The classic MuseBlog saga, born again for a new decade.
The Rules:
1. New posts advance the action.
2. Questions and comments are posted as replies in ((double parentheses)).
3. That’s about it, really.
Some planning has already taken place here.
Up, up, and away…
((YESSS
What’s going to be the basic storyline? I’d like to have a variation of my TNG character, but I need to see if it would fit in the plot at all.))
((YAAAY thanks GAPAs!
Well, the original story was that HPBs, led by their king William, have taken over the world and bunnified nearly all humans. There are several kinds of bunny soldiers including helibunnies (flying), aquabunnies (water), and black bunnies (more intelligent and spies). The surviving human group (mostly teenagers) is called the Resistance, and we have several bases including one in the Marinaras Trench. We also have planes, submarines, and weapons such as BunBlasters and lightsabers. And that’s pretty much all I know …
I hope my character can be less useless and Mary Sue-ish this time around.))
William? Like my (crazy) little brother?
((Sweet! I think Roxxy would fit right in here, being an impulsive reckless cake.
That is, if I’m able to join and not kill this RP.
I don’t have any plot ideas to contribute, but maybe I’ll think of something later.))
((Ooh ooh ooh! I’d like to join this! Thing is, can I keep up with this AND FKD simultaneously? I’m not good at joining RPGs and playing for longer than 3 posts even when only one is in the picture.))
((If we do this, can we have the RPing work the way it did in the original BA — people RP themselves (Mary Sue versions seemed to work okay, as long as it’s fighting-ability and not sentimental Sueishness), with background mooks optional but not overly used? I think much of what makes (made?) BA:TNG too overwhelming was the tsunami of OCs that the plot got swamped with very quickly. It’s simpler if people only have to keep track of blognames, and (hopefully) much harder to forget who the characters belong to.
People who want to do this, you should go read at least read the first thread or so of the original RP, to get into the spirit! :idea:))
((…And oh. On a different but related topic: Groundhog and I finished the first draft of BA: The Edit quite a while ago. Is anyone interested in reading it?))
(No Mary Sues. I’d like naming to be like…here’s an example: Rosebud2 can name her character Rosebud, Rose, or Bud, but not anything involving that 2.
I’m a dork and are keeping my character the same as the previous BA.)
(ALSO!
…yes, I would like to read that very much.)
((I don’t have anything to add, but here’s a picture of my character, Avalon.
AND NOW I’LL FINALLY GO TO BED and I’ll be back in the morning to plan!))
((Can I join this with a new character or with Armada’s idea? I like ens idea.
Armada- I’m interested in reading it!))
((I’ll join as me, I like that idea. If that’s okay, of course.))
(( Joining! ))
((I am going to join this!! As myself, I guess. Because I guess the name Agent Lightning would make sense… I like your picture, TOL!))
I like Armada’s idea as well. So … my character’s name will be Rainbow, and she looks like my avatar.
((Alright, I like Armada’s idea as well. But Roxxy can be a background character.))
I’d like to join as me, except perhaps exagerating my capoeira skills a teeny bit so I can make it through whatever skirmishes there are somewhat in one piece.
((Well then – I guess if this is starting up, I need to finish off BA:TNG. Shouldn’t be a problem, since I’m about the only person posting there.
I’m definitely interested in reading the edited version. Come to think of it, I believe I read some of it off Groundhog’s computer already! Shalt have to go back and read some more!
Armada, i also seem to recall that asterisks were used a lot in the original BA, as in *ran down hall* *shoots bunnies*. Are will still using that? ))
((Sugar! SFTDP, but at what point in the story are we starting from? Are we just starting from the beginning and having a new fight against William or are we starting after his death but not creating a new generation?))
((The general idea I got was that we would do a complete do-over; completely different characters and possibly a completely different plot. So basically it would be a whole new RPG except the same basic idea of a bunny apocalypse. Of course, I could be completely off with this… but I think it would be easiest to just start all over again; that way it would be easier to join.))
(I’d like to have a literate RPG: no more asterisks, please, we’re literate people.
We’re starting from the beginning and retelling the story: basically, what would have happened if different characters were involved.)
((It depends on who you are. If you are IBCF, yes, because you are just awesome like that. if not, stick to narrative-style RPing, I think. But do what works, above all else. In the original BA, there was a lot of room for people’s different RPing styles, and in some cases that wasn’t really a bonus, but in some cases it made everything a lot more interesting.))
I have a question: do I have to be human? Or can I be some sort of cat with a translator and special cat-outfitted gadgets?
(I know I’m not the runner of this RPG or anything, but I’m saying keep it human. It just makes everything easier for everyone else.)
((Human is good.))
((Human, I think. BA got superconfusing when people started turning into aliens and vampires and things. *coughcoughguiltycough*
I mean, unless you want to be a nicegoodius bunny. Or a non-NG bunny in disguise.))
((Mm. Okay, human. Other feasible cat-like attributes, maybe?))
(Like what?)
((Slightly enhanced night vision, cat-like reflexes, etc. Things that can be achieved through training. Would that be okay?))
i am not human i am fine with it! i am a cat with wings and my assistant is from a different planet thankyouverymuch!!!
((YES. Love is overflowing for this thread.
Since the character Aggie was named after my blogname, I’ll keep the name the same. Everything simple.
I can’t wait to get this rolling!))
So how should we start the first scene? In the middle of a fight? Or we’re training at the base when bunnies suddenly attack?
I like the second one.
(Training, I think.)
((I’ve always desired to join the Bunny Apocalypse RPG~ Would everyone be willing to let me join? It would give me a reason to come back to the blog more often. I suppose my character’s name would be Phish.))
(Sounds great, Fishy!)
((16-I like the training idea most, because it can turn into an epic fight scene.
17- I think this is supposed to be the opportunity for all of us BA noobs to join.
I’ll start off with a profile:
Name: Meg Bilrook (an anagram of bookgirl_me)
Age: 17
Description: a hair under 5’7″, lean, long brown wavy hair which goes frizzy when left unattended, green eyes, dark eyebrows and a tendency to look rather serious
Skills: Speaks several languages, has a basic grasp of capoeira, could probably hit the broadside of a barn with a dartgun (given a little training) but athletic and strong so there’s hope.
Weaknesses: is a little naive and too willing to give the bunnies the benefit of the doubt, zero combat experience in the field, bad with animals (which, in this case, might be a plus) and prone to acting very crazy when rattled, which is going to be often in the beginning.))
Name: Rainbow (can we just say people have weird names in the future, or we renamed ourselves after the apocalypse, or something?)
Age: 14-15ish
Description: *points at avatar* Average height and skinny, with messy blond hair and glasses.
Skills: A pretty good pilot and has decent aim with a BunBlaster.
Weaknesses: Not very strong/coordinated physically, so completely useless with lightsabers. A quiet, unassertive type not willing to take risks.
((Yay, profiles!
Name: Aggie
Age: 18
Description: Tall, medium build, auburn hair and blue eyes and nearly always sporting a mischievous attitude. She’s rather fond of black jumpsuits.
Skills: Master at handling a lightsaber. She can shoot a blaster okay, but probably shouldn’t use it often.
Weaknesses: She has a very short attention span, and can really only focus on one thing at a time, which makes her essentially useless in battles with multiple opponents at a time.))
Name: Kittymine, Kitty for short
).
Age: 18
Description: 5″5; medium build, relatively strong; long curly dirty blond hair; brown eyes; tan; dusting of freckles on face; wears glasses. Is often wearing jeans and long sleeved tee shirts, and always carries a backpack around with her.
Personality: Friendly, a worrywart when in comes to the future, organized, grammar nut, likes to help in whatever way possible, creative, loves cats.
Skills: Can write, perform CPR, and shoot a blaster (not all at the same time
Weaknesses: Has a tendency to take on more than her share of work, somewhat vulnerable to bunny hypnosis, mild fear of heights.
((SFTDP – forget the somewhat – IS vulnerable to bunny hypnosis))
((Name: Agent Lightning
Age: 13- ish
Description: Tall-ish (around five foot seven, I guess) Slender-ish and with short, straight blonde hair; has freckles and a big nose. Has big feet and hazel eyes. Picture to follow if I ever get better at Paint.
Skills: Is pretty good with a lightsaber. Is a decent pilot. Good-ish at strategy and stuff.
Weaknesses: Awkward; always getting her tongue tied and saying the wrong thing. While she’s excellent at planning, she often gets mixed up in the course of action and doesn’t like to go into battle. Although she inevitably ends up doing so anyway. Could not hit the broadside of a barn with a bunny blaster, even if said barn is the size of Betelgeuse and five feet away. Paints the word “Gullible” on ceilings so that people can’t trick her.
By the way, I was reading BA part 1 last night and wow, that was different from conventional RPGs today. It’s going to be really hard to replicate. Everyone should read it, I think. Although we WILL use (()) this time around.))
((So, when can we start RPing?))
((On the original BA part 1, there was RPing within the first ten comments or so. We tend to plan things out more nowadays.))
((Well, we only have 5 characters so far, but if we keep plannning for too long the thread might die, so …?))
((I’m guessing people will jump in. So, I’ll ignore all advice to the contrary and get going. Weird. In a way, it’s been ages since I last did this and it a way it hasn’t. When I stopped RPing on BA:TNG it was …2009 O.O ))
Trying to retreat, my right leg somehow knocked into my left and sent me off balance. I wobbled, then fell to the ground again, slapping it hard like I’d learned from capoeira but unable to roll for fear of impaling myself with my practice lightsaber (again). That cursed lightsaber! I’d always dreamed of using one, but trying to unlearn capoeira wasn’t easy. I staggered back to my feet. I’d just ask someone for more help.
The practice range was fairly empty, maybe a dozen or half-dozen people in all. On the far right, at the shooting range, two blond girls were doing some serious damage to the targets. Somehow, everyone had an ace up their sleeves. Guess what I had up my sleeve: a bruise! And guess what I had up my other sleeve? More bruises! Hooray for me.
There was just a slight rumbling and then an enormous BOOM! and chunks of cement and shrapnel from the pipes which had ran right underneath the low ceiling, and the dust spreading everywhere. After some shock-numbed seconds, I realized that the far wall had suddenly exploded. There was some screaming, then coughing. I was down, again: some of the cement had grazed my hip. But this time I’d dropped my lightsaber and instinctively rolled, letting the force from the flying chunk of wall flip me over onto my belly. My eyes watered, blurring the scene in front of me into the gray of the walls, punctured by a flood of pink in the opening, with one black dot in the middle. Some part of my brain sluggishly wondered why they weren’t attacking yet, until I realized that the black dot had cleared its throat and was beginning to speak…
“Attention, Resistance members,” said the black bunny in a scratchy voice, leveling what appeared to be a huge laser weapon at us. Behind him, the pink bunnies shifted and clawed at the floor.
I crouched under a half-splintered table with several other Resistance members, taking careful aim with my BunBlaster. This was the fourth hideout the bunnies had discovered, but we still had the one at the Marinaras Trench … and how many more? If the bunnies hadn’t sealed the exit yet, we could get to the Arwings and get out …
“This is your last chance to be spared,” continued the black bunny. “Surrender now, and live safely as servants; or try to escape and be slaughtered. Orders of William himself.”
I glanced at the others under the table, waiting for a signal.
(@LBK: if it can be achieved through training, then yes.
PROFILE
Name: Avalon
Age: 14.
Description: About 5’4, purple eyes, red hair, ponytail. Teal shirt with gray long-sleeved shirt underneath…you know what? Cake it. Look up at that picture,
Skills: SHOOT THINGS WITH A BLASTER UNTIL THEY DIE oh also gymnastics!
Weaknesses: Never thinks things through, easily brainwashed, stubborn.)
((I’m just gonna slip in here…Not a bad description, I hope?))
Name: Hmm. I never realized how difficult it was to make a name based off my blogname if I don’t want to be called Fanny. Or Fanta. Or FF. Double-F. F-squared. Effeff. Effie? Fi? Ysatnaf? …I’ll leave this for later. Fanny (NO jokes) will do for now
Age: 18
Description: 5’6”. Slightly thin. Vampire-pale skin, hazel eyes. Sometimes wears glasses. Usually can’t see the hair because it’s under a scarf, but some strands will undoubtedly slip out. Cargo pants, combat boots, long shirt with a utility belt.
Skills: Pretty good hand-eye coordination and good aim. Better at speed than strength, though it can only be kept up for short periods of time. She can still deliver a pretty good kick, though that has to do with random martial arts training she’s received over the years.
Weaknesses: Poor upper-arm strength, really bad stamina–something that needs to be worked on. A tendency to panic in stressful situations and either freeze or pull a Leeroy Jenkins. Or take her bad temper out on her teammates.
Personality: Usually reserved and thoughtful, but will talk about random subjects forever if you ask her first. Friendly in an absentminded way. But when she’s upset, watch out. (See above) The type of person who always carries a compass with her, along with other assorted useful odd and ends. Typically skips out on training, which explains the bad physical condition.
((Let’s see if I can keep this up – it’s been forever since I’ve had a good RP.
Name: Sans
Age: 18
Description: 5’8″, very slender, with long limbs. Dark brown hair in a simple pixie cut. Only piece of jewelry is a cartilage-lobe earring, just a simple chain. Heart-shaped face but a strong contrasting nose.
Skills: Acts as the medic for the group, though her knowledge is limited to the instructions on the medkit and some boy scout training her zombie-fied brother had taught her as children. Basic physical training. Has an interest in technology.
Weaknesses: A constant need to do something. Many people have come back from the bathroom to find their BunBlaster dismantled in her boredom. Weak in strength and stamina.))
I could still hear my scream echoing my ears. How utterly embarrassing. God, you’d think after four times I’d be used to the bunnies breaking in. But when that wall exploded, I was sure that this time, we would all die. It was almost inevitable. Whether by physical death or zombification.
But we’re not dead yet. My medkit. I need my medkit. I could see Meg a distance away, hip bleeding, dazed by the blast. After the second attack, I’d started always keeping my kit handy. It was a few feet away, under some light shrapnel. I lunged for it, sweeping off the dust and debris, and immediately started crawling to Meg.
Don’t look at the bunnies, Sans, don’t look. Looking would only make me seize up with fear. They’re voices were only background noise. Get to Meg.
“Wotcher,” I whispered to her, sneaking up to her side. She looked around wildly, hand scrambling on the ground for her lightsaber before realizing it was me. She groaned, “I hate the color pink.” Her hip wasn’t bad, only a scrape. I sprayed some sealant on it – cleaning it would have to wait. “Mouth open,” I commanded. She complied and I immediately set a little pill on her tongue. It wouldn’t take away any pain, but it would help clear up her head some. A few seconds later, she shook her head, wincing a bit at her neck. “Alright there?” I asked, already on the lookout for other wounded.
((off to you, bookgirl!))
((Sweet! Here’s my character:
Name: ??? Is called: LBK
Age: 13
Description: Just under 5′ tall, skinny with spaghetti noodles for arms and legs. Dirty blonde (brown in winter) hair cut at chin level. Slightly tan, but not extremely tan. Always wears black-rimmed glasses. Usually wears some funny t-shirt with loose jeans and red converse.
Skills: Could hit the narrow side of a barn with a knife, very stealthy, slightly enhanced night vision from training in the dark, quick reflexes, good with technology, fast runner
Weaknesses: Bright light hurts her eyes, could not fire a gun to save her life, does not like to rely on others for help, impulsive and a bit naive, not very strong.
I’m going to wait for someone else to post so I can get a grip on what’s going on.))
‘So this is what they felt like in Salt lake,’ I thought to myself as a horde of HPBs, including a black one and a few helibunnies, poured into the hole they had made in the wall. I was bruised from the explosion, but nothing worse. Unless you count over 100 bunnies just dying to bunnify us. I realized the the black bunny was talking.
“Attention, Resistance members. This is your last chance to be spared. Surrender now, and live safely as servants, or try to escape and be slaughtered. Orders of William himself.”
‘Surrender? No thank you! I did not escape two other break ins just to be taken now!’ I thought defiantly. I crawled along the wall where I was, searching for the emergency switch that I knew Groundhog had put there. Let’s just hope the speakers weren’t damaged in the explosion…there it is! I put my hand against the plastic box. It’s thermal sensor read my head signature and opened, revealing a large button with a Play symbol on it. I pressed it.
The Blue Danube Waltz blasted from hidden speakers around the room. The horde of bunnies began to shriek in agony as the music pierced their ears.
“Time to go!” I called to the others. I grabbed my blaster and ran bent double toward the unsecured exit.
((hehe – oops. That should be “hand’s signature” not head
))
I was bruised and shaken, but otherwise unharmed. I had been practicing sneaking around, so I was in the far corner of the room when the explosion hit. A piece of wall flew and hit me on the cheek. I would have a nasty lump there, but it was nothing.
The black bunny said something about surrendering and being spared. “Hm,” I muttered sarcastically. “Surrender and be used for experiments or resist…that’s a tough choice.” Kitty managed to put on a waltz, and the bunnies started falling over, shrieking. The black bunny called over the shrieks desperately, but his words were lost.
Kitty ran for the exit, and I followed her. “Oh, fantastic,” I said, panting slightly. “I hope everyone will be able to escape. I saw Sans tending to Meg, I hope Meg can walk alright.”
“Peachy.” I told Sans. It came out a little too quiet, so I cleared my throat and repeated it, then started to thank her for patching me up when I realized that she was already gone, bent over a prone figure with her medkit at her side.
Suddenly, an earsplitting waltz filled the air. An exit opened up and I saw Kitty, LBK and a few others I didn’t recognize just now. Discovering my newfound love for waltzes, I managed to run towards the exit. My hip still hurt, but a combination of whatever San had given me (I decided to firmly believe it was painkiller and rely on the placebo effect if it wasn’t) and adrenaline allowed me to lope towards the exit. I wasn’t going to win any points for gracefulness, but I was moving, fast, and repressing the part of my brain that said braking would be difficult because my right leg wasn’t really listening to my commands.
I caught up to LBK- actually, she and Kitty slowed down to see if everyone was getting out. “Where …we go… retreat? Arwings?” I panted.
I hadn’t been training when the attack started. I’d been in a corner of the boiler room making a bracelet out of survival rope and paperclips. I was regretting that now as I ran from the other side of the base trying to reach my comrades in time. I stopped for a moment, cursing my laziness mentally. I didn’t have the breath to do it out loud.
Then I turned into a side hallway, and ran some more. And more. And more. Several hallways later, I came to the hall that led to the exit–Oh no. No no no no no. It was blocked, by a pile of rubble. I thought for a moment. There was no way I could get through this way…but around? I scrambled up the pile towards a small gap in the ceiling. Slid back. Climbed up again.
Then I realized I couldn’t fit through the hole. Well, I could, but my backpack couldn’t. And it was important, the first things I grabbed when the bunnies attacked. I kept everything you might need to survive in there. I could live off of what was in there for weeks alone. Had done so before. Undoubtedly we would have to do so again.
The solution was relatively easy. I pushed the backpack out first, and then slide after it. In the distance, I could see Kitty and LBK. And a–was that a surviving bunny sneaking up on them? I took aim with my BunBlaster. BAM! I smiled in sweet satisfaction. No more bunny. I ran off to join the others.
((Ooo, yay! I am joining!
Character name: Groundhog
Age: 22
Physical Description: 5’6″, with short brown/red/blonde hair, pale skin, and green eyes. Average build, except for large shoulder muscles. Usually wears a lab coat over a t-shirt and jeans, unless she’s in the field, in which case she wears a bunnyproof suit.
Personality Description: Her mind tends to run at a million miles an hour, either jumping from one thing to another very quickly or staying on one track for ages. She is always trying to help others, sometimes too much, and will fiercely defend her family and friends if they are in danger. She is also fairly smart, but much of her knowledge consists of random facts from many different subjects.
Strengths: Inventing, lightsaber use(she’s a Force user), illusions, computers, swimming. Also has some medical experience.
Weaknesses: Running, explaining things clearly (she tends to get technical), being organized, often easily distracted.))
I stumbled out behind the others, pulling out my lightsaber as I went. I could hear the Blue Danube Waltz playing, which explained why the bunnies that were pouring through the hole in the wall were writhing in agony. “We should go to number 49!” I shouted over the din. Number 49 was our hideout in the BART system in San Francisco. Or, more accurately, the hideout was the BART system. The bunnies had sealed off the system’s subway tunnels, having no use for them, so we were able to move in quite easily. “Use the Arwings if you can get to them!” I hurried forward and began to fight the nearest black bunny, who was gritting its teeth against the pain that the music was causing him and slowly moving forwards. I dispatched several of the bunnies, and then pulled out a depigmentizer gun, shooting it behind me while I ran as quickly as I could to the Arwings, where everyone else was already heading, some carrying the wounded. The bunnies who were hit by the darts turned white and wrinkly, and fell over where they stood, creating a barrier that the still-upright bunnies crashed into. Hopefully that would buy us a little more time.
((Jeez, I go on vacation for like three days, and when I return, you people have started without me! The nerve!
Well, at least I didn’t do nothing while I was away. During the car ride, I sketched a picture of my character. When I got home, I inked and colored it in GIMP. It didn’t turn out very well, but, eh:
http://i.imgur.com/wD8q2.png
And then, here’s my character’s profile.
Name: Rose Budd
Age: 13-ish
Appearance: Quite short. Her hair is reddish brown and shoulder length with bangs, and is frequently in a rather messy ponytail. Eyes are hazel. Her skin is pale with a smattering of freckles.
Clothing: Prefers random T-shirts, jeans, and her black Converse All-Stars with the clear rhinestones glued onto them. She also wears glasses, but when on missions, she usually trades them for prescription goggles with various hi-tech filters, which she thinks are more suitable for a resistance fighter. She never bothers with makeup or jewelry.
Skills:
• Trained in taekwondo
• Excellent memory
• Good at stealth operations (though not so much as the catlike LBK)
Weaknesses:
• Nervous before and on missions
• Afraid to improvise and make decisions for herself, although not if anyone’s life is directly endangered.
• Awkward around people she doesn’t know very well
Personality: As can be gathered from the above, shy and reserved. If you do get her talking, she tends to be sarcastic and brutally honest, but not mean, per se.
))
Wha? How come the GAPAs preserved the link, instead of embedding the image?
“Okay,” I shouted over the Blue Danube waltz. “Where next?” I pulled out my lightsaber, on the lookout for stray bunnies.
Someone screamed. At the very last second, I whirled around, and a flash of pink flew out from behind a wall. With my bad reflexes, I barely had time to duck. Doom seemed imenent, but a swift karate chop from Rose made the bunny stagger. I finished it off with my lightsaber.
“Be more careful next time,” complained Rose. “You’ll die one day if you don’t pay more attention.”
“Sorry,” I apologized. “We should all be on high alert until we move into the new base.”
“Where’s that?” asked Sans. “The Mariana Trench, right?”
((I believe we are headed for the BART system in San Francisco – see post 35))
(( Oh, that’s right.
I tend to use this emoticon a lot on RPG’s, I’ve noticed.))
“Great, and just when I thought today was going to be boring!” I chirped as the bunnies rushed after us. Wave upon wave of pink bunny soldiers came down the halls as I ran after the others, trying to make a quick escape. I drew my lightsaber, using it as a sort of machete to cut through the bunnies heading at me. I watched as Groundhog shot down more in front of us with a depigmentizer gun, turning the little bipeds white and shriveled and rendering them useless.
I leaped over a group of already downed helibunnies, making my way to the nearest Arwing. The Blue Danube Waltz played as a soundtrack to the chaos occurring all around us. “A classic,” I muttered, scaling the ladder of an Arwing and popping through the top hatch into the cockpit.
I stumbled inside the Arwing hangar and slammed the door, gasping for breath and clutching my BunBlaster. I decided after a moment not to lock it in case of any trapped Resistance members, counting on the bunnies’ difficulty with door handles.
All around the hangar, people were boarding the Arwings, loading the wounded into the bigger ones. I climbed into one and forced the radio helmet onto my head. Through the windshield I could see the hangar doors splintering, and hoped that everyone was out.
The other Arwings started to rise into the air with a deafening rumble, and I followed. We blasted into the sky just as the first wave of bunnies poured onto the runway below.
I scrambled into the last remaining Arwing, cursing my slow legs. I set the autopilot to take me to the outskirts of San Francisco, where the secret entrance to the hideout was, and then sat back to catch my breath. “Do we have everyone?” I panted into the radio.
I threw myself into one of the arwings, right behind the rest of the group, losing more time as I flinched because I’d banged my hip on the way in. When I put my hand there it felt sticky and I realized I’d somehow ripped the sealant. Wonderful. It caking hurt too. But flight training had paid off. This was something I could do, and do well. I flipped the starting sequence, jammed my helmet on my head and turned the radio on just in time to hear Groundhog ask if we had everyone. I checked my Arwing’s number and sounded off, setting the autopilot to San Francisco but keeping the manual override on in case of trouble. Somehow, I didn’t think it would be this easy.
“Aggie.”
“Meg.”
“Kitty.”
“Rainbow,” I said into the helmet radio, relieved that everyone seemed to be safe as more people reported in. We were all on autopilot, moving on a charted course toward the San Fransisco base. I was exhausted, bruised, and covered in scratches; but it was almost peaceful flying above the fluffy white clouds, with the blue sky above us and no attack bunnies in sight, on the way to a hopefully safer new base.
I should have known the tranquility wouldn’t last long.
I jumped in one of the last Arwings left, a smallish one. That was okay: I was a smallish person. “LBK,” I said into the radio helmet. I pressed a few buttons and the autopilot took over, steering towards San Francisco. The others were flying ahead of me slightly.
I was almost asleep when something started beeping. Snorting, I shook myself awake and looked around. The beeping was constant, and getting slightly faster with each second. Finally, my eyes landed on the radar. “Uh…guys?” I said nervously into the radio helmet. “We’re being followed. Two or three big…things are behind us and closing in fast. Over.”
It hadn’t taken me long to get into one of the Arwings, thankfully, and now we were flying away from our discovered base. I checked in and set the autopilot. It really was nice to just fly through a bunny-free sky.
Then a squadron of Helibunnies showed up and worse, they had a few Dragonbunnies with them too.
“Helibunnies? Oh, CAKE.” I groaned from inside of an Arwing. I switched on my microphone. “Helibunnies and Dragonbunnies. We’ll need to detour away from the new base until we can shake them off. Blasters ready?”
((Okay, just so don’t end up embarrassing myself, could I please get a quick rundown on the different types of bunny species?
Also, where are blasters located on Arwings?))
((Just got finished with band camp, so here I am.
Zinc… Rovaviemi. (that’ll do for now.)
17-20
5’7.5″
Will post new art later (check visual arts, ties into my other thing), but for now: my gravatar, just better. Green eyes. Slender, has a defitite waist but smallish hips. Big feet.
Good runner, doesn’t stress much in battle situations, light and graceful in her movements. Better at guns and swords than hand-to-hand combat, but proficient at both. Doesn’t complain much over injuries, unless it’s just purposeful joke-whining. Generally sounds bored when talking, but speaks mostly optimistically.
Has a tendency to either get too or distressingly little attached to others. Can’t catch things. Doesn’t like to draw much attention to her own (serious) problems, would rather have others taken care of her. Doesn’t put her own needs first, can forget things such as sleep or food easily. Doesn’t like to talk about herself. Can’t trust easy. Switches from a heavy romantic to a cynic. A bit lazy at times.
Hm… I’ll insert myself somewhere else.))
Over the years, the BART system had gotten a little dilapidated before we came in again and fixed it up, adding walls and floors and ceilings, technology and living space. It was a nice little base, and, as we had to learn to be discreet below a taken city, was unlikely to be discovered.
Because of the location, we had expanded the tunnels to reach below the ocean to come up a ways away at a little island ships (water and air) could dock at. It wouldn’t do to have Arwings and Impalas landing in the middle of San Francisco, after all. We had gotten vaguely subway-like pods to travel quickly from the island to the main base in case of mortal wounds or heavy supplies.
All in all, the island enabled us to be a stopover from Pacific, Asiatic, and North American bases. It was secure enough that in the unfortunate trend of base losses lately that we felt somewhat safe, but had some danger involved that we could pack up and leave quickly.
I had gotten transferred here a few months back from Boseman, after someone had decided SF was a better fit for me than Montana. Well, good riddance. Wide open spaces made me nervous… they were empty. Snow worsened it. Cities had always fit me better.
Although I was currently underneath one. Hm.
It was bit slow today, I noted lazily as I spun my swivel chair around with my foot, pushing off from the desk and twirling around the room. No one was there to glare at me, all off busy training or sleeping or eating. The computers were all to little ol me to monitor.
I balanced my head with my hands, crossing them over behind my shoulders and staring up at the ceiling as my spinning slowed.
Life was too routine nowadays, which was difficult to find good or bad. Everything was mediocre, or neutral- good, bunnies hadn’t won; bad, there was no gain on our part in the ongoing conflict. It had been this way for the last… five years, at least; was the loss of so many bases the beginning of the end?
BIP BIP BIP. BIP BIP BIP.
My head snapped up as I turned myself toward the sound; a computer was going off. It was the one for security…
I furrowed my brow, pushing myself swiftly over to the reacting computer. A dozen or so ships headed our way, taking the south bend… ours.
That was good. Not bunnies. Bad in the way that that was the sign of an evacuation from somewhere else… and another computer started freaking out, telling me that Las Vegas had just been lost. I let out a sigh in exasperation (the good and bad pull again, tugging on your gut until you started pessimism again) and swung over to the intercom. I pressed the button and spoke.
“Attention, attention. Flagstaff has been lost; prepare for refugees. Taking the south route. Prepare…” I trailed off as the security computer alerted me again, showing bright pink dots speeding behind the fleeing Resistance ships. “…and there will be a slight delay before anyone arrives, as our dear friends are being chased. Prepare medicals, port, battle stations as those leaders see fit, and all other neccessaries. That is all.”
I switched it off and stood, stretching. There was bustle from the surrounding caverns.
Time to get dancing.
((I don’t know anything about SF ;_; please don’t kill me if I did anything wrong))
(I’m gonna flip her age up to sixteen.)
