Already as long as The Divine Comedy, The Lord of the Rings, and all the Harry Potter books put together, and still growing.
Continued from Part 7.
Patience, Please
This site is under reconstruction and will look strange for a while. We regret the inconvenience.
((Yes! Thank you GAPAS.))
((Yay! Thank you, GAPAs!
I can’t post anything long just now, I’ll be back later.))
((This really is rather long. No way it’s likely to end any time soon though.))
((Oh! I posted the last story-relevant post. How exciting.
Well, I’ll just wait for someone to post. Thanks, GAPAs!
Copy of my last post:))
KOKONILLY
Nothing happened. We waited, listening to the ever-loudening sound of the battle. Then Daisy spoke up:
“Why don’t we just attack the bunnies now? They won’t be expecting an attack from behind, and then the people in the S.A. chamber can back us up once they’re done freeing the hostages.â€
“Good thinking.†I nodded. “Connor, you take Lilis and stay here. I’ll fight.†He nodded and rapped harder on the door.
I heard a muffled voice say “Guys, do you hear something?†and breathed a sigh of relief. I turned back to the group. “Guys, we need to be quiet. They won’t be expecting us, so we need to surprise – †But it was too late.
“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!†ZVX screamed as he ran into battle. “Oh for goodness’ sake,†someone said.
((Okay, I tried to introduce my new character last night, but I got hung up on a back story. Let’s try that again…
Name: River
Age: 14
Appearance: Medium-length dark brown hair, brown eyes, slightly pale skin, average height for age, slightly skinny.
History: Shortly after the moon landing in 1969, a group of people on a rocket to the moon accidentally went through a nearby wormhole and landed on a desolate planet with an Earth-like atmosphere. They terraformed it and created a new home. River is from a rather well-off family who settled on that planet. She has an older brother Simon who is gifted at medical practices and such, but she herself is a prodigy – many talents (some hidden, even to her) are completely natural to her. When she was 13, she was invited to a special “Academy” for gifted people. It seemed like a rather suspicious place to her family (and her), but she decided to go. It turns out the Academy was a government project used to create super-soldiers. The scientists there experimented on her brain for some time before Simon rescued her. However, upon getting home, River ran away and fell through a portal that took her back to Earth. Shortly afterward, she was captured by the bunnies.
Personality: Due to the scientists removing her amygdala, she is prone to mental-emotional breakdowns. During these panics, she can be somewhat dangerous (usually not); however, when she is calm, she can be somewhat cheerful and sweet.
…Wow, I’m not even being discreet about ripping you-know-what, am I? :lol:))
(( Can I join? ))
((5 – No kidding… *cough cough Arianna cough cough* Are you also ripping off of Ender’s Game?
6 – Sure, now is as good a time as any. See post 271 of part 6 for an Overview summary of this entire thread.
SUMMARY
> See post 399 of part 6 for last summary
> since then, everyone has managed to make their way – somehow or another – to the Suspended Animation chamber. Padme has unlocked the room’s outer defense mechanisms which are currently shooting lasers at the HPBs outside the main doors. TGYPWYA, ZVX, Daisy, Rik, Selena, Koppar, Groundhog, and Rainbow met up with Kittymine, Connor, Kokonilly, Rachel, and Sophia on level two. The remaining HPBs were dealt with and Lilis was knocked unconscious. Rainbow escorted Kittymine to the Arwings (Kitty having been shot in the leg with a blaster) and then joined the others outside a little known and unused back door to the S.A. chamber.
> At the Yukon base, Cerre finished interrogating the HPBs, who turned out the be nicegoodius. They are sending those bunnies back to the DOH to help the Resistance fighters.
That’s all, I believe.))
KITTYMINE
“Jenny, are you serious?” I asked incredulously.
“Yup! We just have to mark them so that you guys don’t accidentally attack them.” I thought for a second.
“What if you put them in BunnyProof suits? They should fit – especially if you reset a couple of the settings on your Mom’s SuitMaker.”
((If I’m ripping off Ender’s Game, I sure as heck didn’t do it intentionally.))
Wow – error! That should be post 271 part 7
((Ack!!! another mistake! that should be “see post 399 of part 7))
(( Name: Midnight ( no last name)
Age: 12
Appearance: Black Hair with Purple streaks, wears sneakers and various t shirt.
Backstory: Escaped from a bunny testing lab, was one of the poor children who were almost turned into bunny mutant spies. A spy at the hospital kiddnapped her at birth. She busted out with her sister, who was killed by the bunnies. She joined the resistince and can talk to hpb that don’t speak english. ))
Can I arrive at the Yukon base?))
(( NOTE: Ignore the sister thing.. hmm.. I’d be 21… Me no marry… I could adopt her. ))
ISAFTDP
(( I sincerly apoligize for the double post))
((I was just released from a stasis pod/cylinder/thingy, and am panicking. Groundhog currently is trying to calm me down. I’m going to repost my last post.))
“Sorry.†I said. “I just don’t know what’s going on. Those bunnies showed up at our house and kidnapped my parents. I followed them onto the ship to see if I could rescue them, but then the bunnies did something, and my parents started shrinking and turning pink. Then the bunnies got me, and put me in that stasis thing and I have no idea how long I’ve been in there or of what’s going on!.â€
I hadn’t meant to raise my voice, but I was so disturbed I was shrieking again on the last sentance. I realised I was being hysterical, and made a huge effort to calm myself.
((I need someone to bring my four back into the fray. Please. I will love you forever.))
ZENA:
I put my hands on the girl’s shoulders, trying to calm her down. “Relax,” I said to her. “Whatever did happen to your parents, it may be…” My voice caught in my throat. I was afraid to be the bearer of bad news.
…”too soon to tell,” Groundhog finished, making a quick save. I shot her a small grateful smile. “But before you can find out, we have to make an effort to free the rest of the prisoners and escape.”
“Okay,” the girl said, getting up. Groundhog helped her to her feet. I left the two of them and joined the others, who were freeing the last two stasis pod prisoners.
I set to work on one, in which a girl who looked deathly pale was enclosed. Suddenly, there was an earth-shattering bang at the doors, which now had a visible dent in them.
“They’re making progress on breaking through!” someone shouted.
PADME
I headed toward the back wall of the room where I had heard the knocking, accompanied by Mena and Crystl. The knocking sounded again, along with a muffled war cry from someone else, coming from the left hand panel of the wall. I pushed the panel and voila! – a back door opened. Standing there were TGYPWYA, Daisy, Rik, Selena, Koppar, Groundhog, Rainbow, Connor, Kokonilly, Rachel, and Sophia.
“Hi, Padme, Mena, Crystl. We’ve come to fight the Pink-coats,” said Groundhog with a grin.
“Well, you can come in and help barricade the door,” began Mena.
“Or go around the front and fight hand-to-hand, if you’re careful of the lasers,” finished Crystl.
“Where’s Mom?” I asked worriedly, noticing that she wasn’t with the group.
“She’s in one of the Arwings – she’s okay, just a blaster shot to the leg. Not the best for fighting,” said Rainbow.
There was a sudden loud crashing noise from the main doors. I turned around quickly to look.
‘Great. Now the doors are dented,’ I thought to myself. ‘I wonder what else we can shoot at them…’
I went back over to the control panel and looked at the other buttons. I pressed two and there was the lovely sound of HPBS shrieking as they were simultaneously barraged with bullets and splattered with plasma.
Unfortunately, it wouldn’t hold them off for long.
KITTYMINE
“Great idea!” replied Jenny. “I’ll tell Solange and Charlie and Cerre.”
I put down the radio and pressed the TALK button on my helmet.
“Attention all Resistance members – this is Kitty. Feel free to keep fighting, I just have a quick message. A bunch of Nicegoodius bunnies showed up at the Base, so Ground Control is going to be sending them to us wearing BunnyProof suits. They’ll be here as soon as they can.”
RIK
I quickly ran into the room to help barricade the doors. Good thing too – the bunnies seemed to have found something that will break the doors, because they’ve made a huge dent in it.
I managed to regain control of my emotions just in time to prosses what they said. They had just started working on another pod when I realised that the one who had been holding my shoulders had been upset. She was trying to keep me from getting hysterical again by witholding something from me. I needed to know what they weren’t telling me. Knowledge would help. It always did.
“Too soon to tell?” I shook my head, confused and a little scared. “You’re hiding something, aren’t you. You don’t want to hurt me. Please tell me, I’ll feel better knowing, whatever it is. Has swomething absolutely awful happened to my parents?”
((Poke the bunnies! Poke. Poke.))
((Sorry. I didn’t realise it was on my alter ego. It’s already been guessed though, so it’s no big deal.))
((SFTTP Come back! Please! I can’t do anything until someone responds!))
JENNY
I hurried over to Cerre and Solange and Charlie.
“Guys, Aunt Kittymine just radioed. She suggested that we put the Nicegoodius HPBs in BunnyProof suits. I’m sure that Mom’s SuitMaker could create ones in Bunny size.”
“Perfect!” replied Solange. “That’ll differentiate them for sure!”
I ran to Mom’s lab and got the SuitMaker running. In about 10 minutes it had created enough BunnyProof suits for all of the N-HPBs. With Charlie and Julianne’s help, we transported the suits to the holding cell. As we handed out suits, Cerre explained the plan to the N-HPBs.
“The Resistance is currently fighting in the Suspended Animation chamber – I assume you know where that is?” The bunnies nodded.
“The main doors are being attacked by hordes of HPBs. If you guys go in the North Entrance, you should be able to come at the attacking HPBs from behind.”
“Gotcha,” said one of the bunnies, who looked like the leader. The said bunny turned to the others.
“You heard her – does everyone understand the plan?” There were nods of assent from the suited bunnies.
“Alright – let’s move out!”
(( How should I start?))
((19 – *re-reads backstory*. Umm… good question. I’m a little bit confused. Exactly how old is your character, and who is the ‘her’ that your character is adopting?
As for starting, you could just place your character with the rest of the Resistance in the Suspended Animation chamber. This is working under the assumption that there are lots of other people in the Resistance, they just aren’t mentioned by name and they don’t talk. In essence this means that your character has been there all along, but is now recognized as a speaking character (sorry if the logic is confusing).
Just FYI – the latest summary is in post 7. ))
(( Huh? I posted a new bio, and now i’m myself-Cause i am 21 now, )
((Hmmm intrigued. Any suggestions for a resistance hopeful?))
((As it stands, most participants have some family history with the bunny apocalypse, so if you’re planning to make a character I would do one with some sort of background or vengeance towards the enemy.
))
((I was under the impression that the bunnies were out to destroy the Earth. Is that not reason enough?))
((I don’t think too many people know about it.
Actually, I don’t really know what the bunnies want. Huh.))
((Gee, that seems like a major plot hole.
How does hopelessly in love with one of the main characters yet completely inept and ignorant of the HPB invasion sound?))
((…Goodness me, I can’t write a romance. You can go ahead and do that if you like.
))
It really doesn’t matter what the bunnies want. They’re just evil.
((Well, most of the plot here is involved with families and some elements of romance…you could make it work.))
((I think I need to read some of the older posts, but it won’t be a romance per say. The character will have a crush, but will be more of an Uncle-Charlie-like character from the Mummy than a romantic lead
Ooo, can I join?
I yawned and reached into my bag of chocolate. For extreme boredom: it read. i reached in, grabbed one, and munched.
((Extreme boredom when the bunnies are about to break in and kill us? I bet that bag is always empty.))
(( how about, for extreme hunger? that’s what i was going to type.
ZENA:
The last hostages were freed from the suspended animation chamber. I rushed over to Padme and the other Resistance members who were streaming in the door.
“How bad is the damage?” I inquired.
“They’re creating a dent in the door that’s growing bigger by the second.” Padme’s voice sounded strained with worry.
“They’ll be inside soon,” I said. “But everyone is freed. What should we do? Stay here and fight, or…”
“Make a run for it?” suggested Zavier. I gave him an annoyed look. “No, seriously. There’s a door RIGHT THERE that we can escape through.”
“When the time comes, maybe,” said ZVX, coming up behind us. “But for now, we have to make a stand for it.”
It didn’t look like there would be much time to decide either way. The dent in the door now had a small hole at the tallest point, which was now gaping larger and larger. I saw pink on the outside. Padme frantically fired blaster from the outside downwards at the door, but nothing seemed to be working. Pink paws and ears were slowly appearing before my eyes.
“What are we going to do?!?!”
We I looked at the bunny, and took out my lightsaver. It glowed blue. The bunnies started to leap through the crack. Oh- no. I thought.
((Yikes, a lot has occured – at least discussion wise. In terms of what the bunnies want from us, that is spelled out in post 271 of part 6. ))
((20.1 – sorry for confusing you. I am correct in saying that your character’s name is Midnight, she’s 21, and she is currently in the S.A. Chamber about to fight the bunnies?))
((Bismarck, Mikazuki – Welcome! See post 7 for last summary.))
PADME
Right after Zena made that desperate exclamation, Mom’s voice came over our helmets’ radios.
“Attention all Resistance members – this is Kitty. Feel free to keep fighting, I just have a quick message. A bunch of Nicegoodius bunnies showed up at the Base, so Ground Control is going to be sending them to us wearing BunnyProof suits. They’ll be here as soon as they can.”
“Well, at least there will be more recruits,” Zavier remarked.
((I’m thinking of killing him off, simply because I don’t use him as much.))
((Can you please get Zena to respond to my character? Look at post 14))
((I left her with Groundhog.))
((Oh. Sorry.))
((This is a response to Randomosity101’s character. Sorry I took so long.))
“There might be and there might not be.” I replied. “It sounds to me like your parents have been bunnified–transformed into hot-pink bunnies. The transformation is usually reversible, but on rare occasions it is permanent.” I looked at her and made a mental note not to let her watch the debunnification.
((Thanks, Groundhog.))
“They turned into…bunnies?!” I whispered. The fact that I had involuntarily lowered my voice, in me a sign of imminent emotional breakdown I could afford even less than hysteria, promted my pragmatic and rational side to take over. Whatever was going on, crying would not help.
OK, review the facts. I thought. One, I don’t know how long I was in that cylinder. It would probably be a good thing to know. Two, the bunnies can bunnify me like they did my parents. I need to be careful. Three, that lady said bunnification can be cured. I can still get my parents back. Four, I need to learn how to protect myself from the bunnies, or I won’t live to free my parents.
Calmed by the logic, I finally thought to ask, “Who are you? And what is today’s date?”
((If I recall correctly, BA:TNG happens seven years after BA, which was supposed to be in our present day. So I’m using today’s date, but seven years in the future. If I’m wrong, I’ll repost with the correct date.))
“I’m Groundhog. And it’s August 12th, 2017.” I replied. The girl looked like she was attempting to calm down, which was good. The sound of bunny hordes reached my ears. “We need to get out of here!” I half-shouted to the rest of the room. I used the Force to carry the woman on my back, and rushed out of the decimated doors.
(( Really? Oh cake, I need to change my profile!
Name: Pie GIrl
Age: 17
Appearance: Black hair with purple highlights, about 5’1. ( How I wish I look+ my real height.)
((30- I think it was twelve years after BA…
I just can’t get into this right now. I’ll post something later, when my brain starts cooperating.))
((The date doesn’t actually matter, I just needed a way for her to find out a length of time.))
I’ve – I’ve been in that cylinder for six months now! I thought to myself. I’d read enough sci-fi that the thought wasn’t terribly shocking, so I was quickly able to bring my mind to the present and the very real threat of the bunnies. I raced after Groundhog.
“Can you talk and run at the same time?” I asked. “If you can, I need to know all I can about the bunnies so I can help you guys.”
((The date is currently November 25th, Day 5 of BA:TNG. We are currently fighting on the night of the 5th, so soon it will be Day 6))
((Ooops…))
“I can.” I said. “The bunnies are capable of hypnosis, zombification, and bunnification. Hypnosis and zombification are done through eye contact, bunnification can occur through a bite from a bunny, or any sort of ingestion of hot-pink pigment. The bunnies can levitate their heads, and some can fly using their ears as propellers. Others can breathe fire, and a small number can both fly and breathe fire. We use reflective visors to deflect their hypnotic and zombifying gazes, and wear bunnyproof suits to keep them from biting us. The suits also act as armor against their more conventional weaponry–blasters and such–and have built-in guns that shoot depigmentizer darts. These darts suck the pigment out of the bunnies and render them harmless. We also use BunnyBlasters and lightsabers to fight the bunnies.” I detached the clip of depigmentizer darts from my finger gun. “You can use these–they work just as well thrown as shot from a gun.”
Luckily, Groundhog was giving the infomation I needed, and a weapon. But I had heard a little and read a lot, and I had more questions. “Thanks for the darts, but do they de-bunnify them? Or kill them? Is hand-to-hand combat possible? If you narrow your eyes to slits, will that stop zombification or hypnosis? Is there a cure for either?”
“The darts just remove the pigment, which gets rid of their powers.” I replied. “They’ll still want to kill you, and will still be able to use regular weapons. Hand-to hand is possible, and narrowing your eyes won’t help with the hypnosis and zombification, unfortunately. You’d have to shut your eyes completely, and that has several major disadvantages. I think ZVX has some spare helmets though…” Just then, ZVX tossed me another helmet. “Okay, here you go.” I said, handing the girl the helmet. “And both zombification and hypnosis are curable, although you need special equipment to do that. A couple of us–not me though–have some sort of empathy that can cure both without equipment, and Force-users can use mind tricks to temporarily mitigate the effects until the victim can be cured.”
