ground floor or out in the fields, with the hired help sleeping in the barns.

Perhaps the most telling sign of all however was the arm sprawling limply out the front door and the slightest suggestion of gleaming red eyes, hastily retreating into the shadows inside.
All was not well, not well indeed.

[Zomby]

Most of the officials had headed back to their various homes for the night, choosing to report to the UCS base in the morning and the kid who had been thrashed by a rogue Sleeth had been delivered to doctors who could help him more then Tomáš and his knowledge of medicinal plants could.

Now the Jungle Rat was alone again, as he liked it, but no longer in the wilds but rather the city of World's End. Another job was done and another paycheck was ready to be picked up. Then of course, would come the time for celebration probably in the form of liquor, smoke, and a woman on a featherbed. But before any of those niceties could be sought, cash needed to be picked up at the UCS base and it was this direction that Tomáš went, under the waxing half moon of Baseline.

The streets were not as lively as they were in the day and were near dead with the exception of the constant noise in the bars and the occasionally mumblings of thugs and thieves in the alleys. Tomáš continued this way passing the World Jumper which had fallen silent for the time being and eventually coming upon the gates of the military compound.