“GUYS,” I managed to scream out at everyone else through the comm, trailing the others in a smallish Arwing, “WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN EVERY MONTH? Someone better contact the BART people, they need to get ready!” I am so tired of evacuating – wait, no, that’s a lie. I’m just tired of running. I’m not tired of the fights at all, although I keep that to myself.
“…everyone brought their weapons, right? Please tell me everyone brought their personal weapons.” It’s happened before, and it’s never pretty. I was in medbay intensive care for three weeks last time someone left their lightsaber and I went back to go get it…ugh, that one wasn’t fair at all, the bunnies were waiting.
((I’m going to assume dragonbunnies are fire-breathing helibunnies …
Also, maybe the island Zinc mentioned is Alcatraz? It’s in the San Fransisco Bay, it wouldn’t be used as a prison anymore since the bunnies can build better ones, and it would be secure.))
The Arwing fleet fell apart as our planes spiraled off in all directions, trying to shake off the bunnies. Laser fire ripped through the air, mixed with the screeches and roars of the bunnies. One dropped in front of my windshield, ears whirring and blank white eyes staring at me through the glass; and I was forced to do a barrel roll to shake it off.
It was chaos. White clouds and green laser blasts and pink bunnies spun past the windows, and I was reduced to firing randomly at anything pink as everyone shouted into their helmet radios.
((I suppose… But is it far enough away so you can’t see anything?
From what I remember, helibunnies gyro their ears (see the Bunny Invasion flashes from IBCF) and dragonbunnies have wings, breathe fire, and have poison spit? There was a subplot with a few characters about it, I think, in part 2 or 3 of TOS. Either that or bunnification. It’s 5 AM; I really can’t be bothered right now.))
“Got ’em Avalon, quit freaking out,” I said over the intercom. Bunnies and pieces of them were flying everywhere. I nearly avoided a jet of flame from a Dragonbunny. “You’re dead meat you worthless pink parasite!” I yelled, shooting at the Dragonbunny’s face. It roared and gave chase.
I led it out of the fray, and it knocked out a few Helibunnies with its wings. “Guys, one of teh Dragonbunnies is too focused on me to care about anything else,” I said, dodging a jet of purple liquid. “Someone come over and finish it off, please, before it gets a lucky hit!”
My fingers tightly clenched the controls, as I fired incessantly at the bunnies, my Arwing adding more green blasts to the haze of battle. A bunny narrowly missed killing me; another pilot had blasted it for me. I blasted another bunny. The air became thick with smoke, lit only by the bolts of energy from our lasers. “The island seems to be about a quarter mile away,” I shouted into my helmet radio, not knowing if anyone could hear me as I took down another two of the Helibunnies, narrowly missing a spurt of fire from a Dragonbunny. “Will we be able to get to it in-”
I was cut off by a spurt of flame that singed my Arwing. “Cake!” I cursed, simultaneously checking for damages and taking out another bunny- through the haze of smoke, I couldn’t see which type it was. Something sped by, but I was unable to discern whether it was bunny or human. A second later, an Arwing plummeted through the air, spewing smoke. I cringed, while at the same time shooting at a cluster of pink to my left. My own craft, however, had sustained no damages. That was a close one, I thought as I sped into a cloud of even darker smoke, hopefully in the direction of the island. How are we going to kill all these bunnies? At that moment, a Helibunny hovered over to my window, its ears spinning wildly. “Get away!” I muttered furiously, and fired at it. It dissolved in the furious glare of the green laser. Next, however, I was horrified to find a Dragonbunny on my windshield. Again, I reared up and fired. It was killed, but not before another bunny was to my right-
and another, and another, and another. I was, in fact, inside a swarm of bunnies, a sickly, evil sea of pink. I panicked and attmepted to pull out of the swarm, but was immediately engulfed in a cloud of flame. The control panel beeped furiously at me. My Arwing began to fall. “NO!” I yelled, banging the dashboard with my fist. Frantically, I tried to make the engines work again; a few flames from the Dragonbunnies had taken care of that.
“HELP HELP HELP MY BUNNIES I MEAN MY ARWING BUNNIES HELP BUNNIES AAAAAAHHHHH” I swallowed my panic and forced myself to think rationally.
As the wrecked aircraft gained speed, bunnies began to detach themselves. Quite a few, however, sped down with me; the swarm of bunnies was going to engulf me until I died, I saw.
Here I faced an interesting dilemma: I could go down with the injured Arwing and quite possibly die. Or I could eject myself and parachute into the bay. Surrounded by a cloud of bunnies. I found my lightsaber next to me.
You know what? If I’m going to die, this is definetley the way to go.
A moment later, I was falling. The bunnies zoomed furiously after me, shooting spurts of fire. I was so close to them, I could see the hatred in their white eyes. Pulling out my lightsaber, I swung it like a machete, hoping that I could fall faster than the bunnies could fly. Soon I reached the altitude which was, I hoped, that at which I should deploy the parachute. Wildly swinging the lightsaber with one hand and pulling the cord with the other, the parachute slowly unfolded, catching the air under it, and I stopped plummeting and drifted slowly towards the ground. Unfortunately, the bunnies could now catch up with me. I kicked furiously at a Helibunny below me. Luckily, I couldn’t see any Dragonbunnies. I slashed at all the bunnies I could reach, but some stayed out of the range of my lightsaber. “Come on!” I growled recklessly. Suddenly, a Dragonbunny appeared. “NO!” I yelled. It roared in fury and lit fire to my parachute. “I thought all the parachutes were fireproof…” I said as I began to plummet again, this time much closer to the ground. I couldn’t be more than three hundred meters above the bay.
I saw the Dragonbunny bearing down on LBK. For some odd reason it was ignoring me behind it. Well, that was its last mistake. I took careful aim, fired and SPLAT. Nailed it. But I didn’t have time to gloat. A group of helibunies was bearing down on me and I quickly dived. At least I was good at piloting. The landing would get …interesting. I only had a lightsaber, which isn’t that useful when you’re not good at using it and are limping.
Suddenly the console of my arwing beeped. 5 minutes to the base. Everything outside was a chaos of bunnies, piece of bunnies, flames and laser shots which meant I had to rely blindly on the navigation system to tell me where I was. Gulp. I tried to put my mind off potential chart inaccuracies by zeroing in on another Dragonbunny. “We need to figure out some kind of landing plan.” I said over the intercom. “Unless they send reinforcements, we can’t finish the bunnies off before our fuel runs out and then they’ll know the entrance. We need a …distraction, a really …big one.” For some reason, my head was starting to feel fuzzy and my hip hurt even through the adrenaline. I bit my lip, trying to focus. I’d forgotten what I wanted to say about the distraction. “Never mind.” I told myself. “Focus on flying this thing and not getting killed.” That sounded like a good plan. Don’t get killed. Shoot the bunnies. Land asap. Ignore the fuzziness. At least I was still able to fly.
((Sorry, didn’t see your post.))
I pulled up out of the nosedive and leveled off, slowing to a stop. I was below the bunnies now and I thought for some reason that I’d escaped them, when suddenly there was a thunk-like sound on the top of my arwing and a dragonbunny plummeted past me.
((On to you, AL.))
((I’m assuming the thunking sound is me landing on the arwing… Thanks.))
“Owww…” With a thunk, I had landed on an arwing. Awkwardly and painfully, I disentangled myself from the burnt remnants of the parachute, cutting strings with my lightsaber. I knocked a scorched bit of bunny off of the top and climbed into the aircraft. Inside was Meg, looking tired; I supposed we all were, and the injury did look painful.
“Thanks,” I managed. “Are we landing?”
Once safely on the island, I looked around for other people who had survived, lightsaber at the ready to kill any bunnies who might have landed with us. The air was a little less smoggy down here.
((I hope it’s not too late to add my character profile? And is it OK for her to be in th SF base?
Name: Randy Mosito (yes, it’s an anagram)
Age: 15-16 (but looks older than she really is)
Description: Medium-length curly brown hair that’s always in her face, grey eyes, medium-tanned skin, about 5’6″-ish in height, absolutely not thin, never wears jewelery or long sleeves.
Strengths: Decently trained in karate (though she prefers to fight with her own style of unarmed combat), proficient at blade-fighting, slightly enhanced vision and hearing do to self-training at night.
Weaknesses: Unathletic, has a tendency to be rude, can be extremely stubborn, has spent pretty much her entire time as part of the Resistence in the BART system and so has zero field experience, couldn’t fire a gun to save her life (because it would probably end it instead).
Personality: Obsessed with factoids, and so knows a small amount on several topics (some of which are even useful!) Not a people person, and can be insufferable when in a bad mood. Obsessed with animals, especially cats, to the point of having a tendency to hiss when she’s angry. Tends to overestimate her abilities and knowledge))
((Of course. Just insert yourself and start RPing
Good to have you onboard.))
((I’d love someone to RP with there~ Would you like me to write you in?))
((Random idea: While we’re in San Fransisco, can we have a battle on the Golden Gate Bridge at some point?
Other random idea: If no one objects to being in CA so much, what about Disneyland for the next base location?))
((Wait, what about we get ambushed on the Golden Gate bridge, then some of us get captured. What if the DoH (do they have a DoH? If not, scratch that) is in Disneyland? It’d be kinda ironic, with us having our base in the former prison and all.))
((Very Short Character Description:
Name: Phish
Age: 16
Description: Short blonde hair, green eyes. Moderately tall. Wears plain jeans and t-shirts. Has a mysterious band-aid he keeps on his left knee. Personality will come with RPing.
Skills: Best with a lightsaber, but isn’t a bad shot. Very musically talented.))
I stared out the large, triangular windows to see the bunnies surrounding the arwing. I wasn’t even sure who was flying the thing, but I ran to a shooting post and hoped that the pilot would play along. The first shot was easy, a surprise, but after a few more bunnies went down, the formation changed. The swerved to the other side of the plane, out of my sight. The pilot cleverly flipped the plane and went over the bunnies so I could get knock a couple before we escaped.
The anonymous pilot sped up after this, and I gave an exasperated sigh as I fell into my chair. The others on the plane just stared at me, frozen with fear and awe.
“You’d think somebody’d help me out.”
I heard a girl mutter “showoff,” and I decided I would keep my mouth shut. We were not the main focus of the hellbunnies anyway, so I knew we would make it to San Francisco in one piece.
(( Note: I’m not on any particular arwing yet, but if there are any people wishing to join, you should interact!))
I gave Phish a sympathetic look. It was only natural to try and help, and to want others to do the same. Not that I would be much use at a shooting post- my aim with the these guns was dreadful, and I’d be much more likely to shoot down a fellow Arwing than hit a helibunny.
Or am I just justifying what’s really avoiding my duty? I wondered silently. I tried to put that thought out of my mind. There was no reason to start that sort of thinking in a time like this.
“LBK, I am not freaking out, I’m tired of running for my life every freaking month,” I grumped. “Hey, uh. Lightning! Whoever has Lightning! Tell her* to stop parachuting out of her arwing, that’s kind of dangerous.”
I made it to the island with incident, settling down slowly and exiting my vehicle. Lightning, Randy, and Meg all stood there, tense. “Guys, what’s the big deal?” I joked. “We only almost die every other month! No big deal, right?”
(If gender is wrong, tell me OOC and assume I always said ‘him’.)
((No, you’re correct.))
I landed the Arwing and jumped down to join the others on the cold concrete floor. It took me a second to remember which way was up after so much rolling and tilting during the fight, but it seemed that no bunnies had survived to see us land.
We were inside a dilapidated concrete building – Alcatraz Prison. High above us were metal walkways and rows of barred doors. From outside I could hear huge waves crashing against the rocks.
But there was another sound – a sort of scraping from beneath us? Everyone turned to see a metal grate in the floor sliding aside. A face – hard to see in the dark tunnel, but at least not a bunny – popped up through the floor. “This way.”
((Zinc or Randomosity, you can enter here. Also, I don’t actually know what Alcatraz looks like, so sorry if I got it wrong. >_<))
((I guess we don’t need to know the specifics of Alcatraz- we can assume it’s been changed to our own roleplaying needs.))
((Aaahh! Curse you Hurricane Irene for keeping me from posting all weekend! Now then…
46: Types of Bunnies: Hot pink, black, helibunnies, and dragonbunnies. All HPBs can float their heads a few inches above their bodies, but only helibunnies have the earpower to actually fly. They wear special very sharp armor around their ears. Dragonbunnies are a new crossbreed between helibunnies and a dragon and are somewhat rare. Black bunnies are new as well, the “secret spy weapon”. They shoot tar.
56.1: As far as I know, the DoH existed during the first apocalypse since my character Padme had been in it as a child during the first apocalypse.))
‘Great. Yet another dogfight to add to my list of skirmishes. At least I like flying,’ I thought to myself as I twirled through the air, shooting like crazy. After a lengthy fight with some helibunnies, in which my windshield was broken, I managed to land my practically totaled craft on the water. I climbed out and swam quickly to shore, staying underwater as much as possible. When I met up with the others in the prison, I was just in time to see someone pop up from under a metal grate in the floor.
“Down we go,” I muttered to myself as we descended.
((Sorry – that should be old character Padme.))
The tunnels were winding on the way to Alcatraz, but I had been here long enough to know them well. It took about 20 minutes to get from Computer room 2 if I walked fast or a light jog, so I made it in time for a few people- oh, those lost Arwings were going to cost us- to come crashing down.
Silence, careful silence, but the sound of stifled panting gave them away. So I slid the grate above me open and popped up, heaving my weight on my arms. “This way,” I announced, inclining my head down.
“Zinc,” Avalon said, nodding. I nodded back. A few unfamiliar faces, but Avalon I knew. We went way back, to almost the beginning. So much hopping around, restless girl, she ran into everyone. The last time we had seen each other was down in Florida, before I went to Michigan and she went to Housten.
I dropped back down, and led the way, calling back over my shoulder “Close the grate, and don’t get lost. We have a maze for a purpose, sweethearts!”
Avalon was behind me, talking to someone else, and I didn’t mind. We shouldn’t talk much, anyway. Too many memories.
((yeahhhhh Avalon can we have some angsty mysterious backstory? Wooooo! Let’s have the sort of rapport we did in TOS, nee?))
Zinc, who I recognized from video messages at the old base, led our group through the shadowy tunnels. We seemed to be underwater, judging by the faint sloshing sounds from outside. I gripped my BunBlaster tightly, hoping it wouldn’t be this dark in the main base.
((Stupid hurricane Irene. We haven’t had power for the last two days.))
“Thanks Meg,” I said gratefully into the radio. “But now I have bunny goo all over the ship. Ah well.” The bunnies were being ripped apart, and I followed a few other ships that were making a break for it. We made it to the island without any other bunny attacks.
Alcatraz was gloomy, dank, dark, and depressing. Perfect for a prison. I followed the sounds of other people until I saw the last of the group ahead of me jump down a grate. I jumped down as well and closed it, heeding the person in front’s advice. My knuckles were white, I was sure, from gripping my knife so tightly.
((This is…not my best work. ))
Zinc wasn’t joking about the maze part. This place was as confusing as the labyrinth Daedalus had built for the Minotaur! Hidden doors, mirrors, symmetric construction, and a lack of landmarks made me very glad that we had a guide. The place was also wet, as we were travelling under the ocean.
((Alcatraz is definitely not far enough away, you guys…
See photo (hope this works):
(probably doesn’t, ah well)
Little island in the middle, white colored? Yeah, that’s Alcatraz. You can see the GGB from it if it isn’t foggy. I suggest longer tunnels to a smaller island farther away.
((You have a point. What about that other little white dot on the far left, above the middle of the pic? If that’s an island, perhaps that could be our landing area and we would have a long tunnel/maze to the BART system.))
(It’s cool, Zinc. I’m Thief, I am the caking master of tragic backstories. …and I forgot what TOS was. The Original Story? I am a big derp today. D:)
Oh. Zinc. I’d forgotten she was here, and I’d honestly wanted to: it’d been a long time since our last meeting, and even then it’d been awkward. I supposed the best thing to do was just to ignore her, perhaps? That seemed the easiest solution. “Alright! Everyone got a weapon?” I may have been the youngest in the group, but I usually ran weapon checks, being the most enthusiastic about the hurtful things.
((Sweet, Imma FB message you so we can plan this thing.))
((The Original Series, I believe.))
((So are we changing the landing site? And if so, what is the name of the new island?))
The Arwing lands and everyone brushed past me to the exit, eager to reach safety. I take a second to rub my eyes and think of what this means. I feel a small ache coming from my left knee, but I ignore it.
I think she’s out there somewhere, my sister. Could she be in a base? No, she hated any sort of resistance. She was too much of a pacifist for all of this. I’d bet she made her own shelter, probably keeping others there too.
I stop myself after realizing I’m fantasizing again. My sister isn’t alive, I tell myself over and over again until I’m interrupted by the stares of a small girl. She’s the only one who isn’t out of the plane aside from me and the pilot.
“Your eyes twitch when you’re thinking,” she says to me, without changing expression.
I give her a confused look, and she seems to realize where she is as she brushes a loose strand of hair behind her ear and rushes outside. I hear the pilot shutting down the plane, so I race towards he mysterious girl.
“What’s your name?” I ask her. She reminds me of my sister.
(SFTDP)
))
((Hey, Rosebud, you don’t mind me writing Phish a bit curious about Rose, do you? Hope not.
((bookgirl_me – Would Meg’s hip injury make it difficult to walk? If not, ignore that part of Randy’s comment.
If any part of this post doesn’t work, please say so so that it can be rectrospectively changed/deleted.
Also, if we’re using another island, why not just call it “the island” so that we don’t have to worry about making it accurate?))
I can just begin to hear Zinc’s footsteps coming our way, along with the footseps of lots of other people – presumably from the destroyed base. It’ll be a little while before they actually get to this room; I can only hear them because the passageways are so echoey.
“They’re almost here.” I say to the medical examination team standing nearby. A moment later, a moment closer, and I can hear the footsteps more clearly. “It sounds like at least one of them is limping. Get the supplies ready.”
“I’m surprised you can hear that;” one of them says, “all I can hear is footsteps.”
“Give it a second, and you’ll be able to her it too.” is my reply.
((Good idea. The Island it is!))
I steadfastly face forward throughout the journey, still adjusting to the feel of this group. It takes longer than it would have seemed, but my focus allowed no mistakes on the passegways.
Didn’t want to talk right now, anyway.
When we entered the main entrance cavern, the injured newcomers were swarmed by medical staff. I waved and smiled at the ones I knew, and continued on to the doorway on. “Anyone currently fine, please follow me to the residency rooms! I apologize; we don’t have a lot of room so two to a cabin. It’s a bit tight, but we manage~”
Avalon’s eyes, I can see, narrow slightly.
The diluted numbers follow me through a small tour to the rooms; it takes about 15 minutes to make it to the rooms, during which we pass food, labs, supplies, and one training field. “The med bays were opposite from where you entered, and more training next to them. I don’t know how long it will be til you’re transferred (as we are a stopover), but please consider here your home station. It’s a wonderful place to be.”
I don’t look at anyone as I say this little speech. I’m looking forward as I walk, and I find that now, I don’t feel like giving a smile.
Too tired for that.
((Is it just me, or has it been a bit slow lately?))
((Yes, it has. REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVEREVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE REVIVE))
I’m too tired to think. As soon as I get a cabin assignment, I crawl into my bed and fall asleep.
I help out the medical team with the injured Resistance fighters. I normally wouldn’t be here, since I have no formal medical training, but we didn’t know how many people would need attention, so I was enlisted to bring supplies and things to any med staff that needed them.
I bring some supplies to a staff person who is tending to someone with a gash in her hip.
“That doesn’t look to good.” I can’t help remarking.
“It isn’t, but it isn’t the worst either.” says the med person, without looking up.
I am about to ask the patient about it, but another one of the medical staff calls for me, and I scurry over to bring en supplies.
((Sorry I haven’t posted in a few days – I was traveling))
Despite the confusing maze of tunnels, with Zinc as a guide we managed to get to the base in about thirty minutes after landing on the island. Since I was uninjured, I went around the swarm of medical personnel and went to my assigned room. I was sharing with Groundhog, as usual.
After I dumped my stuff I around the place, trying to get a feel for where things were. Groundhog, who had been here several times, was already busy in the lab. Giving her a wave as I went by, I headed for the training room to practice my shooting. I had a feeling that I would need all the skill I could get soon enough.
Exhausted from the fight, I climbed into my bunk bed in the dim cabin and was soon asleep.
No sooner do we get into the base that I am ambushed by medical staff. I lie down on what probably was a table once and they patch me up expertly but hastily.
One of the helps bringing supplies comments that it doesn’t look good, so I try to turn and look at it. The medic looks worried at first, then somewhat irritated and reminds me not to move while she’s sewing it up. It’s not adding to my beauty much and I’ll probably end up with a scar, but I have to face it that I have plenty of small ones already. The blood is somewhat shocking, but I’m already in this glassy zen-like state which comes from being completely disoriented plus my first arwing. Thankfully, Sans’ quick help had saved me from serious blood loss.
“It isn’t, but it isn’t the worst either.” replied the medic. I try to construe a good response for this but for some reason I’m not in my most rhetorically inclined mood. The girl looks like she wants to ask me a question, but then someone calls her and she runs off. Then, my medic returns and explains the situation. She would prefer to keep me in a hospital bed with an IV hooked up, but they don’t have enough beds or equipment at the moment. I have to explain several times that I’m fine and that I’ll be much better for it if she doesn’t stick a tube in my arm and that I’m fine with chilling on a table, because tables have always been good in my book. Food comes to tables and ergo food will come to me.
My sudden attempt at humor/loss of lucidity doesn’t really help my case so I shut up. Then there’s a commotion at the door and people are calling for a doctor. The medic hesitates, makes me promise not to try and get up and then runs off to try and save the next victim. I swallow whatever painkillers and other pills she gave me and start to doze off. One of them must have been some sort of sleeping pill because I’m out like a light.
I slowly come to, reaffirming my suspicions that something knocked me out. After registering various unimportant details about the ceiling (slightly off-white but very clean, in case you were wondering- with a water stain resembling a rather deformed turkey in the upper right corner), I heard some faint what I’ll call hospital noises in the background- some machines beeping, but in a quiet, people-are-sleeping sort of way, a faint murmur that sounded like people speaking softly, but further away and a faint squeak-squeak of someone’s wet shoes on the linoleum. The whole place smelled slightly like ozone. After these observations, my brain decided to kick in and tell me that that I was still in the sickbay, since these rooms were very, very clean compared to the somewhat grungy base around it and that someone was probably headed my way, judging by the noise, but probably a light person since the squeaking hardly had any creak in it. It was the girl from before, the assistant.
I wake up a few hours later, finally feeling almost energized enough to be active and (hopefully) helpful. I wander around in search of a job, feeling like I’m missing out on something important and big, which seems to work because a moment later a medic dumps a pile of who-knows-what into my arms and tells me to take them to the sick bay. Another medic (how many medics are there here, anyway?) grabs the pile of equipment (at least I think it’s equipment) and hastily thanks me, then rushes back in and closes the door. I can faintly hear something beeping, someone talking. Better not go in, I decide, I’ll probably knock something over. And I’m too tired… I wander back up to wherever it is I came from, and somebody else dumps a cardboard box of bandages (or something, anyway) and says, “Sick bay.” I nod and, almost not getting lost this time, stumble to the door. No medic awaits me, however, so I set down my box and lean against the wall, debating whether or not to go in. I suppose it was busier here earlier, I think. While you were sleeping, another part of my mind nags, and I feel a twinge of guilt. Then I mentally yell at my brain to shut up, and, after a brief struggle, it does.
Still, nobody comes out, so I carefully open the door a crack and look in. There’s a ton of activity going on, but the noise of it all is a silent sort of noise, everyone’s voices toned to be as unnoticable as the hum of a refrigerator. Medics are everywhere, and I can see glimpses of people lying on tables and beds. There’s a cacophonous tangle of IVs, but it still doesn’t seem to be enough. One of the medics looks up at me.
“I’ll… I’ll just… I’ll just leave this here…” I set the heavy box on the ground, awkwardly stand up, glance around again. “Uh…” I quickly step out and shut the door, holding it so it doesn’t slam.
You need to work on your communicating skills, a small part of my brain tells me.
I thought I told you to shut up!
I quietly approach the room where the girl I saw earlier, the one with the injured hip, should be sleeping. I smile a little to myself; by training my ears to hear better, I also trained my feet to step quieter. I enter the room to check on the patient and to see if I can find that bottle of painkillers one of the medical staff was asking for. Then I notice that the patient is awake.
“Oh, hello.” I say quietly. “I thought you’d be asleep. They gave you some sleeping meds with the painkillers, because they were worried you might have a hard time without them…” I trail off, wondering if this might be unwelcome information. I’m pretty sure some people like to be asked before given certain medications, but I’m not sure if this person is one of them. “Um, anyway, my name is Randy. I’m a sort of temporary assistant. How are you feeling? Can I get anything for you?”
((Kitty: Thanks for PPing me into the base. My computer’s broken, so it’s been rather hard to post–I’m doing this from my iTouch))
I tinkered away at my workbench, building a prototype shield generator for the Arwings. That last dust-up had damaged us a lot, and I was determined not to let it happen again. I’d had to sink my own Arwing in the bay once we’d reached the tunnel entrance, as it was beyond repair, and I knew that I wasn’t the only one who’d had to do that. So far, I had a generator working, but it could only create fields that were around a meter across, and it took tremendous amounts of power to work. I needed a way to enlarge the field and to lower its power requirements enough to make it practical to put on an Arwing. Frustrated, I left the lab and headed towards the medbay, to see if I could make myself useful there. The medbay was bustling. The head medic put me to work patching up minor to moderate injuries, so that others could concentrate on those who were in more serious conditions. I thought about the shield generator problem as I worked, but no flash of inspiration came to me, nor any new angles from which to attack the problem.
((Can I join? Thanks! Heh…
Name: Lin Wilson
Age: 15
Description: Short blonde-ish hair, like me with a haircut. Not that you’d know. BUT anyway. Around 5’8”, hazel eyes, wears black jacket over blue T-shirt, sweat pants. Sneakers (old), no socks.
Skills: Excellent swordsman(woman?), not really quick, but light on her feet. Really good hearing (can be a hindrance, as she gets distracted a lot). Even though sounds distract her, she can keep her cool in battle.
Random Facts: Hates asparagus, is a vegetarian, dislikes toddlers, doesn’t ever wear socks, catchphrase is “Meh.”
I’ll incorporate her as neccessary. I’ll try not to be too awesome.))
((Sure you can join! So far we’ve escaped our old base (it was attacked by bunnies) and flown over to an island off of San Fransisco. (see map and following discussion, post 66) There was an air battle with bunnies, and most of us are either helping where needed or being treated in the medbay. Although you might have already read the plot summary, in which case I’m being redundant.))
((Welcome to the RP! (Your hair is blonde? Darn, I’d hoped we might have the same color hair…)))
((I’ll be “helping where needed”, then.))
((Mago- if you need to bump into somebody, my character is running back and forth, running errands and stuff.))
((I was recently looking through the BA Edit (thanks, Armada and Groundhog!) and found some old references. And that I acted pretty dumb, haha~
Mago- I think it’d be easier to remember Mago… but that’s just me.))
That night I went back and collapsed on my bed, exhausted. I fell asleep quickly.
When the morning came I was up and moving, bustling around and looking for something to do. I wasn’t the most medically inclined, so I really couldn’t help much there, but I was itching for work. Just the volume and newness of the people had my energy way up, and I almost wished for a fight.
Training! That was it. I would train.
I leaned against a wall in one of the corridoors that made up this newest base, tapping my foot. I had just delivered a twentieth box of pain relief drugs, two crates of IV bags, and had handled more cardboard boxes than I cared to ever see again in my lifetime. The flow of medical supplies, however, seemed to be ceasing somewhat. Most of the injured were now in stable positions.
Zinc marched past, glanced at me and paused.
“Which way is training again?” She asked me, turning on her heel.
“Er…” I struggled to recall the tour of last night, which at the moment seemed twenty years ago. “I think you go left… nno, you go right, and then youu walk to the third… no, the fourth exit on your right. Then you walk down that, and… oh, wait, it was the third exit! Or was it the second?”
Zinc sighed.
” You know what, cake this. I’ll go with you, I haven’t trained in ages.”
((Sorry about the typos, I’m new to the whole touch screen thing))
BLAM! BLAM! The green bolts of light streaked from my blaster, clipping the ear of the bunny-shaped target. They were getting harder to hit, but at least I was doing better than I had at lightsaber training. After dropping my lightsaber for the fourth time due to general clumsiness, I’d given up and moved to the sharpshooter range.
It was definitely a better training area than the one at the last base. In addition to the shooting range and lightsaber fencing mats, there were strength training exercises, Arwing flight simulators, a ropes course (caking lack of upper body strength …) and a virtual-reality combat simulation. That last one looked really cool, but I hadn’t tried it out yet.
“Hey! Rainbow! What’s up?” I grinned, slinking into the training room behind her. “It’s been a little while since I saw you training. Still bad at lightsabers, huh? Traditional, none of us are very good with them.” I tossed a blaster into the air and blasted a target straight through the ‘head’ as I grasped it on the landing, heaving an overdramatic sigh.
((I ♥ youuuuu ; u ; ))
“Okay, so,” I said pleasantly, walking toward the right wing (I at least knew that much about where it was) with Lightning, “You’re from Flagstaff, amirite? Yeah, should be, got the signal. Was it hot there?”
She nodded. “Too hot. Couldn’t go outside much, we were right outside the city, in the desert. Mirages were everywhere, and the captain insisted we train to fix it.”
I hmm-ed sympathetically. “I was down in Albuquerque for a while a few years ago, so that’s all I have on deserts.”
“I heard Mojave’s worse, though… wouldn’t wanna go there.”
The pleasant conversation continued as we made our way to the right wing. It was nice to talk to someone in a de-stressed way, finally. People who had been in Frisco for a while tended to be a bit… jumpy, to put it one way. I told her that observation, and she laughed.