((I’m going to give my character a more conventional name. I used my blogname before.))
MYRA:
“Thanks for the helmet! Wait, I didn’t tell you my name. I’m Myra.” I said.
I thought over what Groundhog had said. Hand-to-hand combat would mean I was on my own turf. I couldn’t used the trick I normally did of making it look like my eyes were closed when they were really open to bare slits, so if anything ever happened to my helmet I would have to use my ears. I just then thought of two more questions
“Just before being put in the cylinder, I heard people yelling about music in 3/4 time. Is that significant? And for people who turn into bunnies, do they keep their memories of being human?”
“Yes, it’s very significant.” I replied. “Bunnies can’t stand music in 3/4 time–it’s their kryptonite, they collapse if they’re forced to hear it for too long. Music in other irregular time signatures is painful for them to listen to, but won’t do much more than annoy them.”
((Oops, forgot to write the second part…))
“And all of the humans that we’ve debunnified have retained their memories from before their bunnification. Most of them lose their bunny memories however.”
MYRA:
“Hmm… There is one melody I know…” I thought out loud as we ran.
((Are we going to run into the bunnies during our little escape?))
((40 – heck yes! They’re bashing their way through the door, for goodness sake!))
((Good! I think Myra’s going to have some target-practice issues with those depigmentiser darts Groundhog gave her.))
SOLANGE
I ran back up to the control tower and watched the N-HPBS in their BunnyProof suits scatter around the North Entrance and wait for the HPBs to get closer. It was very strange to see bunnies ready to attack other bunnies, and I had to keep reminding myself that they were on our side. It was hard to fight the urge to yell ‘HPBs ’round the North Entrance! Attack!’
‘Do you think it will work?’ murmured Charlie, who had come up with me.
‘I don’t know, but I hope so, Charlie, I really hope so,’ I replied, and turned my anxious eyes back to the scene below.
((The DOH is miles away – there is no way we’d be able to see them attack from the Base.))
((Oops, sorry, I didn’t know. You can change it to ‘watching the bunnies leave the Base area’ or something.))
A loud clang made me jump. I turned and saw the circular cutout from the DOH’s doors lying on the floor, and a horde of bunnies leaping through it. I lowered the woman on my back to the floor, whipped out my lightsaber, and began to fight.
PADME
Despite our best efforts to barricade the door (and despite the room’s external defenses), the HPBs managed to cut a hole through it, presumably with a lightsaber. Luckily, Zena and Co. had released all of the people in the S.A. columns, and it appeared that most of the prisoners had shaken off the post-suspension disorientation pretty quickly.
MYRA:
A bunch of HPBs suddenly broke through. Groundhog ran over to fight them with a lightsaber.
I looked at the darts in my hand. “It’s now or never.” I said to myself. I selected one and threw it at an advancing bunny. Not only did it miss its mark, it nearly hit one of my new allies in the shoulder!
“Hey! Watch it!” The person I’d barely missed yelled.
“Sorry!” I called, scared at how close it had been. Well, I’d always been learning to fight hand-to-hand, so projectiles definately weren’t my strong point. That left only one option. I opened my mouth and started to sing.
My mother took me to a Rennaissance dance when I was younger. I hated the waltz dancing, but the music stuck with me. It had no words, but I sang “Do do do.” It wasn’t words that mattered, it was melody. A few of the bunnies in front started screaming. I guess they are hurt by it! I thought, delighted that I could actually do something to help. I pitched my voice over the screaming and sang on.
KITTYMINE
After radioing the Ground Control, I decided to hack into the DOH’s computer system so that I would be able to watch the feed from the security cameras and know what was going on. This took a while, since I was, and still am not, the best of hackers. Luckily I had Groundhog’s handbook on the subject to help me.
After about 10 minutes I had the live feed and was watching my friends battle.
They were losing and they knew it.
That isn’t to say that they weren’t fighting our best and hardest. But they were grossly outnumbered, even with the extra people who had just been freed from S.A.
The only hope was the N-HPB reinforcements that were coming from the Base.
I feared that they would be too late.
PADME
The sounds of battle rang around the room as we all fought our hardest against the seemingly infinite horde of bunnies. The ratios were so bad that our Main Character Protection seemed doomed to failure (which would be catastrophic, by the way). Thank the Muses for the BunnyProof Suits, and for the fact that most HPBs are certifiably stupid.
But we definitely needed those reinforcements.
LILIS
I woke to find myself bound and gagged on the floor of a deserted hallway. Almost deserted – I could hear battle sounds in the near distance.
And I had a splitting headache.
Exceedingly irked, I struggled silently against my bonds, but to no avail.
‘Okay, now what? Let’s try to stand up…’
It took a full 5 minutes, but I managed to get to my feet, using the wall as a prop. I then bunny-hopped carefully the the nearest elevator, hit the up button with my head, and travelled to my suite.
Once inside, I opened my closet door using the manual foot pedal (i.e. I jumped on it) and pressed my head against a button on the inside of the door, activating a laser scanner which instantly reduced my bonds to ashes.
‘Great – a mouthful of ashes. Just what I always wanted.’
I quickly packed all of my belongings. It was obvious that there was no real reason for me to stick around…or was there? I paused halfway through packing my laptop as an idea struck me. A wonderful, stupendously evil idea.
I dropped the laptop gently on to the bed and grabbed my lightsaber.
There was still one more job to get done.
MYRA:
My throat was starting to hurt, but the bunnies were still coming. If any got as far back as me I was confident I could give them a beat-down, but for now I focused on singing and keeping them at bay.
Things were not going good.
The bunnies pouring in through the hole in the door seemed to be part of an endless stream, and some of the SA people were already having to beat back bunnies with their hands. Padme inched her way over to where Groundhog and I were fighting back-to-back and shouted over the noise, “We don’t have time for this, guys.”
“You think??” I shot back, slicing at a bunny who had gotten a little too close for comfort. A few minutes later, I noticed something odd happening – the bunnies I could see through the hole were gradually being taken down, one by one. The bunnies coming through noticed this and some of them began climbing back to deal with their new enemy; before long, the last one was shot in the waist as he was climbing back into the hallway.
I cautiously stepped forward a few feet, my blaster raised and pointed at the hole. After a few seconds, someone appeared at the hole and climbed through. She appeared to be a girl roughly 13 or 14 years old, wearing a sleeveless dark blue dress – and pointing her blaster straight at me as soon as she climbed through. Her arm was shaking slightly, and she looked a bit scared.
We both stepped toward each other a few feet before I put my hands up (blaster still in one) and said, “Look, I don’t wanna hurt-”
I was interrupted by a painful roundhouse kick to the face. And when I say “painful”, I mean “Chuck-Norris-would-have-been-proud-for-multiple-reasons painful”. I turned and fell at the same time, feeling the headache hit as I landed on the metal floor. Around me, I could hear everyone beginning to shoot at the girl, but no sounds of a hit. After recovering for a few seconds, I rolled over, took careful aim at the incredibly-flexible-for-dodging girl, and hit her with a stun bolt.
((I-Man!!! Wow… nice new character! And by the way, my grammar nut is screaming at you for saying ,”Going good” instead of, “Going well”. But feel free to ignore it
))
((Heh, I actually said “going well” the first time I wrote it, but I had to close the page and come back later
Thanks, BTW))
((Okay, SFTDP, but I’d like to change the end of what Lilis said in post 47, since I figured out this whole grand plan that explains why she’s out to get Padme and such. *giggles evilly* Basically, Lilis is Padme’s second cousin once removed who is out to kill Padme due to the treachery of Padme’s grandmother Victoria (who is Lilis’s great Aunt). This may sound a bit complicated (okay, a lot complicated), but it does work. I’ll have to post the changes later though – I have to finish writing a paper at the moment.))
(( I think it’s time for me to do some character elimination.))
ZENA:
The bunnies had been pouring in by waves and droves, but the stream was thinning as I-Man stepped out of the hole in the door. After he left, the invisible force that seemed to be halting the bunnies was gone, and they began passing into the room again. Yet, the room was overflowing with rabid pink faces. I drew my lightsaber and, with a loud battle cry, Zavier and I jumped into the horde of bunnies.
There were so many…it was like being splashed over the head with pink paint, only the paint was fighting back with as much strength as its’ paws could muster. I kicked one bunny in the stomach whilst slashing wildly at another with my outstretched arm. The ones left in the room swarmed on top of us, all around us. I saw other trying to hit them off with bare hands. It was clear that we were outnumbered.
Even worse were the bunnies with actual weapons, as opposed to sharp teeth and claws. Several HPB’s were dressed in black and carried lightsabers or double-edged swords. Zavier and I turned back-to-back, attempting to guard each other from the back. But suddenly, while I knocked a bunny unconscious in front of me, I felt an absence from the back. Zavier was sliding to the floor behind me.
I swirled around, the room beginning to spin. My throat closed up as i saw what was in front of me. A hulking bunny stood over my brother, a sword in each hand and blood lust creeping over his red eyes as a smile curled from his sharp teeth. And Zavier…he lay there on the floor, eyes closed and mouth agape, blood leaking from a gash across his chest. I closed my eyes and opened them again, willing the vision before my eyes to be something, anything other than what I knew it was. And when this sight did not change, I fell haphazardly to the floor, crouching by his side, taking his hand in mine as it slowly began to turn the temperature of ice. My other hand struggled to try and block the blood that stemmed from him.
“Please…please don’t go! I need you, Mom and Dad need you! We all need you, don’t leave us…”
His eyes opened halfway for a moment, and a small smile came over him. His breath was guttered as he spoke. “D-don’t you go…soft on me now…” My hand was squeezing his now, as if willing his spirit to cling on a second longer. “Everything will be f-fine…I promise…”
I felt the tears begin to stream from my eyes in rivers, and as I realized how bad the damage was my body was rattled by emotion. “No, it won’t! Don’t do this to me! Not now, not today!”
Suddenly, his eyes changed, turning from reassurance to worry. “You-you’ve never cried before…be strong n-now…”
His eyes connected with mine for one more moment, and then, as if a light bulb had been switched inside him, they fell dull and lifeless as a wilting bloom. He was gone.
Suddenly, a small word escaped from my chest. “No…” This small release triggered a sudden barrage. “No, no, no! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!” The scream echoed over the chaos around me, which had turned to swirling color.
I was on my feet. The small gathering of bunnies that had crowded around were suddenly on the ground, writhing in pain from the work of my hands. I slashed at any being who came close to my brother’s lifeless form, not caring whether it was human or animal, friend or foe. I was rabid with grief and rage, wanting only to kill and not to save. No thought mattered to me now except revenge, to cause pain equal to that which I felt inside and was releasing on the masses. “DON’T YOU COME NEAR HIM! DON’T YOU…”
((Sadness
When exactly did I step outside the room, out of curiousity?))
((Did you climb out of the hole–
No! Oops, sorry! I misread that, I thought that you stepped out of the room to meet the girl in the blue dress, not the other way around.
))
((*pays the PoPoPo 5 kilos of choklit in advance*
GAPAs, I’m afraid to inform you that I have sent my 1,000 pet HPBs in your general direction, and the only way I will call them off is if you cease this madness. (Although I must admit, seeing some of the more dramatic/silly threads in pirate-speak is vastly amusing.) ))
Cease? Madness? Here? Surely you jest.
If you could restrain those bunnies for another day, we promise to resume standard English diction tomorrow.
(Or, if a tidal wave of anti-pirate sentiment inundates the blog tonight, we will bow to the will of the majority.)
((Thanks.
))
((Actually, on second thought, I think I like it enough to go for another day or two
))
((I think I’ll wait until termorrow ter post – mine pirate-speak needs some work.))
((But that’s the great thing – you don’t have to type pirate-speak. It automatically translates it for you.
Convenient, no?
))
((Yes – of course, I only realized this after posting. I was scrolling through the thread and I noticed that everything was in pirate speak.
Ooh, ooh, awesome note – I am posting from school!!! The computers in the yearbook room (I’m on yearbook) are not connected to the school network, so there is internet access!!!! This will not last forever, since we’ll get connected eventually, but whatever. *pays PoPo officer a bar of choklit per word*))
((You mean your school blocks sites like MuseBlog? *whistle*
*pools PoPoPo choklit fine with that of Kittymine*))
((Not just Museblog – there is no internet access period. At least, not on the computers that the students use. The office has access, obviously. *continues to pool choklit* *is running out of choklit* *is glad that is going to Hershey in five days* ))
((…*repeated whistling*
*robs the Hershey factory and steals about 100 kilos from them for future PoPoPo fines*))
MYRA:
My throat was completely dry, and it hurt so much it was hard to breathe. I couldn’t sing anymore. The bunnies started rushing through the door. They seemed to be thinning out a little, though that might have been my imagination. As I couldn’t sing anymore, I ran to the outer edge of the bunnies and started taking them out in hand-to-hand combat. Karate lessons do come in useful! I thought to myself.
Just then I heard a scream. It was full of pain and despair. I glanced wildly to the source of the scream, but I couldn’t see anything in the swirling mass of pink. I fought through the long-eared pink monstrosities towards the source. Suddenly, I saw the blood seeping across the floor. So much blood… No! I finally was close enough to see the body slumped on the floor, with the girl who took me out of the cylinder screaming and attacking everyone around her with pain-fueled rage. It seemed that when the bunnies started advancing, they had jumped into the fray to fight them off, resulting in the death I saw.
My mind went blank, save for one thought. It’s my fault! It’s my fault he died! If I could have just sung for a little longer – No! NOOO! It’s all my fault! My mind did what it usually did under such circumstances, it channeled my sorrow into rage. Rage at the bunnies for killing him, and rage at myself for letting them. The rage prompted me to fight, heedless of danger. I wanted to kill the bunnies, KILL THEM ALL, for daring to cause so much pain. So I fought and fought untill the bunnies stopped coming, and then I went to them. And I continued fighting the pink demons.
PADME
William managed to stun the girl in the blue dress, who had been dodging our shots like crazy. She collapsed to the floor at the same moment that William began to sit up. I hurried over to William while someone moved the girl to the side so she wouldn’t be trampled by bunnies.
“William! Muses, you’re a mess!” His face was covered in blood from his nose, his eyes were blackening, and he had a bruise coming on his forehead. William grimanced and was about to respond when there came the sound of war-cries from the hallway outside of the S.A. Chamber. A moment later, a bunch of Suited HPBs charged into the room.
The reinforcements had arrived.
MYRA
Suddenly, a bunch of HPBs in suits charged through the door. I sprang up to fight them, homicidal rage still clouding my brain. An ally grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back.
“They’re on our side!” My detainer told me.
“But they’re HPBs!”
“No, the ones in bunny-proof suits are actually Nicegoodius. They’re related to HPBs, but they aren’t evil.”
I turned to watch the battle, confused. The suited bunnies were fighting other HPBs!
“But, why?” I asked.
RIK
“We don’t know exactly,” I replied to Myra, overhearing her question. “Groundhog may have a theory, if you want to ask her.”
ZENA:
Myra jumped in and began fighting the bunnies alongside me. Although my mind and body were racked with feeling of confusion and rage, the presence of someone trusted by me was fuel for me to keep going. Bunnies were falling left and right, and as I watched, nicegoodius bunnies in black suits helped the cause.
It was all a blur to me now. Everyone else was still fighting, but the area around Zavier remained untouched by both humans and animals.The lumbering bunny that had felled him, somewhat burlier than the others and with large, tusklike fangs, was trying to attack one of the escapees from the suspended animation chambers, that we had worked so hard to free. Rage and tears welled up inside me. Without thinking, I charged toward him, screaming and holding my lightsaber in front of me as I slashed without thinking.
LILIS (a rewrite of the end of post 47)
I quickly packed all of my belongings. It seemed obvious that there was no real reason for me to stick around. The bunnies were soon to be finished, most likely. Why on earth did I decide to join forces with the HPBs? What had I been thinking?
Then I remembered.
Years ago, my Great Aunt Lucille had come for a visit. I was 14 years old at the time…
(Ack, another cliffhanger. Sorry to leave of like this, but I have to get off the computer.))
MYRA
My brief moment of confusion wore off as Rik spoke. The pain it was holding off came back, and once again rage jumped to protect me. I ran, screaming an inarticulate cry of rage, and started killing non-suited bunnies.
((This thread seems nearly as dead as the bunnies I Myra killed.))
LILIS
‘I’m descended from a family of Southern aristocrats by the name of Wolfe. My father always said that I was the spitting image of his Aunt Lucille, but I had never met my great aunt. Then twelve years ago, when I was 16, Lucille suddenly decided that she must come for a visit, despite the fact that she was rather frail (indeed, she died a few weeks later).
One evening during her visit, she talked with me in the sitting room (my parents having somehow mysteriously vanished). She told me that there was a mission that she had taken upon herself that now needed to be passed down. She knew that she was close to death. She explained that her sister Victoria had betrayed the family when she married Michael Tesser, a middle-class young man from California. Victoria had been written out of her parents’ will and was never spoken of again. But Aunt Lucille said that in her opinion, it wasn’t enough. Victoria had disgraced the proud name of Wolfe by marrying a commoner, so Lucille vowed revenge on all descendants of her younger sister.
