Activation Protocols - Engage

The ground was hard underneath, it was solid rock and it was unyielding. This would have been killer if he could have actually cared. As he moved, the quiet shuffing sound of dust and sand rolling off of him echoed around the part of the cave he was in. It rolled off in waves and sat on the ground in piles as the person under it moved to his feet. He brought his hand up and moved the dust away from him before buckling his jacket.

Dark red eyes finally opened up onto the world, it was dark though, the only light was that which was coming from the stasis pod that was nearby, hooked up to a massive powersource that thankfully was still running. In that pod was the only person in the world that Arcturus actually cared about; Jade, his charge. Arcturus sighed softly and walked over to the pod, brushing dust away from its lid, the dust of eons that have passed, the stone being eroded into this fine powder.

He picked some of it up and rubbed it between his index finger and his thumb. He would come and wake her up in a little while but first he had to secure the area he was in. His eyes snapped around the room lookng for some kind of weapon, hopefully one that was working so that he could fight his way out of here. He didn't quite need one, he could fight well enough with his hands, but the weight of a weapon would be good.

It would seem Order was watching this one rather closely, a basin which was spotless the liquid inside remaining clear and seemingly untouched while next to it lay a partially buried weapon, massive by the look of it some sort of lance made out of some sort of material. Was it rock, metal, wood, or bone honestly one couldn't tell due to the dust covering it, it would seem Arcturus would have to unearth it first. The basin was inviting as if it was calling him to dip his hands in it, sparkling slightly even though there was no light there was obviously something mysterious and mystical about it. Then again it was a gift from Order itself as it had noticed this one, he hadn't embraced any other Deity but it and for that it was..satisfied and those which adhered to it's principles were rewarded.

The area itself was very dark and it would seem nothing else was in sight other than a semi glow in the dark exit sign in the south which seemed to lead to a staircase of some sort. There was another room rather, two other rooms but both were hidden by the darkness only through careful observation could one make out doors both in the west and the east leading to other rooms which currently one couldn't tell what was inside them or not.

Spoiler:

The first thing Arcturus noticed was the massive weapon sticking out of the ground. The Yoroi walked over and used his brute strength to rip the ground out around the weapon before drawing out the massive Lance-Cannon hybrid. He could tell instantly by the way it felt and the way it reflected the very dim light that it was made of metal. He spun the weapon around his wrists before locking it to his back and then walking over to the basin.

The liquid interested Arcturus and he knew that his God had given him this, he wasn't too pious but he understood a gift when he saw one and the Yoroi smiled slightly, one of the biggest show of emotions he'd had in a long, long time. He dipped his hand into the basin and once whatever happened had happened, he would draw his weapon off of his back and start to stalk towards the staircase, looking over the two other rooms now that he was closer to them. Deciding to check his own floor just now, he opened the one to the West and stepped in, scanning around to try and locate any possible enemies.

Spoiler:

The liquid would spread all over his body being chilled to the touch and would form a semi-solid liquid film over his skin, the gun-lance seemed to be in good shape despite almost being completely buried in the ground for who knows how long, just a bit of cleaning and it would be ready for firing and use in battle. In the next room a slagtoth seemed to be sleeping how it got there no one knew perhaps it had been wandering and discovered the base or maybe it was fleeing from a predator and managed to find this place. Regardless the herbivore was curled up and sleeping peacefully with no signs of waking up any time soon unless done of course by force. The second room was empty no signs of anyone having been inside there for a while as dust had accumulated despite the somewhat sterile environment the preservation barriers tried to maintain. There were no signs of anyone being around well it made sense since Arc had long since cleared it out when he attempted to save Jade.

The somewhat cold liquid spreading over his body sent an odd shiver through Arcturus, he knew that it would be useful later, it was an armour coating but for now he wouldn't need it. Then of course he saw the herbivore that was lying on the ground. Sighing softly, the hulking Yoroi crouched down on the ground and cleaned out the massive weapon he had picked up, just figuring out for now how it worked. It appeared to just be a spear-like construct with a pair of barrels, almost like a gun. It was really a rather interesting weapon to find lying on the ground but he would make do with it.

After having cleaned out his weapon and loaded it with ammunition, Arcturus stood up and stealthily moved into the room. He made sure his movements were nice and slow, steady and careful so as not to wake up this creature lying on the ground. However upon getting close to it he would raise his lance above his head and take a deep breath. "I apologise..." He whispered softly as he brought the spear down, firing the cannon to bring it home at C-Rank speeds, should the strike land, he would fire the cannon again to deal an extra C-Rank of damage and crush the creature into the ground.