When we finally reached the training section (with some help from passerby), I searched around for my communication card (which was on a lanyard around my neck), and slid it through the correct spot. We kept weapons in those rooms, and it wouldn’t do to have them unsecured. I let Lightning in, and closed the door behind me.
We found a few people already there. Rainbow, who I recognized faintly from some video-meetings, was talking with Avalon over blasters. I decided to go up and say hello to them, just to be polite. “Do they looks busy to you?” I asked Lightning.
She looked at them, then shook her head. “Nah, not really. Avalon never seems busy, so Rainbow probably isn’t either if she’s not snapping at her.”
“Then let’s go and talk to them! I’ve been itching for some new people.” I walked over there with her, and waved. “Sup, phytes!”
“We’re not phytes,” Avalon retorted, falling into the repartee.
“Here you are. You had this nice big building base, and you came to Frisco and now you have to adjust to these lovely tunnels I currently call my home.”
“How long have you been here again?”
I counted quickly in my head. “Ahhh… nearly six months.”
“HA! Then you’re still a phyte!”
“Better than you!”
Rainbow shifted a little, flipping her blaster idly in her hand. “But, isn’t that measured by how long you’ve been in the resistance formally?” Lightning voiced her concurrance.
We paused for a second. “… yeah.” Avalon said. “Guess that makes us Paleos, then…?”
Lightning shook her head. “Weren’t we here to train? Not bicker?’
“Huh, yeah, we are!” I said brightly. “Anybody wanna spar? I need to get better at that.”
((I think Zinc here a pretty moderate people-person, to fill in that postition. Not so much for me personally, but here: yes. I’ll try my best.))
((Cake, I forgot Zinc’s been at the base for half a year, she wouldn’t have needed directions… oh well. Sorry! And I have a really short attention span so I can never make long posts on RPGs… sorry.))
“I’ll spar with you, if you don’t mind winning.” I said.
Zinc grinned evilly. “Of course.”
“Um, yeah, I still can’t do lightsabers,” I said to Avalon, as we continued blasting the targets. I was somewhat preoccupied by trying to hit the targets, glance at Zinc and Lightning sparring, and talk to another person at the same time. “Maybe after they’re done sparring, we could get some more people and do the virtual-reality thing … or something …?”
((My character is very socially awkward. Like me~ ^~^))
((bookgirl_me, are you there?))
I glance out the window and notice that sometime on my way from the supply closet to this patient’s room, night had turned into morning. I rub my eyes.
“Oh, um, never mind what I said about thinking you’d be asleep. I guess it’s way later than I thought.” I say to the girl on the table-turned-cot.
((Oh, cake, I couln’t remember my character’s own name until I looked back. You know what, Mago is easier to remember. SUDDEN NAME CHANGE ALERT!))
I walk down the hall, trying to find my way to the training room. I’d just gotten out of the medical wing, and needed to get back in shape.
When I get there, there are a few people already sparring. A few are shooting targets. I make my way over to the blaster training–I’m already pretty good with a lightsaber, and need to be able to wield a gun.
As I blast away at the targets, I notice how good the other people are. I sigh. This is what comes of not practicing in a week…
After doing blaster practice for an hour I decided to move on to the virtual reality simulators. I was itching to try them out, as they had not been available at the old base that we had just evacuated. I saw Rainbow and Avalon standing near the sparring area talking, so I went over to them.
“Hey guys, do you want to team up and try the virtual reality simulators?”
“Hey.” I faintly tell the person at my side. Then my mental self-diagnostic is complete and I decide that it’s time for some form of meal. Food… Then I remember that the girl asked me a question. “I’m feeling fine, just a little hungry and somewhat bruised. Both will go away if I can find something decent to eat.” I say, swinging my feet over the edge of the table and carefully standing up. My hip only aches a bit- whatever painkillers they had, they’re good. Or the doctor was just way to dramatic over the seriousness. Randy looks like she isn’t sure whether she should try to stop me from getting up, but when I find out that I’m not even limping, at least not really, she probably decides to let it slide. Or she’s gathering her strength to tie me to the table. “So, please tell me you know where the cantina is. I tried the sickbay stuff in the London base once and I never even want to smell it again as long as I live.”
“I will, if anyone else does,” I answered Kitty.
“I will, too.”
I was eager to try out the new virtual reality technology. The simulators in my last base had been less than up to scratch.
When the flood of injured in the sickbay finally dwindled to a trickle, I left and headed towards the simulators to practice my fighting skills. As I approached, I saw Kitty, Rainbow, and Agent Lightning grouped near the door. “Hi.” I said to them. “Can I join you? I’m in serious need of some practice.”
((oh god too lazy to write actual sparring XD ))
I wiped the sweat of my forehead, scrubbing lightly at my face with a damp washcloth. “Me too!” I answered cheerfully. “Should be fun. I haven’t done much of anything exciting in ages.”
I call out to the room at large, “HEY, we’re trying the virtual reality simulators! They’re newish, so if anyone wants to join in they’re welcome to!”
A few people flit over, and we all travel over to the machines. They’re all in a separate, dark room, and as I open the door the scent of new machinary and chemicals waft over me.
The individual capsules are more like pre-rabbit voting booths, or smaller portable toilets. They’re was a curtain hanging in front of every booth, and when you drew it over it sealed and hardened. You placed your feet on the spots designated and strapped sensors to your calves, thighs, knees, and hips. Doing the same for your abdomen, chest, shoulders, forearms, bicep-area, and neck, you would fit a helmet over your head. The helmet had special goggles that provided the scenery and tracked eye movement and a mike. There were speakers by your ears and when you flicked the on switch, there was a momentary uncomfortable sensations as sensors attached to your brain.
The last thing to go on were the sensors on your wrists, palms, and individual fingers; after that you would place you hands on the wall to either side of you on the designated spot. It was a bit of a process and I didn’t understand all of the sciencey stuff, but I had used them once before briefly and helped in instructing the others what to do. Since the walls were kind of thick, the older Frisco people had to project/shout, but all in all we got everyone ready.
((Is this satisfactory…?))
I can’t help being a little concerned by this patient’s eagerness to be up and walking. But I can’t fault her for being hungry either.
“I’ll have to go with you.” I reply. “They don’t want the patients to walk around unsupervised until they’re discharged. I understand your need for decent food – sickbay food seems to be disgusting wherever you are – but please take it easy. According to the doctor, it’s not as bad as it looks, but you wouldn’t be so comfortable on it if it weren’t for the painkillers, and we don’t want you to accidentally make it worse.” I start leading her out of the room, toward the eatery.
The goggles went black for a second, before the sky filled with blinding light. After blinking a few times, I realized I was standing on a flat rooftop high above a city, wearing my Resistance uniform, with a blaster clipped to my belt. The software had scanned my body and provided a reasonable simulation of my height, skin color, and probably my face. I was even wearing glasses. Or, the image of glasses and the simulated feeling of wearing them … whatever.
On the other rooftops, at a similar height, the other Resistance members faded into view.
“This is so cool,” I said, watching my friends appear. The simulator was amazing! “Groundhog, if you had anything to do with programming this, you get five stars. Perhaps even six.” She laughed. I turned my attention back to our surroundings. We were all on different rooftops of equal height with enough space between that jumping across was impractical. I ignored the question of what would happen if you died in a simulated environment because that would just give me a headache. I talked into my helmet radio.
“Do you think we should all grapple to the same roof so that we’re in one place? Strength in numbers, right? Or perhaps we should find a way to get to the ground because everyone on one roof means a greater chance of someone falling off.”
((LET’S SPEED IT UP >:D ))
I hmm-ed placidly, not really listening, just looking off the tower to the bleak cityscape below and around.
And then the skyscraper shook.
Everyone startled as it shook again more violently; I heard someone emit a cry. I turn around with a smile. “Don’t worry, everyone!” I sang. “Even if we fall, it’s just a virtual reality, we can’t actually be hurt or d-”
The tower fell, and rubble and darkness and oh god. Oh god. Falling.
T-the red in my vision, the stickiness on my face, that was fake, right? Just an implanted suggestion.
Of course. Of course it was. No need to get so upset.
What’s gotten into me lately?
“H-hey?” I heard a voice call. “What just happened? Where is everyone?”
“Who’s that?” I replied.
“Rainbow. Zinc?”
“Yeah. Anyone else?”
I heard a few more affirmations, and gradually, as the dust settled, figures rising from the rubble appeared. I rushed over to Rainbow, rollig up her sleeve to look at her arm. “Oiiii, Rainbow, you’re bleeding!”
She smiled, dusting the wound off lightly. “It’s just a simulator, sorry for troubling you.”
I wiped at it, trying to clean it as best I could. “Still, I don’t like seeing my companions hurt.” I said with a grin. She quirks up another smile-apology….thing.
“Okay then! Let’s go!” I cheered, walking out of the boundaries of the tower’s original foundation. I turned around to say something, and there was no one there. To be precise, there was nothing there.
I blinked. A glitch in the programming? Whatever it was, I had just become separated from my teammates.
“Great,” I muttered. A weird level. Solo mission for at least me, then. My brow furrows as I survey the area for a sign of life, then sigh. Guess I should go to a vantage point.
I jog away from the now-empty site, and toward another tower.
((Notes: Feel free take this however and wherever you like~ Just keep in mind, everyone is still in the simulator (or is it?). Zinc’s just currently in a separate… code? Path? Dimension of? There could still be others there, but she can’t find them.
GO! Let’s get some ACTION!))
((The above two posts are slightly contradictory, so I’m attempting to mesh them here.)
As soon as the dust cleared, everyone regrouped in the remains of one of the towers to check for injuries. Once that was done, Zinc was the first to turn to leave.
However, as Zinc left the rubble of the tower, she disappeared. I let out a gasp and charged after her. As I stepped over the boundary of the tower’s foundations, the rubble disappeared, and Zinc reappeared. Then I realized what must have happened. The object code replaced any destroyed building with an invisible placeholder. But the display code probably considered the placeholder to be a building, with all of the visual rules that went with it. Like walls that weren’t transparent. “There’s a glitch between the display and the object code!” I shouted to the others. “If you get out of the rubble, it’ll disappear, and you’ll see me and Zinc!” I wondered why that hadn’t happened when we regrouped. Or perhaps it had, and we had all just been too panicked to notice.
“That’s the last time I use library code without tweaking it first…” I muttered to myself. I had written the object code and created the graphics myself. But the display functions had come from a professional code library, which I had thought would be reliable enough for this. Obviously not.
I followed Zinc to another tower, grappling up beside her. Below me, I could see everyone else following. “Well, I guess that was one way to get all of us onto one tower.” I said with a roll of my eyes as the last person stepped onto the roof. “Where do we go from here? Does anyone see any bunnies?” I had randomized the initial bunny appearance, so I actually had no idea when they’d show up.
((They’re not contradictory. I only suggested that we rappel down. We didn’t get a chance to because, as Zinc posted it, the buildings collapsed. But whatever.))
“I don’t see any bunnies…but where are all the people? Yes, the bunnies have taken over but people still exist. They’re just bunnified or brainwashed.”
I looked down over the edge of the tower. Still no one. This place was like a ghost town, albeit one full of apartments and skyscrapers. In fact, it appeared that we were in Manhattan, the city that never sleeps. Evidently that name didn’t apply now.
Suddenly there was a loud bonging noise that reverberated across the island. It was some sort of clock, announcing that noon had arrived. On cue, the streets came to life. People streamed out of buildings, cars and buses appeared. Although the nationalities of the people was as varied as ever, every single person was wearing clothes of black, gray, or blue with the hot pink HPB logo on them. Many of the people also had tall pink ears, a clear indication of bunnification.
This also meant that we stuck out like a sore thumb. We crouched down on the roof, but it was too late. An alarm had begun to sound and bright pink and silver lights had begun to flash around the edge of the rooftop. Ten HPBs burst through the door of the rooftop.
“Showtime,” I muttered to myself as I pulled out my blaster.
Together, we charged at the bunnies, my comrades disappearing and then popping back up again in a writing sea of pink. I slashed at rabbit after rabbit, but there were only ten of them- I took out two with my lightsaber, only to be knocked down by another, which was blasted a moment later by Kittymine. “Thanks,” I gasped, then sliced my weapon through the air as an angry streak of magenta flew past us at Zinc and Groundhog. A moment later, someone blasted the last bunny and, for a moment, all was silent.
“That wasn’t so hard,” I gasped, standing up. “Everyone alright?” Our group was unharmed, except for a few scratches.
“Er… Lightning?” Zinc said. She was staring out at the skyline.
“Yes?”
A scream from behind me. I turned around. More bunnies were scaling the tower with unnatural speed, helibunnies hovering ahead of them.
“Cake, they called for reinforcements.” Kittymine groaned, pulling out her blaster once again.
“Oh, lovely.” I said. Somebody screamed. I plunged myself into the battle once again.
I crouched at the corner of the roof as lasers flew over my head, blasting the waves of bunnies as they crawled up the side of the building. If I just didn’t let them reach the top …
WHIIRRR – A pink blur flew at my face, ears spinning. I managed to blast it into a lovely rain of pink scraps, but while I was distracted the groundbunnies had climbed up to the edge of the roof. Panting, I scrambled forward, shooting as fast as I could at the line of pink.
“We’ve got to get off this roof!” I yelled into my helmet mike. “This is suicide if we stay here!”
((Gotta get off hopefully post more later))
((This thread is quite hilarious in pirate-speak.))
((108 – I quite agree. What’s with the squid, by the way?))
((I accidentially squidded post 108 thinking my computer was being weird and that I was pieing it.))
Flames lick the sides of the building. “They set it on fire!?!” I groan. Kittymine nods. I slash at a bunny. “Quick, they are coming.” A sea of pink spills pver the side of the roof.
“We’re surrounded!” Calls Zinc.
And now there’s a bunny not ten feet from me, spweing fire over the roof. Bits of flaming debris fall down into the city.
I remember the arwing battle. “We have parachutes!” I scream into my helmet mic.
“That isn’t going to do us much good!” Comes a crackling voice from the other end.
“Wait! I scream.
((If this post is way to fantastical, please tell me.))
This was just going from bad to worse. In desperation, I leaped from the top of our flaming building and engaged my grapple, using it to land on the roof of the next building. It was stupid, I know, but I kept moving, leaping from roof to roof, trying to draw the bunnies away from the others. After landing three roofs away, I paused to frantically pat my suit.
“C’mon, there’s gotta be some new gizmo in here. Groundhog always has random gizmos…”
The HPBs were gaining on me and helibunnies were starting to swarm around.
I found a small revolver. I shot at the nearest approacing bunny. The bullet hit it and the bunny shrieked and burst into flame.
“What the cake is in this thing?” I wondered as I shot another bullet. Then I accidentally pressed a button right near the trigger and the revolver started spraying bullets at the nearby bunnies with the speed of a machine gun. And it wasn’t running out either. HPBs were flaming all over.
“Groundhog, what is this?” I yelled into my radio.
“Combustible lemon bullets!” I shouted back into my radio. “They’ve got a combination of concentrated citric acid and explosives in them. I’ve had them in development for a while, but the real ones aren’t quite ready yet.”
I pulled out my own gun and sprayed its entire clip of lemon bullets into the swarm of bunnies. A good number of them burst into flames, but there were still a whole lot left. I pulled my lightsaber from my belt and used it to slice any bunnies within arm’s reach in half.
((Combustable lemon bullets? I’ll have to check out the simulator myself at some point…))
((I WILL GET MY ENGINEERS TO INVENT A COMBUSTABLE LEMON TO BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN!))
Then my clip ran out.
I decided against reloaded since I wasn’t quite sure how and went for my regular blaster again. I noticed more flaming bunnies behind me, which meant that the others were using combusible lemon bullets too.
Or it meant that the Dragonbunnies had arrived, which was the conclusion I came to when I had to dodge a sudden spurt of flame in my direction.
“This is never ending,” I groaned to myself as I pulled out my pocket fire extinguisher.
Dragonbunnies. Great. Just what we needed. I whirled my lightsaber around in one hand as a sort of shield, while I rummaged in my suit’s many cargo pockets with my other hand. I pulled out a small bottle of concentrated bleach with a big spray nozzle on it and sprayed it at one of the dragonbunnies. The effect was immediate. The dragonbunny screeched and spiraled off into the mass of bunnies, spewing fire erratically as it went. Soon, much of the bunny horde was on fire.
I had been fighting off ten bunnies at once with my lightsaber when they started to burst into flame. I screamed as, with a bolt from Kittymine’s blaster, I was nearly scorched by a flaming pink rabbit that I had just impaled on my lightsaber. Soon, the bunnies that had just been attacking me were quite dead, but surrounding me with a column of fire.
“HELP!” I screamed, attempting to push a flaming bunny out of the way with the tip of my lightsaber.
I whirled around when I heard Agent Lightning’s scream. It appeared that the bunnies that had been attacking her had caught fire and trapped her with their flaming bodies. “Just run through it!” I said to her through my radio. “Your suit will protect you!” The suits couldn’t take a direct blast of flames for much more than a couple of minutes–almost nothing could–but they could withstand passing through flames almost indefinitely.
The majority of the bunny horde had fallen to the ground in a cloud of flame and ash. The remaining bunnies had moved to close-quarters fighting. Mistake! I thought, grinning as I dispatched a now easy-to-reach bunny with my lightsaber.
((Bookgirl, are you there? If so, can you please continue from post 99?))
Thanks to flames aplenty, lemon bullets, and bleach (not to mention conventional weapons and skill) we somehow managed to destroy the hordes of HPBs that had been set upon us.
Groundhog plunged her lightsaber into the last bunny and then suddenly the scene shifted, swirling into gray haze and then sharpening to reveal a new scene entirely.
We were standing together, wearing older BunnyProof suits, inside a trench that seemed to run for miles. I peeked over the edge and saw an entire HPB army, with William presiding over the scene, his head floating a few inches above his shoulders. I gasped.
“This is a simulation of the first big battle,” I whispered. “The one where we ended up fleeing underground and Alice got kidnapped. I wonder what our mission is here? We’ve done this battle already.”
((Sorry, I’ve been a little distracted lately.))
Randy and I commence the epic quest to the cantina. Or rather she leads, giving me a brief tour, and I follow her, although I’m able to keep up pretty well. The halls seem somewhat empty to me, but I suppose there’s less personnel here. Suddenly, but not that unexpectedly, an alarm goes off. It’s not that loud- as far as alarms go, it’s positively silent, but I’d been through enough evacuations to have this thing about alarm going off. “Level two alert.” Randy explains. “Probably nothing, but everyone should get back to their stations.”
Randy’s station is currently the sickbay and I’m not supposed to be wandering around anyway because I could bleed on someone or something but I can’t really dwell on because I’m starting to really be creeped out by the complete lack of personnel. According to Randy, we’re in one of the main corridors leading to the arwing hangars and most of the artillery deck- I know that some people must be stationed there. But no, only two people pass us- one is a nurse and the other isn’t wearing any sort of uniform or badge or special clothing. Finally, the alarms grow fainter and I see a man wearing a grey-ish uniform coming towards us.
Randy explains that he’s a techie of some sort, but she looks concerned. No arguments there. If this weren’t during a war, in a highly specialized base possibly under attack, especially one containing only a little medicinal sherry, I’d say he was, in nautical terms, somewhere between two sheets into the wind and hard aback. He was walking in a straight line, almost running at times, but had a mismatched, disjointed gait and seemed to fall onto his feet more often than to put them down. He was headed on a sort of shaky diagonal through the corridor, but looked like he was trying to keep it together. But, considering he was probably stoned, he didn’t look so bad.
He stops when he sees us and I just blurt out what I’m thinking. “What’s happening? Where is everyone? Are we under attack? What did the senors detect? Where are the people?” The guy stops, sways a little and grabs Randy’s shoulder for support. Her face speaks volumes. I’m starting to find this whole situation humorous simply because of the sheer absurdity of it all, but I don’t want to suddenly start laughing because I’ll probably sound like a maniac and that might send Randy over the edge. But then our new friend tilts his face up to stare me in the eyebrows and I see his eyes. They look bloodshot, except that blood is most definitely not pink. “Senors detected …something, probably nothing. Everyone should just relax. We’re all safe and fine and …fine, …and …safe.”
His speech is remarkably clear but has strange pauses, like he isn’t sure how to speak and unaware of the wacked way he’s acting. Randy is keeping it together and repeats, slowly and calmly: “Where is everyone?” – “Oh, they’re …probably trying out …the new simulators. But the alarm works there too, ……don’t worry. It’s pretty hard …to miss …the buildings you’re in suddenly collapsing. Of course the old version is still mounted, so people can abort at will …and …not get whiplashed.”
Having never tried a simulator before, I can’t judge that this is a sign. But Randy obviously has, because she grabs the guy’s arm and sort of shakes him. “Did you tell them the sign before they started? How many people are in the simulator?” But instead of responding, the guy just throws his head back and laughs and laughs. “Everyone.” he gasps between fits of laughter. “All of them.”
Randy and I share a look. Then the alarms go off- the silence is eerie. So much is clear- we’re under attack, all our fighters are in some kind of outdated simulation and some form of weird bunnification is being used on those who are supposed to be manning the stations. “We need to get to those simulators and get them out.” I say, voicing an opinion we probably both share. “We-” I’m cut off by a loud booming sound. The ground shakes slightly. Then another, slightly louder and more violent, probably closer. “We can probably hide somewhere in the labyrinth, right?”
((Sorry for the length.))
((Bookgirl, I like where your post is going. And if I didn’t know better, I’d suspect you know me in real life, because you have my/Randy’s reaction down perfectly.))
Unable to stand it any longer, I jerk away from this semi-bunnified techie, slapping his arm in the process. By a considerable effort of will, I restrain myself from being more violent. I then turn back to girl who had voiced an opinion that I believe to be correct.
“We need to get to the simulators quickly, but I don’t running’s a good idea.” I respond. “We can figure out what to do when we’ve got everybody out.” I reply. We make our way to the simulators, not at a run but still quickly. When we’re about halfway there, I realize something. “I never asked your name.” I say over my shoulder to the girl as we go.
“I don’t know.” I whispered back. “The scenes in here are supposed to be theoretical, not copies of actual events.” Then I realized what I had just said. I hadn’t written any real events into the simulator. That meant that someone else had. Which meant that who knows what else had been written into the sim. “We’ve been hacked!” I screamed. “Hit the middles of your chests, and the sim will stop!” I slapped my own chest, and realized that it wasn’t working. “Oh no…” I moaned. “We’re trapped.”
((I’m going with “The old version is still mounted” to mean that the old abort system still works, but not the new one, which I just tried.))
Good Muses above. I felt myself go pale, but I kept my voice calm.
“Okay, so we are currently in a simulation that is not supposed to be here. Which means that it was likely put there by HPBs. Or a bunnified techie. And the abort system isn’t working. Is there any other way of aborting this, like a manual override or something?”
Groundhog opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a booming voice from across the desolate plain. William’s voice.
((Post more in a sec, I need to switch computers so someone can use the webcam to skype.))
“You have simulators now?” purred William, holding a crackling lightsaber aloft. Behind him, the pink sea of bunnies shifted, aiming their weapons at us. “I’m impressed. Running around in a computer has well prepared you for actual combat.” Very, very slowly, I lifted my own BunBlaster, pointing it at the bunny king’s heart. Would it do any good in a simulation? Was this even the real William? I didn’t know.
((Idea: Maybe the simulation hacking is just a distraction, while real bunnies are invading the base at the same time?))
((Rainbow: More like it’s a trap to make us unable to fight the invading bunnies, since our minds are stuck in the sim.))
“I always leave myself a backdoor.” I replied, watching the horde of bunnies nervously. “But I don’t know if whoever changed the code found it and closed it. Or worse, booby-trapped it.” I would have to find another way to get us out of here. Old residual code that I could exploit. There had to be something.
The bunnies started to advance. I pulled out my lightsaber, holding it ready, while my mind raced through possible ways to hack out of the sim.
((SFTDP, but no one’s posted in an age, so I’m going to advance the action some more.))
I decided to try the old abort code. “Groundhog aborting, code 1744.” I said clearly into my microphone. For a few seconds, nothing changed. Then the voice of one of the techies came in through my headphones. “Nyah nyah nyah-nyah nyah!” it taunted me. I groaned. That way out had obviously been closed. Now I was sure that my standard backdoor had been closed too. I would have to find a way of fooling the simulation computer into thinking that it was supposed to stop. Then it came to me. The simulation computer still used the 9999 end-of-file code. So if I could get four nines in a row into one of the input streams, the sim would stop. I wouldn’t be able to get it into the movement input, that was for sure. But I might be able to get it into the audio stream.
“Okay, everyone, I’ve got a plan!” I said. “But all of you need to make as little noise as possible!” I waited for silence, and then spoke as clearly as possible into my microphone. “Number nine…number nine…number nine…number nine…”
The simulation fizzled into blackness. I could feel the neural connectors retracting. The door to my booth opened, and I stumbled out, drawing my real lightsaber from my belt. I could see everyone else exiting their booths as well. “We’re probably under attack!” I called to them. I pulled out my palmtop computer, and connected to the control center. The sensors were showing several bunny ships headed towards the entrance of the base. “Make that a definitely under attack!” I said. “We need to get to the missile bays if we’re going to repel them!” I ran out of the simulator room towards the missile bays. Hopefully we’d get there in time.
can I join, or is it too late
Person Name: Theo (last name unknown)
description: 6 feet tall, brown hair, always wears dark combat clothes or T-shirt and bluejeans.
Gender: male
Skills: Explosives. lots and lots of explosives. very good with bombs.
weapons: a transparent sword with red edges. Also carries bombs (see ‘skills’)
weaknesses: is prone to random bouts of needing-to-blow-stuff-up-itis.
How he canonically joined: I was found next to the site of a large explosion
((Sounds good. Though for sake of clarity, it would probably be better if used your screen name as your character’s name – that is, you are the one roleplaying. This obviously does not mean that you have to act like your real self. Being a bomb-aholic is fine.))
how do you know a bomb-aholic isnt my real self? *background explosion*
no comment on the explosion
It was a weird moment. When Groundhog told us all to be quiet, somehow the sound of the jeering HPBs was silent, almost as though they knew something was going to happen but weren’t sure what to do about it.
Then we were free. I pulled off the sim helmet and rolled out of the booth, trying to minimize my target in case HPBs were aiming blasters at us. Luckily, the HPBs had not gotten to our room yet, assuming that we were still stuck in the simulators.
‘That’s what you get for underestimating Groundhog,’
I followed Groundhog to the missle bay. As we ran through the eerily silent halls, we ran straight into Meg and Randy. That was somewhat painful.
((Thanks, Kittymine!))
The patient seems to be about to tell me her name, when suddenly a large group of people run into us – literally, in the case of the two at the front. The first thing I see when I pick myself off the floor is that they are all wearing simulator gear apparently they were in too much of a hurry to take it off.
“You’re all out of the simulators?” I exclaim, “Thank the space squids! We were on our way to see if we could shut them down ourselves.” I notice one or two people staring at the techie lying on the floor, where he’d remeained since I’d shoved him. “He seems to be semi-bunnified. Either he hacked the simulators, or he’s in cahoots with whoever did.” At that moment, he gets up and starts to run away, giggling insanely. “Grab him!” I shout, moving to do just that myself.
((No problem.))
((Lawson: I’m inserting you into the story now.))
I grabbed the techie by the collar. It was the same guy whose voice had taunted me after my first attempt to break out of the simulation. “You’re not going anywhere, Alex.” I said sternly, pulling out a depigmentizer dart and jabbing it into his arm. He crumpled to the floor, unconscious. “Medibots, pickup at current location.” I said into my palmtop’s microphone. “Sedate and await further instructions.”
“That takes care of him for the moment.” I said to the assembled crowd. “We’d better get to the missile bays though. I don’t know how much longer we have.”
I continued my dash to the missile bays, where, predictably, I found Theo, our demolitions specialist. He was already activating the launchers. “Hi Theo.” I said. “Are they within range yet?”
While Groundhog talked to Theo, I hurried out of the room to another a few doors down where I quickly swapped my SimSuit for a regular BunnyProof. After ensuring that I had two blasters (regular and stun) strapped to my hips, plenty of depigmitizer darts, and a helmet, I ran out of the room again, back to the missile bay.
“I’m going to search the building to try and recover people,” I hollered. “I’ve got lots of depigmitizer darts. Whoever wants to join me, just follow!” I dashed out again, not really looking to see who was following. I stopped in front of a workroom, made sure my gloves were fully loaded with darts, and carefully opened the door.
It was pitch black and it smelled…odd. I flipped the light switch to find the room filled with a pink haze and a row or two of technicians slumped over their computers. Thank the Muses for helmet filters. I approached the nearest techie and checked his pulse. It was rapid – too rapid for a human but very normal for a rabbit. Great. I jabbed his arm with a dart. He convulsed briefly and then went still. I went around the room injecting people, some of whom had progressed as far as ears.
“Actually, never mind that, I know they’re in range” I said, looking at the monitors, which were showing way too may bunny ships flying towards the entrance of the hideout that we had entered through earlier. “Everyone take a launcher, and shoot continuously as long as you’ve got a target.” I said to everyone in the room. “If they get into the entrance, Theo will blow it up, but I’d rather that not happen.” I sat down at the controls for one of the launchers, took aim, and fired. The missile hit one of the bunny ships, blowing it to smithereens. Only 99,999 to go… I thought.
I ducked into a closet and quickly changed into a regular Resistance suit, panting hard. It was too big, but the bunnies could be here in minutes and I didn’t have time to worry about sizes. I started grabbing blasters and depigmentizer guns from boxes and shelves, strapping on or stuffing in pockets as many weapons as I could, so I could distribute them to the others. Clattering slightly, I stumbled out of the dim closet and caught up with the group.
“How did this gas get in here in the first place?” I muttered to myself after I finished injecting everyone. Someone had to have placed it in the ventilation system, someone who was either in league with or controlled by the HPBs. Which meant that somebunny must have slipped past our net, either communication wise or physically. Which meant that we either had a rogue bunny or a traitor on our hands.
Or both.
I dispatched medibots to the workroom and then moved farther down the corridor. Most of the rooms I peeked into were empty, but all had the pink gas in it.