“Victoria and Tesser had two sons, Edward and James. Edward married a girl named Lillian Stewart who, as my sources have informed me, is expecting a child. James recently married a girl named Alyss Walker. Both families must be destroyed – painfully.†Aunt Lucy placed a hand on my shoulder and looked me straight in the eye.
“You may be wondering why I have chosen you. Lilis, you and I are similar in more ways that simply looks. You have inherited my personality. I know that you will be able to take the initiative, to ensure that my vow was not in vain.â€
So I became an assassin. I kept and ear out for opportunities and luckily, one came my way a few months later. The HPBs were taking over and were looking for a few human mercenaries. I signed up and found that HPBs were easily manipulated. I sent a band of bunnies to kill Edward and Lillian Tesser, but to keep the baby alive. I had the child sent to an orphanage run by the bunnies and became a prefect there to keep an eye on the baby girl, Padme. I also sent bunnies to James and Alyss’s, but they had vanished, forewarned.’
((I’ll write more later – I have to get off the computer again.))
((Ooh, I like it… Now I feel justified to hate your character!))
((Cool. So that makes Lilis and Padme… cousins? Aunt/niece? Etc.?))
((62.2 – they’re second cousins once removed (whatever that means). Lilis is also a second cousin once removed to Rik, but she doesn’t know that he exists – she went off to the orphanage before he was born. Oh, another note – in post 60, Lilis should be 16 instead of 14.))
LILIS
‘Of course, things did not go exactly as planned. The bunnies fell shortly afterward I had Padme captured and the orphanage was put back in human hands. This prevented me from killing Padme while she was in the orphanage and then the child was adopted 12 years later by a Sam and Kitty Fallert. The bunnies came back to full strength a few months after Padme was adopted, but in that time Edward Tesser managed to avoid death in the DOH and escaped. James and Alyss were tracked down and killed, however.’
I looked down at my half packed bag, counting mentally. Edward, James, Alyss, and Lillian were dead. Padme kept eluding death somehow. Then again, I had forgotten about Aunt Lucille’s revenge plan in the meantime, so I hadn’t been quite as actively trying to kill her.
‘That could be remedied, however…’
I clipped my lighsaber back on to my belt, made sure that every weapon I possessed was somewhere on my person – within reach – and exited my rooms.
There was still one more Tesser to annihilate.
PADME
Thanks to the N-HPB reinforcements, the battle was cleared up in no time. As soon as the final shots had dissapated, we all began looking through the mass of pink for any down humans, the N-HPBs kindly removing their felled evil counterparts. There was a scream. I whipped around, dread dropping into my stomach. In the middle of a large circle of dead bunnies crouched Aggie, Aaron, and Zena over an unmoving form. It was Zavier.
My blood ran cold, the room seemed to spin. It couldn’t be. Not Zavier! He’s too young to be dead! My knees gave way underneath me as I sobbed uncontrollably. I felt a hand grip my shoulder – it was William, still looking a mess. I turned and sobbed into his chest, feeling his tears dripping into my hair.
After what felt like a century, I stood up and wiped my face. Groundhog was coming toward me, nursing a cut arm.
“What’s the count?” I whispered, not sure if I wanted to hear.
“A few deaths – Zavier and a bunch of N-HPBs. Everyone else is alive but injured in some way.” I nodded blankly, still grief-stricken. I couldn’t stay in this room anymore, facing the death all around me. I had to leave. Everyone was busy next to Zavier’s body. Quickly and quietly, I slipped out the back door of the S.A. chamber.
I walked up the hallway right next the the S.A. chamber. The building was deathly quiet. I began to shiver uncontrollably in a combination of exhaustion, cold, and nerves. I paused in middle of the hallway to pull out my lightsaber – the rest of the hallway was pitch black. As I extended my lightsaber, I thought heard something move in the darkness. I turned around, frightened, to head back to the S.A. chamber when suddenly a red lightsaber appeared out of nowhere. I blocked it, startled, to find myself face to face with Lilis. Her eyes were glittering darkly and she smiled, vampire style. I realized that this was not the same Lilis that I had fought with before. This one had only one intention – to torture me and then kill me in the worst possible manner. As I opened my mouth to yell Lilis pounced, knocking me to the floor.
“I don’t think so,” she hissed, knocking my lightsaber out of my hand and stuffing a gag in my mouth. I tasted the tranquilizer on the cloth and the world dissolved into darkness.
((Two people are second cousins once removed if the parent of one is the second cousin of the other. In other words, the great-great-grandfather of one is the great-grandfather of the other.))
MYRA
As the last bunny fell I no longer had a target for rage, so it dissipated and the sorrow and guilt rushed back in like a tide. I crumpled to the floor and started to cry, my mind repeating over and over how it was my fault that the boy had died. If I hadn’t been so overwhelmed, I might have wondered at my capability to cry when it was a wonder I could continue breathing without a glass of water, but the anguish I felt at inadvertantly killing an ally was too great. I was dimly aware that this sort of sentimentality was frowned upon in fourteen-year-olds, but I didn’t care.
((64 – So then… hmm… if Victoria is Lilis’s great aunt and Padme’s paternal grandmother, how are Lilis and Padme related?))
((Hm, lemme think… I think they would indeed be second cousins once removed.))
ZENA:
The brutishly looming HPB was quick, but I was faster. His lumbering paws caught suddenly on a random corpse, and he was momentarily distracted. With all of the strength I had left in me, I raised my lightsaber and swiped at his neck. I made a direct hit, and with a small spurt of gore, it fell to the ground and was dead.
The battle was nearing an end. The only thing left on my mind was to find Zavier. Nothing had ever been more important, or more frightening. I made my way through heaps of the dead, and whether they were bunnies or humans, sometimes I could not tell. In the middle of that circle lay my brother, familiar even in death, terrifying me as I lived.
I approached his face cautiously, as though unable to predict whether or not I would be able to handle the sight of it. he looked peaceful now, like nothing would be able to harm him again. His lips were straight and calm, one arm at his side and the other across his chest, where I had left it. Seeing that hand reminded me of what ti had felt like when it went limp and motionless. Suddenly, my knees buckled under me and I fell across his chest, sobbing uncontrollably and my shaking hand clutching for his fingers.
AGGIE:
Aaron and I had been by the door, towards the thick of the battle, but it died down ever so slowly.
“Where are the kids?” Aaron asked suddenly. I realized that I had no idea.
“Quick,” I said, “we have to go.” I grabbed his arm, worry twisting my stomach into a tight ball. I felt suddenly guilty at how inattentive I had been. Why didn’t we keep watch on them this whole time?
Suddenly, I saw Zena’s red hair from the back, and my heart stopped beating. Something was horribly, horribly wrong. My daughter was lying across a figure, not moving or breathing but unmistakably human. And what was worse, it was a body achingly familiar, and so pale…As we approached, I was sure that this could be nothing more than a nightmare, but when I was directly behind the two figures on the floor in front of me, it was unbelievably clear whose hand Zena was clutching in her own.
“No…” I breathed. “This isn’t real, it’s not real…” I felt, as if from a distance, Aaron’s hand clutching my arm, as though I were the only thing keeping him attached to the earth. Slowly, I sank to my knees, my eyes locked on Zavier’s face, which was as still as if it had been carved from ice. I reached out a hand, feeling over his closed eyelids and across his face, freezing to the touch. I cautiously placed a finger over the veins on his wrist, and when there was no response, reality became extremely clear.
A cry of anguish escaped my lips. In a frenzy, I began to beat his chest with my palms, urging the heart beneath to spring into being and cause his eyes to open. The hollow thuds my hands made echoed against my head, until finally Zena grabbed my shoulders and pulled me away. “D-don’t, Mom, there’s nothing..we can do, he’s gone…”
I pulled her close to me in that moment, and felt Aaron wrap us in his arms, sobs heaving from his chest as we sat among the ruin and the lost soul that was my son.
Errata:
The battle was over, and we had killed all of them. I suppose that made us the victors. It’s hard to tell when all you feel is pain. I didn’t know the dead boy at all, but in his face I saw too many of my friends.
Where was Callista? Panic took over for a second before I spotted her, over in a corner staring out at nothing. I thought she might be crying, but at this distance I couldn’t tell. But she was safe. Alive.
I looked around, and saw Callista’s expression mirrored almost universally. Sad. Tired. The battle was over, the adrenaline was gone, and we needed rest.
We had the hostages. It was time to go.
I couldn’t take this. I had seen someone I loved die before, and if I continued to stare at Zavier, I would surely break down soon. Tapping Rik on the shoulder, I motioned over to the girl I had stunned and the two of us walked over there. Two N-HPBs were kneeling over her, but when one of them saw us, they instantly stood at attention and snapped off a salute.
“Guys, this isn’t the Armed Forces,” I said. They relaxed a little bit, but didn’t kneel back down until we did. Rik lifted her head a little with his hand and asked, “Could she be bunnified?”
I reached over and pulled back her eyelid – darkish brown. “If she was, she isn’t now.”
“She’s still got a pulse,” one of the bunnies pointed out, her wrist in his paw. I nodded to no one in particular, then asked, “Is it just me, or does she look like she’s had it rougher than any of us ever did?”
KITTYMINE
The wait seemed endless. I had seen the N-HPBs arrive and enter, but for all I knew the battle might go on for another few hours. But a half an hour after the N-HPBs showed up, Groundhog radioed me.
“Kitty, the battle is officially over. Unfortunately, we had a few casualties – mostly N-HPBs. But Zavier was killed,” she said, her voice breaking a bit.
“Oh God,” I whispered, horror-struck.
“As for everyone else – we’re alive, but everyone has some injury or other.”
“What about Padme?” I asked quickly.
“She’s fine. I saw her a minute ago – a couple scratches, nothing major. We’ll be coming out in about 10 minutes. I gotta go help Aggie. See you soon, Kitty.”
“Yeah,” I replied half-heartedly. I was too preoccupied. I didn’t really know Zavier, but it didn’t matter. He was a child, Aggie’s child. Vividly I recalled the scene from Lord of the Rings where Theoden is kneeling in front of Theodred’s grave.
‘No father should have to bury their child.’
I thought of Zena; she had lost her twin, her other half. I thought of my own twin brother – would I be able to stand it if he died?
RIK
I looked down at the girl lying at my feet.
“It does look like it. I mean, she’s really, really thin, her eyes seem huge in her head, and look – ” I pointed at her legs – “she’s bruised and scarred.”
LILIS
I picked up Padme’s unconscious form, walked up the hallway a bit more, and took the elevator down to my private suite. Once inside, I deposited Padme in my training room/torture room and double checked that I had all the weapons I might possibly need. I then strapped Padme into my “Electric Chair”, placed the metal cap over her cranium, and hit the button for the lowest voltage.
PADME
I awoke with a jolt – literally. I screamed as electricty coursed through my body.
“That was just a taster,” said Lilis softly from my right.
I blinked, looking around. I didn’t recognize my surroundings.
“Where am I?” I asked as forcefully as I could, a facade destroyed when my voice shook.
“Welcome to my private training room, though in your case, I would call it a torture center,” replied Lilis smoothly. Again, I noticed the the merciless glint in her eyes. Confusion finally got the better of me.
“I don’t understand you,” I burst out. “What have I ever done to you? You tortured me in the orphanage since I was an infant. You’ve actively sought to kill me, and me alone, on at least one other occassion. It can’t merely be that I’m in the Resistance – this has been going on since I was born.” I was furious now, past caring what I said.
“Then let me spell it out for you,” Lilis replied sweetly. “I am not, as you may have thought, an orphan. The only reason I was in the orphanage was to keep an eye on you and make sure that your childhood was miserable and then finally kill you at some point. We are related, you see.” I felt my blood run cold again.
“What?!” I croaked.
“Your grandmother – Victoria Wolfe. She would have been my great aunt, had she not been cut off from the family after marrying the commoner, Michael Tesser. Her sister, Lucille, vowed revenge and oh-happy-coincidence, that revenge was passed on to me. I get the honor of destroying the Tesser line, the price of Victoria’s betrayal.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This was madness, something out of an old story. But I knew from Lilis’ expression that she was telling the cold truth. And the worst was yet to come.
“Who sent the bunnies to kill you parents? I did. Who sent more bunnies to kill James and Alyss Tesser? I did. And now… I have you, the last Tesser, in my grasp.” She smiled down at me, as though relishing the thought of killing me. My mind was reeling. It couldn’t be true… but it all made sense. The timing, the method, everything.
“If you’re so intent on killing me, why not simply run your lightsaber through me?” I whispered.
“Oh no, that’s not enough. I want you to die maimed, tortured, and begging for death.”
((*shamelessly rips off Harry Potter*))
ZENA:
We had been sitting, quite motionless except for Dad’s breathing, for what seemed like eternity. I felt the tears begin to calcify on my cheeks, and be wiped away by fresh ones. My mind was reeling with thoughts of guilt, pain, and the future. How will we live without him? How could this have happened? Why didn’t I die? I knew, somewhere in my mind, that i should have been the one lying on the floor like a felled wax statue. I shouldn’t be alive.
Suddenly, a hand appeared and touched Mom’s shoulder. Groundhog and a few other Resistance members had gathered around. “The battle’s over,” she said to us. “If it’s okay, we’d like to try and move back to the Arwings.”
There was silence for a moment. “I’ll take him,” Dad said suddenly, his voice shaking a bit.
“Aaron…” Mom said, putting a hand on his arm.
“I want to take him, Aggie,” he said again, this time more coldly.
She stopped protesting. Her face fell as she looked again at Zavier, and she shut her eyes. I kenw she was trying to get rid of this picture, of the blood on the floor, of the dead stench in the air. Slowly, my dad’s strong hands moved me aside. I was still clutching to Zavier. He tried to pry my fingers away, but some part of me could not let go. “No, no, please don’t…” Slowly, his hand slid away from mine, and it was over. Half of my heart had been silently ripped away. I huddled on the floor, hugging myself, as my father carried my brother’s body towards the door.
Someone was taking a head count. It appeared that everyone was accounted for. The mission was over now. I wanted never to fight again, never to risk another death. Suddenly, a voice rang out over the impeccable silence.
“Where’s Padme?”
PADME
My mind was racing. I knew that death was coming, but that wasn’t what was worrying me the most. I was afraid that, during the inevitable torture, I might accidentally let Rik’s name slip. For, as impossible as it seemed, Lilis did not know that he existed! If I kept that last secret, that flaw, hidden inside me, the Resistance would be able to kill Lilis after I died and keep Rik safe.
MYRA
I suddenly heard someone ask where Padme was. No! Not another one! I thought. How many allies have I killed in this battle? I slowly realised that if Padme had been killed, they would be able to see her body. She was missing, though not necessarily dead. There are fates worse than death. I pushed away the thought, but couldn’t push away the guilt of not being able to keep singing, which had led to the bunnies coming in and killing Zavier and possibly kidnapping Padme.
((73- Wow…Myra seems a bit irrational.))
((That’s the whole point!))
((74.1 – I realized – it’s rather entertaining.))
PADME
I won’t give you a blow by blow account of what Lilis did to me. Suffice to say that she used any weapon – crude and otherwise – to make me suffer. But she was careful to keep me conscious. After all, what’s the point of killing an enemy who’s out for the count? No sport whatsoever.
After some time (I’m not sure exactly) Lilis lifted her lightsaber and hovered it over my neck. I knew I was dying – she could have just left me there, and by the time someone had found me I would have been dead. But that, of course, wasn’t good enough.
“You’re dead, Tesser,” whispered Lilis gleefully. “But just to make sure…” She lowered her lightsaber closer to my neck. I could feel it’s heat beginning to burn my neck. Then, as she raised the lightsaber in preparation for the final cut, a blue lightsaber came out of nowhere and plunged into Lilis’ back.
((Aw, Lilis died-ed already?
(I mean, I’m glad that she’s dead, but I had a few ideas involving her… eh, whatever)))
((So who killed her?))
((A classic Evil Overlord mistake. The plasma in a light saber is so hot that there was no need for a forceful whack. Just dropping it on Padme’s neck would have been enough. Lilis was too theatrical. They never learn.))
((
))
As soon as we noticed that Padme was missing, everyone went into a frenzy trying to reach the door.
“Everybody settle down!” Groundhog shouted, quelling the crowd. Once she had everyone’s attention, she continued, “Look, I know we all want to find Padme and make sure she’s safe, but we can’t do that unless we organize our efforts.”
In a few minutes, we had all divided up into teams – one for each floor of the building and one to track down any ships that had left the fortress. Rik and I were on the team that would be searching the floor we were currently on.
As soon as we all exited the room, I got the sense that something was different. Call it intuition, call it the Force – I just knew somehow that the hallway was different. So when our team headed off, I grabbed Rik by the shoulder and indicated to him that we should stay here.
When she noticed that we weren’t coming, Kittymine turned and said, “Guys, come on – we need to find Padme.”