Spoiler:

The creature would be impaled by the gun-lance wake up with a start and while the first strike wasn't exactly speedy, considering the barrel was comprised of the lance point the finisher did it's trick and would blow a hole into the creature while stabbed into it's body. Considering it was a juvenile creature it wasn't particularly sturdy especially when dealing with a weapon that pierced through flesh, it would perish without knowing exactly what killed it, poor thing. One this was made clear the weapon was powerful made sense considering it was a large bulky weapon but it made up for it in power, he wouldn't get to test out his armor but perhaps it was better that way.

Your Weapon

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The Yoroi sighed loudly as he killed the thing. He hadn't wanted it to die but it would've got in the way, it would have tried to kill him if he'd woken it up more than likely. Arc sighed and reached up, fixing his cap before he attempted to scavenge anything from the creature and the surrounding room. No matter what he'd found he'd put it in his pockets and such, anywhere that he could before locking his Gunlance onto his back and rolling his neck. He knew that outside would be a wasteland, he wouldn't have went into this bunker if it wasn't going to become that. He had to protect Jade from such a thing though, from such a fate. So he went back and covered her Stasis Pod in whatever he could find to try and hide it from any predators.

Now that his charge was as protected as he could make her, Arc rolled his shoulders and walked to the unopened door, ignoring the room with the dead creature in it. He quietly opened the door and then stepped out of the way, if there was anything in there it would probably be awoken by what he'd done to the other monster, he wasn't exactly too quiet at the end. So he would wait to see if anything charged out of the door.

Unfortunately for Arc he had inadvertently ruptured the bile of the creature with his follow up shot and now the flesh which would of been used for food was ruined due to the foul smelling and tasting liquid. Other than that it was fine but it wasn't as if it was useful for anything but it's bones, right now it was fresh and other that the chunks of it's body scattered against the wall and on parts of the gun-lance it wasn't going anywhere. Going back to the room and using the rubble to cover the stasis pod perhaps was a useful idea but the area wasn't poisonous, or rather Arc had no idea if it was or not, merely an educated guess or maybe not. It would make sense that it would be seeing as they didn't want any humans to enter but who knew they were underground and most of the toxic fumes which lingered in the shrouded swamp were filtered away by rock and sediment.

It would become silent once more and if he walked to the staircase he could see a map depicting sub levels and the like it would seem he was at the bottom which was the storage lockers above him was the Lab, the third was the Cafeteria the second level was the Medical Bay and the first sub level was the Preservation Barriers.

The food didn't bother Arcturus all too much, he wasn't actually feeling too hungry and so he didn't need food just now. The opened door then done pretty much nothing and caused him to nod. Obviously this place was cleared, he now needed to move out and find a gasmask and maybe someone else that he could ally with. Arc walked over to the map and pressed his palm against it, dusting it off and scanning over with his eyes, finding out where he was, that being Storage. Looking over the rest of the levels, he would search each level in turn to find everything that would be required to survive. Tapping the next level up, Arcturus lifted his gunlance off of his back and started to wander up the stairs.

He made sure to keep himself low to the ground, minimising the noises he was making and keeping his eyes searching the walls and what he could see in front of him. He doubted there was anything else in here but he didn't know so he would keep an ear out just in case he could hear something coming down the stairs. It was rather worrisome how quiet it was down here, surely there would be other living things that made their way in? Maybe there was another Zireh or something inside the barrier? He could barely remember what he done before he shut down, it all seemed to mesh together but he was pretty sure he had killed everything in here... Perhaps not though?

It would seem luck wasn't really on his side, it was a dark place, and from the moment he entered the fourth floor the stench of blood filled the air, opening the door the first sight he saw was a body it's lower half completely untouched but the upper gone and if he strained his eyes more of this could been seen about six bodies littered the ground but their were chunks of flesh that seemed to be scattered around. It was silent for the most part and if he kept walking forward only the squelching of his shoes against the blood on the ground would be heard. The Lab was a large area a series of three rooms one after another and in the last room a Gigginox was currently nursing it's babies while another a Baleful Gigginox hung from the ceiling in the second room. On both of their bodies were Giggi the resultant of their mating twelve each locked in place on Gigginox's back all immobile like some sort of fleshy horns. So far Arc hadn't attracted their attention, Gigginox didn't hear after all but if he kept moving they would smell his distinct metallic scent over all this blood and they weren't known for being picky eaters.