I moved to the second level, where the individual offices were. Every office was empty, but the eerie bit was the consistent lack of clues. There were no signs of struggle, not even pink gas. It just looked like everyone went on coffee break…at the same time.
Finally, in last office of the corridor, I found something. There was an outdated communicator lying in the center of the desk, so outdated in fact, that our advanced systems regulators would disregard its transmission signals.
I opened it. The small screen lit up. I looked in the contact list and found only one number. I was tempted to call it, but resisted. I knew Groundhog would want to see this.
So I pocketed the communicator.
As I stood in the corridor, I scanned the digital nameplates next to each office door. To my utter horror and shock, every digital nameplate read like so:
Name of WorkerRESISTANCE IS USELESS
The only exception was the room where I found the communicator, which read:
Tarus F. Finchley
ALLY
“This is not good, this is not good at all,” I muttered. I pulled out my communicator.
“Groundhog! We’ve got a serious problem. The simulators weren’t the only things that were hacked!”
((If this post doesn’t work, comment to that effect and then ignore it please.))
“There are still patients in the sickbay!” I shout. I run to the nearest supply closet shut myself in, change from my medical assistant attire into a BunnyProof suit, and grab as many others as I can. I can’t really run while holding a lot of heavy equipment, but I make my way to the sickbay as quickly as I can.
As soon as I open the door to the first occupied patients’ room, I drop the equipment I’m carrying in shock. The entire room is filled with a sort of hot-pink gas. I run over to the only patient in the room. A cursory glance confirms that en is already partially bunnified, but luckily not horribly far along, and is also seemingly unconcious. I pick up the patient as best I can, and half carry – half drag en out of the room and away from the pink gas. Then I jab the patient with a depigmentizer dart and leave en propped in a sitting position against the wall.
“But how is that possible?” I wonder. “What about the medibots?”
As soon as I open the next door, I get my answer. I grab my communicator. “Groundhog, this is really bad. Some kind of bunnification gas has been released in the rooms of the sickbay patients, and the medibots seem to have been hacked too!”
“Why go to all that trouble to bunnify sick people?” I wonder.
I was about to reply to Kittymine when Randy’s voice came through my communicator’s speaker. I switched to conference mode, so that I could speak to Kittymine and Randy at the same time. “Okay, this has got to be a major inside job, and it has to have been perpetrated by someone who’s fairly high-up. No one else could have hacked all of these different things. Let’s run under the assumption that everything is suspect until we’ve verified that it’s all..right…” I trailed off, noticing that my missile launcher was no longer firing. “Cakeit!” I growled. “The missile launchers just went too.” All around me, the others were fiddling with their own launcher controls, wondering what had happened. “Blow the entrance, Theo!” I shouted as I ran from the room. “Kitty?” I said into my communicator. “I’m coming to you–I’ll home in on your communicator signal.”
I hopped into an amazingly-still-functioning front car from a subway train and zipped over to the office area where Kittymine was. I stepped into the hallway and saw that she was staring at one of the nameplates on the doors. I looked at it in horror. “Finchley!” I exclaimed. “Why would he do this?”
“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” said a voice from behind us. I whirled around. Finchley was standing there, a crowd of semi-bunnified people behind him. “I got tired of working for the losing side.” he said. “And the bunnies very kindly offered not to bunnify me and my family if I helped them out.” “You fool.” I replied, hatred coursing through every syllable. “Do you really think that they’ll spare you if you help them? Now that you’ve served your purpose, they’ll just dispose of you.” “I think not.” Finchley replied smugly. “You see, they still need me. Not that I’d tell you what for of course. At least not until after you’ve been bunnified. Soon, the gas that I piped through the ventilation system will have bunnified almost everyone in the building, and then we shall surround you and–” He broke off abruptly as I whipped out my lightsaber and sliced his head off. “Caught him monologuing.” I said to Kittymine with a roll of my eyes. “We’d better find Randy though, before the medibots get her.” I ran back to the subway car and hopped in.
“Thanks for Aragorn imitation,” I joked, avoiding the sight of the bloody body. “But Groundhog wait,” I called as she jumped on to the subway. “What about the – ” I broke off, since she hadn’t heard me and the subway car was moving away, plus it is not a good idea to keep your back to a bunch of bunnified people for too long.
I turned to find the ten of them surrounding me. They all looked ready to commit murder.
“She killed Finchley.”
“Caking Resistance.”
“Take her down, take her down.”
“Kill them all.”
I ignored the menacing mutter. “I need backup on the office level!” I yelled into my radio as I began firing. Bunnified humans may be a bit slow at first, but once they realize what’s going on they’re just a strong as the rest of us. And it totally figured that Finchley had taken the brawniest bunch to protect himself. I managed to fell half of the group before their brains kicked in.
A guy lunged. I dodged him and tried to shoot but another grabbed me around the neck. I executed an escape, squeezing the pressure points near the man’s elbows, pushing his arms up, and ducking. But another was waiting and grabbed me, pinning my arms to my sides. I tried to shoot him in the thigh, but I had run out of loaded darts and I couldn’t reach my pocket to reload. I tried bashing his face with my helmeted head, but he predicted it and dodged. A second guy tried to grab my legs but I kicked him in the head and he crumpled. In response, the man holding me lifted me and threw me at the concrete wall. My helmet protected my head to some degree, but I heard several cracking noises from my ribcage area. The pain was incredible and my head was ringing. Before I could even try to get up someone pinned me to the floor. My helmet was yanked off and the remaining four guys began pummeling me. I tried fighting back but then one of them smashed his fist into the side of my head. My last thought before I blacked out was that the reinforcements would show up before I was bunnified or worse.
I leapt back out of the subway car as if stung and ran back to Kittymine, who was fighting off several of the half-bunnified people. I ran as fast as I could, but not fast enough to prevent four of the people from knocking her to the floor and punching her lights out. I charged up to them, my finger-gun ready, and shot an entire clip of depigmentizer darts at them. They dropped like stones. I loaded another clip of darts into my finger-gun and shot the ones that Kittymine had disabled already, so that they wouldn’t wake up later as bunnies and go on a rampage. “Oh, space squids…” I murmured, kneeling next to Kittymine’s unconscious body. “I’m so sorry, Kitty…” I scooped her up, thanking my lucky stars that she was so thin, and walked as quickly as possible towards the subway car, where I laid her across a row of seats and drove as quickly as possible towards the sickbay. Even though Randy could hold her own against the hacked medibots, she would probably have to break them to stop them from attacking her, and we’d need as many as possible intact to take care of the wounded, once I’d reversed the hack of course.
I noticed a bulge in Kitty’s pocket. I stopped the subway car, hoping that it wasn’t a tracking device or anything. I pulled the object out. It was one of our old communicators. I flipped it open. The home screen lit up, showing the id “tfinchley.” Finchely’s old communicator. Who knew what he’d been using it for.
I browsed through the menus, to see what kind of data was stored on the communicator. The contact list had only one entry in it, labeled “William,” and a corresponding number. Then I opened up the call log. There were many calls listed in it, one outgoing and the rest incoming. The incoming ones were all from William’s number. The single outgoing one was weird though, because the number was not a standard telephone number–it contained an asterisk, for one thing–oh no…
I looked at the number more closely. The first ten numbers were the number listed for William. Then an asterisk, then a forwarding code, then the old access number for our computer systems, from back when we occasionally needed to use dial-up to connect to the base from remote areas. He had made all of William’s calls get forwarded to our internal network through his communicator. Which meant that William effectively had a dial-up connection to everything in the base, and could remotely sabotage anything he wanted, albeit slowly. Except for the simulators, which were on a completely different system. That explained why he’d used one of my techies to hack the simulator. And Finchley…he had done the last wireless upgrade. He must have planted a receiver that was compatible with his antique of a communicator at some point during that process.
“Cake!” I exclaimed, rushing back to the driver’s seat and starting up the subway car again. “Go, go, go!” I growled at the throttle, wishing that the caking train car would move more quickly.
(I will not be able to get on very often, I am very forgetful…..what was I talking about?)
I saw Groundhog’s subway car get going, so I quickly rigged some landmines to cover it’s trail. I grabbed as many happy fun explosives as I could and set off down the tracks to meet up with Groundhog
I also tried to rig a self-repeating launcher system to take out the bunny armada, but quickly abandoned the project when it accidentaly became another landmine.
(ok I changed my name)
Our group, consisting of almost everyone but Groundhog, Kitty, and Theo, power-walked as quietly as possible down the dingy, flickering corridor. Somewhere ahead we could hear thumps, gasps of pain, and the roar of a subway car. I kept one hand on my blaster as we turned the corner to the subway tracks.
((Can we regroup, please?))
((Rainbow*Storm – That’s probably a good idea.))
I stare at the motionless medibots. Why aren’t they attacking? I wonder. But an even larger concern is what Groundhog said about “all these different things” being hacked. Hacked medibots are bad. Nonfunctioning missle launchers are worse. What else has been sabotaged?! Suddenly, the medibots start moving. I run about a quarter of the way down the hall before realizing that they are going in the opposite direction from me. Where are they headed? I wonder. I turn on my communicator again, hoping I’m not catching Groundhog at a bad time. “The medibots are moving south. I don’t know what they’re up to. Where are you guys at this point?”
((Sure.))
As the subway car rounded a corner, I spotted most of the resistance approaching the tracks. I pulled the brake, and the car screeched to a halt. Then I heard running footsteps behind me, and turned to see Theo, a bag full of explosives on his back, sprinting towards the subway car. Then, Randy called. I picked up. “I’m in an old subway car.” I replied to her question. “Everyone else is literally a few feet away. Hopefully we’ll all fit in this thing, and we’ll pick you up and then follow the medibots.” I took the communicator away from my ear for a moment. “Everyone get in!” I called to my fellow resistance members. “Randy’s by the sickbay, and she saw the hacked medibots heading south. We’re gonna pick her up and then go south to see what they’re doing.”
Everyone piled into the subway car, and I released the brake, driving towards the sickbay. Randy was standing outside of it. I stopped the car in front of her. “Welcome aboard the Magical Medibot-hunting Tour.” I said with a tired grin. “And by the way, what were the medibots doing that tipped you off to the fact that they’d been hacked?”
((Erm, this is probably a stupid question, but how would my character know? I was originally going to put that the medibots, who should have been swarming around the sickbay with all the bunnified patients, were just standing in two neat rows absolutely still. But would that even work?))
((That sounds reasonable))
((maybe it could be that whatever color their (eyes? cameras?) were, they are now pink.))
I awoke to find myself in a very packed subway car and aching all over, my head especially. I groaned and tried to open my eyes, but the light just made my head hurt more.
“Wuzzgoinon?” I managed to say.
I noticed kitteymine waking up, and when kitty asked “wuzzgoinon” I replied: “Groundhog is driving us around in a subway car to find the medibots, which somebody hacked and they are now crazy. I am going to blow up anything that we see behind us ((like in that level from the terminator salvation xbox game)) and hopefully the landmines I put down earlier will thin them down enough so that I can take whoever attacks us down with just my Launcher. (with a built in red dot sight)!”
((Kittymine and Theo – Thanks. Perhaps I’ll use both?))
I grin slightly in response to Groundhog’s joke, but grow more serious when asked about the medibots. “Well,” I reply while climbing into the car, “The first thing was that they were all just… standing there. Every patient in the sickbay’s been subjcted to bunnification gas; the bots should have been swarming. But they were just sitting still in two neat rows. Like they were shut off. I would have thought they were broken and not hacked, but when I looked closer… You know those camera things that they use to navigate? They’d turned pink.”
I heard Theo and sort of wiggled in acknowledgement. Eventually I was able to open my eyes, but I still couldn’t move and I was nauseous as all get out. The speeding, jolting subway ride wasn’t helping either. It was a relief when Groundhog suddenly stopped the car; that is, until I rolled off my seat and on to the floor.
“Their cameras turned pink???” I exclaimed, as I released the brake and drove the subway car southward. “That should be impossible–the color of the cameras shouldn’t be able to change. Unless that hot pink gas contained nanobots that physically altered the cameras… Well, we’ll find out when we catch them, I guess. But that’s really bad…”
The subway car sped southward. Then I spotted a crowd of medibots trundling along the platform ahead of us. I pulled up to the platform and braked. I heard a thump, and assumed that someone must have fallen. “Everyone all right back there?” I asked. I looked out the window. The medibots had noticed the subway car, and had turned around, their surgical instruments popping out of their hands. They advanced on the subway car. I quickly locked the doors of the car, which had automatically unlocked when I pulled the brake. The medibots began attacking the outside of the subway car with their surgical instruments. This was not good.
“Yeah…just peachy,” I muttered from the floor of the subway car. I could contain myself no longer. I managed to crawl away from the others before vomiting.
‘It’s official, I’m concussed. I hate concussions’
To make matters worse, it sounded like the medibots were slicing through the metal with surgical tools. This was demonstrated by the fact that a very very very sharp bit of metal started poking through the side of the car, nearly slicing me in the face. I quickly crawled back to the middle of the car.
“I don’t know,” I say, knowing that I probably sound extremely foolish, “maybe the outermost part of their camera lense has a miniscule layer of air behind it and the bunnification gas made it into that?”
I jump in startlement when the medibots start attacking the car with their high-powered surgical tools. I immediately start chanting the mental mantra I will NOT panic. I will NOT panic. while simultaneously shouting, “Cake! I wish I was more of a techie, then I might be able to help. But I’m not even a real med-person!”
I got out of the driver’s seat and struggled through the crowd in the subway car to find my sister Kittymine lying on the floor, a puddle of vomit in front of her. “Oh, space squids!” I cried, kneeling next to her. Then I jumped back, seeing a scalpel poking through the wall. This was getting worse by the second. “Theo?” I called. “Can you throw a grenade out at them? The windows have emergency latches, so you’ll be able to open one up.” I got back to the engineer’s seat, and waited with my hand on the brake release for Theo to throw the grenade. As soon as he threw it, I would peel out of here.
((Okay, can you please explain to me how these space squids came about? I am burning with curiosity.))
((I believe Jadestone invented them. They’re sort of demigods, I think.))
((Ah – I see. Thanks!))
((Sorry for not posting here in forever; NaNo and homework have taken over my life. Now that it’s December I hope to start posting on here again. ^^ Thanks for keeping this alive, guys!))
Where was I at the moment? I wasn’t sure myself, as I seemed to be rather disoriented, but it was rather clear that I was running. There were also a bunch of crazed medibots, which were chasing after me with surgical tools. I figured that if their eyes were pink, it probably meant nothing good. Glancing around, I got the vague impression that I was in a subway station and that there was a subway car screeching to a halt. A moment later, a hand stretched out of the emergency hatch and threw something small into the midst of the medibots.
In the split second before it exploded, I realized exactly what it was.
“OI!” I hollered, jumping to my feet and grabbing onto the outside of the now rapidly accelerating subway car- because if you know me at all, you know that I hate explosions with a bit of a passion.
The sound of explosions and wheels and air rushing past assaulted my ears as, with dexterity that I really didn’t have, I climbed into the subway car’s interior.
“Oh, it’s you, AL!” came Groundhog’s voice from where she was driving. She looked rather relieved that I wasn’t a bunnified techie. For that matter, I was too. “Hi!”
I surveyed the scene: Kittymine seemed rather nauseated, a guy I didn’t know was rigging up some sort of explosion with wires, and all looked rather exhausted.
“Hi!” I echoed. “You’re all safe… good… thank the space squids.”
“Safe?” asked the tall, brown-haired guy.
“Well…” I decided as suspicious screeches and explosions came from outside, “relatively safe.”
I decided that my burning question about the crazed medibots could wait. “Anything I can help with?” I asked.”
I leaned against a seat just as Theo threw something out the window. We peeled away with a much speed as physically possible. Then AL somehow appeared, climbing in through the roof hatch. I nodded a greeting before opening my backpack (which had somehow managed to survive the assualt by the bunnified gang) to look for some water and ibuprofen. I pulled out my water bottled and downed the two pills with one gulp. I then took out my first aid kit and crumpled the instant ice pack between my fingers and applied it to my head. I crawled back into a seat, wishing that I could just sleep, but knowing that doing so would not be wise, especially with bunnified medibots on our tail.
We drove around for a while, but it looked like Theo’s explosives had done the trick because we appeared to have lost the medibots. So we stopped and clambered out near level three, where the hangars were located. Though we had lost the medibots, there were still the actual bunnies to contend with, and we would have to avoid them in order to get at the transport out of here. Plus our systems were still hacked. No wonder we were overly cautious as we slipped through the hidden doorway into the hangar. It was also no wonder to find ourselves facing quite a sizeable bunny army, including William himself.
The day just keeps getting better.
“No, not more bunnies,” I groaned, pulling out my lightsaber, “really?”
“Yes, really,” said William.
“Look, we don’t have time for this,” I said distractedly. “Can we make this quick?”
“Yes,” said William sarcastically, “I’d hate to see you suffer.”
“Alright then,” I said, noticing just in time the bunnies advancing on our left and right. As I swung my lightsaber, the others sprung into action with me.
I saw others attempting to be stealthy, and I honestly tried, but when I realized I was about to make something explode, I decided to blow something up far away rather than just standing up and hurling grenades. When I realized we were facing a quite substantial force, I also decided that it would be nice if the explosions were closer to them than us. I began hurling explosives all over the hanger, sparing only the transports and our team.
Shrapnel Surprise, anyone?
((Apologizing in advance for any excessive PPing I may accidentily do.))
Explosions began to break out everywhere, and I saw Theo standing a few yards away flinging grenades and explosives towards the bunny army, a maniacal expression on his face. He made quite a formidable image silhouetted against the pink bunny army with explosions breaking out everywehre and smoke thick in the air, clouding everyone’s vision. A flying piece of shrapnel whizzed by my face, narrowly missing me. I slashed away at bunnies with a lightsaber in my left hand while pulling out my blaster with the other hand and shooting wildly at the sea of pink that we were fighting.
“This isn’t unevenly matched at all,” I muttered, spinning around to rescue Kittymine from the HPB that had snuck up behind her.
A violently pink rabbit with an evil gleam in its eyes proved particularly hard to kill. As I danced dizzily back and forth between life and death on the battlefield, he continually managed to somehow avoid my lightsaber. “Come on,” I muttered, “come on!” I fired a few rays with the blaster but even these he dodged. The smoke grew thicker, the explosions grew louder, and still it would not- let- let me KILL-
The battle was a pink blur around me but for this singular pink bunny. In its eyes I saw hatred deeper than any before. It wanted nothing, I knew, but to kill. Our deadly dance weaved through the lines of bunny and human, constantly locked in a struggle.
Suddenly, something hit my foot and I found myself falling for what seemed eternity.
“I did not just trip and fall over backwards,” I said to myself furiously.
The only thing above me was the bunny, and in its eyes I saw my fate: a fate worse than death, to be bunnified for all eternity.
“Oh, cake.” Sounds and smells were becoming very clear in these last moments. There was the reek of gasoline that laced the air. The thick scent of smoke was very distinct, too, as well as cries of “EVACUATE!” and “EVERYONE OUT, NOW!” They seemed to belong to Theo. Trampling footsteps, and a few scattered moments of sporadic thought before one final, huge explosion rocked the hangar.
KSSCHHH! The explosion slammed me backward into the wall as the bunny I’d been fighting was torn apart in a hot-pink flash. Pain shot through most of my body and the room seemed to be spinning around me, but I forced myself to an upright position, pressed against the splintered wall. Most of the bunnies had been blown to pieces, but the few survivors were struggling back to their paws and regrouping. Including, unfortunately, William.
“Where do we go?” I panted to the nearest person, fumbling for my blaster.
I staggered to my feet and pulled out a blaster, praying that the adrenaline currently pumping through my system would keep my alive. I began shooting. Several bunnies noticed that I was an injured party and therefore Easy Kill. Thank goodness for AL who sliced them to ribbons before jumping back into the fray.
Then the huge explosions started. I don’t know what Theo had been hurling, but it was a doozy. I fell to the floor as the whole place shook. As I fell, I saw AL go down as well, but then a large bunny blocked her from my sight. A large bunny who didn’t seem bothered by the explosions in the slightest. Desperately, I crawled through the mess of pink and shot at it. The charge glanced off of its back. How odd. However, this did get it’s attention and it turned to face me instead. I held my ground and tried again with a depigmetizer dart. Still no effect. It was coming for me now, and as it got closer I saw that it was actually a black bunny wearing a special hot pink suit with obvious protective properties.
‘Oh Muses, help!’ I thought wildly. I looked around for the others, but they were nowhere to be seen.
The large bunny now stood over me, its face looming through the smoke. It grinned.
I wished I had my helmet.
Oh, cake. It seemed I had accidentily endangered my friend Kittymine. Caked bunny.
Cake cake cake cake.
I pulled out my lightsaber and attempted to stab the bunny in the most vulnerable spots in its armor like we had practiced in training.
“Come on! Die already!” Still a bit dazed from the attack and the explosion, I had trouble concentrating on the enemy at first. It seemed to be able to dodge every blow that seemed inevitable to strike it. It was gaining on Kittymine, fast, who in her current state was probably more vulenerable than me not to mention the fact that she didn’t even have a helmet.
Not cool. Not cool at all.
I pushed myself up against the wall and shot the bunny in the back. The laser blast exploded harmlessly against the pink material of its armor, but it was enough to make it turn around. As it started to move toward me, white eyes glinting in the smoke, I kept firing useless shots at it, each one doing nothing but pushing it back half a step. I hoped it would be enough for Agent Lightning and Kittymine to move in.
Suddenly AL was there, trying to slice it with her lightsaber. Then Rainbow was sending blaster shots in its direction, both aiming to kill it/distract it. I quickly used a drop of the distraction time to pull a pair of earplugs out of my pocket and hastily stuff them into my ears, giving myself at least some protection from the black bunny’s exceptionally effective hypnosis. I then scanned the ground around me hurriedly, looking for something hard to throw. I found a chunk of concrete, recently departed from the wall, a few feet away from my location. Head still swimming, I crawled over to it and picked it up.
When I turned around, the bunny was only a foot from me. It had chosen to ignore the others and dismissed their attempts to kill it as futile. It bore down on me, those merciless white eyes beginning to swirl, trying to trap my gaze. With a final ounce of strength I hurled the hunk of cement at its head.
The glass visor of the helmet shattered.
The bunny’s face contorted into an even uglier scowl, its dark features twisting menacingly. Despite having its helmet shattered, it sprang into a defensive stance, ready to dodge anything we could throw at it. I concentrated on the movements of its body, trying to keep immune to bunny hypnosis.
For a moment, none of us moved. My eyes flicked back and forth, gaging its movements. Quickly, I raised my blaster and the bunny lunged for me. I ducked just in time.
“ok, the Megaton Mauler may have been a bad choice” I thought as the hanger exploded. “Oh well”. I noticed a large bunny with a pink suit trying to brutelly murder my friends. I also noticed that all of this destruction somehow managed to miss the transport. then I noticed a med-bot that had been damaged and was going in a slow circle humming “Its A Small World”. Disregarding the last, I thought that one last Megaton Mauler would be useful in this situation, so I hurled it at the Bunny Heavy. Kittymine lost her eyebrows to the fireball, and Agent Lightning needed to bend over backwards like ((he, she?)) was in the Matrix in order to dodge shrapnel. “Is it dead?” I ask.
((She. If you are not sure, you can always the gender neutral pronoun ‘en’.))
((*cracks up* Lawson, you’re awesome. Hey that rhymes…))
AL jumped in, blaster in hand, and was forced to dodge as the bunny took a swipe at her. This turned out to be a very good thing, for a second later a projectile hit the bunny and it exploded with a keening scream in a giant fireball that nearly missed frying the two of us as well. I was blasted backward by the explosion and found myself lying prone on the floor for the second time that day.
“Is it dead?” asked Theo from a few feet away. I coughed and spat, my saliva darkened by the smoke.
“You think anything could survive that?” I asked, a tad grumpily. I was not appreciative of being nearly burned to cinders, even if it did kill the giant bunny. My head hurt and blackness was hovering on the edge of my vision again. “Let’s get to the transport before this place collapses on top of us.”
“Yes, let’s report this bunny. If there are more like it, people need to be warned,” I say.
I scratch my head, thinking. “Hey, wasnt there a bunny like this in those videos we found of one person trying to survive First Contact with the bunnies?I know we haven’t decrypted all of the tapes, but the third one shows whoever this guy is fighting off one of these black bunnies. Has everyone here seen the clip? what is it called….Bunny Invasion! Thats it! Anyway maybe the fourth tape will tell us other weaknesses they have.
((bringing the bunny invasion clips into the storyline LIKE A BOSS))
“Great theory – let’s discuss it on the plane,” I said, hobbling over to the remaining vehicle. The others were already there and helped haul me in, since I was literally about to fall on my face. Groundhog steered me to a chair.
“Sit,” she said sternly. I wasn’t about to argue.
Within a minute we were all inside. I knew that William was back there somewhere and that prudence dictated that we kill him now, but none of us were in any position to. We were lucky to have gotten away with our lives.
Time to regroup. Again.
“Where are we headed?” I asked no one in particular.
” I dont actually think it was William back there.” I said.
someone asked me what I meant. “If William was actually here, he would have been leading a bunny army far too large for us to overcome. I think it was just one of his decoys. Hey Groundhog, what’s the progress on your combustable lemon gun?”
((Apologies. I haven’t been on in eons. Heh…))
The plane smelled like sweaty people and blood. There was another smell too — something like burnt…hair? Weird. I found a clear spot and sat with my legs folded up, my thinking position which was commonly referred to by Theo as “perching”. Trying to ignore the smells, I closed my eyes and leaned back against the wall. The only thing to do now was wait.
((Apologies. I haven’t been on in eons. Heh…))
The plane smelled like sweaty people and blood. There was another smell too — something like burnt…hair? Weird. I found a clear spot and sat with my legs folded up, my thinking position which was commonly referred to by Theo as “perching”. Trying to ignore the smells, I closed my eyes and leaned back against the wall. The only thing to do now was wait.
((actually it’s referred to as “owling”, but I call it “perching”))
((Sorry I haven’t posted in so long.))
I hurry over to Kitty, telling her “I’m not a real med-person, but I’ve been an emergency assistant long enough to pick up a thing or two.” Right away I can tell she is concussed and dizzy, possibly on the verge of losing conciousness. I only have a basic first-aid kit, but I do what I can.
“Thanks Randy, ” I muttered hazily. “Aren’t concussions the best?” She chuckled at that.
((Posting for Groundhog, who is buried under college finals))
GROUNDHOG
“We’re headed away,” I said in response to Kitty. “Where that is, I have yet to determine. And the combustable lemon guns still need a bit of tweaking,” I added to Theo.
I sat down in the cockpit and got the plane moving. With luck we would get out of here before William, who had been knocked out, got up again. Then Theo’s comment about a decoy registered. Yes, that actually made more sense. Why would the HPB leader go into a battle where the odds were not totally in his favor?
But the more pressing problem, I reminded myself as we lifted off, was the fact that our system was still hacked. Until that was fixed, the HPBs would know exactly where we were and where we were headed. Highly inconvenient.
I put the plane on autopilot and then pulled out my laptop. I really needed to sit somewhere and think if I wanted to solve this problem any time soon.
“Hey, AL, would you be able to pilot this bird?”
I sat on the floor with my legs folded up, listening quietly. I already felt safer in the air, even if I wasn’t piloting. There was something comforting about the rumbling metal floor of an Arwing.
“Wait just a second Mago, where the cake have you been all this time? I haven’t seen you for ages!”
Having done everything I can for Kitty, I resign myself just to wait and keep an eye on her. Concussions can be nasty – especially if you’ve gotten them in battle.
“Sure,” I replied, and sat down at the controls. “Where to?”
((Probably-fail idea: Would anyone want to help write a Bunny Apocalypse book and send it to a publisher? Following the exact RP storyline might get confusing/boring/repetitive at times, but we could combine elements from TNG, the Reboot, and the original BA to create an actual structured plot. Problems to overcome: the HUGE ensemble cast, copyrights on things like lightsabers and “combustible lemons”, and the fact that most non-Musers won’t take evil pink bunnies seriously. Do you guys like it … ?))
((Yes! A book would be amazing, even if we didn’t ever get around to the publishing stage. To deal with the vast number of characters, we’d probably have to sort of combine them, or create all-new ones, or something. As for lightsabers and such, we could probably use obvious generic names and lampshade it.
Another issue is continuity; we’d have to decide once and for all if bunnies are just disembodied heads or full-bodied, and similar.))
((About the characters: A lot of people only posted once or twice in the RP and then forgot about it. So maybe we could have a “main cast” of 5-8 people that were most active in the RPs, and everyone else can be minor characters. Like the equivalent of, say, Lavender Brown or Dean Thomas in HP. I’d be quite happy to have Rainbow as a minor character since she’s the quiet, order-taking type … would other people be okay with that for their characters?
And for the main cast: maybe Groundhog, Kitty, IBCF, ZVX, and … Zinc? Kokonilly? Alice? I wasn’t around for the original BA, sorry …))
((Definitely talk to Groundhog and/or Armada, since they put together the first edit of the original BA. I like the idea very much.
Main characters from Original: Groundhog, IBCF, ZVX, TGYPWYA, Kokonilly, Aggie, Kittymine, Zinc, Avalon, Alice.
((OH MY GOSH YES RAINBOW. AGREED AGREED AGREED. I’m not sure how I’d fit into the character scheme- probably a fairly minor character, I suppose- but yes, having so many characters would be something we might have to work around. I’m fine with my character being squished in the background. And of course we’d have the POV to think of– do we want first person since that’s how most people post? I’ve read several books in which a first person perspective changes from character to character, but let’s keep it either all first person or third and not have it switch between the two. *coughcoughMaximumRidecoughhackhackhack* And also- I’m guessing this would be in past tense? Because I know some people tend to RP in the present tense. And I tend to switch between the two sometimes. Also, I don’t see why we need to be worried about people not taking evil pink bunnies seriously. Something this ridiculous-sounding sounds like a smash hit teen novel in the making! Anyway. But I am totally backing the idea. I’m in on this!))