“We’re going to stay here and guard the SA chamber,” I said. It was the stupidest excuse I’d ever made – Rik glared at me and Kittymine gave me a long, suspicious look – but eventually she shrugged, turned, and left with the rest of our team. As soon as everyone else was out of earshot, Rik rounded on me and hissed, “What are you playing at, Will? My cousin is out there, and if you’re not going to help find her, then you-”
I politely tuned his ranting out and looked around the hallway. It took a minute or two, but I finally noticed a small hole in the corner of the wall. Kneeling down in front of it, I pulled out my blaster and shot it – no immediate effect, but the metal through the hole briefly turned a very grayish shade of red before reverting to normal. Frowning, I pulled out my lightsaber and put the tip into the hole.
“I don’t care how much I’ve sided with you before, she’s family and you’re her best friend! Why do you have to be such a-”
He was interrupted by a loud noise as the level exploded and the wall panel fell down into a clearly intentionally constructed passageway. I switched off my weapon, turned to him, and asked with a smile, “You were saying?”
((76.2 – Well, I was planning on having William kill Lilis. I would have posted that before, but I had to leave to go to school.
76.3 – Too true.
77 – Kittymine isn’t in the S.A. chamber. She’s in one of the Arwings since got a leg injury, remember?))
KITTYMINE
I was shaken out of my thoughts by the sound of Groundhog’s urgent voice coming from the radio.
“Kitty! Hello, Kitty this is important!” I snatched up the communicator.
“What is it?” I asked quickly.
“Padme is missing, so we’re delaying our departure so that we can find her.” I went cold.
“B-but you said you just saw her!”
“I did, but from the looks of it she wandered off – there’s no sign of a struggle.”
“Groundhog, LILIS is in that building!” I replied, slightly hysterical. “Not to mention a handful of HPBs!”
“Calm down, Kitty. We’ll find her. I’m sure she’s alright.”
But I wasn’t sure. Not sure at all. Something was telling me that Padme was about as safe as fish on a lure.
((…Blargh.))
((78.1 – It’s okay. Seriously. It’s hard enough to remember what we’re doing in real life, let alone where everyone is in an RPG.
Oh, and by the way, I was thinking of making the blue-lightsaber-through-Lilis’s-back thing a shameless LOTR reference.))
RIK
I paused mid rant, turned bright red, and glared at William in annoyance.
“Very funny. That’s me outsmarted, isn’t it?”
“Yep. Look, it’s not that I didn’t want to save her – it’s just that 30-something people trying to go along a hidden pathway all together doesn’t exactly rhyme with ‘quiet and secretive’. Now come on, let’s go.”
I began crawling along, Rik right behind me. It turned out that the passage led to a nearby elevator shaft. We climbed the shaft until I got to the only opening that was lit differently. Peeking over the top, I saw what looked like a dimly-lit torture room – where Lilis was torturing Padme to the breaking point.
Turning down to look at Rik, I mouthed “be absolutely quiet or we’re both dead” before silently hoisting myself up into the room. As I approached, I saw Lilis wind her torturing down before readying her lightsaber.
“You’re dead, Tesser,” she whispered. “But just to make sure…”
She put her lightsaber right up against Padme’s neck and raised it for the final blow. Screw it, now or never, I said to myself. Pulling out my own lightsaber, I placed it against her back and turned it on.
There was a sickening sound as it cut through her back and a gasp of shock – then a groan of pain – then Lilis whispered feebly, “How?”
I leaned into her ear and whispered, “Simple twist of fate, I guess.”
Pulling out my lightsaber, I pushed Lilis’ body to one side and hurried over to Padme.
“Padme…?” I said desperately, cradling her face in my hands. Her cheeks were colorless, her breathing was nonexistent, and she looked for all the world like she was…
“Oh, Padme…” I whispered, tears running down my face as I lifted her out of the chair and held her limp body close. A few feet away, Rik was looking on with a shocked and confused face, looking like he wanted to say everything and nothing at the same time.
And that’s when she coughed and whispered hoarsely, “Water…”
((Wow, that was long. Anyways, gottagotobedbye))
PADME
William laid me down gently on the floor, took out his canteen, and placed it on my lips. As I took tiny sips (all that I had the energy for), William noticed the extent of my injuries. His eyes widened in a mixture of alarm and horror.
“Rik, get that first aid kit out of my pack,” he said sharply, “And radio the others. Tell them how to get here.”
My eyes were having trouble focusing; warm darkness was edging my field of vision, tempting me through a haze of pain. I was dimly aware of William working on me.
“Hold on, Padme. You’ll be okay,” whispered William in my ear. “You’ll be okay,” he repeated, almost like he was trying to convince himself of the fact.
There was a clatter from below. A few seconds later I heard people bursting into the room through the floor. Then I heard Groundhog’s voice near me.
“Padme… oh my God…”
Her face, blurred at this point, appeared above my own and my body, realizing that there were people there to help, gave up the fight to stay conscious.
((Hmm… actually, a note to those who may eventually edit this thread: I’d like to change those first two sentences to, “William laid me down gently on the floor, took out his canteen, and gently wet my lips. As he tilted the bottle to increase the water volume, he noticed the extent of my injuries.” After all, in this scene Padme is half dead and wouldn’t have to strength to move a limb. ))
AGGIE:
Aaron carried Zavier out the door, towards the Arwings. Part of me wanted to go, but the other part simply could not bear to look at his body again.
Rik radioed up to us all of a sudden. “We found Padme,” he said. “She’s alive, but badly injured and barely conscious.”
“Let’s go,” said Groundhog, and she rushed out of the room. I followed behind. We went where Rik told us to go, until we found the door nearby and burst through. Padme lay on the floor, with several obvious electrical burns that were being treated by a frantic William. I noticed a dead body lying nearby, and that it was that of Lilis.
“Oh my god…” Groundhog said, walking over and crouching beside her.
“She’s fainted,” William said, his hands shaking as he finished bandaging the wounds on her torso. I knelt down beside him and helped. I was shaking all over. Please, God, don’t let her be dead, too…I though to myself, a sickening feeling overcoming my body. What would happen to Kitty if she passed? I could hardly let the thought cross my mind. We finished bandaging her as quickly as possible.
“We have to move her,” Rik pronounced. “We have to get out of here. Xeer’s sure to know we’re still in the building, and son he’ll know what became of Lilis, and when that happens…”
“We’re goners,” Groundhog finished. “I’ll get her legs. William, you get her torso.” Together, they picked Padme’s limp form and carried her out the door. Rik and I followed. Lilis’ body lay, mostly unnoticed, in a corner. It served her right.
ZENA:
I sat in the room, hands still hugging my chest tight and head bowed, so that all I could see was the red-stained floor. I could faintly feel the presence of people around me, but everything seemed dark and cold. Mum and Groundhog left the room suddenly to go bring Padme back. I could only hope that she was all right. But I stayed rooted to the ground.
It was unintelligible how much time passed before they returned. Mom came into the room and pulled me up quickly by my arm. I followed her blindly, as everyone else was quickly leaving the room. I tripped and stumbled some over limp bodies fallen on the ground, but all I knew was my mother’s hand on my arm, leading me to safety.
I saw, though faintly, a pair of figures carrying another. I realized that it was Padme. Horror seeped through my chest like poison. “Mom…is she…” I croaked, unable to finish the sentence.
“She is alive,” my mother said, quietly silencing me. “Only just, but she’s alive.”
I silently thanked God. Another death would have been too much to handle.
KITTYMINE
I sat there waiting for at least ten minutes, possibly more, thinking about Zavier, Padme, and worrying generally. So when Groundhog and William burst into my Arwing carrying my daughter, I feared the worst.
“She’s not dead,” said Groundhog before I could even open my mouth. “But she’s in critical condition – we’re leaving ASAP.”
((Dang it, gotta go.))
((SFTDP))
KITTYMINE
I followed William and Groundhog to the sick bay of the Arwing and watched as Padme was secured to a gurney. I sat down in one of the seats next to the gurney and took hold of one of Padme’s hands.
“Oh, Padme…” I whispered in a choked voice, but that was as far as I got with words. Sob after sob racked my shaking, terrified body.
‘God, don’t let her die, please don’t let her die…’
I barely felt the aircraft take off.
I stood on the opposite side of the gurney from Kittymine, cradling Padme’s head in one hand as the ship took off. The whole situation was so unreal that my mind simply could not accept that it was actually happening. I didn’t cry, I didn’t attempt CPR or anything in a last-ditch effort save her – I simply sat there and whispered to her.
“You can’t die now, Padme,” I whispered, my breathing loud and clear in the absence of any other noise (or possibly a refusal to hear any other noise). “You have so much to live for…”
I couldn’t think of anything to say, but then she whispered back, “I know I do…”
Kittymine sniffed and looked up as Padme opened her eyes partially and put a hand on my cheek. “I’d want nothing more than… to keep on living my life… to the fullest…… but I just can’t… I’m so sorry to… to everyone…”
At that moment, I realized what I could do for my friend. It would be an incredibly cheesy thing to do, but at the moment, I could most definitely care less. With my other hand, I pulled a teddy bear Kittymine had given to me earlier out of my pack and showed it to Padme. She cocked her head to one side as a small, curious smile appeared on her face and as I said quietly, “Do you remember Mr. Snuggles, Padme?”
Slowly, almost gracefully, her other hand reached over and squeezed him. She whispered thoughtfully, “I haven’t seen Mr. Snuggles since… I was a little girl… I thought I left him at… the orphanage…”
Drifiting into what looked like a sentimental trance, Padme closed her eyes and continued, “We would go up to the roof… together… and watch the sunrise… and sunset every… single day… it was such a magical time… him and I…”
“What do you think he would say to you now?” I asked quietly, praying with all my might that this would work.
She opened her eyes partially again and looked at me and the bear for a long time. Finally, she whispered, “I believe… he would tell me to… stay awake for just… one last sunrise…”
Slowly, Padme put her other arm around Mr. Snuggles and hugged him close to her chest, rocking ever so slightly from side to side. Resting her head back on the gurney and closing her eyes, she sighed contentedly and breathed quietly, “Thank you… Will… thank you for… giving me something… worth living for… something worth… fighting for…”
As the ship sped onward and my best friend in the world fell into a peaceful sleep, I realized with a sigh of blessed relief that for now, Padme was going to survive to see at least one more sunrise.
((Sappy cheesiness FTW
))
((85 – umm…. interesting. Definitely cheesey. I’m not exactly sure how she could even move since she’s rather close to death, but whatever. Also, excuse my ignorance – what does FTW stand for?))
((For the win. Or for teh win, if you’re feeling especially leet-ish.
I don’t know why, but I just felt like saying something really really cheesy yesterday, you know?
))
((Yup.))
KITTYMINE
After about 20 mintues, our Arwing landed in the hangar of the Yukon Base. Padme was rushed out of the Arwing by Groundhog while William and I hurried along beside the gurney, all pain in my leg forgotten.
We burst into the building and headed straight for the hospital wing. There we met up with the Bookworm who, along with Groundhog (who had hurriedly donned scrubs), began to examine Padme. An IV was hooked up, as well as a respirator. I sat just to the side, tears silently sliding across my cheeks. After a few minutes, Groundhog turned William and me.
“Bookworm’s going to have to operate immediately. I don’t know how long it will take, but we’ll keep you informed. I have to go deal with the rest of the injured, get them organized so that the bots can start their work.” I nodded numbly. I went over to the gurney, kissed Padme, and grasped her hand hard.
“I love you, Padme,” I choked out, knowing full well that she couldn’t hear me, that she wouldn’t respond. With one last long look, I turned away and followed William and Groundhog out of the room.
We were met outside in the waiting room the rest of the fighters, who had by this time returned. While Groundhog started getting everyone organized, I collapsed into an armchair, the pain in my wounded leg returning to full measure.
“Kitty – head for station number 9, please,” called Groundhog.
I limped over to the said station in the E.R. Quickly and efficiently, the robot cleaned up my leg and bandaged it.
“YOU-ARE-FREE-TO-GO-NOW. TAKE-CARE,” said the robot.
“Thanks,” I mumbled, my mind detached my own welfare.
KITTYMINE
When I walked back out into to waiting area, I saw Aggie, Aaron, and Zena sitting together. I walked over.
“Aggie?” I asked quietly. She looked up at me, her face blotchy and streaked with tears.
“Oh Kitty…” she said, standing up, but that was as far as either of us got. We just stood there, crying into each others’ shoulders. After a few minutes, we got ourselves relatively under control.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked her
“Not at the moment, but thank you for offering,” replied Aggie. “Do you need anything? You must be worried sick.”
“No, I’ll be fine. Thanks anyway,” I responded in a voice that wasn’t quite my own.
After one last hug, I turned away and sat down in an armchair stationed in the far corner of the room. I tried to calm down a little, but it was impossible. My legs were shaking crazily and –
I barely made it to the bathroom before I threw up.
RIK
Groundhog and William rushed out with Padme, followed by everyone else. In less than 10 minutes, all of our Arwings were speeding back to the base.
When we arrived, Groundhog was waiting to divide us into groups based on the severity of our injuries. Luckily, most people only had minor cuts and burns, though a few people had broken bones.
As I exited the E.R., I saw two N-HPBs coming int, carrying the limp form of the girl in the blue dress. Groundhog quickly brought her over to a cot and had her strapped down, just in case. She then sent a bot over to patch the girl up.
I wandered over to where William was sitting.
“Hey, Rik.”
“Hi, Will… any news about Padme?” I asked worriedly.
“She’s in surgery as we speak,” he replied. “Who knows how long it will take. She’s so badly hurt…”
((Wow. I hadn’t realized how long it had been since I last posted here.
By the way, I decided to make Myra’s biggest irrationality her feelings of guilt for everything, whether she could control what happened or not.))
MYRA
I sat in the waiting room of the E.R. I saw Kittymine and Aggie crying together, then Kittymine ran to the bathroom and I think she was sick. I completely understood. One had lost a son, and the other… Padme’s not dead. I thought to myself. They’ll just do a little surgery and she’ll be fine. She’ll be fine. I have to believe that. I drew my knees up so that my feet were resting on the edge of the hard plastic chair I sat in. Zavier won’t be fine. I tried to push the thought away, but it was relentless. Zavier won’t be fine, and no surgery can ever help him. I hugged myself tighter. I could feel my eyes threatening to go moist. Not tears. Never tears. Tears accomplish nothing, they just get in the way. I can’t show them… I opened my eyes wider and willed them to stay dry. Not tears. NEVER tears.
RIK
After about an hour, everyone was either patched up or, for those with more serious injuries, sent to the hospital wing. It was at around that point that Groundhog called a meeting for all who could walk.
“Ground Control should come as well,” she called over the intercom.
We all duly assembled ourselves in one of the conference rooms.
After the last person entered, ZVX stood up.
“We have several things to discuss in this meeting, and I apologize that it must be done right after a rather major battle. First and foremost is Zavier’s burial.” The air seemed to tauten as grief settled itself into each person’s mind. ZVX’s voice seemed to come from far away.
“Aggie, Aaron – what do you want to do?”
attention please
website administrative personnel–we have sent a “present” through your so-called “electronic postal service”
the fourth invasion is coming (sooner or later)
…wow, part 8? amazin’
AGGIE:
We had been sitting in a small corner for a while, my husband, my daughter and I. We clung to each other for warmth and to feel together even though inside we were torn apart.
Kittymine approached, her face sunken and tear-streaked. My heart broke for her. “Aggie…” she said softly.
“Oh Kitty…†I said, and with that we fell into each others’ arms sobbing.
“Is there anything I can do to help?†she offered after the tears had subsided.
“Not at the moment, but thank you for offering,†I replied. “Do you need anything? You must be worried sick.â€
“No, I’ll be fine. Thanks anyway,†she responded in a faraway tone. She then got up quickly and left. I hoped she was all right, but I doubted it. I had to hope that Padme would be all right.
After a small while, ZVX gathered us all together. “We have several things to discuss in this meeting, and I apologize that it must be done right after a rather major battle. First and foremost is Zavier’s burial.†He turned to my husband and I. My heart convulsed when I heard the word burial. The actual act of putting my son into the earth was daunting, and I had not thought about it until now.
“We…don’t want to be any trouble,” Aaron said feebly.
“Please,” ZVX said, looking at me. “Zavier is one of us. We want to do everything we can.”
“I’d like for him to have a…a funeral,” I said, my voice cracking.
“Then, we’ll have one,” he said in a somber tone. “And the burial?”
“Outside,” I said softly. “Outside the base.”
“As soon as possible, and it will be done,” he responded.
RIK
“We…don’t want to be any trouble,†Aaron said feebly.
“Please,†ZVX said, looking at Aggie. “Zavier is one of us. We want to do everything we can.â€
“I’d like for him to have a…a funeral,†Aggie said, her voice cracking.
“Then, we’ll have one,†he said in a somber tone. “And the burial?â€
“Outside,†Aggie said softly. “Outside the base.â€
“As soon as possible, and it will be done,†he responded. There was a slight pause before ZVX continued.
“Second order of business concerns Padme. Any news?” He looked toward Groundhog. She shook her head.
“Not yet. I- ” She cut off as her phone vibrated. She flipped the phone open.