As soon as the stench assaulted him, Arcturus sneered slightly and lifted his greatcoat up a little higher to block out the smell. Then of course he saw the blood behind the door, the half-eaten bodies and he knew for a fact that he hadn't done that. There was something else in that room and if it could kill so many things it was obviously extremely dangerous. Arc did not want to fuck with that thing so he reached into the room and pulled the door closed, making sure that it was nice and tightly locked before he sighed quietly and shuddered. "May you all rest in peace..." He murmured ever so softly, his voice was still harsh and slightly sore, he hadn't spoken in a long time after all and he barely spoke anyway. So, hefting his Lance up once more and turning to the stairs he knew that the Lab was naught but a deathtrap and thus he started to move up the stairs towards the Cafeteria. Hopefully there would be some food there that wasn't spoiled that he could eat or that he could get for Jade to eat once she woke up, she might be hungry actually. There still didn't seem to be anyone else though, which was odd, had he actually killed everyone in here?

The Baleful Gigginox would curve before plopping down from the ceiling and landing on the ground before picking one of it's heads up and scanning the area just as Arc closed the door, just in time otherwise it would of seen his heat signature and all hell would of broken loose. For now he and Jade were safe, Jade more so than him due to being inside of a stasis pod, but its not like that really would keep a Gigginox out for long.

The cafeteria was likewise bloody and the like as it seemed as if the Gigginox had been here as well, one half of it was partially caved in with swamp water pooling in through the right side. This was through a hole large enough for a medium sized creature or at least a large creature without bones to squeeze itself through perhaps that was how they got in. There were amphibious of course so it made sense that they could of happened upon the location by mere luck, the dry side of the cafeteria had numerous lockers made of some sort of metal mainly to preserve freshness. Perhaps by searching there one could obtain some sort of food assuming they could break through the lockers or at least knew the right combination, this was assuming the electricity still powered it, which was highly unlikely.

The cafeteria was gory as hell as well but perhaps it wasn't as dangerous? There didn't seem to be as many bodies lying around and perhaps the risk would be worth the reward for Arcturus could see storage lockers off to the side, sealed so perhaps the food inside was fresh or at least edible? He did need sustenance if he was going to survive out here so Arc had to decide whether or not to actually go into this room and try and find something to eat.

He quickly decided that it was indeed worth it and he readied his lance before walking into the room, scanning left and right to check for any opponents. Hopefully there wouldn't be anything to worry about, he hadn't heard any noises, there wasn't any signs of anytihng eating the bodies there weren't really many bodies about anyway. This meant that this room was probably rather good and hopefully no where near as dangerous as the Laboratory.

Arcturus wandered over to the lockers and checked them out, realising that they needed a code in order to fully open them. Arc of course didn't know the code so he decided to open it another way. He brought his Lance up and attempted to ram it through the lock of the door before wrenching it to the side using his D-Rank strength to try and rip the door off of its hinges and open it up to him. This was bothersome and loud but it had to be done.

The gun-lance would merely bounce of the locker which didn't even have a dent, the banging sound would echo through the room before a rustling noise would be heard, then again it could of just been something falling at that specific moment, it happens coincidence and what not. Regardless Arc could try again perhaps the trick was repetitive bashing or he could try to check out the rustling noise or he could simply condemn this room like the forth floor and head up one more flight of stairs the choice was his. Meanwhile on the fourth floor the Baleful Gigginox would go to the back of the room and would make a screeching sound the other Gigginox likewise dropping down from the ceiling and falling to the ground before raising it's head off the ground and would shudder before releasing a bullet of acid in the wall it would begin to eat through the wall at a slow pace but then swamp water would begin to trickle in.

The heavy clashing against the metal of the locker sent a wave up Arcturus's arm, jittering his bone and causing him to grunt quietly. He wasn't really looking forwards to trying that again as he may actually hurt himself that and there were a few other things to worry about. He heard a rustling sound and he was sure he heard the sound of hissing as though something was... Melting? He wasn't sure though, that was probably just the reverberation from the rustling sound itself. Now he could just ignore it but that would not be cautious in the slightest and Arc was nothing if not more than a little cautious, more than a year of protecting someone from all dangers would do that to someone.

So, Arcturus crouched down and brought his lance up, locking the haft of it under his arm and holding near the head of the weapon while narrowing his eyes, trying to see if there was anything that could be seen. Deciding that he couldn't actually see much, Arcturus started to stalk slowly towards the source of the rustling, readying his weapon with a shell so that he could kill anyone that may jump out at him. Hopefully it would be a small animal, maybe something had fallen over? Then again, there was always a chance that it wasn't, he had to make sure and then he'd move out and head upstairs.

A random giggi was currently munching inside of a body having apparently gotten left behind by it's parent below, the rustling was due to it moving on a stack of papers on the ground as it seemed to have enlarged itself over the victims head and was now eating part of their chest without any sign of discomfort. It was weird because despite it's eating the bottom part of the Giggi didn't seem any larger it would continue eating, having a voracious appetite like all members of it's species. Soon enough it would go from the upper chest before eating the arms a mixture of sizzling and crunching of bones echoing through the room until it finally finished leaving just the torso behind. It would turn before burping and noticing a heat signature and tensing up as it bared it's blood stained rows of teeth. If not for the demented look it would actually be quite...cute as cute as a large flesh eating leech covered in blood could get anyways.