((Well, I don’t think that transitioning to third person/past tense will be too difficult, since we won’t be following the RP terribly closely. With ~10 main characters, switching POVs would be a bit confusing.))
((GAPAs, might we have a separate thread for this discussion? I feel like it’s hijacking the RP somewhat. Aaanyway.
Here’s one thing we’ll need to keep in mind whilst writing this: don’t slip in too many Musiverse references- that is, things to do with MuseBlog, Muse Academy, or Muse magazine. They’ll just clutter up the story’s universe and confuse non-Muser readers. Of course we’ll want some Muserly things, just don’t overdo it. For example, things like squid munchies, wung buttons, and the word “cake” as an expletive could easily be included. It’s the future, after all, and new slang and foodstuffs are to be expected. However, if wungs and space squids existed, they’d just seem out of place.
Looking at Kittymine’s proposed list of main characters, I think that some need new names. “TGYPWYA,” “TMFA,” and “ZVX” are simply awkward as names, even though the mains would presumably be known only by codenames. Maybe we could just add in some vowels, i.e. Tiggypowya, Tempha, and Zyvex. Or do those sound weird?))
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((I think that’s a brilliant idea.))
((SFTDP: The whole using ‘cake’ as an expletive and wungs and space squids and such. Yes, definitely Musiverse refereneces but not so many to the point that we are cluttering up the plotline…
yes, GAPAs, could we please have a seperate thread for this?))
((GAPAs, might we have a separate thread for this discussion? I feel like it’s hijacking the RP somewhat. Aaanyway.
Here’s one thing we’ll need to keep in mind whilst writing this: don’t slip in too many Musiverse references- that is, things to do with MuseBlog, Muse Academy, or Muse magazine. They’ll just clutter up the story’s universe and confuse non-Muser readers. Of course we’ll want some Muserly things, just don’t overdo it. For example, things like squid munchies, wung buttons, and the word “cake” as an expletive could easily be included. It’s the future, after all, and new slang and foodstuffs are to be expected. However, if wungs and space squids really existed, they’d just seem out of place.
Looking at Kittymine’s proposed list of main characters, I think that some need new names. “TGYPWYA,” “TMFA,” and “ZVX” are simply awkward as names, even though the mains would presumably be known only by codenames. Maybe we could just add in some vowels, i.e. Tiggypowya, Tempha, and Zyvex. Or do those sound weird?))
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((Well, since the rest of our names are strange enough, I doubt those will sound any weirder. I also vote for a new thread for discussion – unless this constitutes BA Editing and should go on that thread?))
((But imagine if someone was reading the book aloud. “Tee-em-eff-ay grabbed his BunBlaster and handed it to Tee-jee-why-pee-dubbleyoo-why-ay, who…”))
((Well, “Star Wars” somehow managed with R2D2 and C3PO.))
((A GAPA posting in an RPG thread without double parentheses? Tsk.
Good point- but surely TGYPWYA, at least, is too long as a name, even if we were to preserve TMFA and ZVX.))
((I agree with Lady Bunniful. After all, having the name TGPWYA is part of the world of the story, in a way. And it isn’t like the person, each time they read the name, is going to pronounce each letter. I certainly don’t – I just skim it over and register it as that charcter’s name. I suspect others would do the same.))
((Yes, I suppose so. Would we include the names these abbreviations stood for, e.g. mentioning sometime in the story that TGYPWYA stands for “The Guy Your Parents Warned You About”? And would this somehow fit into the whole ‘future dystopian’ setting, e.g. it’s normal to have a name like that? Or are these simply our code names and nobody knows our real names? I mean, that’s an idea… for example, my real name would not be Agent Lightning, but something else, but what with the bunnies and all I have concealed my identity? Or… hmm, I guess the simplest thing would be to leave the origin of our strange names to the reader’s imagination.))
((Oh, well, I suppose you people are right. TGYPWYA it is.
Yes, I think just not bringing up the origin of the character’s names would be best. And we should probably say what they stand for; otherwise it would seem like they all just had vowel-deficient names that were written in all caps. Or something. Except- what about The Man For Aeiou? How would we explain who Aeiou was?))
…some sort of deity in a futuristic cult?
))
((I guess the feasibility of that depends on whether TMFA is the kind of person who would join a cult. Maybe it’s a more innocent religion, or TMFA isn’t actually for Aeiou.
((We’d have to get copyright permission from the Muse publishers, wouldn’t we?))
((We could just have him as TMFA, have all readers assume that all names are codenames, and make no explanation whatosever.))
((Yes- when I see the word “TGYPWYA,” my brain just sort of goes “Tygpwa.” I was referring specifically to if someone were to read it aloud, but I guess that’s not very likely to happen, anyway.))
((Sorry, you caught me just as I was about to go back and fix it.))
((Groundhog PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE post! Everything is hanging on you right now!))
((Sorry! Posting now!
Note: “Root” is the Linux term for “Administrator,” basically.))
I opened my laptop and created a TNT-walled connection to the base’s systems, meaning that my computer would triple-check any data coming from the base’s systems to me, just in case the bunnies tried to control my computer via the connection. The load time was slow as all get-out, but at least my screen wouldn’t suddenly turn pink. I worked my way through the system files, noting what should and should not have been there. It appeared that the bunnies had done the hack by uploading a kernel module to our system, and then loading it when the time came. Unfortunately, modules could only be added and removed by root, and I had lost my ability to log in as root when the hack happened. I searched for the password storage file, and downloaded it to my machine. Then I set my decryption program to work crunching through the file. Hopefully the new root password would be in there.
After five minutes, a soft ping notified me that the file had been decrypted. I scrolled through the result file. At the very bottom, a new user had been added. William, with the root password “bunniezr00l” I smirked, and did a remote login with that username and password. I removed the offending module, logged out, logged in as myself, removed William’s account, downloaded the module’s source code, and then locked down the system before logging out again. “The system is offline, but the hack is gone.” I said to the other occupants of the plane. “It’ll take me a bit to completely purge the system of any remaining bunny influence, but they can’t track us anymore, so hopefully we’ll be safe.”
I opened up the source code on my laptop and read it. It was a fairly simple piece of code–it just replaced a few of the system calls so that the bunnies could bypass our security system more easily once the module was loaded. I began to type, changing the code so that it would work in reverse, and automatically purge any bunny data on our system. After fifteen minutes of frenzied work, I got a clean compile. I unlocked the system and loaded the revised module. It began to purge the system. Ten minutes later, all of the bunny data had been permanently erased. “We’re back in business!” I shouted.
“We’re back in business!” came Groundhog’s voice.
From the controls, I did a fistpump. “Yes!” I said. “Thank you, Groundhog!” Everyone looked thrilled- Lawson looked ready to explode in joy- I hoped not literally.
Since we had not set a destination, I flew over to the entrance to the base, seeing it from the air for the second time since our disaterous air battle with the bunnies and the Arwings and the flaming parachutes. It couldn’t have been more than twelve hours ago. Had it really been that recent? It felt like ages ago.
“Okay, what now?” I asked Groundhog. “Should I land this thing or keep in the air a while?”
“Yes!” I shout with a grin when I hear Groundhog’s assurance that the hack was gone. Even Kitty looks brighter – though I expect her head probably hurts too much to allow actual joy. I look up at Groundhog with interest when AL asks whether we should land. I’m a bit concerned that going back to the base we just vacated may not be the best immediate course of action, but what do I know? In terms of field experience, I’m a complete neophyte.
I look over to Groundhog for advice.
When I heard that the mainframe was back up, I actually did want to blow something up, just to make the day perfect. I almost hoped that a lone bunny would appear. Not really. I readied my equipment as I heard we were about to land.
((Theo’s pretty crazy/intense/pyro-ish, huh? I like him.))
yes I am crazy/insane/pyro-ish. thank you.
((We’re landing? Okay…))
I glanced around nervously and pulled out my lightsaber. You never knew where bunnies might be lurking around the corner.
((Okay, I really need to get over this concussion because it makes my characters mostly inactive. Which is annoying. So I’ll defy the laws of nature momentarily – what else is new? Some of you may recall how the only way we got sleep in TOS was by being knocked out
))
We were landing, where exactly was unclear but that didn’t really matter since the fuel gauges were reading close to empty. I rummaged in my bag again and pulled out a bottle of pills from my first aid kit. The pills were specially designed to combat head injuries, a common occurrence among Resistance fighters, unfortunately. I swallowed two of them and within a few minutes the pain in my head lessened and my vision cleared some more.
Just in time for landing.
We disembarked to find ourselves on a pebbled beach, a cool breeze contrasting nicely with the warm sunlight. A few hundred meters away was an abandoned boathouse, and just past that was a boarded up lifeguard house. In the distance, along the coast, we could see a lighthouse.
“Okay, where to now?” I asked, wondering if any Resistance fighters had escaped and come here, too. It seemed unlikely, but all the same a possibility.
“I suggest we take cover and then figure out where we are. I believe our com cards are equipped with GPS capabilities,” I replied rationally. The boathouse was the larger of the two buildings, so we trooped in there.
Everything was covered in an inch of dust. There were oddly colored stains on the floor and weird scratches in the wall paneling. Evidently, bunnies had come calling here once upon a time.
In the back room we found a few tables, which we put the worst injuried on, after a bit of dusting. First aid kits were pulled out and lots of bandages and salve were applied. I addressed my own burns and then decided to investigate the upstairs rooms. I climbed the old wooden stairs and found myself on a landing facing three doors, each with different name plates.
Mom and Dad’s Room
Jessie’s Room
Andrew’s Room
I didn’t stop the tears, nor stop my hands from balling into fists. The bunnies had a lot to answer for.
All of the rooms were in some form of disarray and very dusty. But they did also contain items we sorely needed, like fresh clothes, blankets and disinfectants. I walked back downstairs and reported my findings to Groundhog.
“Thanks for telling me – we’re having a meeting in half an hour to decide What To Do.” I nodded and then went to sit outside at the back of the house. I needed to see nature.
It seemed like I had only just sat down, yet I was entering the house once again for the meeting. It was brief, for frankly our predicament was obvious. It was decided in the end that we would stay here temporarily and send out scout teams to assess the area and locate possible bases or safe havens. I quickly volunteered to scout.
Early the next morning, I and a few others ((insert yourselves as you wish)) set out eastward away from the shore, heading toward distant trees.
Having volunteered at the meeting, I now set out with Kitty and the others. “Where to first?” I ask.
((Whoa, I really need to keep better track of this!))
MEG:
Some people have things about clowns. Personally, I think that’s ridiculous. But yes, we all have our little secrets, and I have to admit that I’m far, far from fond of long, pointy needles. So I think it goes without saying that the day Randy and I were stalked by psychotic robots with enormous needles for hands did not make my top ten list.
Well, Randy did most of the battling and I just sort of lurched along behind her and to ignore that the painkillers for my hips were wearing off. Ironically, I’m pretty sure the medibots could of fixed that, if they just hadn’t been trying to brutally murder us.
On the upside, the beach where we’d landed was very beautiful, albeit somewhat foggy, Kitty’s concussion had run its course and whoever had lived in the boathouse had had excellent medicine supplies. It was sad to think of the fate that’d probably befallen the previous tenants, but quite frankly, I was almost a little glad that we wouldn’t have to try and save whoever lived there only to lose them in another battle and that it wouldn’t be our fault when the bunnies eventually got them.
I felt a brief flash of empathy, but it vanished almost too quickly. After all, they were safe now, where nothing and no-one would ever hurt them again. Time to face it, I was getting used to this sort of thing. Or maybe the painkillers muted more than my hip. ‘Course, between ending up slightly mental and not being able to fight in the next attack, I’d rather be a few saucers short of a tea set. Look at what happened to the people who’d been in the old sickbay- sliced and diced by needles, which is probably not the best way to go.
Deciding to stick to the living, I discreetly joined the exploration expedition. Everyone else was mainly helping the wounded and I was not in a bedside-manner type mood. Also, my hips was virtually healed. The new skin looked pinkish and as previous mentioned, it’d still been painful but there was no risk of it reopening. Not that I’d ever studied medicine or even stayed awake in health class, but that probably made me just as qualified as everyone else we had left. Slightly more clear-headed right now, I approached Randy to thank her as the group started out towards the lighthouse to have a better vantage point. I try to think of something to say, but it all sounds insincere and fake.
“Meg.” I say, finally. “My name’s Meg. Just thought you should know, what with saving me back there and all.”
The next morning, I decided to stay behind with most of the others, figuring I could be more help fetching things for the injured than slowing down the scouting group. As it turned out, no one was too badly hurt, so we ended up exploring the rooms of the lighthouse.
I turn and give Meg a small smile. “Nice name.” I say. “And I’m glad to see you’re feeling a bit better.”
I join the small group as we set off towards some trees. “Right then,” I say aloud to nobody in particular, “where are we heading?”
Nobody answered. I hadn’t expected anyone to answer, anyway.
“It’s nice out here,” I comment, “really great weather.” It’s the truth. The cool breeze is whipping my hair around. After the heat of battle and such, it really is nice.
“Meg,” I hear someone say, “My name’s Meg. Just though you should know, what with saving me back there and all.” She isn’t talking to me, so I ignore her.
“You know, I really hate bunnies,” I begin conversationally, “I wish they would all just go away so that we could enjoy this wonderful weather in peace.”
I join the small group as we set off towards some trees. “Right then,” I say aloud to nobody in particular, “where are we heading?”
Nobody answered. I hadn’t expected anyone to answer, anyway.
“It’s nice out here,” I comment, “really great weather.” It’s the truth. The cool breeze is whipping my hair around. After the heat of battle and such, it really is nice.
“Meg,” I hear someone say, “My name’s Meg. Just though you should know, what with saving me back there and all.” She isn’t talking to me, so I ignore her. I wonder who she’s talking to.
“You know, I really hate bunnies,” I begin conversationally, “I wish they would all just go away so that we could enjoy this wonderful weather in peace.”
Nobody answers. “Yep, bunnies, are the worst,” I replied, “so caking annoying. Of course, I’m not helping fight them. I’m just dead weight. That’s me, dead weight, dragging down the rest of the team. Of course, if I could actually be good at something… but that’ll never happen, of course.” I look thoughtfully at my lightsaber.
“I’m not completely bad,” I say after a pause. “I mean, I’m not the best at piloting, but I’m not the worst, either… okay, so I’m the worst of anyone in the Resistance, but that’s just because everyone else is so much better… now computers. Computers is something I don’t do. Groundhog… now Groundhog has so much more computer knowledge than I do. I’m absolutely pathetic in comparison.”
I look up at the puffy white clouds, hoping that beyond the blue sky a giant space squid will see me.
The problem with walking while looking for giant space squids is that a lot of the time you end up bumping into someone.
I struggled to keep a straight face as AL began to babble a bit, and almost burst out laughing when she banged straight into a tree.
“My advice to you AL” I said as I helped her to her feet, “is to stop while you’re ahead and not look for space squids while heading toward a forest. We have enough injuries on our hands.”
We walked through the forest for a bit, following a few trails. Interestingly, there were signs of trails blazed by others, for I noticed bright orange ties around several trees that were not on the path. I went to examine one and noticed that there was a stick figure drawn on the end of the tie and directions written across it: 40° S, 20ft R.
“40 degrees southward, 20 feet to the right,” I read. I pulled out my compass and tried it. Yup, 40 south of that point and twenty feet away was another tree with an orange tie. I grinned – summer camp skills were still operational.
“Should we try following this trail? The bunnies are smart enough to follow an actual path, but I doubt that they’ve every tried a hand at trail blazing.”
I don’t really know if we should follow the trail directly. I say we travel some distance off, but still barely in view of the tags. that way, we have much better odds if this is a trap.
MEG:
“Hmm… Let me think this through. If I was an evil bunny and wanted to kill people, what would I do? Well, of course I’d set up a complex trail, hoping they might decide to follow and not get lost. Of course, that’s the perfect method! It makes so much more sense than just rigging pressure- released mines around the whole tree, or some sort of trap that catches them, or just an plain old burglar alarm that alarms HQ. What could possibly be easier.” I realize that my sarcasm probably sounds like I’m mocking the group when actually it’s just the whole situation that annoys me.
“What I mean is, I agree with Kitty. I sincerely doubt this is a trap- it’s too complex for normal bunnies and not really one of high-ups’ style. Most likely it’s just a stupid trail left over when our furry friends dropped in and murdered everyone. Or someone who fancies themselves a resistance fighter decided the best way to leave us a trail would be to let us run zig-zag through the woods and wear us out because we obviously have nothing better to-” My brain kicks in before I offend anyone and I shut up. Yet another case of not the time for this.
“I vote for following the trail. But we should keep our weapons out, just in case.” I say.
I glance over at Meg, then look back at the orange ties. I speak Sarcasm fluently, so I can tell that she’s annoyed about the situation we’re in. “I hate the bunnies too.” I mutter, thinking the statement is cryptic enough that the others will asume it was addressed to no-one in particular. “I vote we follow the tie-trail. Aside from the fact that it seems too convoluted to be a trap, those ties look a little high up for the bunnies to reach. And it seems to me that bunnified humans are even more simple-minded than the neon lagomorphs.”
“Alrighty then, let’s move out,” I said and began to follow the blazed trail.
It was a really odd one. I mean, I’d blazed trails before, but this one was nuts. We would go forward for a while and then backtrack slightly to the right before sharply going left and then heading forward again. It was erratic. We were walking for at least an hour and I was beginning to doubt our plan when we came to a huge hill. The last tree had told us to go straight, so straight we went, toward the giant hill. It was only when we got closer that I noticed the hill seemed to have door.
“A house in a hill?” I mused to myself. Either someone was pretending to be a hobbit, or we had travelled back in time to Little House on the Prairie.
It was definitely well camouflaged. The lichen and moss covered wood blended perfectly with the dirt and grass of the hill. I pulled out my blaster as we reached the door and then tried the handle.
It was locked.
No matter. A quick scanner search located a key under the doormat. AL turned it and the door opened smoothly. Too smoothly for a ramshackle hut-in-a-hill. Gripping my blaster nervously, I stepped inside the house.
Only the interior didn’t look like a house. It looked like a hospital.
I winced at the sarcasm in book’s voice. “ok, ok. I was just being the voice of caution here….”
((Are we thinking resistance fighters or sick bunny experiments?))
((Good question…perhaps former resistance medical center/hideout that was raided by HPBs and used for sick experiments and was later abandoned by the HPBs, so it’s now empty?))
((That’s a slightly complicated history, but not too complicated. I like it.))
(( you know, SOPA would probably shut US down because we include lightsabers in our thread…..or because we have the possibility of posting copyrighted materials))
((SOPA wouldn’t shut us down. It’s for sites that host or enable access to copyrighted material. Saying the word “lightsaber” is not grounds for shutting us down, even under SOPA.))
((But would it shut us down because of all the Doctor Who, MLP, etc. gravatars?))
((Wouldn’t that imply that all sites displaying photos of those fandoms that do not actually own rights to those photos would be shut down? And shouldn’t we move this to Hot Topics?))
((Possibly. And Probably.))
“Hey, I have a weapon idea”, I said. Groundhog turned around to look at me. “what his it”? Groundhog asked.” a shockwave generator that is voice activated, so the bunnies can’t use it. The passphrase would be something very random, like ‘fus ro dah’ maybe?” ((I am such a Skyrim nerd))
((Anyone for an
in the knee?))
Meg:
Kitty didn’t even need to give the command: we all fanned out perfectly in a standard search pattern. I think all of us were a little on edge, probably because there was, for the lack of a better word, something wrong about the place. Usually, when something bad went down in a place, it’s pretty easy to put your finger on it- rotting corpses, blaster marks, ugly pink wallpaper, that horrible smell of decomposing cat- you name it, it stinks.
I shuddered- thinking of some of the upper rooms in the lighthouse, which brought me back to Anne’s flat. The wall of smell had been almost solid, hitting me, which should have been warning enough but no, I’d felt obliged to go in and even then I nearly tripped over her corpse-
Ripping myself away from this more disturbing past chapter I try to keep filed away gives me my first clue. This place doesn’t smell at all. There isn’t even the lingering aroma of disinfectant which seems determined to asphyxiate me every time I enter one of those hospital places. Even the dust only smells faintly. Except- when I get closer to the walls, there’s a faint, chlorine-like odor that I can’t place right away and reminds me somewhat of bleach ((Hint: It’s ozone, but Meg slept through whatever chemistry education she may have had so she doesn’t know this.)). My best guess is that it was some form of disinfectant.
I’m curious now, so I lean closer to the wall and notice that it’s somewhat lumpy and the grayish paint was probably white at some point. Strange, because most of the walls in resistance sickbays are painted the color of puke-after-someone-ate-key-lime-pie. I touch one of the little tables next to the hospital beds and something cascades to the floor. “It” turns out to be laminated flashcards, slightly bigger than the type I used to have to help me memorize my times-tables.
Printed on them are pictures- a perfect little family with two kids and a dog smiling, an ice-cream cone, a blaster and one that is entirely hot pink. I turn them over, but they all have perfectly non-obtrusive black backs, without a logo or brand name or any other mark. The edges are slightly scratched and one has tooth marks on it. This strikes me as a little strange- not the tooth marks, but after the thing with the darts and the billiard ball I’ve been through most of the resistance’s psych tests to determine if I’m okay and I never really came across flash cards. Of course, that might’ve been the department of the one with the inkblots who really didn’t appreciate my humor.
Then AL gives me a hand signal- while I’ve taken my little trip down good ol’ memory lane, the others have scouted through the rest of the hangar and now they want to try the door at the end. I dump the flash-cards on the perfectly-made bed- whoever left this place must’ve had serious OCD- and turn to catch up with the others when I run into something at hip-hight. It’s my bad side, and I swear rather unprofessionally. “Always seeking to improve the junior members’ vocabulary.” I say, almost absently because the sheet is tucked over whatever most definitely not be part of a standard-issue bed. I finally manage to yank the sheet off of the mysterious lump and continue my previous vocabulary lesson.
Those aren’t just plain old restraints. The metal straps welded to the bed have enough knobs to be tightened in ways that can’t be comfortable for the invalid. Near the head, part of the straps continue under the bed but I’m sure as cake kingdom not going to stick my hand under there. “Guys.” I say. “We really, really shouldn’t touch anything. This my have belonged to us once, but I see our furry friends have made-” I gulp. “-some improvements. And partied a little.” Even though it’s silly, I back away from the stationary and non-threatening bed. Booby-trapping a place like this would be just up their ally and I hate surprises. Thank goodness we hadn’t opened that door yet- oh, CAKE.
The place was incredibly eerie and smelled vaguely like a pool. Odd. Meg wasn’t the only one who found interesting “improvements” to the facility. I didn’t want to think about what must have happened here, but the images swam to the surface of my mind nonetheless.
We didn’t find any signs of life in the building. Eventually we just had the door at the far end remaining. Randy reached out and turned the knob.
Behind the door was an operating room, but what was more striking was the strong chlorine-like odor that hit us in the face. I coughed and looked up at the vents. The little lights above them were green, confirming that the operating room was in Disinfect mode.
“Seal your helmets!” I ordered, praying that we hadn’t damaged ourselves too badly. “The room is full of ozone.” I turned around to make sure that everyone had sealed their helmets when I noticed that the front door was covered by a metal blast door.
We were trapped. If we didn’t find a way to shut off the ozone generator, the place would fill with it and after a while our helmet filters would be overloaded and stop working. Then we would be breathing effective poison.
There was another door at the end of the operating room. Perhaps that would be our escape path…or perhaps we would just plunge ourselves deeper into the trap.
Suddenly the silence was broken as the whole place began to echo with snickers.
Oh, joy. Who was it now? I looked around and spotted bunnies. I sighed. “Look, this isn’t funny, you couldn’t just let us go?”
William snickered. Not him again. Please.
“And would it kill you to stop snickering?” I hollered at him, my helmet muffling my voice.
“Awfully impudent, aren’t you?” He purred, “for one so young.”
“Yeah, well can we finish this conversation somewhere else?” I asked. “These helmet filters only last so long, y’know.” I knew he knew how scared I was, but I was determined not to show it. Most everyone here was older than me, and as the youngest, I had to be one of the strongest. Or else they wouldn’t want me. I had to earn my right to stay here, I reminded myself.
From the shadows emerged another bunny. I gave a small gasp as I took in its black fur, violently pink suit, and gleaming eues. “Didn’t I get rid of you?” I asked in annoyance, hoping the others would take advantage of how I was stalling for time. “Would it kill you to stay dead?”
As soon as the doors closed, I realized we were in trouble. I got an even stronger feeling of we-are-so-caked….ness? ((Is that a real word? Cake it, it is now!)) when I saw William. My jaw sagged in disbelief when I saw the Ninja Bunny. It couldn’t possibly be the same one, could it? Anyway, my thoughts turned to how we get out of the trap. I heard AL talking to William ,but I didn’t focus on it. I quickly took out a shaped explosive ((to those of you unfamiliar with bombs, a shaped explosive has it’s blast focused in one direction.)). I realized that the pure ozone atmosphere in the room was interfering with the timer on the bomb. William was likely to rush in to get us when he realized we were about to escape. “Guys, keep them away from me while I set the bomb! I need 5 minutes!” William’s eyes narrowed. “What are you…” he recognized the device in my hand. “STOP THEM!!” he yelled, as the Ninja Bunny vaulted into action.
((wait a second, isn’t lighting a fire in pure ozone like lighting a fire in pure oxygen? this should get interesting…..))
((That would kill all of us.))
((Ooh, we’re on the verge of extermination by fire yet again. Joy.))
There was no time to reprimand Theo for setting a bomb in a room full of ozone because the Ninja Bunny was about to spring.
“RUN!” I screamed and hurled toward the door at the far end of the operating room, praying that it wasn’t locked.
It wasn’t. I tumbled through the door and moved so that the others could follow me.
“We need to find a way out of this building now, or we’re all going down,” I said fiercely.
I glanced around, looking for an escape.
I heard loud noises coming our way.
“This way?” I guessed, pointing to a door that we might have come out of. (Then again, perhaps it was another ozone chamber.) Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of pink. Our party was running wildly, pushing towards the door. To enter or not to enter? Did we have an option?
The door was thrust open and somehow I found myself tumbling in.
((If this post doesn’t work, just ignore it, OK?))
I see the girl opening the door stumble as it apparently opens faster than she was expecting, and I dart over to steady her before she can fall. “Careful.” I say. The door seems to have opened, not into another sickbay-style room, but into a hallway. That ‘s a relief; most medical facilities don’t routinely disinfect hallways. “I’m Randy, by the way. What’s your name? I don’t know many people who didn’t work with me in the BART system.” I say hurriedly as we quickly travel down the hall.
Thank the muses we were in a hallway. After checking that everyone had made it out of the room, I blasted the locks on the doors, trapping William and the Ninja HPB inside the ozone filled OR that had a possibly set bomb in it. I knew it wouldn’t last too long, but I would give us a head start.
The door at the end of the hallway also had a metal blast door sealing it, as did all of the windows. We were trapped like bunnies in a hutch, to use an ironic simile. I looked around desperately for a way out, the sounds of the Ninja HPB pummelling the OR door echoing down the hallway. I looked up at the ceiling and realized that this place had the standard ceiling panels found in institutional buildings across the world. Panels that can be easily moved and replaced. Thankfully the building had lower ceilings, so all I needed to reach them was a chair. I clambered up, pushed back the panel, and grappled into the darkness. I shined my flashlight around. There appeared to be where to stand and we had a stroke of luck – the roof actually was thatch, it wasn’t just for show.
“Guys, get on up here! There’s where to stand and I think I’ve found our way out. Hurry before the bunnies catch up!”
While the others grappled inside, I got to work on cutting through the thatch and wood of the roof.
When I realized that we had found a different door out, I (at last) set the bomb timer to 15 seconds and ran for my life. I got out just as Kittymine blasted the locks. “ok everyone, we have 15 seconds before everything in that room is ash.” someone asked if the room would just explode and kill us all. “no, ozone is an accelerant, meaning at can make a really big flame, but out here we might only lose our eyebrows” “might only?” AL asked “too late to defuse the bomb, here it goes!” A loud bang and then a *POOMPH* followed. out of everyone, only I lost eyebrows.
((why is nobody posting? BTW it is my birthday on the 8th))
Which birthday?
I don’t want to give my age out, it is my birthday, and I am and have been a teenager.
((Lawson, I am going to assume that your post (216) took place before my post (215). This means that the sentence, “Hurry before the bunnies catch up!†in post 215 is moot.
This current post is going right before Groundhogs, which is why I stuck it as a reply to post 217.1.1))
AL grappled up next to me, followed by Meg, and both joined me in hacking at the roof. Within a few minutes we had a sizable hole, large enough for us to climb through. Good thing too – I could smell smoke. Looking to the left I saw that fire was coming from way down that way – the part of the roof over the OR had caught fire from the explosion and was heading our way quickly. Without further ado I climbed through the hole and grappled to the nearest tree, the others following my lead. Soon we were all several meters away, watching the building go up in smoke.
“Yikes.” I said, dusting my suit off. “Seems like the bunnies are booby-trapping everything. And good job stalling William, AL. Theo probably wouldn’t have had time to set the bomb if you hadn’t kept his attention off of him.”
I had never developed much in the way of scanner technology, since most of our buildings had pietanium reinforcement, which was rather hard to scan through, and we could always assume that whatever was behind a door in a bunny base was extremely dangerous. But, given our current circumstances, it seemed that the time was ripe to start developing a decent scanner. Once we got to someplace with a functional lab, that is.
I noticed that the explosion had singed Theo’s eyebrows off. I broke a leaf off of an aloe plant and handed it to him to take care of any minor burns to the skin under his eyebrows.
“It looks like the BART system is a loss at the moment.” I said sadly. “Unless the bunnies only knew that they were infiltrating one of our bases, and not the location of the base that they were infiltrating. Which is possible, but I wouldn’t count on it. We need to find someplace to go where we can rest and recuperate, as well as use as a new main base. Which means that our choices are the Trench, the Rockies, or Yukon. Where do you all think we should go?”