“It’s a text – the surgery seems to be going well. Padme’s chances have upped considerably. Bookworm thinks it will take another few hours to complete the operations.” A collective sigh ran around the room.
“As to the third order of business,” continued ZVX, “we need to figure out another plan. We rescued the hostages – they’re all currently in the hospital wing undergoing tests and such. The problem is that Xeer wasn’t planning on letting us get away. He knows we double crossed him. Add the fact that Lilis was killed…we need to do something.”
((cue to introduce Trojan Bunny plan!!))
((Wait, so what’s the plan?))
((93.1 – Basically, we pretend that we have been defeated and tell Xeer that we are giving in. To honor Xeer, we send a huge statue of an HPB to him – a booby-trapped statue. When Xeer presents the statue to all of the HBPs in the DOH, the statue explodes and the HPBs and Xeer are killed and the building in demolished.))
((I forget, has this plan been proposed in-game?))
((I’m guessing the execution will not go 100% flawlessly?))
((94.1 – No, it has not been proposed in the game. Now is about the time to do so.
94.2 – In a manner of speaking. Xeer will take the statue, and it will explode, killing all bunnies in the DOH plus their leader. However, that still leaves the HPBs that are in other areas of the world.))
((So this is the end?))
((I guess it would be the end of this particular iteration of BA, yes.))
((Yes, it would be the end of this thread. That isn’t to say that we shouldn’t continue. I do think, however, that we should do some more planning because at the moment we have bascially nothing in terms of plot for a third thread.))
((Will I still be able to make my character kill her parents personally because they’d been bunnified?))
((I don’t see why not – around here we tend to do a lot of improvisation despite our “spelled out” plans.))
((Great, thanks.))
(( So would we have another bunny rise from the group of HPBs to be the new leader, in the third one?))
((I guess, but we probably shouldn’t do a spawning thing again, since that was already done. Maybe some semi-random bunny should just take up the mantle. I would suggest Tarnug, but he’s been dead for a while.))
95.1.1.1- BA: The Future Begins
KITTYMINE
The room began to hum with discussion
“We can’t do another battle, that’s for sure,” said Armada. “We have too many people who will need weeks before they can fight again.”
“It would be suicide,” concurred Errata
“We can’t let them come to us,” said TGYPWYA emphatically. “Even if our defenses held, we would endanger those who can’t fight.”
I listened as the others got caught up in discussion. It seemed to me that there was a common denominator here – the fact that we had too many injured. We were too weak…
“Hey, guys!” I called over the hubbub. The room quieted.
“It seems to me that there is a common denominator here – we have so many injured comrades. We’re too weak. Is there any way we could use that weakness to our advantage?
KITTYMINE
“There’s an advantage to weakness?” asked Rik skeptically. “Kitty, are you inferring that we surrender?”
“Surrender is definitely not an option – it goes completely against our purpose,” said Cerre.
“True surrender that is,” said a quiet voice from the corner. It was Ligia. We all looked at him in bemusement.
“What do you mean?” asked Kaye.
“I mean what if we stage a surrender. Couldn’t we use that to our advantage?”
((Oh sugar… SFTDP!))
KITTYMINE
“We just double crossed them. Why would they believe us if we said we surrendered? They’re not that thick,” replied William.
“Acutally, the fact that they were duped once makes it more likely that we could fool them again,” I replied. “We just need to press the right buttons, like we did with our last plan. Let’s say that we go with this Fake Surrender – what could we do to convince them that we are ‘sincere’?”
KITTYMINE
“We need something to entreat them with, obviously,” said Rik. “But we still want to destroy them. I don’t see how pretending to surrender will help anything.”
“THAT”S IT!” cried Groundhog, startling everyone in the vicinity. “A horse, a Trojan horse!”
“What?” asked Rik.
“I mean a bunny, a Trojan Bunny!” said Groundhog excitedly. “A gift that will destroy them. I doubt that the HPBs are up on their Greek mythology. We could build a huge statue of Xeer and send it to him as proof of our subservience, but fill it with explosives. When we detonate it, it will kill the HPBs and their leader!”
((I don’t have time to check relevant facts, so this post is subject to mistakes. Sorry I haven’t really posted in so long.))
Errata:
“A… Trojan bunny?” I was having some trouble wrapping my mind around the idea. There was a pause while everybody thought about it. Finally, ZVX spoke.
“Well, it’s definitely the bestbthing we’ve come up with yet… And it’s crazy enough that nobody would ever expect it. Do we have the resources to build it?” He turned to the group which looked least beat up. “Ground Control? Have you found time to inventory this base’s supplies?”
Cerre answered. “We started a few robots on it, but I don’t think they’ve finished yet. But surely we have more than enough explosives. The statue itself might be a bit more of a problem, but I think we can figure something out. Maybe even take a leaf from the Greeks and use wood, if it turns out we don’t have anything else.”
“Of course, there is one really serious flaw in this plan,” Callista said. Everybody looked at her in alarm.
“It completely eliminates the dramatic final battle. How on earth will we ever get away with that?”
((Yahoo! Someone else posted! I’ve felt like the sole survivor in a ghost town.
))
And your post is great. No problems there. I like the last line
((Thanks.
I was mostly concerned with whether Cerre had been put in Ground Control or not, but I thought she had and figured it didn’t really matter much anyway, since it would be easy to change.))
KITTYMINE
Everyone laughed, some harder than others. We were all releasing our tension, our worry, our pain. After a few moments, ZVX stood up.
“I think that we have addressed everything for now. I suggest that we all rest up for an hour or two before doing the burial.” He looked over toward Aggie and Aaron. “Do you think that is enough time? Or do you want to wait?”
“That – that will be fine,” replied Aggie in a choked voice. ZVX nodded gravely.
“This meeting is now adjourned.”
I quickly stood up. We filed out silently, no one in the mood for talking.
As I walked toward my room, I passed the control room where a view from one of the outside cameras was projected on to a screen. Bright autumn sunlight was hitting the trees. I stopped.
“Morning again. November 26th. It’s only been six days since this all began. It sure doesn’t feel that way.’
Once the meeting was over, I left the conference room and started to head for the boys’ dormitory. Then I remembered that we had picked up another passenger on this little adventure and decided to look for her. She turned out to be in the infirmary – as I walked in, I saw Groundhog rubbing some ointment on the bruises on her legs.
“How is she?” I asked as I took a small paper cup and filled it with water.
Without looking up, she answered, “Well, she’s pretty thin and the scars are going to take a few days to heal, but she’s in passable physical condition. I haven’t gotten a chance to put her through an MRI or anything – those’ll take time to set up.”
I nodded, then noticed something about her. I furrowed my brow and asked, “You don’t have any sort of restraints on her?”
“Well, since she’s still unconscious, we figured-”
“Groundhog,” I interrupted, giving her a deadpan look. “Her first instinct when I got within reach of her was to roundhouse kick me in the face. Unless you’ve got a lot of sedatives on hand, I’d suggest keeping her wrists and ankles down for a while.”
Eve:
As everybody stood up, moving back to what they had been doing before, I turned back to the rest of Ground Control, ready to take part in whatever conversation, when I found they had all vanished, or at least were on their way out of the room. Nobody even glanced at me.
I stood in shock for a moment, my feelling of belonging evaporating. We’d been a team only hours before, working together seamlessly, and I had thought the unity would stay, not splinter into a thousand pieces.
It was a moment before I figured it out. I was part of them duing Ground Control, but only because they needed somebody to push buttons. If I had not been here, they would have replaced me without a thought. It just would have meant one more person out of the real combat, one less person really fighting. They just wanted to make use of me, they didn’t care about me in particular.
I followed everybody out of the room silently, and turned toward the section of the base which I knew they training room was in. If they only wanted my skills, might as well oblige them and make sure I had the best skills possible. Let them get their money’s worth out of me before sacrificing me for the cause.
Calllista:
I watched Enceladus leaving, tapping the ground in front of him with a makeshift cane, but I didn’t hate him anymore. My grudge against him for ostracizing me while I was in school seemed so small, so petty, compared with death and war and torture. I didn’t like him, and I doubted that that would change, but I felt sorry for him more than anything else.
This war had changed us all so much. Changed our lives. Enceladus had lost his sight, Aggie and Aaron had lost their son, and I-
I swallowed hard and shut my eyes tight, trying to keep the tears down.
I had lost my father, my house, everything I cared about, and I had been too busy trying not to lose my life to even notice, to mourn.
I had never had a qualm about killing the bunnies. But at that moment, I would have slaughtered every last one of them with no hesitation.
((I never thought of ground control being cold like that… interesting idea.))
((No, this is all in Eve’s head. She’s interpreting the fact that nobody happened to talk to her after the meeting as ‘they all hate me’. It would be an interesting idea, but since she’s pretty much saying that the entire Resistance is a cold heartless machine that doesn’t care anything for individual members, it would kind of undermine all of BA.))
((Ah – Je comprends. ))
((Ooh, the pie buttons are much more Muserly than the like button was!
))
RIK
When the meeting finished, I walked back my room and dropped on to the bed. The exhaustion of the past few hours had finally caught up with me. Despite the pain, grief, and worry that I was experiencing, I fell asleep almost immediately.
KITTYMINE
I attempted to rest, but my efforts were futile. How could I sleep in my bed while my daughter was in surgery, her life in danger? How could I rest with all of the grief still fresh in my mind?
So I gave up.
For a few minutes I sat on my bed, praying, before leaving the room. I walked to the waiting area outside the O.R. I sat down and tried to read a bit, but my brain wouldn’t comprehend the words. I put the book down, looked around, and noticed that I was not alone in my vigil. William was sitting there as well.
“Couldn’t rest either?” I asked. He nodded.
“Any idea what her condition is, or how much longer it will be?” he asked me. I shook my head.
“All I know is what Groundhog found out during the meeting. She said she’d try and keep me updated, so hopefully soon…” my voice trailed off.
A few minutes later, Groundhog popped in.
“Good news – Bookworm’s almost done. He thinks it’ll take about an hour longer.”
“And her condition?” I asked tremulously. Groundhog looked me straight in the eye.
“Her condition is still critical. Hopefully in a day or so we’ll be able to up it to serious. It is likely that she will survive. She’s got a fighting spirit, and that’s really going to be helpful here. But I can’t give you any guarantees at this stage.” I nodded in reply, not trusting myself to speak. After a quick hug, Groundhog left.
KITTYMINE
I curled up in my armchair, my knees clasped to my chest. A few tears rolled down my cheeks.
‘She’ll be all right, Kitty. You heard what Groundhog said. She has a fighting spirit.’ said a part of me.
‘What about the “no guarantees at this stage” part? You call that hopeful?’ retorted the other side.
I buried my face in my knees as fresh sobs overwhelmed me.
> > >
“Kitty…Kitty, wake up!”
I opened my eyes. I was still in the waiting area. Somehow, I must have dropped off to sleep from sheer exhaustion. William was shaking my shoulder.
“What is it?” I asked blearily, sitting up.
“Padme’s in the Hospital Wing now – they just rolled her past.”
I jumped to my feet, shaking the vestiges of sleep away. William and I walked quickly to the Hospital. We entered to find Groundhog and Bookworm standing next to a bed. Lying in the bed was my daughter, covered in bandages, tubes attached to her arms, and a breathing tube on her face.
But she was alive.
Bookworm turned around as we entered.
“The operations went very well. I was essentially fixing whatever was broken and replenishing her blood supply. It took so long because she was so badly hurt. I don’t know if you want it – ” he handed me a piece of paper, ” – but this is a list of her injuries.” I shook my head, but William said softly, “I’ll take it.” Bookworm handed him the page.
“Padme should be waking up in an hour or so,” said Groundhog. “You can sit with her, if you’d like.”
((Sugar – that should be, “he took a piece of paper off of his clipboard” instead of, “he handed me a piece of paper” ))
((Sugar again – it should be “oxygen mask” instead of “breathing tube”.))
“Sure,” Kittymine said with a sniff and a wipe of her eyes. “I’d like that.”
She pulled up a chair and sat down. Groundhog and Bookworm left with other duties to attend to – I was about to follow them, but then I noticed how delicate the emotional balance in the room seemed and thought better of it. I pulled a chair up and sat down next to her.
There was a silence for a few minutes, broken only by Padme’s breathing (it had an artificial edge to it with her oxygen mask). Finally, I said quietly, “Why couldn’t I have kept her safe? I’ve been providing so much support for her lately, and then I just… I let it all fall to pieces.”
KITTYMINE
“William, this was not your fault,” I replied as firmly as I could manage. “You were in middle of a battle, for pity’s sake. Nobody’s superhuman. Frankly, I wish I could have been there to keep another eye on her… but I was back in the Arwing with an injured leg. A mere blaster wound! I could have kept fighting…” I shook my head in frustration. I looked over at William, who looked about as bad as I felt.
“It wasn’t you fault,” I repeated. “If anything, it was partly mine, but nobody is really to blame. But we have less to worry about now, thanks to you.” William looked at me in confusion.
“You killed Lilis – now there isn’t anyone specifically hunting her anymore.” William nodded in comprehension.
“You can go if you want – I’ll be fine by myself,” I said softly to William. “Honestly, you look like you could use some rest.” He smiled slightly, standing.
“So do you,” he replied. I laughed. With a wave that was practically a salute, William left the Hospital. As he walked out of sight, I noticed him unfolding the page Bookworm had given him.
As I walked out of the hospital, I unfolded the page Bookworm had given me – a list of Padme’s injuries, just as he had said. I let my tired eyes scan the sheet for a few seconds, then let the hand holding it drop to my side. I had seen most of Padme’s injuries in person, and it had been easy to tell at the time that she probably had a few broken bones.
By sheer chance of wandering, I wound up in the lounge. Rik was the only other person in there and he looked like he was about to fall asleep, so I walked over and placed the sheet of paper on his face. As I walked over and sat down in a nearby chair, he picked it up and asked, “What’s this?”
“A list of your cousin’s injuries – I thought you might want to see it.”
“Is she OK?” he asked in a whisper as he scooted forward to the edge of his seat. I leaned back in my chair and replied, “Yeah. She’s looking like hell, but she’ll be back up and at ’em by the end of the day – you’ll see.”
He breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in his chair. I twiddled my thumbs for a few seconds before I heard him say, “Do you believe there’s a God of some sort, Will?”
The question came deep out of left field and caught me off guard. I turned and looked at him for a few seconds, then raised my eyebrows and said, “…Pardon?”
“It’s just that… it seems weird that some sort of, you know, omnipotent being would create us all, and then just – just let his creations be tossed around like dolls. Wouldn’t you agree?”
((Whoa…someone’s in a philosophical mood today.))
((Go me :lol:))
((Blah – Rik should be in his room, not in the lounge.))
Eve:
I stood in the training room, surrounded by holographic bunnies, blasting, blasting everything in sight. I didn’t hear when the door opened, I didn’t see anybody walking toward me. When someone touched me, I only turned to fire at her, too. A moment later, I realized that she wasn’t being destroyed and stopped firing. It was Callista. She poked the button on my suit to release the visor, and smiled.
“You’re getting good with that blaster. May I join you?”
I considered briefly. “Or we could duel with lightsabers.”
Her eyes lit up. “Oh, would you? I was hoping to get some lightsaber practice in, but there hasn’t been anybody to practice against. There’s more lightsabers in the bin over there, I’ll go get one.”
I silently took off my holographic suit while she was getting the saber. In a minute, she was back and tossed it at me.
“Make sure you set it to practice. Anything higher is dangerous.”
“But wait. If we never practice with good swords, we won’t be nearly as careful to avoid getting hit, and we’ll end up dying much faster in a real fight.”
“Well, they’re not totally safe. They still cause mild burns and bruising. Besides, if they were dangerous, we still wouldn’t learn, because we wouldn’t be going full out.”
I silently engaged the sword, on mild. It made a most satisfying humming. which was joined by the slightly higher hum of Callista’s sword.
She swung. I parried.
Crash.
PADME
‘I was submerged in heavy darkness. Each breath was a struggle. Slowly, a feeling of peace was stealing over me. The darkness was beginning to turn to bright light. “Oh no you don’t” a part of me seemed to say. The oppressive darkness enveloped me once more.
And then I didn’t feel or think anything, for the longest time.’
((I’ll post more later – gotta go make a card for Groundhog!))
((I know I’ve said this seven billion times before, but I’m almost done with the mock movie trailer. I scrapped the old one with photos and I’ve started over again using mashed and combined video clips. It looks pretty authentic if I do say so myself.
I’ll try and post again soon!))
((yay! It’s quite alright that it’s taken you a while. Can’t wait to see it!))
((110.2 – Here, let me fix that, I-Man))
RIK
Unfortunately, my slumber did not last long. Plagued by nightmares of the battle and the condition of my cousin, I awoke after 20 minutes, covered in cold sweat. I gave up trying to sleep and decided to sit around in the waiting area. I dozed a bit, until suddenly a piece of paper was placed on my face.
“What’s this?†I asked.
“A list of your cousin’s injuries – I thought you might want to see it,” replied William’s voice
“Is she OK?†I asked in a whisper, scooting toward the edge of my seat. Will leaned back in his chair and replied, “Yeah. She’s looking like hell, but she’ll be back up and at ‘em by the end of the day – you’ll see.â€
I breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in my chair. I paused for a few seconds before blurting, “Do you believe there’s a God of some sort, Will?â€
I obviously caught him off guard – not surprising really. He stopped twiddling his thumbs and looked at me, raising an eyebrow.