As soon as the large leech creature came into view, currently eating a corpse, Arcturus stepped back and sneered slightly, his eyebrows furrowing under his cap. He took a deep breath and then looked at it, oddly it didn't seem too bothersome, he could probably kill it if he wanted to but it was a little cute, well in a creepy, really disturbing way. Perhaps with it cleaned up a little and maybe with a little bow on it, it might make a good pet? Arcturus chuckled quietly and then decided that he may as well try it so he crouched down in front of the Giggi, grabbing a random piece of meat that was near him before offering it out to the little creature and nodding to it. "Come here little fellow, I'll get you all the meat you wish if you come with me..." He whispered to it, trying to be as soothing as possible so that maybe it would actually become friends with him. He had a feeling that this thing would get much, much bigger and thus it might make a valuable ally in the future, he just had to try and entice it to be his ally now...

The Giggi would rear up before looking at the morsel which was approaching it, odd none of the other morsels had expressed a desire to come close to it, usually they ran away or tried to hurt it, this morsel definitely got points for that. It was a common misconception that Giggi were stupid, they weren't honestly no creature was stupid sure some were slow, and didn't grasp situations as quickly as others but Giggi were intelligent. Their bane was that they were clumsy after all they were still babies for the most part and despite being smart their bodies were comprised of a head, brain, mouth with teeth and stomach. Waste was released through the skin which was very little since their stomachs could dissolve and absorb nutrients from anything organic..well almost anything plants tasted nasty. The Giggi would rear up before darting forward not at breakneck speeds or anything but fast for it moving so slowly before and would snatch the meat out of Arc's hand before falling over.

It would lay there for a bit before eating the meat and swallowing before burping again and would make a gurgling sound rather than the screech to show that it was pleased. As long as this morsel kept feeding it they would have no problems perhaps they could even work out an agreement it would only sample the morsel if he wanted it to. Though if there was a food shortage...desperate times call for desperate needs after all the morsel was and will always be a morsel.

Bulk Training

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Jade was just waking up or whatever, as she opened her eyes she would quickly jolt up looking around only to see a somewhat darkness. The air was harsh and would cause her to cough as she began standing up and moving out of the pod before scanning the area mainly for the man she thought would be around when she woke. However she would have to think like he had was gone, for the moment at least, it caused her small frame to shudder plus in the distance she could see the remains of a beast of some kind this young girl was curious but not that curious. Instead she walked to the center of the room in order to get a better feel for where she was. For moment she thought why not just scream if anything was near her it would surely converge on her area, though she would risk being found by something wild and dangerous it was to much to risk instead she plopped down staying put would be best hopefully he would return and with a small sigh and cough she muttered...Arcturus....she simply peered into the darkness beginning to draw out of bordem but draw with what she was so spaced out she had  noticed she was drawing with simple hand gesture's.

So while Arcturus dealt with his new pet, it would seem Jade had managed to wake up, so far nothing in the room held any interest which probably led to her playing with dirt. The room was pretty empty though she could try and explore the other room other than the one with the creature inside, though it was empty maybe she could check shelves or something that Arc missed in his haste to clear out the room for her. who knows perhaps she might notice something he didn't after all she was smaller so she had a different perspective on the world and what not. Or she could simply remain in place and wait for him while not exploring at all. The stasis pod would power down now that she was no longer inside of it and the room would flicker from darkness with spotty light which flickered on an off wasn't exactly the ideal place to settle down. But hey it was her choice once again since Arc didn't seem to be anywhere close so might as well do something until she saw him again. Then again he could be dead who knows it wasn't as if she was awake when he was moving around so maybe she was on her own from now on..

OOC: Skip

Bulk training

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The pod thingy would power down and a certain quite would fill the room causing jade to rise up on to her feet and began once again looking around the room. She would walk for a moment not picking up her feet and instead she slid her feet until she bumped into a set of shelves. She would move her hand over each shelf only to find nothing but dust and empty cans and other useless things.

With a small sigh she quickly would turn around before starting to walk again until she wondered into another empty room she would stand by the door and slowly scan everything before taking one step in and taking a deep breath. ......The air.....She would say looking around and keeping her guard up, not keeping her guard up like a skilled fighter but someone who was nervous this girl was simply turning a weakness into a perk and using her nervousness and anxiousnes to make sure she checked everything. The cracks the curves the dirt she could feel others in the area but unknown would remain unknown this room was safe so she once again would move towards the center off the room and begin drawing in the dirt.