“Perhaps we should go back to the boat house, GPS our location, and from there figure out where to go,” I replied. “Then we can have all of our supplies with us too. Who knows what the state of the supply rooms will be wherever we end up, since all resistors have been forced to regroup to the larger, more hidden bases.”
I reflected on the incendiary nature of that last explosion. Since ozone is less expensive than gasoline or napalm (which I love the smell of in the morning), I could mass-produce incendiary grenades at a low cost. As soon as we get to the new base, I will look into that. “Hey guys, I think I came here once ((before the apocalypse? how long ago did it start?)). There is a hunting lodge near here stocked with preserved food. I used to come here on vacation.” ((if this is not possible, just ignore))
I can’t think of anything constructive to say, so I just follow Kitty.
“Okay.” I said. “So why don’t we go to the boat house, figure out our location, and then figure out the location of that lodge relative to us. If we can raid it for supplies, we’ll be a lot better off.” I followed Kitty towards the boat house, mentally reviewing the structure of the Arwings for possible storage space.
I follow the group silently. There were bunnies everywhere back there, and it’s shaken me somewhat. I put one foot in front of the other, keeping with the group while reflecting and looking around at my surroundings. How many people once lived here, happy and carefree? How much of a shock had it been when the bunnies had invaded? Will the world ever go back to normal? The amount of people who died during the apocalypse is staggering. We all survived only through a combination of chance and skill. For each of us who had survived, there were a thousand others…don’t think about them, don’t think about them, it wasn’t your fault…
And here’s us, a tiny group of humans clinging to the surface of this hot-pink world. Would it be easier just to die already? What would happen if we did? Nothing, bunnies would continue to thrive. Perhaps we should save ourselves a ton of pain and stop fighting.
I look up and find the boat house, built during a happier time when the world was thriving. “Aha,” I say, “we’re here.”
((Hi, guys! Could I have a summary?))
((SUMMARY (first on of the thread!)
After being smoked out of our original hiding spot, we fled to the BART system, one of the largest bases. Unfortunately, the bunnies followed us there due to a mole by the name of Finchley. He got the bunnies in so they could hijack our system. The simulators were hacked as well. Groundhog managed to get us out of the simulators. Battle ensued as we ran to the hangar, being chased by bunnified technicians and hacked medibots. In the hangar we confronted William and his new creation, the Ninja Bunny, a giant black bunny encased in hot pink armor that seems to deflect everything. Theo (Lawson) blew up much of hangar so that we could escape to the remaining Arwing.
We flew to – well, we actually don’t know where we are. We’re at the coast of somewhere, living in a boathouse where we found supplies. After dealing with the injured a team was sent out to find a possible base. They found an old one, disguised as a hut, but it had been taken over by the HPBs and was a trap. William was back again with another Ninja bunny. The search team managed to escape the ozone filled Operating room in the compound, explode the OR (thanks to Theo again) and escape through the thatched roof. We are now walking back toward the boathouse to gather provisions and then move to a confirmed base, either the Trench, the Yukon, or the Rockies. That decision has not yet been made.))
((Thank you, Kitty! Would you guys like me to pretend to have been with you all along or to have been in your destination base all along?
Although it would be interesting to have the base you go to be an old abandoned one… (especially if it was Marianas). Or I could just take any position.))
((Wait, by Marianas Trench do you guys mean… under the ocean? I mean… it’s kind of… deep…))
((I think we built the facility so it would be a good testing place because of the necessary thick walls and how you would probably die if you left without the proper protection, but it morphed into a major base due to its security. It’s a good base, but a little inaccessesible if you don’t have proper instruction.))
((It’s the deepest point in the ocean, but people can definitely go there if the sub is properly designed. I mean, it’s only been done once before, but that was with 1950s technology, so it’s definitely not impossible.))
((Thanks, guys… I realized that, but it just didn’t seem very… accessible.))
((Also, we used it in the original BA, for the main reason that the bunnies really don’t do well in the water and never managed to bunnify the creatures of the sea.))
((Oh, James Cameron, you just love making my posts factually incorrect a little more than a month after I post them, don’t you?))
((Hey, AL, is your name a reference to the Final Fantasy character? I have been watching TotalBiscuits review of the new game and was a little curious.))
((Nope. Never heard of it. My name was a reference to my name in my robotics team. Our team name was “Red Lightning Brick Association”, and there were four people on the team, so we each had a word of the name on a t-shirt. I made the t-shirts, so naturally I gave myself “Lightning.” I’ve kind of associated that with my screen name ever since, and I used the name on the Muse website once or twice after that spy issue, and then when I joined the MB I decided to use the name… this is getting long, but there you go.))
Randy remains silent.
After collecting all usable supplies from the boathouse, we followed Theo to the lodge. Thankfully, it was not overrun with HPBs, but they had definitely been there earlier. Most of the food was gone and what was left had likely been touched (evidently, some HPBs had acquired carnivorous tendencies). We collected what was left and put it in a separate bag that Groundhog said she could decontaminate later. Then it was back to the boathouse to collect the injured before heading back on to the Arwings to our next location.
I was on edge as we walked. To be frank, I expected William to pop up at any moment, not convinced that the explosion had killed him. But as I thought about our latest escape, it occured to me that it was practically impossible for William to have known where we went. The Arwings were not bugged (we had checked for that) and our GPS had been temporarily off-line so we didn’t even know where we were headed.
Then Groundhog’s voice swam to the surface of my thoughts.
‘Booby-trapped’
That was it! William and the Ninja bunny were never there at all. It was all a holographic projection set up to trigger if Resistance fighters ever found there way back to that particular sight. Most likely other former bases had been booby trapped in just that way. There was no doubt that the plan was to frighten and possibly kill those who stumbled in, but at least William hadn’t been real. I breathed a sigh of relief.
So consumed was I in my thoughts that I didn’t notice that I was sitting in the Arwing until we took off.
((ANYONE UP FOR REVIVING THIS THING?))
I sat in the Arwing and thought about the events of the day. Ah, peaceful Arwing ride… one of the most unlikely things, it seemed, to happen. I began to drift off.
((Peaceful? Peaceful is boring. How about….NOT PEACEFUL?))
Everybody was tired after that escape, except for me. I was invigorated by the thought of making ozone-operating napalm grenades, so I was the the one who noticed a funny shape outside the window, right as we approaching the last stretch of land before heading out into the ocean to rendezvous with the Mariana Trench base ((we did decide to go there…right?)). as the shape got closer, I noticed it looked an awful lot like….a dragon bunny. At the same time, the Arwing noticed it on the scanning systems,and began shrieking out an alarm. “WHY DON’T THEY JUST GIVE UP!!!???” I shouted, but I did notice that it was just one. It must have been a scouting party.
((Yes, I think we did decided to go there.))
“Because we are the utter antithesis of what they stand for?” I responded rhetorically, sitting up straighter in my seat. The Arwing’s defense system had already activated and Aggie was busy controlling the main guns. A few helibunnies were hit, but the rest fell back. I guess Theo was right about it being a scouting party.
“Let’s get under cover quickly!” I hollered.
“I’m already on it!” said Zinc from the pilot’s chair. We began to plummet toward the ocean. I gripped the armrests of my seat, praying that we would make it to the base before the bunnies figured out a way to deal with the water.
“I think I should drop a minefield out the back of the Arwing. Does anyone have a wetsuit?” “We have one in the equipment locker” Groundhog replied. I realized that someone should have done this a long time ago. “Alright, I will be deep beneath the ocean if anyone needs me. I hope the pressure seals on this thing work.”
((I think it is time to introduce…..AQUA BUNNIES that I need to kill all of or they will report our position. Don’t power play me out of the water, ok?))
((Sounds great! Really, you don’t need to worry too much about spontaneous ingenuity around this thread. Frankly, that’s the only thing that keeps it going.))
((thats good, because I was worried I would screw up the continuity a bit.))
It was very dark. Even after I turned on the headlight, it was dark. I was half expecting to turn around and see some monster looming out of the gloom…. “Stop That”! I said to myself. Those kinds of thoughts are the ones that stopped me from going swimming for much of my life ((true story, btw)). I nearly had a heart attack when I turned too fast and saw the Arwing half-hidden in the darkness. “Just focus on the job” I whispered to myself, and despite the uselessness of it I kept whirling around and tried to have my back to the nearest mine at all times. I had just finished planting the last mine when one of my paranoia attacks hit me and I whirled around. Only this time, there was something there…. I was frozen, this was just like how it happens in my head. I began to swim back to the Arwing, hoping I could make it before whatever that thing out there was got too close. I had barely begun when I noticed what it really was. “Bunnies!? Down HERE!?” I was now terrified, rather than just unnerved. Before I could get out my explosive harpoons, I noticed there was three other bunnies. They looked sleeker than the normal bunnies, with their tails being longer, and flatter. They looked more like a cross between a bunny and a shark, but they had some tentacles with claws at the end, were still a bright pink color. I shot one harpoon, but didn’t stop to see where it went. I began to panic, because now there was actually something in the water that wanted to kill me. I think my first harpoon fell short, because it allowed me to get closer to the Arwing before the bunnies caught up to me. The one in the lead actually caught up to me before I could get back to the Arwing, and it grabbed my leg with one of it’s appendages. I quickly loaded another harpoon, and right before it dragged me away I shot it in the leg. The explosion propelled me back to the Arwing, but I smacked my head on the side. As I fell unconscious, I sincerely hoped that someone would get me inside before the other bunnies managed to catch up. ((no seriously guys, someone come out and rescue me.))
((Man, that is longer than I thought it would be!))
As we splashed down in the water, Theo left through the airlock to set the mines. Zinc slowed the Arwing to a near standstill so that Theo would be able to get back to us. Hopefully the mine explosions would convince the bunnies that we were destroyed.
A few of us were glued to the video feed from Theo’s helmet. As he set the last bomb, things suddenly went horribly wrong.
“What the cake is that?” gasped Randy, pointing at the hot pink something that flashed across the screen. We heard Theo yell.
Without further ado, Sans and I ran for the locker and donned wetsuits. Clearly, the ocean was no longer bunny free.
“He’s free of the bunny!” someone yelled from behind us. “Oh wait – now he was just blasted into the side of the ship. That can’t be good.”
We rushed for the airlock. Luckily, Theo was lolling in the water only a few feet away from the craft. We both swam out and began to tow him back to the airlock.
Unfortunately, the aqua bunnies were undeterred by the blast. In addition, the mines were due to blow in a minute.
We were at the airlock, the hot pink hybrids hot on our heels. I slammed the airlock button while Sans dealt with Theo. One aqua bunny was just at the door when it slammed shut. It snarled and began to bite at the door.
“Full throttle forward!” I hollered. “The mines are about to blow!”
We sped away, the biting bunny forced off of the door. A few seconds later the mines exploded, filling the ocean with fire, shrapnel, and boiling water. Zinc wrestled with the controls as the force of the explosion hit the Arwing.
Then we were free. I joined Sans in the sick bay, where she was treating Theo.
((the ocean got filled with fire? must have been one heck of an explosion!))
((I mean, technically it isn’t fire because it’s under water…I’m kinda picturing the scene from Nemo where all the mines go off, only there are less mines in this case.))
((oh yeah… so it would be more like a massive wall of bubbles- MY BUBBLES!!!!! (sorry, but no finding memo reference is compete without a “MY BUBBLES!!!!)))
((Some alkaline earth metals burn underwater!))
((such as Magnesium!))
((Wait, the whole Resistance group can fit in one Arwing? How big are these things?))
I stumbled out of the airlock with everyone else, checking out of habit that I still had my blaster. Most of us seemed to be unhurt, and the mines had taken care of the aquabunnies outside.
((Not really – let’s say that we’re divided between a bunch. Or we could just all be on one that was expanded magically by Mr. Weasley.))
(( if you peoples don’t mind me asking, what is this thread about? As far I see it, this thread is a collaborative story that involves RPing. And I also assuming these double parenthesis means that whatever said within them is not included in the story.))
((You are correct – this is an RP. It is the 4rd round of threads on the topic of the Bunny Apocalypse, where the evil Hot Pink Bunnies have taken over the world. We musers are the only humans left who have not been bunnified/hypnotized/zombified by the HPBs and we are the Resistance. Despite our small numbers, we are fighting to free the world from the clutches of the HPBs, namely by killing their leader William and wiping them all out.
The first round of threads was the Bunny Melee in 2006. Then came the original Bunny Apocalypse in 2007. Then came Bunny Apocalypse: The Next Generation with the original fighters’ kids.
This is an attempt to go back to the story of the original BA but create new plots.))
((so whats the new plot?))
((OK, so we have escaped from a multitude of bases after William hijacked our virtual reality thingy. We are heading toward our next base in the Mariana Trench. I am the explosives expert, Groundhog is the technology expert, and really that is all I know. You need to look at the earlier posts for a more in depth look.))
((I just remembered, I completely forgot about the red sword I said that my character had when I joined. Maybe we all find special weapons in this base’s research lab?))
((Oh dear, I seem to have missed a lot. Can someone please summarize the most recent happenings?))
((Summary: We decided to go to the Marinaras Trench. After collecting any and all supplies, we boarded our Arwings and headed for the ocean. When attacked by the helibunny scouting party, Theo decides to set a few mines to make it seem like we were blown up. But then underwater he discovers…AquaBunnies. They look like HPBs or Black bunnies but with flipper-like pawas and ears that work like propellors. Theo sets the mines to blow them up as well, but it nearly dragged away by them. He manages to fight his way back to the ship, but is knocked unconscious when backlash from his own firearm whams him into the side of the ship. He is duly rescued and we peel out of there before just before the mines explode. We are now free and clear and getting closer to the Trench.))
“No, what is this?” I muttered as I examined the scan I had hastily taken of one of the bunnies. “Drat.”
It seemed almost identical to the black bunny, but with flippers and proppelor ears. “Cakeit, what are these things?”
((Thanks Kittymine.
AL – Can I be on the same Airwing as you?))
((They’ve been spelled “Arwing” up to now, but perhaps a linguistic mutation is in progress.))
((wait a second…it’s pronounced AIRWING!? MIND. BLOWN.))
((No, I don’t think so. At least, I’ve never pronounced it that way in my mind.))
((Oh, WOW. Thank you for calling my attention to that, because apparently I’ve been misreading it Every. Single. Time. *feels stupid*))
((I-Man, who introduced them in 2008, could tell us if he were still around. Agrrrfishi picked up on them immediately; maybe she can offer some guidance.))
((it would also have some kind of tentacles with claws attached))
((SFTDP but is everyone waiting for someone else to advance the story? Someone is going to have to do it eventually.))
We traveled to the Trench as quickly as was humanly possible without blowing out our engines. Clearly we all wished to put as much distance between ourselves and the AquaBunnies as possible.
The Trench came into view, looking as unassuming as usual, thanks to cleverly disguised entrances.
Once inside, we split up to inspect the Base. It appeared to be quite functional, complete with other resistance members who had fled when their smaller hideouts had fallen. While Groundhog talked with the “refugee” members, I headed for my bunk for a quick power nap.
((SFTDP))
Unfortunately, my nap did not last long. I was asleep for maybe two minutes when an alarm began to sound.
‘Why does it sound like the Red Alert on the Enterprise? Clearly whoever installed it was a Trekkie’ was my first thought as I rolled out of bed and grabbed my blaster. My second was, ‘I hope Aqua Bunnies don’t shoot squid ink’
((is that a yay or a nay on the new weapons?))
I was having one of the best sleeps I have had in a long time, when I was awoken from sleep by the red alert noise. Then I remembered. I wasn’t sleeping, I was knocked out. As soon as I came to this realization, I got a pounding headache. I started looking around for some sort of turret I could use to defend the base.
((Sure, why not?))
An alarm woke me with a start. I jolted to my feet, and immediately I received mild complaint from my muscles for dozing while sitting against a wall. I clapped my hands over my ears. Why does the alarm have to be so caking LOUD? I wonder irritably.
there should be a warning about a facility that had a soft alarm so they were all killed in their sleep.
As I ran to the situation room, I passed the sick bay where Theo was wrestling with a medi bot, which was trying to keep him in the bed. I chuckled and ran in to shut down the bot.
“Hey Theo, how are you feeling? Do you reckon you’re up to fighting, or will you be following this medi-bot’s orders?” I asked with a grin.
After a quick stretch (without removing my hands from my ears), I dashed to the situation room. “What’s happening?” I asked. Upon receipt of at least one odd look, I realized it was probably necessary to not cover my ears quite so tightly. I partially uncovered them with a wince.
“Thanks for shutting it down, it was trying to play me a lullaby to ease me back to sleep.” I told Kitty. “Where is the nearest Manual Defense Turret?” I asked. Just then I felt the floor shudder. Without waiting for an answer, I bolted down the hallway and burst through the nearest door to see what was in there. It was some kind of lab, but I could tell it had been devoted to weapons research. A ballistics-gel dummy had been hacked to pieces, the edges of the cuts singed. There were other chambers, but I left them alone ((a.k.a. I want people to decide what weapons they are getting from this place themselves.)). In a tough-looking black sheath was a sword with a transparent red blade. I could see traces of circuity through the hilt and the blade, and the casing appeared to be shielded against heat. After I burned my finger touching the blade, I figured out why. My finger had been burned through gloves, no telling how hot the blade was. I grabbed it and continued looking for a turret.
Before I could even give directions, Theo was off and running in typical form. I shook my head and chuckled. Then I ran to the situation room.
Groundhog, TGYPWYA, and Armada were presiding at the moment, Groundhog also manipulating the computer.
“Essentially, we’re surrounded,” said TGYPWYA. “They have submarines and the aquabunnies to assist. Squads are now being formed to go out in our own submarines, and also folks who can man out outer defenses, such as the turrets. We could also use some folks to go up on top of the base, on the dry land there, since we have helibunnies on the loose.”
Great. When it rains it pours. I paired up with AL in a submarine.
I decided to fight under water, as I wasn’t very good with handheld guns, and you can’t exactly expect a helibunny to stay in range of anything other than firearms. I wasn’t totally useless at the kinds of weapons typically found on submarines, so at least I’d be able to do some good there.
“Where to?” I ask as we launch away from the base.
AL’s question was quickly rendered superfluous as soon as we exited the airlock. Arrayed in front of us was an entire unit of pink-on-black-camo submarines. Flitting around here and there were Aquabunnies. I quickly donned my headset.
“Kittymine to Base, get more fighters out here pronto! We’ve got an army of submarines to deal with!” I shouted.
The good thing about our submarines is that we have them painted a shimmering blue that blends quite well into the surrounding water, making us difficult to see. I decided to take advantage of that.
“Let’s maneuver around the back of them, carefully, and then start shooting from behind,” I said to AL.
((Pink and black camo? underwater? That doesn’t seem very effective….))
((Ordinary rabbits are color-blind. Not sure about HPBs…))
((They can see two colors: pink and not pink.))
(( and maybe purple ))
“All right.” I gripped my controls and began to look for the best way through their ranks. I spotted a gap in the assembled Aquabunny troops and pointed it out to Kittymine.
“Good – let’s thread the needle with as much speed as possible, so that we take them by surprise. Be prepared to fire, because they will likely sense our presence even if we are hard to see,” I replied. I looked behind us and saw that ten more of our submarines had left the airlock.
okay! i sure hope people are still posting on these things! ((P.S. yes i am still going with my old Pie War name “Catulas” exept this time… i am alone! also if i don’t use capitals sometimes is because i am typing with one hand
has slipped into my base!” “shoot it!” shouted another voice. i recognised it as Kittymine. i realized Kittymine and Agent Lightning were in trouble! i grabbed my WCB. ((on the Pie War thread it can be identified as the Whipped Cream Blaster)) and ran out the broken hole in the wall i used for a door. i looked around. across the street of the abandoned town was just a blur of pink! i saw AL and Kittymine in the window. AL was blasting down below the window with his machine gun. i cocked and re-cocked my WCB, aimed, and fired! all movement stopped. then all the pink gathered around me! i ran away. i jumped up into a tree and reached my catacopter ((helecopter)) and climbed into it. the HPBs were aiming at me with my machine gun. but it was useless! my catacopter was bullet-proof. i lowered the ladder AL and KIttymine climbed into the machine and we took off. “Glad that’s over!” Kittymine said with relief “a battle does not win a war” said AL “goodbye hot pink bunnies!” i said mockingly down at them
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i run up into the attic of the abandoned wherehouse i used for a Catula base. it was quite big. on my way up i grabbed a key from the many that dotted the walls. i stopped suddenly. i had grabbed the wrong key! ((AGAIN!)) this was the key to one of the Golden Muses. each unit had a Golden Statue of a muse to guard. my statue was of Chad, the muse of hardware. if the Pink Bunnies ((for that’s who we are fighting)) were to get all of the Golden Muses then no more muse magazines would be published! it would probably turn into Pink Bunny Magazine your home for pink things and muse haters. i quickly stuffed the key into the worn jacket pocket of my army uniform. this time i grabbed the right key and ran upstairs. up there there was a big box, inside a box, inside a box,inside a box, inside a box. all those boxes contained inside The Golden Muse who i talked about earlier. with the key i still had i unlocked a chest with it. then, i opened it up and inside… was NOTHING! so Agent L lied to me! there was no radio transmitters in here! wait! hold on! here’s a little square sewn into the side of the box!. i pushed on it. AH-HA! i knew it! it was a radio transmitter hidden in a secret compartment. very ingenious Agent L!
i quickly flipped some switches. i heard on the other end: “oh-no! a
((Umm, what? All of those characters are currently at the bottom of the ocean, escaping an HPB blockade. You seem to have just inserted a random story element with no explanation, I think it sounds like you randomly inserted a paragraph of a different story into the middle of this one. Please read the other posts in order to update yourself on the current situation.))
((please click on this in “Recient Comments”) ok here is a story for your enjoyment L(T)
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i am swimming at the bottom of the ocean. my deep-sea GPS has spotted 3 pink bunnies through here. i take out my knife and go in for the chase. suddenly out of nowhere a person with amazing agility. i recognise it as Lawson (Theo)! L(T) was charging right at the HPBs! i stared in awe as all the pink bunnies went down on thier ears. i returned to the surface and retreated. i ran untill i colapsed and a pink bunny killed me. the end
((SFTDP, but the more I read of your post, the more confused I get. Have you posted on this thread before? I think I remember seeing you way back at the beginning. Also, which abandoned city is it? we evacuated a long, LONG time ago. Did you bother to even read the post right before yours, in which Kittymine is in a submarine, not an abandoned city? Your post just confused me a great deal.))
((well sorry for using my imagination))
((you don’t need to make up the past, you imagine what happens in the future))
((Welcome to Bunny Apocalypse! Glad that you would like to join the fight against the Magenta Menace. For the history of this RP and our purpose here, see post 236.1 of this thread.
SUMMARY of recent events:
– see post 238.1 for last summary
– Since last summary, we arrived at the Trench, which is underwater. We has only just gotten settled when the alarm went off. Clearly, we had not evaded the bunnies. An HPB army was attacking the base. Members are sent to the top of the base (above ground) to fight the helibunnies and regular bunnies up there. Others (Kittymine, AL, Randy) were sent out in submarines to fight the HPB submarine unit plus assorted Aquabunnies.
– Groundhog, TGYPWYA, and Armada are manning the situation room. ))
((I need to have Groundhog look at the sword I found eventually. Also you guys might want to get some other weapons out of the lab before we evacuate.))
((Who said that we will have to evacuate? Perhaps we can just beat off the bunnies and stay where we are. Yes, they will know our location but at least we are well defended and can do major damage.))
(with all the talk of getting through the blockade I thought we were evacuating))
((Ah. Logical reasoning. Though around here, things are likely to be the very opposite of logical. We defy logic!))
((Spock does not approve, but oh well))
I raced to the aboveground portion of the base in order to fight off the HPBs. I raced out the door just in time for a RD-SHRT defensive robot to be destroyed in front of me. “Alright, time to see what this sword does” I thought. ((how detailed can the combat get? I don’t want to offend anyone, but I also don’t like mincing descriptions)) I raced towards the HPBs, blade in hand.
((Pretty well detailed. If it is particularly gory, one usually puts the letters BA in capital letters at the beginning of the post, as a warning to readers (we felt that the initials of this thread had a connotation of gory battle). ))
((Well actually, there won’t be much actual blood and gore, because the sword will instantly cauterize wounds. However, there may be missing limbs.))
I ducked under one leaping bunny, stabbing at it as it sailed overhead. The blade caused it to begin to burn around the wound, forcing the bunny to roll on the ground to extinguish the blaze. I raced onwards, hacking and slashing away. It seemed like nothing could touch me. I had to pause and think about this, so a ran back to the entrance. “I have never trained with a sword, neither have I ever been particularly agile. How do I know how to do this stuff?” I quickly forgot, thinking it was a mystery to be solved another day. Perhaps when a technician got ahold of the sword?
AL and I moved forward. The other submarines, having been informed of our plan, began darting and shooting at the bunny submarines, to distract them. This gave me and AL opportunity to maneuver unseen. AL quickly dispatched the one submarine that did see us. It really helped that the HPB submarines were such garishly bright colors.
We had circled around to the other side. Another one of our submarines joined us ((insert whoever wants to be in that submarine here)). I put the sub’s computer in charge of dodging and acceleration so that I could take up the second set of firearm controls.
A third resistance submarine joined us. We spread out, spaced evenly.
“Alright, let’s get this show on the road!” I said into my headset. “Fire in three…two…one…NOW!”
Following Kitty’s instruction, I shoot at the same time as the rest of the Resistance submarines. The shots are brilliant. I hope fervently that my aim is accurate.
I followed Theo and a few others through a dark, dripping corridor to join the fight above ground. As soon as we reached sunlight, a hissing neon pink wave of teeth and claws hit us. In seconds we were in formation, Theo slashing at the attackers on the ground while I shot down helibunnies.
((Anyone wanting to catch up can be in our group!))
((*knock knock knock* People?
*knock knock knock* People?
*knock knock knock* People?))
((*drags self out of bed and comes to the door* Oh. Hi. Sorry, I think the thread is in hibernation. Or dying. Or placed under and evil curse. I’m not really sure because whatever it is has been keeping me so drowsy that I can’t think straight. Or backward. Or sideways. *collapses to the floor in a twitching heap*
No, seriously, the thread is in a major decline and I have no time to post because I’m working all day as a lifeguard and I have to go to bed early. Speaking of which, it is past my bedtime. I vote that we make up some big dramatic ending to this battle and call it a thread.
I will likely end up writing the completion post later. Perhaps tomorrow. ))
((Ah, sorry. Nevermind.
[So … would that be the end of the entire story, or would we get a Part 2 thread? The original BA ran for six … butIdon’twanttoforceyoutodoanything]))
Um. I don’t want to ruin Kittymine’s planned ending, but are we still doing this RP … ?
((ack… sorry, I forgot about this thread again. *feels terrrible* My general feeling is that the thread is dead. So my assumption is that any wrap up on this thread would mean THE END in bold letters. Oh shoot, and I had also said that I would work on the Novel over the summer…gotta do that too. Unless, do you want to write an ending to this thread? You may have some fresh ideas.))
*tacklehug* Thank you so much for continuing to write this at the expense of your sleep.
I thought maybe we could have a mission to infiltrate the bunny base and capture/assassinate William, thus scattering the bunnies’ organized forces. And somewhere along the way we could make contact with another large group of surviving humans. So it’s more of a hopeful ending for rebuilding human society. What do you guys think?
((Sounds great. I’ll wrap up this battle right now and then we can regroup for the infiltration sequence (gosh, that sounded like a movie director…) ))
((Wait! I don’t want this to end, I just felt I had nothing to add to the story until there was a continuation of the story away from my POV! Who else had that problem?))
((Don’t worry, we can probably start a new RPG at some point. Yeah, this is pretty short, but it’s not really going anywhere anymore.))
((unless of course the thread becomes entirely revived due to the fact that we actually know what we are doing.))
ok i am still on here ((boy i love these things!)) and i would like to post some things here! a story of course! here goes!
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i am alone in the abandoned city. i hear from Lawson (Theo) that the entire crew has dove under the sea! i fly ((literally i have wings now you see)) over to the edge of the sea where i see tracks of all my friends and crewmates diving under. i can breath underwater ((water clan trait)) so i hold flight mode and dove in. the coolness of the water relaxes me a little but i keep going. have i remembered my speargun? yes i have. suddenly i see ahead. is it crewmates? friends? as i swim closer i see… i see the color of the submarine. its pink! i load the speargun with bomb-spears. i aimed and launched. five seconds later KABLAM! pink parts fly. i take a peek at my PB JPS
((it spots pink bunnies)) and i saw 14 little pink dots slowly dissapear off of the tiny screen. a little ways in front of the black-dot ((me)) ahead i see a blue dot ((Kittymine)) and a red dot ((Lawson(Theo)))and a dark blue one ((Rainbow*Storm)) i swim ahead tword them. suddenly! a pink dot comes! charges right at the three! i swim to the dot’s but as i approach i see the red dot slowly dissapear… poor L(T) he left us! so soon! the pink dot seems faded a little. as the submarine comes into view the pink dot on my GPS dissapears completely! horay for the team!
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((WARNING: LONG POST AHEAD))
The five submarines behind the Bunny lines and the others still in front fired as one.
“YES!” I cheered, punching a fist in the air as several rows of hot pink submarines were exploded. AL and I kept shooting. I waved to Randy as her submarine passed by. She grinned and shot the submarine that had been about to strike my ship.
‘Concentrate, Kitty, concentrate!’
A few more of our submarines left the airlock and began shooting. I was impressed – this base sure had plenty to fight with.
After another hour of intense fighting, we destroyed most of the HPB submarines and had sent the survivors, as well as the remaining AquaBunnies, careening for safety. I had five submarines remain to watch for returning fighters while the rest of us happily slid back into the hangar.
Unfortunately, Groundhog came out immediately after the water cleared.
“I know you’re all tired, but we need every fighter we can get for the battle raging on top of the base. Our current fighters have managed to hold off the armies, but they are weakening. Grab a fresh BunnyProof suit off the rack outside of my office – they’re hot off the press, with a few new tricks up their sleeves. I’d describe them, but I haven’t the time. Blasters are there as well. Move out!”