“…Pardon?â€
“It’s just that… it seems weird that some sort of, you know, omnipotent being would create us all, and then just – just let his creations be tossed around like dolls. Wouldn’t you agree?â€
an hour later
PADME
The first thing I noticed was the brightness behind my closed eyelids. Then came the smell, that unmistakable odor of a hospital room. I felt like something – that is, a lot of me – should have been hurting but wasn’t. I was incredibly tired and weak, my eyelids too heavy to lift.
By and by a bit of my resolve returned enough for me to open my eyes. I blinked a few times.
“Oh, Padme!” said a voice next to me. Mom’s voice. I forced my eyes to open all the way. Sitting in a chair next to me was Mom, her face still somewhat blotchy, her hand holding mine. I wanted to talk, but my lips wouldn’t move.
“How are you feeling?” she asked. I tried to say, “terrible”, but all that came out was a mumble. Mom seemed to understand.
“Oh, my poor dear. You must be miserable.” I nodded, making my head throb slightly.
“Bookworm had to do surgery to fix you up – to replenish you blood supply and stuff like that, but thank god, it looks like you’ll be okay.” I noticed that Mom’s voice was shaking slightly. I nodded again, then wished I hadn’t. The light wasn’t helping either. I closed my heavy eyes again. Mom was gently squeezing my hand and I tried to return the pressure, but my muscles wouldn’t work. I sank back down into drugged oblivion.
KITTYMINE
A few minutes after Padme fell asleep again, William entered the room.
“Has she woken up yet?”
“She just did, for a few minutes, but she’s fallen asleep again. She’s really drugged up.”
“Makes sense. Anyway, I came to tell you that the burial will be starting in a few minutes.” I nodded and stood up slowly, following him out of the room.
((cue Aggie, if you’re around. And I-Man, you can still stick in a philosophical conversation.))
((Wow… this is confusing…Can I have a plot synopsis in case I want to join?))
((SFTDP: If I can join, that is?))
Sure you can join! See post 271 of part 6 for an Overview summary of this entire thread.
Here’s a summary of current events:
SUMMARY
> see post 7 for last summary
>since then the nicegoodius HPBs came to the battle and relieved us. We won, but not without casualties – Zavier was killed. As we were preparing to leave, it was discovered that Padme had disappeared. She had been captured by Lilis and tortured almost to death. Once rescued by William and Rik, the Resistance flew back to the Yukon base. Padme went into emergency surgery and a meeting was called. At the meeting, a plan was created to destroy the HPBs permanently: a Trojan Bunny, filled with explosives. We would pretend to surrender, give the Bunny statue as a gift, and then blow it up. Arrangements for Zavier’s funeral were also made – it would be two hours later.
An hour after the meeting, Padme came out of the O.R. alive but still critical. An hour after that, she briefly regained consciousness with Kitty sitting at her bedside. William then came to tell Kitty that the funeral would be starting in a few minutes.
(( Phew. Okay, back after a long week!))
ZENA:
I went quickly to the girls bunk room to put on new clothes before the funeral. I hastily slipped on a plain black dress, then quickly walked to the sink, and washed my filthy face. I was greeted with a mirror when I looked up, causing me to jump in shock before I realized what I was staring at.This was the first time in a long time I had seen my own face: bruised, scarred, a long and slowly healing gash along my jawline. It looked thousand of years old, and my blue eyes were red and puffy from crying. Quickly, I rushed out of the room, not wanting to look at myself another minute.
I slammed the bathroom door before realizing that there was another person in the bunk room. Looking closer, I stepped over to see my mother sitting on the edge of a bottom bunk, her thin body shrouded in a raven gown and looking awful. She was bent double, her head in her arms and back shaking with sobs.
“Mom…” I said, and I rushed over to her, putting an arm around her shoulder and stroking her hair, trying to calm her down. She leaned into me and cried and cried. I felt like I was the mom, comforting a weary child.
“I…I went to see his…to see him, to say goodbye for…for the last time. And oh, he’s gone, Zena, he’s gone…I’m sorry,” she moaned, stringing words of regret and anguish together haphazardly, and I rocked her back and forth in my arms, hurriedly trying to calm her down.
“It’s not our fault. He’s fine now, he’s happy, nobody can ever hurt him again.” My throat caught as I spoke, and I felt myself welling up with long-needed tears. I couldn’t believe this was real. I was going to wake up, soon. The horrible images of my brother’s dead body, the feeling of his warmth sliding away from my hand, the light slowly being switched from his eyes…they were all dreams, all nightmares that I would forget in a day’s time. My heart wanted it to be true, but my brain beat the cruel actuality into my mind with every cry of my mother. He’s not coming back. You are an only child. You have no brother.
Our strange, twisted semicircle was broken with a knock on the bunk room door. William and Kittymine opened the door. “It’s time to go,” Kitty said softly. Gently, I took my other’s hand in mine, picking her up from the bed and helping her out of the door into the lit hallway. She leaned on me like a crutch, as though I was the only way she would keep moving. Kitty took her other hand, and William took my arm, and together we walked, a support system of a caravan, down the hallway toward the atrium room where the service would be held. My footsteps were heavy, and my breathing ragged. I wondered where my father was.
The atrium was dim, and draped in dark colors. Chairs sat in a semi-circle in the middle of the room, with three set aside from the rest that i knew were meant for my mother and father, and I. In the center of the circle, although my eyes made a point to avoid it, was the closed casket in which my brother lay. It was white, purer than the cleanest snow, draped with one plain purple cloth, fit for him. Everyone was already there, and they stood up in greeting when our small group entered the room. It was solemn, and bitterly quiet. Dad was in the chair of our three farthest to the left, and when William and Kitty left our sides to resume their own, he hurried over to catch my mother’ s other side. We sat her down in the middle chair.
I can’t quite recall now what was said, but words went across the room about my brother. The group gave collective words, almost every person saying something for him. There was no denomination, nothing religious about this. Simply a last sharing of memories, of thanks. A last goodbye. When it was time for us, I stood up.
“Zavier is half of me. That is something that rebellion, or war, or time can never take away from me. No matter where I go or for how long I live, if that’s a week or a hundred years, half of me will be missing. I will never forget. I love him.” Slowly, I walked towards the coffin, my knees trembling, and bending at the waist, I placed a hand on the bright surface and pressed my lips to the lid. “Goodbye. I’ll see you again someday.”
There was a moment of silence before I could pull myself away. In that time, my mother and father had gotten up behind me, and both did the same thing as I had. Mom clasped her hand in mine, and Dad did the same. Together, as if we were one person, we drew away from the fourth member of our family. The men acting as pallbearers from the group, ZVX, William, and Rik, took the sides of the trolley on which the coffin sat and rolled it slowly from the room and out the doors to bury my brother. I sat slowly back in my chair, my brain and limbs suddenly numb. Mom sat beside me.
“Do you want to come with us?” my father whispered.
“I can’t see them put him in…in the…I can’t watch.”
“I love you both,” Dad said, and he placed a hand to my head for a moment before walking quickly out of the room after the procession of fighters and friends.
((attempting to fit myself into the story))
((name: Dan (short for Daniella) Robertson
Hair: Reddish blonde
Height: 5 ft 6
has been living underground and now wants to join the rebellion))
I changed into something black for the funeral, then walked over to the atrium, and sat numbly as we all said our last words to Zavier. No one had ever died before. Sure, we’d gotten into trouble, but somehow we all managed to escape and recover. Until now, that is. I looked at Zena and her parents. I couldn’t imagine the pain that they must have been in.
I joined the procession that slowly followed the coffin out of the atrium, outside, to where a hole had already been dug. ZVX, William, and Rik lowered the coffin into the ground. Cakeit, cakeit, cakeit! I thought. Why did this have to happen? Why did none of us save him?
((Any suggestions for how I should enter the plot?))
((when you say that your character has been living underground, does that also mean that living conditions weren’t so great either? I’m thinking that perhaps you could do a sort of, “things are desperate, remaining hidden is getting harder, must find the resistance. I want to fight because *enter story here*” Then you could find the base and we would find you or something. That’s just a suggestion.))
((I like that…))
Callista:
So many deaths. Father, Granny and Grampa, long ago in the last war, now Xavier, and thousands of others I didn’t know. How could the bunnies get away with this for so long? Why were we the only people opposing them? Where was the rest of humanity? Didn’t they have as much at stake as we did?
I stared at the coffin. I could have saved him. Any of us could have. If we’d had just one more person, in just the right place. If Eve had been there, or anybody else from Ground Control. It would have been so easy to prevent. So easy. And yet a life was ended now.
People were speaking, telling us how sorry they were he was dead. Sharing stories, hoping that he was happy now. I had nothing to share, no memories, so I stumbled through something generic about how I wish I had known him better. And then I sat, listening and watching and wondering whether this war had any purpose at all.
KITTYMINE
After the burial concluded, I made my way slowly inside. Exhaustion, grief and worry pounded through me in equal measure.
No wonder I had a splitting headache.
I returned to Padme’s bedside, where someone had kindly placed a more comfortable chair than the standard hospital variety. I sank into it and watched Padme’s even breathing, watched the vital signs move along the screen.
Before I knew it, I had dropped off to sleep.
RIK
I felt the weight of the coffin I was bearing, I saw my hands holding the shovel that was piling dirt on top of the coffin in the hole, but I was somehow detached from it, as if watching from outside my body. My mind couldn’t seem to come to terms with the loss of my friend. roommate, and fellow fighter.
I went for a shower once the burial was over, washing off the dirt and sweat of the past few hours. It was also a convenient place to cry – I didn’t make puddles on the floor.
I thought of the injuries that Lilis had inflicted on my cousin, how close she was to death. I saw that list, written in Bookworm’s hand, detailing everything that Lilis had done. Its image was almost printed across my vision. I vowed revenge.
‘Let’s get that Trojan Bunny going.’
((I won’t be able to post as much from now on.))
I walk in.
“Hey,” someone says, “who are you?”
“Uh… Daniella…. Daniella Robertson.” I reply nervously.
“Well… you don’t look like a HPB.”
Suddenly I smell food. “You guys have food?”
“Yes…”
Hungrily, I dart into the building.
((Is this OK? *is nervous*))
((124- I think that should work. Let me see…))
RIK
I had finished in the shower and was walking through the building, toward the training rooms. As I passed the elevator, I heard it ding softly. I froze. Someone was coming down. Quickly, I darted into a nearby room, pulling out my slingshot. I watched through the crack as the elevator doors opened and a girl appeared.
What registered first was her height – she was taller that I was – and her reddish blond hair. But what I quickly realized was that she was oddly thin, somewhat dirty, and wearing clothes that were a bit small and somewhat ragged. She also had a blaster attached to her belt.
‘Ah – looks like another refugee I thought to myself.
She stood there, looking around the hallway, awestruck. I quietly slipped out of my hiding spot.
“Hey,” I began. She jumped, startled. “Sorry,” I apologized, “but who exactly are you?”
“Uh… Daniella… Daniella Robertson,” she replied nervously. I considered her.
“Well… you don’t look like an HPB,” I said jokingly. She smiled tentatively, then paused, sniffing the air. Her eyes lit up.
“You guys have food?” she asked, hopeful.
‘Definitely been living badly recently’ I thought.
“Yes…” I began, but she darted ahead of me, following her nose. I grabbed her arm. Gently.
“Whoa, Daniella. I’ll make sure you get some good, nourishing food. But I think we should go find the leaders of this here rabble. They’d probably like to hear how you got here and why. And just make sure that you aren’t an HPB spy. Just in case, you know – you can’t ever be too careful.” Daniella nodded nervously.
“Alright. And by the way, you can call me Dan for short.”
“Dan. Gotcha. You can call me Rik.”
Rik led me through some corridors, which I memorized. ((*does not know where/who the leaders are* please help??))
“So, you’ve been living…” he began, trying to get an answer out of me.
“Underground.” I didn’t care what I told as him as long as it got me food.
“With…”
I stiffened. “My family. But they’re… gone now.”
“You mean…”
“Yeah.” I pause, forcing the words to come out. “Dead.”
((Leaders:
ZVX – official head. He actually doesn’t post anymore, but lives on in strength since we PowerPlay his character.
Groundhog – Foaly sort of character. Second in command at this point.
TGYPWYA – also in the upper circle. Again, he doesn’t post on here anymore really and we PP him
Aggie, Kokonilly, Armada – senior fighters, fought during the last apocalypse.
Daniella would likely be meeting with ZVX, Groundhog, and TGYPWYA, though Nilly and Armada could be there too.))
((SFTDP))
RIK
“I’m sorry, Dan…” I replied sympathetically. I turned the corner and brought her into the now empty conference room.
“Wait here for a minute – I’m gonna call the others and get you some food.” I hit the intercom button.
“Yeah?” came a voice. I think it was Errata’s.
“Hey, this is Rik. I’m in the conference room with a new one. Can ZVX and the rest come in here to interview her? I’m pretty sure that she’s cool, but protocol and security, you know…”
“Sure thing. Thanks Rik,” replied Errata. I took my finger off the CALL button and turned to Dan.
“Okay – I’m gonna go get you some food. Anything in particular that you want?”
((Can I please join? I really want to…
Name: Sraela Ikoro (pronounced SRAY-lah)
Age: 16
Appearance: longish brown hair usu. done up in ponytail, pitch-black eyes, white turtleneck shirt, waist-length black shawl, purple pants. Tall.
Has somewhat psychic abilities, but doesn’t rely on them too heavily. Extent is to moving small objects (ex. pencils). She mostly fights using a sword and shrinkable bombs that she carries in a secret pocket in her shawl.
Srae’s parents died in the last war, and she survived. (No duh.) She’s been basically destroying the few bunnies she comes across. Mostly she just watches and sets traps, or things like that. Never heard of the rebellion before now–stays away from people and anyone who might be a spy for the HPBs.))
((Sounds good! In case you haven’t already, see post 271 of part 7 for an Overview summary of the entire thread (sorry that I got that wrong Agent Lightning!). For last summary of current events, see post 117.1. My only other advice would be for you to figure out how you character learns about the resistance and how she finds the base.
Other bits of info that should be helpful for recent joiners:
> The resistance base is in a forest in Yukon, Canada, underground. The only way to get in is through the secret elevator that is extremely well disguised as a tree, or through the hangar exit which is disguised as the face of a cliff.
List of Characters (as far as I know). Key: * = leader, bold = original fighters from BA. Anyone who isn’t bolded is a kid.
Name= dead, italics = hasn’t posted in ages. Characters listed on the same line are posted by one person.*ZVX, Cerre
*TGYPWYA
Armada, Juliet, Kaye (Kaye is Juliet’s kid)
Aggie, Aaron, Zena,
Zavier*Groundhog, Jenny
Kittymine, Padme, Rik (also has an evil character named Lilis who is now dead)
Kokonilly, Connor, Rachel, Sophia
Julianne, Charlie, Maia/Celeste/Kiyarra (RoseQuartz’s characters)
Errata, Callista, Eve
Rainbow, Sam
AvalonGirl, Serafina, Philomena, Crystl (Witchneko’s characters)
William
Slythix (electros’ character)
Enceladus
Koppar
Ligia (Jakob Wonkychair’s character)
Myra (Randomosity 101’s character)
Solange (Selenium the Quafflebird’s character)
Selena (Bookgirl’s character. Also has an evil character named Syara, who is an adult and also hasn’t show up in ages.)
Zinc, Liss,
RobertaDaisy
Bookworm (actually vanished after BA, but was referred to recently. Is a doctor.)
Characters who we powerplay exclusively: ZVX, Cerre, Bookworm
I think that is everyone from the recent past.
((Oh, one exception. Ligia is actually an adult, but only joined during BA:TNG, not the original BA))
((Sraela is currently hiding out in the forest where the base is– she tracked some of the bunnies to nearby, and is going to try to surprise them. How should she find the base? Someone comes out and sees her?))
((Whatever you want, really. We’re not picky around here. You could have someone come out, or have Sraela accidentally press the tree in right spot which opened the elevator or something…. it doesn’t matter.))
I mentally tracked the footsteps of the rabbit. Over there? No…a bit to the right… I fingered the small bomb that I was carrying. “Goodbye, bunny,” I muttered to myself. At full speed, I threw the bomb towards the intrudor.
But, unfortunately, it missed by a near foot. “Agh…” I winced. Bad aim. Great, now it was going to see me. Unless…
An idea still formulating in my mind, I swung over to another tree. Now I was directly behind the rabbit. Bringing out my sword, I leveled it, aiming carefully. There. I hauled back and threw the sword, hitting the rabbit in the back.
Sliding down from the tree, I noticed that the bomb I had thrown was still un-exploded. “Must be a dud,” I said to myself as I wiped the sword on the ground. I walked over to pick it up…
…and noticed that the tree right in front of it was MOVING.
Well, that’s how it looked to me. The front part just opened up to reveal a shiny interior, somewhat like…an elevator?
I was, of course, cautious at first. Then I decided to throw my caution out the window. I was not going to pass up a chance to infiltrate a possible HPB hideout, what with me not being able to usually do things on that scale. Delusions of grandeur were my specialty.
“If I die,” I sighed to myself as I strode into the elevator, “I am going to kill myself.”
RIK
“Umm… anything really. Mac n’ cheese, hot dogs – something filling I guess,” replied Dan. I nodded and exited.
On my way down the hall, I met ZVX, Groundhog, and TGYPWYA.
“Rik, we got your message. What is going on exactly?” asked ZVX.
“It’s another refugee. Somehow she got into the elevator and made her way down here. She really want to fight. I think she’s okay, but I felt that you three should talk to her. Her name is Daniella Robertson, goes by Dan. I’m on my way to get her some food.” ZVX nodded.
“Well handled. We’ll go right in.” I nodded in reply and headed down the hall again.
In the cafeteria, I put together a tray with mac n’ cheese, a small salad, a glass of milk, and a pear. I decided to bring the tray to Dan using a cart – it would be just like me to spill everything if I was carrying it. Upon reaching the conference room door, I knocked gently and walked in. Dan was speaking, facing the three leaders.
“…so I haven’t got any place to go really.” She looked up and noticed me.
“Here you are Dan – enjoy,” I said politely, depositing the tray on her lap. I backed out of there quickly. I paused for a moment outside the door.
‘Now then, where was a heading before all of this? That’s right – the training room.’
((I’ll try to fit Sraela into the plot here, if that’s OK with Mago Berry.))
I ate the food- the most delicious thing I had eaten in ages- and then stood up contentedly.
“So your family went into hiding when the bunnies first attacked?” asked ZVX.
“Yes.” I nodded.
After a few more questions, I was excused and shown to my bunker. As I was walking through the corridors, however, I saw a tall teenager wander up to me.
“Hi!” I said. “Are you with the rebellion?”
“Um….” The girl looked confused. “What rebellion?”
GROUNDHOG
I was sitting in the control room at my computer when Rik buzzed in. Errata picked up the call.
“Yeah?â€
“Hey, this is Rik. I’m in the conference room with a new one. Can ZVX and the rest come in here to interview her? I’m pretty sure that she’s cool, but protocol and security, you know…â€
“Sure thing. Thanks Rik,†replied Errata. She turned to look at me.
“Gotcha – I’m on my way,” I said before she could open her mouth.
In the hallway, I met up with ZVX and TGYPWYA. As we walked to the conference room, we met up with Rik himself.
“Rik, we got your message. What is going on exactly?†asked ZVX.
“It’s another refugee,” responded Rik. “Somehow she got into the elevator and made her way down here. She really want to fight. I think she’s okay, but I felt that you three should talk to her. Her name is Daniella Robertson, goes by Dan. I’m on my way to get her some food.†ZVX nodded.
“Well handled. We’ll go right in.â€
At the door of the conference room, I turned to my compatriots.
“Guys, since there’s only one of her and three of us, I was thinking that you two could handle this yourselves. Besides, she got in without our noticing and I would like to make sure that our security is up to par.” ZVX and TGYPWYA nodded in response and I sped back to the control room.
I sat down in front of the monitor showing the feed from all of the security cameras situated around the facility. I checked all of the ones around the entrances, including the infamous Back Door, which for once was actually locked. As I panned around the elevator door, I saw and HPB cross the camera’s path. I sat there frozen, half forgeting that the elevator entrance was insanely well protected and that the camera was extremely well hidden. Then a sword came out of nowhere and killed it.
‘What?…’
Then a tall girl slid down the tree next to our hidden entrance and claimed the sword. Even through the lens of the camera, she looked like an experienced fighter.
And then I noticed that somehow, the elevator door was opening for her.
Sugar! Something must have set off the concealed button. Something with a specific heat signature. I panned around. The mysterious girl was picking up what looked like a grenade from the base of the tree. Judging by the fact that it was intact, I guessed that it was a dud, for why would an experienced fighter pick up a live grenade?
‘Even if it was a dud, residual heat could have triggered the button, if it got close enough. I really should work on making this more secure. But never mind that now – she’s coming down the shaft!
I quickly intercomed the training room.
“Attention anyone currently in here – can I have you attention please? We have an intruder – friend or foe is unknown. We need people to station themselves in the corridors near the elevator entrance to apprehend this intruder. She is wearing a white turtleneck, purple pants, and a black shawl. I’ll be watching from the control room and make some com card calls in necessary.”
I turned back to the screen to find that our mysterious intruder had entered and was walking down the hall in the direction of the lounge and conference room. I also saw vague shadows of other people taking positions in the adjacent corridors. One of them was about to move when an unfamiliar girl came down the hall from the bunk area and come up to the intruder. I quickly donned headphones and flipped a switch to get the audio from that corridor.
Hi!†said the unfamiliar girl. “Are you with the rebellion?â€
“Um….†The intruder looked confused. “What rebellion?â€
I sent a hurried message to everyone’s com cards: Apprehend NOW!
((Nuts! I forgot to un-italicize part of it! The part: “I panned around. The mysterious girl was picking up what looked like a grnade from the base of the tree…a live grenade?” should be in regular type, not italics! ))
RIK
I entered the giant training room to find that I was not the only one who had thought the practice now. Callista, William, Eve, Kaye, Koppar, and Slythix were all there, involved in various activities. I picked up a practice blaster, donned a V-helmet and turned on the a holgraphic projector. I was in middle of taking on a sizeable holographic HPB army when Groundhog’s voice came over the intercom.
“Attention anyone currently in here – can I have you attention please? We have an intruder – friend or foe is unknown. We need people to station themselves in the corridors near the elevator entrance to apprehend this intruder. She is wearing a white turtleneck, purple pants, and a black shawl. I’ll be watching from the control room and make some com card calls in necessary.â€
The seven of us all looked at each other for a second and the headed quietly for the door, pulling out our real weapons.
There are three hallways that split off from were the elevator is. Callista and Eve took one, Kaye and Koppar took the second, and William, Slythix and I took the third. We watched as the mysterious girl walked out of the elevator and started heading down that hallway that William, Slythix and myself were located in, secreted in a shadowy doorway. There was a patter of feet from behind – it was Daniella. She walked up the intruder
“Hi!†she said. “Are you with the rebellion?â€
“Um….†The girl looked confused. “What rebellion?â€
Our com cards vibrated – it was Groundhog, saying, “Apprehend NOW!” I readied my blaster and followed William and Slythix out of our hiding spot. William extended his lightsaber, shielded it, and then grabbed the intruder, and put his lightsaber in front of her neck.
“Hold it right there,” he said. Slythix and I aimed our blasters at her, and I noticed that the girls had come from their hiding spot and had created a ring around Daniella and the intruder. Slythix and I joined their ring, leaving Daniella, William, and the intruder in the center.
Errata:
I was still in the Ground Control room when I heard Groundhog’s slight gasp. I turned instantly. “What?”
She didn’t hear. She was staring at the security camera. I looked.
Cake
My hand was reaching for the Emergency button when the girl appeared. It hovered, lightly resting on it while the girl dispatched the bunnies, and nearly pressed it when she found the elevators. But I hesitated for just an instant, and in that instant Groundhog touched the intercom button and took control of the situation. I relaxed slightly. She would know exactly what to do.
I began worrying again when I realized that Callista was one of those in the training room, and therefore would be one of the ones to go after the intruder. I couldn’t let her face the girl alone, but it would take far too long to get there from here…
And then I realized just how much of an idiot I was. Defending the base from an intruder was what Ground Control was for. I reached for the stun cannon’s controls.
RIK
The scene was frozen for a few moments. Daniella looked shocked, the rest of us grim. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed one of the stun canons shift in it’s place near the ceiling.
Then ZVX and TGYPWYA came around the corner.
I was definately startled, to say the least, to be suddenly grabbed from behind, an energy beam of some sort held millimeters away from my neck, and surrounded by people with–I don’t know, some sort of guns?–aimed at me. But at least they were people. That was usually a good sign.
“I take it you’re the ones who live down here,” I said evenly. “And you don’t look like bunnies to me. Could you try not to shoot me for at least five minutes and explain to me exactly what is going on?”
The people were silent, their weapons not moving. Then I noticed two others coming around the corner.
“I applaud your security methods, and your weapons are great as well, but I’d rather they weren’t directed at my head, thank you,” I said, gesturing at the person behind me holding the energy-beam sword. “Any ideas? Or am I your prisoner now?”
RIK
I let out a chuckle. I couldn’t help it. William kicked me in the shins.
“Lower your weapons, you guys,” said ZVX. We holstered our blasters, but retained the circle.
“Daniella, you can go. Excellent distraction tactics, by the way,” continued ZVX. Daniella looked at him in utter confusion (I had to stifle a giggle again) but walked out of the circle just the same. She took a position a few yards away, against the wall. I didn’t blame her – who wanted to miss any of the action?
“Now then, miss, who exactly are you and how did you get down here?” asked TGYPWYA.
PADME
I awoke once again. I still felt drugged up, but my head was a bit clearer. Unfortunately, this also meant that I was feeling some pain, but at least I was alive. I opened my eyes and looked around a bit, then tried the talking bit again.
“Mommy….”
She woke with a start at the sound of my voice.
“What is it, honey?” Mom asked, bending over my bed.
“What time is it?” I asked hoarsely.
“It’s a little after 11 in the morning,” she replied, looking at her watch.
“How long have I been here?” I asked.
“Well, we left the DOH at about seven a.m. and got here at about ten after seven. You were in surgery until about nine, and then you woke up briefly at around nine-thirty.” I nodded and then wished I hadn’t.
“How are you feeling?” asked Mom gently.
“Pained,” I replied with an attempt at a grimance. “My whole body’s aching, I’m having sharper pains in several spots, my head is throbbing, and I feel really weak.” Mom nodded sympathetically and kissed me on the cheek.
We sat, or in my case, reclined, in companionable silence for a few minutes. I couldn’t speak anymore in any case, having run out of breath. Then Bookworm entered the room.
“Ah, you’re awake! How are you feeling, Padme?” he asked.
“Miserable,” I replied. Mom rattled off my complaints. Bookworm nodded, busy checking my vital signs.
“Yep, that’s perfectly normal, considering what happened to you,” he said to me. “It’s nothing short of amazing that you survived such torture.” He spat the last word. “Now then, I’m going to give you some more painkillers. I know it stinks to be totally drugged out, but better that than in excuciating pain. You’ll heal a little faster too.”
The people lowered their weapons–apparently I wasn’t a threat. Whoopdee doo. I was now assured of at least five more minutes of life before these people started interrogating me.
“Now then, miss, who exactly are you and how did you get down here?” asked the guy who had just come around the corner. I raised an eyebrow. ‘Miss’? That was a new one.
“First off, I’m against…them,” I said, flashing two fingers in the common bunny-ear gesture. The people glanced at each other, but said nothing.
“I got here, as you probably know already,” I continued as I pointed upwards at the security cameras, “by accidentally hitting the–very well-concealed, as I might add–tree-slash-elevator with a grenade, which was, fortunately, malfunctioning, or that tree would no longer be standing. Infiltrating a possible HPB base seemed fun at the time, so I just waltzed in. Happy?”
The guy who had called me ‘miss’ (???) looked at me. “You still haven’t answered my first question. Who exactly are you?”
((Ack! I haven’t been on here in so long.))
DANIELLA
So the girl wasn’t with the rebellion. That would explain all the extra security. Ah well, at least if bunnies attacked, it was nice to know we wouldn’t be completely hopeless.
I grimaced, remembering the last time I had seen the bunnies.
They had been ruthless, killing my family. I had only survived because I had ran. A coward.
A coward.
My thoughts were interrupted by the intruder girl talking.
((Thanks for posting…I waited for quite a while, and it seemed like everyone had left.))
((You’re welcome… I want to see where this goes but I’M SO IMPATIENT. Not one of my better qualities. But it’s your character so you should probably be the one to talk right now… and I never know what to post…))
((It’s not quite that we’ve left (or perhaps we have), but I’m trying not to completely power play everyone in order to keep the plot going. I may have to resort to that though, judging by the traffic here…))
((I don’t want to resort to power playing, either, and Mago Berry should be able to make up her own past, seeing as she’s introducing herself here.))
((Alright then. Mago Berry, if your could continue the conversation in post 139, then we can get things moving more again (hopefully). ))
((…Hello?…))
((Mago Berry, I’m going to PP you because things really need to get moving.))
RIK
TGYPWYA looked her straight in the eye. The mysterious girl sighed.
“My name is Sraela Ikoro. My parents were killed by the HPBs in the last war. Since then, I’ve been tracking and destroying any stray bunnies that I come across. I didn’t even know that there was a formal resistance. As I said, I found this hideout completely by accident and I thought it was a bunny base. Is that enough for you?”
TGYPWYA and ZVX looked at each other.
“She telling the truth,” said TGYPWA matter-of-factly. “I can see it in her eyes.” ZVX nodded.
“Alright, Sraela, you’re in, if you want to be. Kaye and Callista, please fill Sraela in on exactly how this place works and find her a room to sleep in later.” The two girls nodded and beckoned to Sraela, who followed them down the hall. ZVX and TGYPWYA walked off also, heading for the control center.
I looked at William.
“So much for routine,” I said in a mock injured voice. “This is the third time that I’ve been distracted from training.” William chuckled.
((SFTDP, but I want to speed things up and I think it will make more sense if I do it in a second post.))
KITTYMINE
The next few weeks passed without much incident. Our two new recruits and the people we rescued from the S.A. chamber, worked well with the group. The Trojan Bunny was progressing very well, thanks to Groundhog’s robots and lots of hands. Padme continued to recover speedily and by the end of the third week (Dec. 19th) was out of the hospital wing, able to eat regular food, dress normally, and walk about the base unassisted. She even joined William in the training room for an hour or so a day, where I trusted him to make sure she didn’t overexert herself.
On December 20th, the Trojan HPB was completed. Groundhog had been supplying Xeer with plenty of fake video footage of us dying, being demoralized, etc. in the interim, in order that Xeer should believe our sham surrender.
That afternoon, we all assembled in the large conference room for a final meeting about the Trojan Bunny plan.
((YAY!! PROGRESS!!!))
The meeting was crowded with all of the people I had seen around the base. I slipped into a chair. TGYPWYA waited for the chatter to die down, then looked around.
“As you all know, we soon plan to launch the Trojan HPB.” En’s voice echoed around the now-silent room.
((I try, I really do.))
((Thank you. I really apreiceate it.))
TGYPWYA outlined the details of the plan. Sraela and I would be in hiding, scouting out the outside of the walls of the bunnies’ ((fortress? base? I don’t remember…)), with others (more experienced than us). The most experienced warriors would be aboard the bunny.
((Does this sound good?))
((AARRRGGGHH! NOT AGAIN!!! REVIVE!!!))
((Agent Lightning: In terms of the Trojan Bunny, the plan was to deviate from mythology and put a HUGE bomb inside instead of people because the resistance doesn’t have enough power to kill all of those bunnies, but a blue rinse or antimatter bomb would.))
PADME
I sat next to William in the conference room, eager for the news about the Trojan Bunny. I had been working hard at regaining my stamina as I recovered from Lilis’s torture, which had nearly killed me.
When we had all found seats, Groundhog stood up.
“I’m pleased to announce that the Trojan Bunny is completed! It is currently residing in the hangar, for those who wish to see it. Thank you to everyone who helped design and build it within such a short period of time. For the battle plan, I’ll hand the floor over to TGYPWYA.” TGYPWYA grinned and stood up.
“Here’s the plan. There’s no way we can all pile into that giant Bunny and kill the HPBs – there are too many of them. So we’re going to put a large Bio-bomb into the Trojan HPB, with a specific radius so that we blue rinse the DOH, but not everything. The Trojan will be delivered to the DOH via aircraft, secured in the craft’s clamps so that no one will actually have to go on the ground. We can’t risk losing someone. We’ll divide up into groups to board helicopters, suited up in BunnyProof suits, so that once it is safe we can go down and see if there are any HPBs we missed that we still need to kill.”
((Aha. Sorry. You can ignore that part. :oops:))
RIK
After TGYPWYA finished speaking, ZVX stood up.
“One last thing we need to do before sending the Bunny is to create a final, fictitious video to Xeer about how we have basically died and are surrendering. Any volunteers to act in this video would be much appreciated.”
The meeting concluded. I quickly hurried over to the lead trio.
“I would definitely be interested,” said I.
“As would I,” said Padme from behind me.
The meeting dispersed, and people began to walk away to their different stations.
“Okay, all those acting in the video, meet me in the hangar in fifteen minutes!” I shouted at the dispersing crowd. Then I ran off to the kitchens.
In the kitchens, I found a foodservice-size jug of corn syrup, a box of corn starch, and some food coloring. I grabbed them all, plus a small bowl. Then I ran over to the laundry, and put every item of ripped clothing that we had into a basket. Then I hurried over to the hangar, where the Trojan Bunny was waiting.
In the hangar, I mixed the food coloring and corn starch with the corn syrup in the bowl, until it achieved the color and consistency of blood. Then I took a shirt and pair of pants in my size from the basket of ripped clothing and ducked into the bathroom to change into them. Then I smeared some of the fake blood on my forehead and arms. Hopefully I looked wounded and defeated enough now.