AL, Randy, and I ran up the stairs, followed by our fellow submariners. As I pulled on the new suit, I noted that it was a bit translucent. There was also a new button on the cuff. I pushed it. Instantly, the suit turned hot pink and ears sprouted out of my helmet. AL nearly fell over laughing.
“Okaaay…I guess I’m pretending to be a bunny now. That could have its uses. Rather unorthodox, and ZVX would likely strangle Groundhog for treason if he was here, but he’s not. Let’s go!” I returned my suit to its normal camo color and hurried up the dark, dripping corridor to the surface. We quickly joined the formation. I began blasting the remaining helibunnies, standing back to back with Rainbow.
“Nice suit!” she hollered over the noise. I grinned and blasted two helibunnies in the ears.
“Thanks – hot of the press. It turns into a bunny.” I pressed the button and transformed again.
“Wow. That’s realistic. Good thing our helmets are programmed to recognize fellow fighters no matter what kind of suit they are wearing, or I might shoot you.”
Our conversation was disrupted by a large pink behemoth. He was about to shoot when he stared at me, clearly confused.
“Wha-?” Before either of us could shoot him, a red sword stabbed the bunny in the chest. The HPB collapsed and died, his chest wound smoking.
“Where did you find that?” I asked Theo.
“It was in a lab devoted to weapons. Dunno who made it, but it’s dead useful.”
All further conversation became impossible as a fresh wave of HPBs moved forward (the helibunnies had thankfully been destroyed). The battle was long and bloody, with some fatalities and a LOT of injuries. The sun was setting as I and several others trudged back to the base, having pursued the fleeing HBPs a mile or so north. We were all exhausted, bloody, and sporting injuries of varying severity. The base was in sight when my knees buckled beneath me as I collapsed into unconsciousness.
The next thing I knew I was lying in a very comfortable bed with white sheets. My head was pounding ferociously and my body felt as though it had been hammered on an anvil.
“How’re you feeling, Kitty?” asked an anxious looking AL, her arm bandaged and strapped in a sling.
“Just ducky,” I managed to reply.
“That’s saying something, considering that you managed to receive a long, bone deep gash in your left leg, bruise your entire frame, and dislocate a shoulder. I’m surprised you managed to walk all that way without falling over sooner. Do you care about your health at all?” asked an exasperated Groundhog.
“Chew me out all you want ‘Dr. Welby’, but we needed the fighters and I was running on adrenaline,” I replied. Groundhog rolled her eyes.
“At least your sense of humor wasn’t damaged,” she replied with a snort. “Your leg has been sewn up and your shoulder relocated, but you lost a lot of blood. Once that blood bag is empty I’m moving you to the other room to recuperate. Oh, and I started a morphine drip. It will help with the pain knock you out, since you are totally the type to get up before you should.”
I stuck my tongue out, but I knew Groundhog was right. I didn’t have much time to dwell on it because I fell asleep again five minutes later.
Two weeks passed. The HPBs did not return, thank the Muses, so we all had a chance to recuperate. TGYPWYA called a meeting.
“Okay,” he began, once we had all assembled. “We’ve had news from our remaining agents in the field. Apparently there is a large group of humans who are nearby. They fled from Arizona. Some are also Resistance members. They heard about the battle here and are planning on making an attack on the HPB base, also known as the DOH (Dungeon of Horror). The idea is to rendezvous at the DOH, assassinate William, and generally destroy the Magenta Menace once and for all. Any thoughts?”
((DEAR LORD! THAT IS ONE NOVEL OF A POST!))
((Why thank you. *takes a bow* ))
((WARNING! ANOTHER LONG POST!))
i swam away from the wreck untill i came to land. i looked around. on the ground i saw a dead pink bunny. natural i thought. i saw footprints in the fresh wet mud made from the rain we had a few moments ago. i saw footprints and followed them. soon one pair of tracks stopped.i saw a print of a woman’s body. then one pair of tracks sank deeper in the mud. like it was carrying something heavy. hmm… i didn’t pay much attention. someone must have fallen in battle. it goes to a hospital tent. i know how it goes. hey! i watch Combat, M*A*S*H. jut because i am a cat with wings doesn’t mean im stupid. anyways. i walked untill the mud showed more signs of pink bunny tracks. then i flew untill i came to a big cliff. near the bottom of the cliff i saw a sad looking wandering white-bunny! it looked just like the other HPBs but this one was white! i tried to make myself look like a gargoyle. maybe it wouldn’t notice me. then i saw a big branded D on it’s ear. “Deserter?” i sad in a whisper. that whisper was apparently a little too loud. the white bunny heard it and saw me! i perched like a gargoyle and tried not to move. but a little rock at that moment (why not an other time?) slipped and i fell. i came out of gargoyle mode. and the white bunny saw me and hid (i have a picture hope it works)
i pulled myself up and looked around. i saw a little white ear with the letter “D” printed neatly on it poking from out of a bush. i say “hello?”
*silence*
i touch the ear it quivers and hides.
“hello?”
“y-y-yes?”
“who are you?”
the little thing came out and looked u at me with cute little wide bunny eyes.
“i don’t want to say my name. all i can say is i am branded a deserter”
“why did they think you are a deserter?”
“i got lost from a Su-pink cruiser that was blown up and when i got back withought my sub-mates they said i deserted them. then they threw white paint on me and burned a D on my ear”
i realized the “su-pink cruiser” he was talking about was the one i blew up a half-hour ago! i only saw one surviver escape.
“here… i will take you to this town. you need a bath”
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
(( ^ railroad track))
I headed over to the medical bay just after Groundhog finished treating Kittymine. “Hey Groundhog, I have something that you could maybe take a look at? I found it in the base.” Groundhog seemed intrigued. “Ok, lets head back to my lab.” At the lab, Groundhog put the sword into a scanner. While the scanner was running, he asked me to describe the effects of the sword. “It is always at this really high temperature, and even though I have not had very much formal swordplay training, I knew exactly what to do when I was in the middle of the battle. Groundhog pondered that for a moment. Just when he was about to speak, the scanner beeped confirmation. Groundhog looked surprised at what he saw. “this sword is a miracle of nano-engineering. Thats what is making you a swordplay expert, nanites interfacing with your body. These nanites are not what gives the sword its heat, it seems to be made of an unknown substance. I have no idea what to make of this. It doesn’t seem to be harmful, but who knows how those scientist knew how to make this.” “Can I take it into battle?” “Sure, it seems to be pretty safe, might make the difference in a fight. I then thanked Groundhog for his time and left, with a lot to think about…
((Note: Groundhog is a she))
i might leave
noone includes my stories in thiers. i inclute thier stories! nobody returns the favor 
((Whoa, hold your horses! We’re trying to keep this thing going with just one, central plotline to stop things from getting too chaotic.
Right now, we’ve just finished a battle and are in a sort of conference deciding to attack the HPB fort once and for all.
If you write something that fits with that, I’m sure everyone would be happy to write you in. But if what you’re writing doesn’t really have anything to do with the rest of the story, it’s hard to write you in.
What I mean to say: this isn’t a personal vedetta, it’s just that writing one semi-coherent story doesn’t really work if people fly off on tangents too much. You can keep what you’ve written: just add something about getting back to the base with the rest of us and then we can get the ball rolling. Or you could just write your own story about HPBs, but that would belong on a different thread.))
ok more:
warning! looooooooooooooooooooong!
after i wash off the white paint the bunny proves to have very light pink fur. the D didn’t wash off though. i tried but it was purrrmanent. i grabbed one of our smaller swimming suits (usually used for animals and test dummies) it just fit her. then we jumped into the water. while we swam i asked, “you never told me your name”. the bunny looked sad. “my name is one of the reasons my bun-mates didn’t like me. they said it was a terrible name for a to-be warrior” “what is it?” i asked. the bunny was hesitant but soon she said “Buttercup”. i said it was a cute name. “really?” asked Buttercup. “yes” i replied “buttercup is a lot better then “ragekill” or “bloodthirsty” like some other hot pink bunnies”. “true” said Buttercup.
a little while later we were talking about one of my old friends. “Venus” a Kreckzian from the planet Kresh. “it blew up a few years ago” i explained to Buttercup “her skin is blue and her hair and dress and boots are white. she’s very nice. she wouldn’t even kill a pink bunny but she was drafted”. as we neared the surface i told Buttercup that Venus should be around here somewhere. she was. as we swam out of the water we saw Venus herself fighting off a horde of pink bunnies! i get out my whip and start slashing. i notice that Venus, for her usual lack of skill in swordplay, was doing very very well. it seemed that everytime she hit a pink bunny with her sword it shivered as if it was really cold then i had a chance to kill them! when the fight was over Venus set down her sword and rubbed her hands together. ((Venus has a Friench-ish accent)) “wow! that sword is very cold! my hands are freezing” Buttercup wondered “on Museblog i read that Lawson has a sword that is really really hot!” i mused this in my head “could the two be related?” i mused “what are thier powers? is there more of these swords?”. “i think we should head back to the camp” Venus announced “the submarine in is a grove of trees over there” Venus pointed to a forest with vines covering a large object “Catwings, you would be fine you can breath underwater and swim expertly, but Buttercup it so small and i cannot swim at all. i think it would be better to use the sub” so we spend awhile getting the sub out of the forest and into the water. we climbed in and Venus sat at the controlls. i went into the back rooms and inspected the place. you never know when your veicle has been in the forest wiether a turantula or a pink sniper will sneak into it! luccilly all i found in the back rooms were some mushrooms and one of my wing feathers i dropped when i was there before ((i am sure to check twice in case i missed anything)) so i went back to the controll room. Venus and Buttercup were talking about how to survive in case a horde of bunnies atacked and took your supples “i will take over the controlls” i said. Venus agreed and got up from her seat. i sat down and took the wheel. like a car but it can swim. i looked through the window. Venus and Buttercup took other seats and watched the big window too. all we saw for awhile were sharks and dolphins and other fish. then suddenly out of nowhere came a large pink object! “A SU-PINK CRUISER!” shouted Buttercup. i told the two passengers to load all torpedo tubes! the su-pink cruiser saw us and loaded thier torpedo tubes as well. “when do we fire?” asked Buttercup. “not yet’ i told them “not yet”. then the pink sub decided to launch one first! i yelled “LAUNCH FIRST AND SECOND TORPEDOES NOW!” Venus and Buttercup launched two torpedoes. the first torpedo collided with the pink one blowing both mine and the pink swimming bomb on impact. our second one kept going and combusted on the su-pink cruiser’s second torpedo launcher! the impact causing a chain reaction, as doing so punched a hole in the sea craft’s bottom. water flowing in like an outdoor-to-in faucet the enimy sub didn’t stand a chance! it sank to the bottom with no sound at all! “now let us return to the base – and Lawson – to find out what these swords are about!” shouted Venus!
((Wait, I thought the fire sword was unique to my character? maybe you guys found swords with different properties, like an ice sword, or one that electrocutes people. I put the fire sword in my character bio when I first joined. I was hoping it would be unique.))
mine is icy. they might be related! at the end of this thread we could find out thier secrets!
((Sorry to sound cynical, but I would assume they were related, as they are both swords with elemental powers discovered in the same lab))
Meg:
So this was it then. When TGYPWYA announced our mission, I couldn’t help but feel cold shivers running down my back. We hadn’t been fighting for that long and suddenly, the running and hiding and waiting to fight seemed too short.
((Ooh, ooh, ending idea (disclaimer: this is somewhat half-baked): In the base, we find out that the bunnies had somehow messed with time travel to be able to take over the world so quickly. We don’t really stand a chance in taking them out, so instead we manage to somehow destroy the time machine while it’s busy running some sort of program and thereby erase their time-traveling influence, allowing the past to have developed differently (the original BA). Of course, due to these changes, some people didn’t make it, so it’s somewhat bittersweet because, for example, Meg will have died in one of the first bunny attack waves and never even met the members of the Resistance.))
((huh…the DTI approves of your sacrifices to preserve the timeline))
((Wow…that idea doesn’t sound particularly half-baked to me. It sounds really fun. I even get to spontaneously vanish, because in TOS I don’t show up until after the initial battle sequence.))
((I hate to disagree with your idea because it’s really good, but would all the newer MBers who weren’t present for TOS have to vanish? It seems a little unfair for people’s fate in this RP to be determined by their participation in a separate RP.))
((I figured that, since the RPG is ending anyway, it doesn’t really matter that much. Technically, everyone vanished and is replaced by their alternate selves, it’s just that some alternate selves are dead at that point. Basically, everyone dies, only in a canon-compliant way. But I’m certainly not offended if we don’t use the idea: it’s just a suggestion.))
((I have a theory about that. The thought is that people who start posting later, or not until a later RP, were actually present the entire time. The resistance is more than just the few of us (as indicated in TOS when we had whole armies going on). Therefore, anyone who did not post then is one of the others around who just aren’t mentioned because they were in other places doing separate things at the time. For example, the main characters of TOS are situated in Sierra, Nevada. But there were bases all over the globe (Salt Lake, Newfoundland, Scotland, Rome, etc) where other resistance members were stationed.))
((Perhaps destroying their base separates us into two separate timelines? that way we might still be able to do a revival if enough of us want to?))
I sat at the other end of the table, fiddling with my blaster. Other humans. How large of a group were they? They apparently had Resistance weapons. How did we know we could trust them, that they wouldn’t shoot us down along with the bunnies as soon as we showed up? Still, they were probably our only chance for a successful attack on the DOH.
“Exactly how many of the other humans of that group are Resistance members? And how many of the total group can fight well?” I asked.
“There are approximately thirty humans total, five of whom are Resistors. Our spy, from whom we received the information, is one of those five. The non-resistors are somewhat trained. They all know how to use blasters, in any case. A few have martial arts skills, I think.”
As TGYPWYA finished speaking, Catwings walked into the conference room, along with Venus. They had both been patrolling in submarines in case some bunnies returned. Along with them was a small bunny with very light pink fur and had a D burned into one ear.
“Catwings, where did you find the bunny?” asked Groundhog.
“Outside in the grass,” she replied. “Her name is Buttercup. When her submarine exploded she was the only survivor and the others labeled her a deserter. That’s why she has the D burned into her ear. I think she’s nicegoodius, especially with a name like Buttercup.”
“Hmm…you’re probably right, but I think I’d like to do a quick test, in order to confirm. It wouldn’t do for anyone to get hurt,” replied Groundhog. “Buttercup, can you follow me to the room next door? Catwings can come too, if you want.”
“Hang on for a second, Groundhog, so I can fill Catwings and Venus in on the situation,” said TGYPWYA. He motioned for the two to come closer and in a soft whisper, related the current state of affairs and the plan. They nodded and then Catwings followed Groundhog and Buttercup out of the room.
ok more!
me 
groundhog 
duh 
the lie detector))
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me and Buttercup walked into the other room with Groundhog. they said they would do a “Test” on Buttercup to prove if she is nice or a spy. Groundhog took us into a room with a lie detector box. Groundhog placed a little electric hat onto the little bunny’s head. and started asking questions. here is the entire line ((
Groundhog led us to the front room. where Venus stood waiting. “We will stay here to rest for the night” she said “we-“. Venus couldn’t finish her sentance. for with no warning a red alert was issued! “We’re under attack!” yelled Rainbow*Storm. soon later the whole place shook! booms echoed and then the roof colapsed! Kittymine, Lawson (t), Groundhog, Rainbow* and Venus were buried under a pile of the caved in roof!
((Note to All: Since the trench is entirely underwater, the only roof part that could logically fall in would be part of the ceilings of our facility. Also, wikipedia indicates that there are not sections of the Trench above the water. However, since we are in the future, we can assume that sea level dropped/erosion/other apocalyptic anomaly created dry land.))
‘Oh cake. This is clearly not my day.‘ I thought as the ceiling began to fall in. Thankfully, I was wearing a helmet, but that really doesn’t help much when ceiling panels, plaster, and metal framing is collapsing on top of you. On the plus side, the items were light enough that we were not mashed to pieces.
After the dust settled, I immediately started squirming around, trying to worm my way out of the rubble. I heard TGYPWYA barking orders and then other hands were pulling at the mess. Within twenty minutes we were all rescued. Injuries were minor.
“Okay, if we needed any other indication to leave and go to the DOH, I think we just received a loud message,” I said, brushing plaster out of my hair. “Who blasted the us, by the way?”
“A passing bunny drone. I think it was bored,” AL replied with a straight face.
“Very funny,” I replied
“Kittymine is probably right,” said Rainbow. “I mean, what other choice do we have? The damage here and in the rest of the building will take a while to repair, and the pressure levels are certainly rising as we speak. We need to evacuate.”
((Many thanks to the HTML gnome.))
We poured into the hangar and fit everyone into five or six Arwings. I was piloting this time. Soon we were flying above a white blanket of fluffy clouds, no bunnies in sight. I tilted the controls a little until we were flying in line with the others. Sunlight flashed off the shiny metal sides of the planes. “So, um, what’s our plan for the Dungeon of Horror?” I said into my helmet.
“Well, with our new bunnyproof suits, we can pass ourselves off as bunnies quite easily. And we can say that anyone who doesn’t have one of the new suits is a prisoner that’s being brought in for experimentation.” I said over the radio. “Once we’re in, some of us can switch our suits to invisible mode, which displays whatever’s behind us on the suits, and sneak around and plant explosives all around the building. The rest of us will need to rescue all of the humans and nicegoodius bunnies from the dungeons. Once we get them out, and the explosives are planted, we can blow up the place and, since the vast majority of the bunnies are in there, that will all but eliminate them, and we can take out the few small pockets of them afterwards.” I took a huge breath, as that had been a large mouthful. “How does that sound?”
((Ok, one last thing, does anyone else have an elemental sword? I have an ending planned for them but we need more than just two people with the swords. Preferably one of the more prominent people?))
when the ending comes can we keep playing?
((Two options: start a new RPG at some point or we may be able to continue this one if there is enough interest/plotline/movement. ))
((Yeah, it’ll be some kind of speed record if we wrap up the mission in one thread. It’s just not Bunny Apocalypse if the plot is concise and easy to follow.
Maybe we successfully invade the DOH, but William escapes with his trusted lieutenants and we have to chase him down? Or someone from the Arizona group turns out to be a bunnified traitor? Or the Arwings we’re currently in get derailed by a bunny attack?))
((How about we get shot down on the way there, and we have to go on a long and difficult journey to get to the base. Like an odyssey through the bunnified countryside))
((Ooh, sounds fun!))
((Let’s see…you have the red hot one, Venus has an icy one, so we’re looking for a stone sword or something. TGYPWYA seems like a likely character to have a stone sword/find one. Granted, he technically isn’t here anymore, but I power play him all the time.))
((I was thinking lightning sword and poison sword maybe? And William could have a pink sword?))
((So funny that right when we start thinking about ending the thread, everyone immediately says “NO! DONT STOP! WE ARE HAVING TOO MUCH FUN!”))
“Sounds like a reasonable plan to me,” I replied to Groundhog via my radio. “Of course, reasonable is probably a relative term, given our current line of work.”
The line of Arwings continued to roll forward through the glaring sunlight. In the distance ahead of us, a glimpse of bright magenta poked through the white clouds. I spoke into my helmet. “Guys -”
Faster than I would have thought possible, a uniformly spaced swarm of dozens of helibunnies bunnies rose up from the clouds, ears whirring. There was no time to turn around. The bunnies zoomed toward us and latched onto our planes, three or four on each. The Arwing shook in the air as their claws scrabbled at the outside.
“Everybody hang onto something!” I yanked at the controls and turned the Arwing in a tilting spiral. The bunnies’ claws scraped the metal as they were thrown off the plane. As we spun, I saw dizzying glimpses of the other pilots using similar maneuvers to shake the bunnies off. The air filled with green lasers punching holes through the clouds as the swarm assaulted us.
*pokes thread*
((I don’t know if the Arwings are going to crash or not! I would love to continue the thread but I don’t know what we decided would happen next.))
((You, me, and Kittymine all like the idea of having the Arwings crash, so I guess it should be safe to do that?))
((Alrighty then))
We did our best to avoid the flying bunnies, but the sheer amount of oncoming fire negated our evasive maneuvers. “HANG ON EVERYONE!” someone shouted over the intercom. I couldn’t tell who as my Arwing was in a dead spin at this point, and I was close to blacking out. Right before I lost consciousness, I saw the ground rushing up to meet us, and a deserted city on the skyline.
My helmet filled with the sounds of crunching metal and panicked voices as I fired shot after shot at the huge cloud of bunnies that seemed to be all around us. Again, the whole Arwing shook as one or two bunnies thudded onto the outside, scratching with teeth and claws. Flashes of dragonbunny fire illuminated the windows.
“Rainbow! The engines – ” A chunk of red hot metal went spiraling down through the clouds, and the plane lurched to one side. As we spun I saw flashes of the other Arwings, covered in bunnies and in a similar predicament. I flipped on all the stabilizers, trying to balance the plane. Several pairs of hands reached around me from behind, slapping and tugging at the controls as all of us slid and tumbled into each other. “Sorry – I’m sorry guys – ” I muttered. White and pink and smoke gray and laser stripes of green ripped across the windows.
Some part of the plane was definitely on fire, and I could see the blackened ground coming up through the windshield. I yanked upward on the controls as hard as I could as we made collision with the ground. Everything shook violently with a horrible grating metal sound as we slid forward and came to a stop.
For a second we were all silent, breathing heavily. I took off my helmet, shaking out my hair. My neck hurt from being thrown around, but I didn’t seem to be injured beyond cuts and bruises. I looked back at the others, who were struggling to their feet. “Sorry,” I said again. “Is everyone alright?”
As soon I recovered from the shock of hitting the ground, I turned to look at the rest of my passengers. They all appeared to be rather shaken and a few had minor injuries.
“Nobody move,” I called over the radio as well as to my fellow passengers. “Let the helibunnies think that we’ve all died. Obviously, if you are in danger of burning alive, crawl out carefully and try not be seen.”
I peeked out the window. The helibunnies were flying away, laughing hysterically.
“Okay everyone – coast is clear,” I said into my radio. “Crawl out or we’ll come in to rescue you.”
The emergency exits were still working, we clambered out of our smoking plane. Bedraggled and bleeding, we all huddled together and took a quick head count. Everyone was there except for the passengers on Theo’s Arwing, plus Theo himself. His craft was very badly damaged and burning. Those of us who could stand properly ran over to the burning craft and crawled inside. Theo was in the pilot’s seat, unconscious. His passengers were badly injured, some burned. We hauled them out. Groundhog had already set up a first aid area in the small wood about not far from where we crash landed.
“Everyone under the trees,” barked TGYPWYA. “Let’s make sure those bunnies don’t spot us.”
I didn’t want to get up. My head was pounding and my entire body felt sore. However, I knew that I couldn’t indulge in lethargy for much longer. I sat up, and immediately regretted it. “Ow…my head…” I mumbled to myself. Groundhog saw that I was sitting up and walked over to me. “So how are you doing” he asked me. I looked back at him and replied “About as bad as I look, unfortunately.” Groundhog chuckled and said something about needing to check on the other patients. Before he left, I asked him where my sword was. “It is still in the Arwing. We tried to get it out, but nobody could touch it without severe burning. Seems like it…bonded…to you. Funny thing, it wasn’t damaged by the crash at all.” I was mildly curious about how it had been made out of a substance that seemed to be immune to deforming. I walked over to the crashed Arwing to get it out. When I picked it up it seemed to brighten, almost as if it knew I was there. “What is this thing” I wondered out loud, “And who made it?”
((I already have an idea for what substance it is made out of, so nobody say anything on that front.))
((Groundhog is female, by the way.))
((Awkward…..))
((I think I owe an apology to Groundhog, I have been referring to her as a male this entire time. Sorry. Unless Rainbow is messing with me, I am sorry.))
((Yup, I am female. And you’re forgiven. Groundhog is not an obviously girly screen name, after all, so I can understand why you didn’t realize.))
((well now that particular bit of awkwardness is over, lets get in with the story))
Night fell. We had cleaned up and taken shelter, but we still had almost no idea what to do. Except that staying here was probably a death sentence.
“Maybe we can redezvous anyway,” said Aggie optimistically. “We still have legs, right? According to the navigational systems, we were about halfway to the DOH when we were attacked. It would be a long haul, but we could make it.”
“It’s not like we aren’t used to roughing it,” I said wryly. “We’ve been on the run for…how long now?”
“Aggie, A long haul? It could take us months, and that’s being optimistic. Before we commit to anything, we need to assess our supply and our injured’s physical welfare. I say that if we can pull it off, we continue with the mission.”
((Holy cake I’ve missed soooo mucch So sorry for forgetting this thread! I will post! So many posts to catch up on!))
Still disoriented from the disastrous Arwing battle, I hurried to catch up with the conversation. “Do we even know where we are?” I asked. “Like, in relation to the rest of the world?”
My thoughts were spinning; thinking about the rest of the world was too much effort. I didn’t want to think about the human race, and how little was left of it. I didn’t want to think about the sheer amounts of bunnies everywhere. I didn’t want to think about how small the Resistance of.
I looked at all the faces around the campfire and felt terribly alone.
((Where is the base we are heading towards? we aren’t terribly prepared, are we…?))
((I don’t know if we’re heading to any base at the moment, though we are certainly unprepared.))
((I mean the bunny base))
((Oh, yes. That one. *facepalms*))
“My communicator is shorted out, but if I can fix it, I can use it to connect to the nearest satellites and figure out our position.” I said. “I realize that’s not much help, but knowing where we are is still something.” I pulled my miniature toolkit out of my pocket and began to fiddle with my communicator, hoping that it was still repairable after all it had been through.
I notice Groundhog fiddling with her communicator. Since I have no idea how to fix one I turned away and took stock of our supplies. Almost everyone managed to keep their weapons, but the Arwing that carried the majority of our food had gone up in smoke. We had some medical supplies, but those were being used fast to help the victims of the crash. “Looks like we will have to scavenge on the way” I muttered to myself. Hopefully there was a deserted village or two on the way.
((*poke*))
((Hello?))
((I think you guys have been abducted by aliens. Will I be next?))
((I’m here but I don’t know what to post :/ ))
“Alright then,” I said. “I’ll go scout out and look for food sources nearby.”
“No, you shouldn’t go out alone. Who knows what’s nearby? I will come with you, I think I saw something to the east.” I stand up and grab my sword. I wondered if what I saw was what I think it was. Something was for sure, that building had looked very familiar…
((I left a tantalizing cliffhanger to incite replies, WHERE ARE YOU GUYS/GIRLS?))
((Hi! I originally really wanted to be involved in this, but then it was moving too fast and then I wasn’t on MuseBlog for a few months. I’m back now, and this looks like it’s moving slowly enough for me!
Character profile:
Name: Errata
Age: 16
Appearance: Short, light brown hair, tallish, average weight.
Skills: She uses a short lightsaber in her right hand, with a longer-range weapon in her left, usually a blaster or a dart gun. She’s a good shot with them, and uses the lightsaber mostly for creating openings, along with defense.
Weaknesses: Don’t put her in charge of flying. She can do okay if it’s not a combat situation, but in the heat of battle… It’s not a pretty sight.
I’ll introduce myself tomorrow… I have an elaborate plan to bring myself to where you are and integrate myself with the plot, which may end up being vetoed. In any case, I’ll post it, and people can object after the fact. But not until tomorrow, it’s late enough already.))
((Long post ahoy!))
Errata:Â
I sat in the tree, watching the group. They had plenty of weapons, and I didn’t see much pink, but I couldn’t take chances. I couldn’t afford it, not now. Still, I didn’t have much of a choice.
I dropped out of the tree, landing crouched in front of them, and stood up.
“Are you with the Resistance?”
One of them nodded, looking somewhat suspicious. “Are you?”
“I am, but you’ll forgive me if I don’t take your word for it. Here, can I test your bloodstream?” I held up a device, and looked inquiringly at the girl who’d spoken.
“…That’s an old model of com card.”Â
I nodded. “Didn’t your group use this test? Anyway, you passed. I’m Errata. Who are you?”
They still looked wary, but the one I’d been talking to, the one I thought was their leader, answered. “This is Theo, Lightning, Randy…” She went around the circle, naming everyone. “…And I’m Groundhog.”
“Groundhog? Then…” I flipped back a flap on my inner wrist, and pressed my thumb against the sensor. A moment later, it came open and I took out a chip and handed it to her. “Here. You can use this.”
“What is it?”
“I was with a splinter group, and we found one of the Bunny’s computer backup locations, unencrypted. I didn’t look at much, but it’s their battle plans, technology readouts, base layouts, biology experiments… Everything. We all took a copy of it, but… The bunnies recovered all the others.”
((If you don’t like that last part, we can drop it. I thought it’d be dramatic, but now I’m wondering if it’s a bit too much….
i hide in my spot underground. i heard someone speaking. but i didn’t know if is was a pink bunny or not. i heard someone saying “im groundhog”
that’s queer, i thought. i thought groundhog died along with his group!
i looked up through a tree trunk just as someone. i couldn’t see who. handed the one called “Groundhog” something.
i noticed, (cats can see them) one of the group… no wait … most of the group exept the ones in front of me were… Gulp.
“GHOST!” i meowed. the one in front turned and i recognized Errata
((Ok, just so you don’t accidentally do something else, the familiar thing would be where me and some other people lived before bunnies attacked us and I had to run before they killed me. Then I went to join the resistance.))
((Oh, poor BA, I have been neglecting you. Frankly, because I’ve had not time, being in college and taking 19 credits worth and all that. And now it’s midterms season and I will have even less time soon enough, but I’m taking a break at the moment.
Let me see if I can think of something to get us out of this slump.
Side Note: given how technology is advancing currently and given the fact that BA is taking place in the future, our communicators are like a cross between a cellphone, radio, laptop, and ipod
Also, I am going to assume that Errata shows up once daylight comes, because it would be awfully hard to go look for supplies in the dead of night.))
GROUNDHOG
“You’re joking…” I said, staring at the little computer chip. This was a miracle. I inserted the chip into my newly repaired communicator and downloaded.