((What’s Sraela supposed to do?))
((She could join the group acting the surrender video or she could help make sure that the planes are ready, or fight in the training room, or help out in the control room, or…whatever really fits her character. We should be initiating the Trojan Plan within a few hours, so she could prepare for leaving – get a rad suit, make sure her weapons work, etc.))
((Hello again, y’all.
))
Once the meeting was over, I walked around the halls in a bit of a daze. The plan was great, but there was something about it that seemed flawed and that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I thought about it for a little bit until it finally dawned on me, and I decided to go tell someone. Soon, I ran into Kittymine near the control room.
“Oh hey, William. Groundhog and the others are getting the video ready, so-” she started. Then she paused when she saw me looking into space kind of blankly. “Hey, you all right?”
“I think…” I said slowly. “I think I see a flaw in the plan: Xeer may have started this fight to get you all, but now he’s got another target. He wants me, preferably dead and preferably by his own hand.”
“So what’s your point?”
“If we just give him this Trojan Bunny and nothing else, he’s going to do something to find me. I’m not sure what, but I just know he’s going to not be there and we’ll still have him to deal with once the Bunny is done.”
“So what you’re saying is…” she said, a horrified look on her face as she realized what I was saying.
“Yeah,” I replied with a nod. “I’m gonna have to give myself up.”
((I-MAN!!!!!!!!! Thou hast returned! *reads post* Wait – oh dear…Is William going to tell Padme?))
((Maybe? I’m not actually sure whether I want to truly kill off Will, given that he’s pretty much my only character in all this.))
((Perhaps we could fill the Trojan Bunny with DNA cannons (yes, shamelessly stealing from AF again) that will knock out/kill everyone in the area except William, so that he can escape before the bomb goes off?))
((157.1.1- I see that argument. In which case something will have to be planned so he doesn’t die.))
KITTYMINE
I swallowed hard.
“William, please tell me your just being heroic. If what you’re saying is true, then we need to track Xeer so that we know where he is. Or… wait a second. Perhaps we have something bomb-proof you could wear when you hand your self in or something… and we could change the bomb in the Trojan… I don’t know. Let’s talk to Groundhog and see if any of this is feasible.”
I pulled a bewildered William behind me as I ran toward the hangar. I knew that I had not been making sense, but time was of the essence. In the hangar, Groundhog was already dressed up in fake blood and was instructing others in their appearances.
“…and Padme, you should be lying over there. What?” she asked sharply when I tapped her on the shoulder.
“Sorry Groundhog – I know this is really bad timing, but Will just told me something that makes a big gaping hole in our Trojan plan.”
Quickly, William repeated to Groundhog what he had told me. Groundhog looked horror struck for a moment. I quickly jumped in.
“We’d rather he not die, obviously. But if what he’s saying is true, Xeer would have to have him in his clutches before we bring the Trojan. In which case we need to have something that will keep Will from dying when the bomb goes off. Any ideas?”
((Okay, implementing the idea that I posted above.))
“Okay, so we’ll have to send you in there and let Xeer know you’re there.” I said to William. “Then we have to get you out while still containing the bunnies in the base.” I thought for a moment. “We could mount some stun cannons inside the bunny.” I said. “DNA-coded ones, so that they won’t target you. Then you could go in with the bunny, turn on the cannons, escape, and then detonate the bomb once you’re a safe distance away. That would also solve the problem that time bombs almost never work correctly, since you’ll be detonating it with a remote rather than a timer. And we’ll also need a way to prevent any alarms from going off when you leave, since we can’t count on all the bunnies being there when the stun cannons go off. We can’t teleport you out, since the coordinates need to be preprogrammed, and we have no idea where it will be safe for you to land. But perhaps if you were able to cut a hole in the ceiling, leave, and then reseal the hole…” I trailed off, an idea coming to me. “Pardon me, I need to run over to the lab and build something.” I said, dashing out of the room.
Deciding to act dead and defeated in the video ((Mago Berry, you can join me if you want)), I ripped a few more tears in the sleeves of my shirt and smeared some mud onto the collar. I dipped my hand into the bowl of fake blood and made a jagged line from my temple to my cheek. I studied the results in a mirror. Something was missing… I let down my hair and combed my fingers through it so that it stood straight up.
“Might as well take advantages of a bad hair day.” I muttered as I looked around for whoever was operating the camera.
RIK
“So much for filming now,” I muttered to myself as Groundhog dashed out of the room.
“Wait… why did Groundhog just leave?” I muttered. Then, speaking aloud, I said, “Okay, we need to get this filmed as soon as possible. Anyone willing to act in Groundhog’s place? Or will we just wait till en gets back?”
((Are there a lot of people on here not posting? Or did a lot recently visit? Or is it spambots again? Or is this thread making reasonable progress and I am impatient?))
((Majority of the characters on here have not been posting for a while. The thread is basically dead. I’m sort of trying to wrap it up with the Trojan bunny and that will be the end of the Bunny Apocalypse Saga (if such a grand title can be applied to this). ))
((Darn, I really like this thread.
))
KITTYMINE
Groundhog ran off. I shrugged at William.
“Perhaps if you follow her you’ll get a better explanation,” I said. He nodded and followed Groundhog. I turned to the group of people dressed like corpses. Or something like that.
“Guys, Groundhog should be back in a minute. Sorry about this.”
We twiddled our thumbs for about five minutes and then Groundhog came running back in.
“Okay – sorry. Here I am. Let’s get this show on the road!”
PADME
I quickly resumed my prone position when Groundhog re-entered the hangar. Luckily, filming didn’t take very long. Within an hour we were finished and I was able to shower off all of the fake blood (though in my case it was more baby powder). When I finished changing back into my regular clothes, I headed to the cafeteria for a snack (for some reason I was starving). As I passed the lab, I noticed William standing outside. He looked somewhat preoccupied, somewhat…shocked. I walked over to him.
“Will? Are you all right?” I asked quietly.
((136.1- I was actually asking why this is on “Currently Popular”.))
Once we were done filming, I changed into clean clothes, and then headed elsewhere to further prepare for the Trojan Bunny invasion. I helped out where needed, making last-minute adjustments and so forth.
((Oh. Yeah – I was wondering about that myself.))
((I-Man, could you please post?))
((166 – Sorry about that, I meant to last week but I couldn’t figure out what to post.))
I left the room where everyone was filming and headed to the lab. It only took a few minutes to get there, but Groundhog was already busy constructing a complicated-looking device. As I entered, she said over her shoulder, “Hi, Will. What do you need?”
“Well, I think you’ve got a solid plan here, but Xeer’s sometimes a little unpredictable. Just in case, I think I should go in with one or two pieces of equipment, so I have a better chance if he throws us a curve ball.”
“OK. What did you have in mind?”
I told her the plan that I was thinking of, relying on what I thought would be the most likely “curve ball” Xeer threw at us. When I was finished, she nodded and said, “That sounds like a good back-up. I’ll get you those things as soon as I finish this and finish filming.”
((BTW, Padme approached William outside the lab in post 164.))
((Yeah, I know.))
RIK
After we finished acting for the video, I changed and grabbed a snack before heading back into the training room. Even though I knew that hopefully, today would be the final showdown, with little human involvement, I still had this urge to practice and practice all of my skills to keep myself sharp. I suppose you could call me a perfectionist, but I call it survival.
The next few hours passed quickly. I helped where I was needed, but soon there wasn’t much left for me to do. I headed down to the training room, where I found Rik, slashing and stabbing wildly at holographic bunnies. Not wanting to disturb his concentration, I grabbed a lightsaber too. After a few minutes, he looked up. “Hi.” he said.
I knew that if everything went smoothly, we wouldn’t need our battle skills, but I felt the same way- like we should be prepared, no matter what- so I didn’t question him.
PADME
William shook himself out of his reverie.
“Oh…hi Padme. I’m fine. Just thinking about the upcoming plan initiation. I’m just waiting for Groundhog to finish a few more things.”
“Okay, then,” I responded with a smile. I shook myself mentally. ‘He’s not worried. Stop looking at everyone like this is the end. It isn’t!
“I’m going to the lounge to play Othello. Do you want to join me?” I asked.
“Perhaps. I may go to the training room again,” he replied. Just then Groundhog showed up, so Will gave me a mock salute and followed her into the lab.
((Feel free to powerplay me while I’m away for the next week.))
I was anxious. I was nervous. I wanted it to end.
I was stalling for time. I was waiting. I didn’t want it to start.
In short, I was terrified.
I nimbly sliced the enemy holograms in the training room, sweat barely beginning to bead on my forehead. I had spent most of my adolescence hiding in trees and bombing the bunnies from above–now I wanted to practice on my direct combat skills.
I stabbed a hologram, and it flickered out of existance. Leaping backwards, I slashed some coming up behind me. I smiled slightly despite myself. I felt great. Instead of waiting for the enemy, I was hunting it down, taking action. I had a purpose now. A good one.
I kicked at a holographic bunny, sending it flying backwards. These were extremely good holograms. I’d never really seen anything like it–and it was the best training I was going to get.
Deep in my mind, I saw the slim chance that I might die. Actually, it was a large chance. I was poorly trained compared to the others, I was new to the war, I hadn’t seen what the foe could do first-hand. But I dismissed it. If fear managed to invade my thoughts, I wouldn’t be me. So I focused on the upcoming battle.
I would finally get a chance to prove myself.
And I loved it.
KITTYMINE
It was nearly time.
Groundhog had set a few people to do some last minute work on the Bunny. The video had been edited and sent. Now all we needed was for Xeer to respond.
((So should Xeer respond now…? I’m just going to assume so to get this moving again.))
Now we were waiting.
And waiting.
And waiting.
Suddenly, footsteps pounded in the corridor. I looked up anxiously.
“It’s Xeer.” said the messenger. Sraela, beside me, gasped. “He’s responded.”
((If I am totally off with this, feel free to ignore.))
((Xeer doesn’t know the location of our base, so it is rather unlikely that he would come to us. It is likely that he would reply through email or something.))
((
I knew I was going to get that wrong somehow… sorry… I guess it could be that he’s responded through email, I guess? *facepalm* ))
((It’s all right. No harm done.))
PADME
I was sitting in the lounge area, playing Othello on my laptop when Groundhog burst out of the lab.
“He took it! He took the bait! Here we go, people!”
I jumped to my feet. As Groundhog talked over the intercom, I ran to my room to change. I donned my anti-rad BunnyProof suit, made sure my lightsaber was in easy reach and working, and hurried out the door with my helmet under my arm.
RIK
I had just finished blasting a squadron of holographic bunnies when Groundhog came over the intercom.
“Xeer responded – he took the bait! Time to gear up and head out, people!”
I shut down the projector and hurried out of the training room. I changed quickly and headed for the hangar, grabbing a protein bar on the way.
PADME
It took about fifteen minutes for everyone to gather in the hangar. When everyone was accounted for, ZVX stood up.
“Alright. Here are the groups for each helicopter. William, you are in the first helicopter, and you’ll be leaving first.” William nodded. I noticed that he had some interesting extra pieces of weaponry attached to his person. Odd.
ZVX continued giving out places. I was in a copter with Rik, Sraela, and Daniella. ZVX, TGYPWYA, Groundhog, and Mom were in the copter that would deliver the Trojan.
William flew off in his own copter. I still thought that was odd, but I didn’t question ZVX. We waited five minutes, and then we all took off as well.
((To AL and anyone else who may still be lingering here: Due to the fact that the original BA has now been rebooted, since this thread is essentially dead, I am planning to tie the knot on this thread with a really long post. Is that alright?))
((Sure, that sounds great. Thank you so much for your work on all your RPG’s, Kittymine; I really appreciate it. I’m sorry I couldn’t have contributed to this thread more; I was squeezed for time and couldn’t go back and read the original BA from the beginning.))
((It’s all right, AL. Thanks for all of the posts that you contributed and for your continuous CPR attempts on the thread.))
((That’s fine. I’m probably going to be swamped with homework for the next year, so I may be pretty much totally inactive on MB.
Thanks everyone for making it such an awesome thread to participate in! :D))
((Thanks for your contributions too! If you’re ever unswamped, you’re welcome on the BA Rebooted thread.))
PADME
When we neared the DOH, we landed our copters in the forest nearby, where we would be hidden from view. When ZVX did a roll call as we waited for Xeer’s signal, I noticed that William’s copter was at the DOH itself, not in the trees with the rest of us. I frowned, a mite worried.
Xeer radioed ZVX to bring in the Trojan. On our monitors, we saw the Trojan’s point of view from the many hidden cameras on it. We watched as it was lowered into a giant arena through the opened roof. Thousands of HPBs filled the place in a sea of pink. Xeer stood there, a gloating smirk on his face, as the Trojan was placed on the ground and the roof closed above it. And standing next to Xeer, bound tightly, was…
“William!” I gasped, worry turning to fear in the pit of my stomach.
“What the cake is he doing there?” asked Rik, doing a double take at the screen.
I was about to respond, but then Xeer started addressing the HPBs and I wanted to catch every word.
“Fellow HPBs! Comrades! Today is a momentous day. Today we finish the work of my father, the great bunny leader William I, who began this apocalypse. Unfortunately, William did not complete his apocalyptic goals, for he was thwarted by the so-called Resistance of Musers!” A wave of boos rolled though the crowd of bunnies. Xeer waited until they had died down before continuing.
“But today that is reversed. For here stands a giant statue of and HPB, in my likeness, presented by the Resistance as a token of surrender. Yes, comrades, the Resistance has been beaten, killed, and trampled. The Musers are no more!”
‘That’s what you think,’ I thought viciously as the HPB crowd exploded with cheers.
“And standing before you, comrades, is the cream of the jest. Here, bound and helpless, is my brother William II, who rejected the true ways of the HPBs, turned himself human, and joined the now extinct Resistance. Indeed, if he had not handed himself over with the Resistance’s surrender gift, I would have doubted their true surrender and have gone searching for him. Yet he came! He is defeated! The Resistance is defeated! The world is under our power! Comrades, we are victorious!”
The arena rang with cheers, stomping, and hooting. I stared at William, who stood with his head held high despite his predicament. Tears threatened to engulf me ZVX wouldn’t let him die, right? Groundhog must have thought up some plan. But William – why didn’t you tell me?
Xeer now pulled out a blaster and his lightsaber. With the blaster, he prodded William over to a raised platform next to the Trojan. Then he extended his red lightsaber and held it pointed, inches from William’s chest.
“Any last words?” he giggled, his furry face full of evil laughter. William stood silently for a moment and then said steadily.
“I’m going to miss coconut donuts.”
Xeer gaped at him in bemusement and shock, and then froze as an orange pulse washed over him. He dropped to the floor, unconscious. Wave after wave of orange pulses washed over the crowd at the DNA cannons equipped in the Trojan engaged. Within seconds, William was the only being standing in that arena.
Tears of relief rolled down my cheeks. The Trojan had been adapted. Groundhog had known that William would need to be taken. No doubt he had told her.
A blade extended from the Trojan. William jumped over to it and used it to sever the ropes binding him. Then he hurried over to Xeer and found a remote control in his pocket. William pressed the button to open the roof, and then lifted his right arm. A grappling hook shot out, buried itself in the roof’s edge, and reeled William up through the open roof. He landed gracefully on the edge and then grabbed the rope that ZVX had extended from his copter. Willam clambered into ZVX’s copter and then the copter sped away, back to the forest where we all were waiting.
“Alright Groundhog – do you want to do the honors?” said TGYPWYA’s voice over the radio.
“My pleasure – for the free Musiverse!” she cried as she pressed the button. Instantly, the Trojan HPB’s bio bomb exploded, wiping the life out of every last bunny that lay in the arena and the entire DOH proper. We could see the gigantic blue flash through the trees.
“Okay, everyone, check your equipment and make sure you’re wearing a rad suit. We’ll move out in five minutes,” said ZVX.
We strapped ourselves back in and flew off to the DOH. The minute we disembarked I ran over to William and hugged him tightly.
“Will, why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.
“Padme, I didn’t want to worry you,” he replied gently. “I knew that Xeer would want me and would just go looking for me if I didn’t give myself up to him first. I planned it all with Groundhog.”
“When I saw you standing there, tied up, I was afraid I was going to lose you,” I whispered, a few tears escaping. “William, I love you.”
“I love you too,” he replied softly, leaning toward me. We kissed, ignoring Rik’s whoop of laughter. Still holding hands, we put on our helmets and joined everyone else in the arena.
It was completely overwhelming, almost beyond belief. The place was a sea of pink deadweight. We crowded around Xeer. The giant bunny was dead as a doornail, a look of shock frozen on his face.
“We did it…” whispered Daniella almost wonderingly. We all looked at each other and stood silently for a few minutes.
“Okay, let’s go search the rest of the building. Groups, divide up!” said ZVX.
It took an hour and a half to comb the entire place. Then we all exited to our copters and hovered over the building. Then ZVX dropped a little something into the crater of Mt. St. Helens, the inactive volcano that the DOH is build into. We flew away at maximum speed.
Seconds later the volcano erupted, utterly destroying the DOH and all of the bunnies inside.
The Bunny Apocalypse was officially over.
THE END