“Perfect – aside from all of the other information that I must analyze as soon as possible, we now have a real-time model of the DOH, complete with the most efficient course to get there, as well as markings of all emergency exits and booby-traps. I think we might actually make it, if we gather more supplies.”
“Theo and AL are already on that,” said Rainbow. “They’re heading for that building.” She pointed eastward, where the hazy shadow of a few buildings blocked our view of the horizon.
“Alright then. Everyone who’s fit, either help pack up or follow Theo and AL. Make sure your trackers are on. The map indicates an abandoned HPB hideout not far from here. Once supplies are gathered we’ll move out. Errata – are you staying or not?”
KITTYMINE
The hike toward the buildings wasn’t too bad, though the mosquitoes were incessant. We arrived at what appeared to be the remains of a residential/urban mix. We split up, fanning across the area. I headed for what appeared to have been a Target, sections reduced to rubble. Perfect.
((is there anyone here?))
((Hello…?))
((No seriously, if anyone sees this, just say ANYTHING))
I see you!
I doubt I was one of the people you were searching for, though.
Inside the Target, I grabbed a cart and ran around the store. Interestingly, the place didn’t look much picked over, perhaps because the bunnies had wiped everyone out. I ran around the store taking whatever was useful. Clothes, medicine, canned goods, shoes – this place was a gold mine.
After an hour or so I met the others outside and we headed back again. The trip took twice as long, since it is very hard to push a shopping cart through an overgrown forest.
((I”M NOT ALONE! :D))
Kittymine got back from the store with all the supplies we needed. I decided not to mention to anyone that the reason the Target wasn’t picked over was because me and my family had lived there for a time, rationing out the supplies, living in fear from the pink menace…I focused back on the present when Kittymine asked my help to distribute the supplies evenly. There was work to do, and and every step closer to the stronghold was another step closer to the bunny base.
*cricket* *cricket*
309-
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT
Haha did i startle you? :3((ibcf! You’re somewhat of a legend on these threads, if I remember correctly…))
waht
AL
“I think that’s the last of the supplies,” I announced, “is there anything else we might need that would be worth going back for?”
It seemed we had covered everything, however, and we couldn’t travel with an entire supermarket full of supplies.
It was late afternoon by this time, and I looked around at my fellow Resistance members in the camp. Oh, how far we’ve come, I thought, but in my mind’s eye I could not shake the image of the desolated supermarket. The rubble reminded me of the zombie apocalypse movies of my youth, searching through the historical films in the library. It had such a post-apocalyptic feel to it. I tried not to think about it.
“What next?” I asked nobody in particular as evening settled upon us.
“Well, nothing to do now but move out. I really don’t want to camp here for the night.” I announced. “Let’s get going, we can make good progress before we have to stop.” ((Sorry to be vague, but I can’t even remember what exactly we were doing…))
((Cake, I haven’t posted here in FOREVER. Would someone please be so kind as to summarize what’s been going on?))
((Frankly, next to nothing for the past age. *Reads a bit* It appears that we planned to fly to the DOH and just attack William head on instead of bouncing from location to location and continually being smoked out. However, on the way there our Arwings were shot down and we have since all crash landed in a field near a forest which is on the outskirts of a deserted/half destroyed town. While Grounghog and other dealt with the more seriously injured, others (Me, Theo, AL, and you I think) went to the town to scrounge for supplies. We just got back with several cartloads, thanks to a giant Target. We now will proceed to the DOH on foot…unless something else should happen…
Also, it should be noted that these threads thrive on spontaneity. We need to be more spontaneous. Catwings was working at that, I think.
And now, after that introduction, I shall post something, despite finals and a short story that I should really be doing revisions on right now. KITTYMINE IS OFFICIALLY BACK!!! ))
Since the injured had generally been stabilized and we now had all of these supplies, we began our trek. Let me tell you, walking through the woods at night was not a picnic.
“I truly hope there are no orcs hiding in these woods,” I muttered, “though an Ent would be a happy sight.”
As dawn approached we stopped in a very dense section of the woods and made camp. I volunteered to stand watch first.
I settled myself on a log and watched as the sky turned pink and gold with the rising sun. I sighed sadly as I thought of watching sunrises from my back porch. As I resigned myself to keeping watch in total misery, I noticed that the forest was eerily quiet. Not a bird chirped. And then, straining my ears, I heard the faint sounds of marching paws.
I ran back to the camp.
“Hide! Everyone cover yourselves. There are bunnies on the way. Get into a position a keep those blasters ready.”
((Oh, also another reason we’re trekking along is because we’re supposed to rendezvous with another group of resistors from Arizona.))
((Thank you, Kittymine!))
I am nearly drifting off to sleep when Kitty’s cry jolts me to alertness again. I jump out of my sleeping bag and stretch quickly before snatching up my weapons belt and wrapping it around my waist. (It’s hard to sleep wearing all those knives!) I then set about dismantling and concealing my sleeping area, and helping the other groggy Resistance members dismantle and conceal the rest of the camp.
Within minutes our camp was concealed, thanks to some handy cam-foil. I and around ten others stood in formation just behind the tree line, our suits in Bunny mode. I didn’t want to know what I looked like right now.
The sound of marching paws was close, very close. TGYPWYA signaled from the front and we marched forward toward the oncoming regiment.
“Identify yourselves!” called TGYPWYA, his voice automatically altered. It was a bit disturbing.
The HPBs came into view, their weapons drawn, but they lowered them slightly when they saw us.
“We are troop 9974. I am Lieutenant Killer,” the the foremost bunny. “Where is the rest of your troop?”
“They were either killed or fled,” said I, trying for anger. “That cursed Resistance ambushed us.”
Lieutenant Killer became excited.
“How long ago? Which direction did they run?,” he asked TGYPWYA. “For we are searching for them, Lieutenant…”
“Dagger,” supplied TGYPWYA.
“Lieutenant Dagger. We have been ordered to capture them and escort them to the DOH, where they will be tortured and executed – one by one.” Killer’s teeth glistened with venom.
“How fitting,” said Randy.
“Come, you must guide us to their tracks!” said Killer. His troop opened ranks, leaving spaces for us to join them.
“They will be long gone by now, our guidance would not help,” said TGYPWYA quickly.
“Nonsense,” said Killer. “Besides, as a fellow HPB troop, we must take care of our own. Join ranks! Troop, move out!”
We had no choice. We could not refuse without giving the game up, and that was out of the question. We had decided not to attack so as not to highlight our tracks in a pool of blood, but we did not dream that we would be taken in by the passing troop.
((No, no, you join the Orcs after you escape from Shelob!))
((
))
((Kittymine, that’s perfect! By the way, are all bunnies named after murder-related adjectives or weapons?))
I curse inwardly as I march along with the bunnies and the rest of the Resistance. A thousand different ways the current situation could pan out flit through my mind, all of them ending in our discovery and – as we were severely outnumbered – likely defeat. There has to be something I can do… I think to myself. If I can somehow communicate with TGYPWYA and the others without the the bunnies noticing, we can set some kind of trap… My thoughts are interrupted as Lieutenant Killer begins speaking to TGYPWYA again.
“How many of them are there, Lieutenant Dagger? There must be many to have successfully ambushed one of our troops. Do you think they may pose a significant threat? Should we take preventative measures, earplugs perhaps? Nothing can stand in the way of their demise.” He smiles in an awful, threatening snarl.
((I don’t think they’re all named after weapons, but those were the names that came to my mind.))
((Note: I don’t think the entire resistance is marching with the bunnies, it’s only about ten of us.))
KITTYMINE
“Earplugs would be a wise precautionary measure,” said TGYPWYA. He winked ever so briefly in my direction. I smiled back, thankful that TGYPWYA was a very quick thinker. With everyone wearing earplugs, any communications with the other members of our group would go unnoticed.
GROUNDHOG
“This is not good…this is really not good,” she said from her camouflaged perch, watching as TGYPWYA, Randy, Kitty, and others joined ranks with the HPBs and marched away.
“Then again,” she said, poking her head up to signal that it was alright for everyone else to come out, “We could use this to our advantage. If we calculate the marching speed of the bunnies we could have some meet them ahead, masquerading as another defeated troop…and we could even create a mini-battle that would cause this HPB regiment to circle back around. And once we join ranks, we would be heading for the DOH, which is where we want to go anyway! Hey guys!” she called, hurrying to group everyone together.
((Can you use a winged cat with water/ice powers?))
((Certainly! Thanks for joining.))
((Wait, you can have elemental powers? I wish I’d known that before… Though I probably still would have made the exact same character.))
((This is total sci-fi/fanta sci-fi, so I’m really not particular what kind of powers people have. I mean, in the old days we had a whole load of jedi running around.))
((Well… I guess that explains the lightsabers.
In my character’s bio, I said she had unusually good vision and hearing. Can I make that unnaturally good? Not anything too major, just enough to be quite useful.))
((Sure, what the hey. Sounds cool.))
((Well since we are making our own characters, we can make them anyway we want… right?))
KITTYMINE
Lieutenant Killer jerked his ears and the entire troop inserted earplugs. We, of course, followed suit, but since our bunny ears were not actually real, we could all hear just fine. The marching bunny paws, combined with the earplugs, masked our communication, though we tried not to move our lips too much.
“Alright folks, any thoughts?” came TGYPWYA’s voice through my helmet’s earpiece.
“We could continue with them and get to the DOH. After all, that’s where we’re trying to go,” said AL.
“What about the group from Arizona that we were supposed to rendezvous with?” I asked. “If they spot this bunny troop they could fire upon it and possibly injure us.”
TGYPWYA was about to reply when Randy suddenly said, “Guys, quiet a second! I hear something. It’s coming from the trees…a faint rustling.”
I could hear nothing of the sort, but then again, I wasn’t the one with exceptional hearing.
“It’s fading,” she said after a moment. “But maybe it was the others…”
I shrugged and we continued on.
You know the expression, “It’s always darkest before dawn”? If you’ve ever marched through the night, you would understand exactly just how dark that is. Without the night vision in my helmet, I would have been tripping over every tree root.
It was during this darkest hour, when my body was desperately craving sleep, that we were saved.
((Cue Catwings and the others))
((If others there be))
((Oh, the suspense!))
“Hello?”
))
….
“Hello? Anyone there?”
….
Dead silence except for static coming from the other end of the Microphone. I do believe this was the part that happens in everyone’s life called…
Lost…
I cursed at the pink bunnies and got out of the broken vehicle and flew upwards, looking for any sign of the others. The forest is huge! How can i find everyone else in this thick darkness?
Then, i heard it! a rustling in the trees! I got my arm ready, in case i needed to set anything on blue-fire. It could be the pink bunnies… or it could be my Friends. The bunnies are very deceptive, it might be them.
The voices though were Kittymine’s and AL’s. I swooped down to get a closer look.
((Im sorry im not one to follow storylines, im unsure of what you want me to do
((Thanks for continuing this Kittymine. I was going to post, but couldn’t for the life of me think of what to say. You clearly have the superior storytelling skills.))
As the night grows darker, my senses gradually grow sharper. Except my sense of smell, that is never more than mediocre. Anyway, this is the reason I would be completely nocturnal if endless war against the bunnies allowed it; the less help my senses get from my surroundings, the more they improve themselves to compensate. Which is good, because the bunnies do not seem to require much help navigating at this time of night either. I am certain that if I were to stumble over a root as we marched, I would give myself away.
Slowly the precious minutes creep towards the darkest hour of the early morning – the hour which I love best of all. My senses at their height, I want to stalk silently through the trees and exult in every beautiful sound and sight of the forest. But instead I must march, worrying that something will give us away. Then suddenly, that rustling I heard earlier while we were talking returns, louder than before…
((Untrue! Your story telling skills are super. Just blame the EWB (Evil Writer’s Block) ))
((To avoid keeping everyone in the dark (pun intended) the idea I had was to have the rest of the Resistance take down this bunny troop in the middle of the night and then we would take their places – become that troop. Catwings, I think you would be especially helpful because you are black and could attack the bunnies with blue fire without them being able to see you.))
((Hmm… just give the order
))
((If my storytelling skills are super, yours are off the charts. But actually, I feel the EWB is less to blame than the EB (Exams Burnout). Considering that – as a senior – my exams were extra-compressed, I don’t know when I’ll be able to make any serious contribution again.
By the way, I really like your idea for the plot.))
((Good luck! And thank you.))
It began with faint rustling, like what Randy had heard before. The HPBs, who had long since removed their earplugs, noticed immediately.
“Halt!” said Lieutenant Killer, holding up a paw. We stood in silence.
“Hear anything else, Randy?” I whispered in my helmet mike.
“Hang on…it’s very faint but coming closer. It sounds like wings, but it’s too heavy for a bird…”
Then blue fire shot out of nowhere.
As I describe the approaching creature to Kitty, suddenly blue fire shoots out of nowhere. I jump slightly to the side, barely resisting the urge to yell “Caking wung buttons!” Luckily I’m not the only one to flinch. In fact one of the bunnies (one of the real ones, thankfully) is hit. Ens death is not slow, which I cannot help feeling is a little more merciful than en really deserved.
“What was that??” Lieutenant Killer looks into the trees, trying to find the source of the blue fire.
I whisper frantically into my headset, “Kitty, do you have any idea what’s going on?”
((SFTDP. Catwings, I think it would be best if you could post please.))
((Oh, cake, I’d almost forgotten you all…)
The darkness was broken by a blue flash of light. I couldn’t see where the sudden flame came from, but jumped instinctively amd nearly tripped over a tree root.
((Oh! Sorry!))
“Who are you?” i asked “Friend or enemy?”
I heard a voice, sounded like Kitty, “I-it’s us! The musebloggers!” ((Does your squad have a name? i didn’t read that part if you do))
“Oh!” i said “am i glad to find you! My airship was attacked by the HPBs and i got lost”
((We’re usually called the Resistance. Also, usually if you’re making a post advancing the action on one of these threads, you’ll want to post it on the bottom. Roleplaying in the nested comments can get confusing.))
((Sorry, should i transfer the post to the bottom instead?
))
((No need. I’ve moved it using special GAPA powers.))
((SUPER GAPAS! GO!))
“Really?” I asked, suspicious. The fire had scared the living daylights of me, and I pointed a shaking blaster at the winged cat. “H-how do we know you-you’re telling the truth?”
Kitty motioned for me to put down my weapon. “Let’s hear her story.”
Before Catwings could say anything there was a loud war cry.
“For Muserdom!”
Suddenly our friends were there, shooting at the bunnies.
“No time to explain – back to work,” said the winged cat, and she started breathing blue fire again at the HPBs. Curious fire it was too – it froze the bunnies instead of burning them.
“I’ll take this as our cue to transform,” I said to my fellow disguised resistance members. As one we changed our suits back to normal and attacked.
“TREACHERY!” screamed Lieutenant Killer before he was decapitated by a lightsaber.
It was difficult, in the darkness, to see if any HPBs were escaping, but we tried as much as possible to surround them at all times.
When we had determined that all of the HPBs were dead, I ran over to Groundhog.
“Oh Muses, Groundhog, thank goodness!” I cried, hugging her tightly. I was shaking.
We piled the bodies with difficult and stripped them of their uniforms. I saw AL talking with the winged cat as she worked.
“Okay, everyone, suit up,” said TGYPWYA. “We’re becoming this troop – that’s going to be our ticket into the DOH.”
“Alright” I answered, TGYPWYA, as i stood a little ways back, I spread my arms and turned into my human. ((Red wavy hair, green eyes, green outfit, headband-green as well, boots, etc,))
I suited up into the pink bunnies’ gear and waited for the order to move out.
I looked in surprise at the cat-turned human. I decided to walk over and introduce myself.
“Hi, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Randy Mosito; I worked in the San Fransisco base. Who are you?”
((SFTDP. Poke Poke.))
I slip into the suit and see the flying cat girl talking to Randy. The bunny suit feels wrong. It’s always uncomfortable, wearing the enemy’s colors. But I follow orders. Incogmito missions have never been my favorite.
((Wow, I thought this was dead, guess I’ll keep posting then.))
It was good to be underway again. I had started to go a little stir crazy from being stuck in camp for days ((a.k.a. the months where nobody was posting)). Then an unpleasant thought struck me. “Wait everyone, hold up. We might look like an enemy troop, but what if the guards at the base knew the members of this unit personally? There’s no way we could fake our way through that. There would probably be other security measures as well, ranging from powerful scanners to just a code word or something. The disguises will work fine while we are traveling, but we need a new plan for when we arrive.”
The cat-girl was unresponsive, and Theo’s comment caught my attention. I narrowed my eyes in thought. “Hmm. We’re probably going to need some subtle way of infiltrating the base. Maybe we can conduct some kind of surveillance to figure out what sort of defenses they have, then go from there?”
“Perhaps me can masquerade as a group from a separate base? Or perhaps they will be another weakness we can exploit.” I sighed with regret. “If only we had thought to bring a seismograph, we could scan for secret ways in. Maybe Groundhog could jury-rig something that would serve?”
I blew a strand of hair out of my face. “Honestly, I wish getting into the base could just be straightforward for once. Like blasting a hole in the wall or something.” I leaned against a tree, trying to think of something.
“What’s the fun in things being strait forward? Besides, there’s probably a secret way in. Every megalomaniac’s evil fortress has a secret way in and out.”
I stood up from the tree, my frustrated look turning into a calculating one. “You’re right… Maybe all we have to do is find it…”
I stood up, surveying my surroundings, and began to pace. “So are we just– augh!”
I had tripped over something. Regaining my balance, I looked down at my feet.
I hurried over to AL. She already seemed to be balanced again, so I didn’t put out an arm to steady her. I just asked “Are you OK?”
((I want to think that you just tripped over a seismograph, but I don’t want to assume.))
I look up at AL, who had screamed. I walk over to the small group to see what was going on.
((Sorry for being gone so long, folks! Thank college for that.))
“I don’t think we even need a seismograph,” I said. “We have that map that Errata gave us ((see post 300 and 302)). That should show every entrance to the DOH as well as booby traps and weaknesses and such.”
I looked back at Kitty. “Oh, um, I’d completely forgotten about that!” I tried to regain composure over this embarrassing memory lapse. “Well, that’s definitely going to be much easier.” Then I turned my attention back to AL.
“Don’t worry about it” I said. “Shall we?” I asked the general multitude, hefting a black backpack onto my now fuzzy pink shoulders.
“Let’s Shall” said Groundhog right back, grinning like a mischevious pixie.
I shook my head, unable to restrain a smile, and started marching after TGYPWYA, who was impersonating a Lieutenant.
********
They say Mt. Saint Helens was a sight to behold in the winter, capped with snow, perhaps with a plume of steam escaping the mouth, if there had been an eruption recently. The volcano still dominated the landscape, but it was no longer beautiful. The HPBs had harnessed its volcanic energy to build a massive self sufficient fortress, perfect for massing an army and putting their thousands of human slaves to work. Instead of steam, smoke hovered over the entire structure. Any snow on the cap had long been blacked or melted.
On the 5th day of our journey, we came across the remains of a campsite that looked as though it had been left in a great hurry.
“Looks like the folks from Arizona were here,” said TGYPWYA as we fanned out to inspect the site. “Looks like they got away.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” said a cold voice from behind us. I whipped around. A young man in faded jeans and dusty plaid stood just behind a tree at the perimeter of the campsite, his blaster leveled at TGYPWYA. A quick glance showed the rest of the crew from Arizona were in the trees holding their blasters with the exact same stance. We were surrounded.
Being useless with guns of any kind, I hadn’t brought a blaster of my own with me. I pulled out some throwing knives, but in my head I heard the old saying about bringing a knife to a gun fight. Suddenly, I realized something. I’d assumed the people who surrounded us were hypnobunnified, but I’d forgotten we were disguised as bunnies ourselves. I whispered into my headset, “Do you guys think we should drop the bunny camo?”
“I’m not sure, it might protect us. This IS armor-plated somewhat.” I replied to R101, hoping to be helpful in some way.
((Your Resistance name is Catwings, right?))
“Well yes.” I responded to Catwings. “But I’m wondering if the only reason they’re planning to attack us is because they think we’re HPBs.”
((Catwings or Katherine. Whichever. Or just plain Cat/Kat))
“…Alright then.” I said. “Maybe you’re right. But what if you aren’t”
“If they attack us, we’re toast” I whispered. “I don’t think revealing ourselves could make our situation any worse, and it might make it an awful lot better.”
((Groundhog! I haven’t seen you post in forever! And it’s great to see you posting now!))
“All right.” I replied to Groundhog. Then I prepared to debunnify.
I prepared to debunnify along with the others.
((Cat wings–((It helps if you role play without nested comments, just for continuity’s sake. Thanks!))
((I know, but I’m not sure what to do. I mean, I’m afraid of doing something wrong, so I usually just post without moving the plot too much.))
“Hold off!” called Groundhog, her hands in the air. “We aren’t who you think we are.”
‘These are not the droids you’re looking for’ I immediately thought, and then had to work really hard not to start giggling like garden gnome.
On Groundhog’s signal we all de-bunnified our suits. Groundhog pulled her I.D. badge out of her pocket and held it out to the guy in the plaid shirt. He took it, gave it a look, and then signaled for his group to stand down.
“So you’re the Resistance group from the Trench,” he said, coming forward to shake Groundhog’s hand. “I’m Rik, leader of this here group. Some of us are Resistance like yourselves, but most are civilians.” As he spoke, we saw more faces appear from behind trees a few hundred yards from the campsite – pale, thin faces, many of them children’s.
“We were supposed to rendezvous with you here a week ago,” he continued. “I see you were delayed.”
“Our Arwings were shot down earlier on, so we had to go on foot,” I explained. “And then we were delayed by an HPB regiment, which, incidentally, is who we have been impersonating.”
((Dear Catwings,
Please please please do not fear doing something “wrong”. I know that critical comments were made previously. Good critical comments are meant to be constructive, to help make your writing better or to get a better sense of events on the thread (I think you were newer to the story at the time). Their purpose should not have been to scare you away from being innovative or ignoring those brainwaves that can come in the middle of the night. You’ve been around here a while, you know the world of this story – just take your post #319.2!
This goes out to everyone: we really need to keep spontaneity alive on this thread, or the thread WILL DIE. Spontaneity is what kept the original thread going for 6 thread at average 500 post a thread and then full steam ahead with TNG. There are so few of us left here, if we don’t pool our ideas we are GONERS!
To quote the editor of my university’s paper, “WRITE ON!”
– Kittymine ))
((Yeah, maybe. But it isn’t the critical comments, I’m always afraid of doing something wrong, in real life. I’m not a very active person, because I’m afraid of standing somewhere where someone will yell at me, or chase me off. Oh well.))
((I can understand that. I’ll just say that we’re glad to have you here
))
I was momentarily stunned by te sheer amount of people. There were so many new faces, and I hadn’t seen anyone besides Resistance members in monthxs.
((wow, gone for a week or two and look at what happens.))
I sheathed my sword, glad it didn’t come down to fighting other humans. Even though it was sometimes a necessity, that didn’t make it any easier to live with. I went over to the spokesman for the other group. “Hello there, my name is Theo. I don’t suppose you have a really high-power scanner with you, do you? I found this weird sword a while back, and it seems to be really powerful. Knowing how to make more would help us out a lot.” “We don’t have one with us” he replied “but our spies, before they were caught, said there was an advanced R&D division in the bunny base. If we have the time, you could take it there for a scan. We can talk later right now we need to get into cover before a patrol finds us!” We prepared to move out. ((Just a side note, I TOTALLY forgot what I was planning about the sword, I’ll just make up something cool))
“How many fighters are there in your group?” asked Groundhog.
“Twenty-three,” replied Rik. “Why?”
“I’ve got a replicator that can produce more of the new BunnyProof suits that turn us into HPBs,” explained Groundhog. “The best way for us to get into the DOH will initially be through disguise.”
Rik nodded in agreement and called over his fighters to enter their size into the replicator.
“Groundhog,” I whispered as the Arizona fighters suited up, “What do we do about all the kids? We can’t take them into the DOH!”
She frowned, thinking.
“We could have them stay here…It’s only another day’s trek to the DOH from here. We could leave them with most of the supplies and a few of their own fighters for protection.”
“I’ll ask Rik,” I said.
I found him standing by a tree at the edge of the group, repacking his bag, a new BunnyProof suit hanging over his arm.
“It feels really odd wearing this,” he said to me as I approached. “It’s almost like I am the bunny, only with my own thoughts intact.”
“It weirds me out too,” I replied. I told him Groundhog’s idea.
“I had the same thought myself,” he said. “I’ll delegate eight to stay behind. If everyone stays quiet and hidden, hopefully they’ll be okay.”
It took us an hour to fully pack up and prepare the children being left behind. As we marched off, I looked back saw their wide, scared eyes following us. It gave me the shivers, but also strengthened my resolve to succeed with this mission.
((Are the fighters protecting the kids all NPCs, or is this potentially going to break off into a mini-story-arch where some of our characters have to fight off the occasional HPB patrol while protecting the children?))
((I like the idea of the mini-story arch. The question is, with so few of us, can we manage it?))
((I’m going to continue assuming that the only people left with the Arizona kids are other Arizonian resistance members; we have all gone to the DOH))
Dusk fell. The DOH loomed, dominating the landscape. We would likely arrive around midnight.
“This may seem an odd question,” Rik asked me quietly, “But what were you before the invasion? I mean, what has changed in you as a person?”
“Do you begin all conversations this way?” I replied with a wry grin. He smiled at the reference and shook his head.
“No, but I’m curious. Here you are, a soldier impersonating an HPB. If the apocalypse had never happened, you would be doing something else right now.”
I sighed, and was silent, collecting my thoughts.
“I used to be a librarian-in-training who did some creative writing on the side,” I said. “I even published a book or two. I was in the second year of my masters when the bunnies started taking over. I went into hiding at first with the rest of my family, until Groundhog recruited me. I used to be a generally compassionate person living in a great world of literature. Now I’m an efficient soldier, my heart somewhat hardened to the pain and suffering around me just so I can cope. Frankly, I’m not sure how much I like this new me, borne of necessity.”
“I was a clinical psychologist,” said Rik after a pause. “Still am, in fact – that’s what the Arizona branch of the resistance recruited me for. But like you, I also had to learn to be a soldier because we needed all the hands we can get. You saw the display I put on when we surrounded your group. The old me would never have been able to do that.”
* * *
Midnight. Before entering the building, Groundhog made sure we all had a 3D layout of the DOH programmed into our helmets. The layout was also programmed to have the locations of all resistance members show up as pulsing blue dots. William was programmed to be a pulsing pink dot.
“Remember the plan,” she said. “Once we’re inside, we split up in the pairs and do as much damage as possible and rescue whatever humans, bunnified or otherwise. Whoever wants to have a shot at assassinating William, raise your hand.”
We all raised our hands.
“Figures,” said Groundhog.
“Alright”, I said, “I’m going to go smash up their science division, steal all of their files, figure out what this sword it made of, and then burn it all to the ground. Anyone want to come with me?”
I looked up at Theo ((I’m sorry if you have an alternate name)) “It’s better than sitting here.” I answered, getting up, “But that seems easier said than done.”
((I changing the name of the acting head of the Arizona resistance – the guy named Rik that my character has been talking to. From henceforth, his name will be Matthew. Apologies for the confusion.))
“I plan to go to their torture chambers and break all of their caking machines and then free some prisoners,” I said.
“I’ll come with you,” said Matthew.
“Sounds good,” said Groundhog. “Alright you lot, let’s march in like a normal bunny troop. Everyone got a partner and a plan? Then let’s move out.”
Marching in was actually incredibly simple. There were so many other bunny squadrons going in and out, we blended right in. Matthew and I split off to the right and headed to the lifts powered by the magma of the volcano. As we plummeted through the fortress, I couldn’t help visualizing our descent as a falling deeper and deeper into Satan’s Pandaemonium.
We had no trouble until we reached the torture chambers themselves.
“Where is your prisoner?” asked the bunny guard, a particularly large black quadruped.
“Our orders were maintenance,” said Matthew.
“The devices were just inspected yesterday,” said the bunny with a leer. “And you two don’t have maintenance uniforms neither. In fact…” The brute tilted his head, staring at our faces, which Matthew took as an opportunity to blast the bunny to oblivion.
“One down, many more to go,” said he.
((Wow, this has been a LONG hiatus.))
Me and Wingcat ((Is that your character name? I honestly can’t remember)) set off towards the science division. “Hey, you two!” a guard shouted at us, “What are you doing here?”. I quickly thought of a genius reply. “Science my friend. We are doing science-ey science, in the field of Science”. While the guard was puzzling that out, we pushed past him into the main area of the laboratory. Wasting no time, I quickly put my sword into the high-intensity scanner. As I looked at the readout, my jaw dropped. This was a level of materials-smithing that was unheard of in the modern era. The sword was comprised of nanite-infused carbon nanotubes, capable of self repair, and even self modification. It was currently locked into the crystalline lattice formation, with the morphology of a sword. But there was no reason it couldn’t become anything else. I just needed to find a way to unlock it… My musing was cut short, however, as alarms started going off throughout the facility. “Intruder alert! Human presence detected!” The guard we had walked past earlier looked at us, and then started calling for reinforcements. I realized that we had been found out, and started the process of demolishing the lab before the guard’s backup could arrive.
((I’m older than my character now, this is so weird. I guess it doesn’t matter as they’re all roughly teenage. Randomosity, is it okay if we’re partners for the DOH invasion?))
“Intruder alert, human presence detected!” Pink lights flashed on and off in the dim hallway, and above us I heard the clomping march of bunny soldiers falling in line. Randy and I started to run toward the end of the hallway, only to be blocked by a phalanx of hissing, furry soldiers. In seconds we were fighting back to back in a sea of enemies, she slashing with her knives and I shooting down bunnies as fast as I could.
This series is like the energizer bunny! It just keeps going, and going, and going…
Maybe the next reboot will tell the story from the bunnies’ point of view.
Yikes, what a scary thought.
Yet it definitely has potential. It would be interesting having to vilify our human characters.
Fun idea! I guess the bunnies wouldn’t understand why the humans want to resist them. They see themselves as an essential good.