Demon World

Erika managed to wake the woman, and both climbed out of the sinking craft. She jumped into the water and climbed aboard the craft, then watched the sinking plane get swallowed into the dark depths. She shivered a little, from the wind brushing against her wet skin. She was just glad that she had made her devices water-proof, her clothes weren't so lucky. She thought that maybe that would be her next invention.

"Now ve need to start rowing, take turns, I'll start some one grab the other oar."

Erika nodded and clambered over to grab the other oar, ready to assist the officer. They both moved rythmically.

"So, this has been a fun and eventful trip. We should do it again sometime soon," hoping that the joke would maybe lighten the mood.

As soon as they had all clambered on to the raft Joseph ordered someone to take the other oar and began pushing them off. With slightly unsteady legs Meav found the nearest empty seat and lowered herself onto it before rummaging through her bag for her medical kit.

A glance round showed nearly everyone appeared to have minor injuries, scrapes and bruises; a thin line of blood dripped from a cut on Joseph's forehead, the Scot still looked pale from his brief blackout, another woman was also recovering from unconsciousness, and Ava had something of a pained expression - though admittedly she might just have been miserable.

First things first though. Meav couldn't help anybody if she suddenly slipped out of consciousness. Reaching up, she gentled probed the back of her head where she had hit it against the bench. It was no longer bleeding, but there was tenderness and swelling. Bruising then. No signs of a concussion or fracture, and no need for stitches. Good.

Relieved, Meav brought her hands back down then turned to the rest of her companions.

"Anyone severely injured?"

He wasn't quite sure how to respond to Avalon. She didn't seem to mean to be arrogant she just seemed... programmed. Maybe he needed to put more thought in how he spoke to her in a way quite different to the thought he normally put in when handling women. Another person spoke now meaning he didn't have to make some kind of response immediatly he'd turn the question to relating to Avalon after all he wasn't the medic but he knew that they weren't in an ideal situation. "I'm ok. Is there any danger of hypothermia for Avalon?" He looked down at the girl as he said it and watched the butterfly she had. It was fascinating, beautiful even. If he hadn't seen what they'd been capable of before they'd boarded the ship perhaps he might have made an attempt to touch one to see what properties it had.

The medic had touched her head and he could see her hair was slightly matted with blood obviously she'd not used the seatbelt just like him but hadn't had the same abilities he did to recover. "Are you sure your ok? Looking after us is all good but if we lose you we're kinda in trouble in the future."

Joseph appeared to be not the only one that utilised humour as a defence, the cube girl did it as well, hell he even used dry sarcasm although it was probably more spiteful than mood lightening at points. "Don't worry if we complete this mission we still need extraction. Sure that won't get much easier."

"I'm ok. Is there any danger of hypothermia for Avalon?"

Meav looked around at the Serbian; he was indicating Ava, huddled in the circled of his arms and watching a small butterfly that was perched on her knee. Where had that come from?

No matter, the little girl didn't appear to be shivering at all more than was normal in the circumstances. They were all cold, but none of them had been submerged for any length of time. Meav would be more concerned about colds or pnuemonia that could be contracted if they didn't get a chance to change out of their soaked clothes soon.

"I shouldn't think so," she answered. "Tranferring your body heat like that is the best remedy anyway. Just let me know if her shivering gets any worse."

The oars dug in easily into the sea and the raft slowly made it's way towards land. The tide was rising makeing their progression all the faster. Joseph was happy to see that most of the group seemed to have made it alright from the crash. The raft soon made it to land and Joseph watched as others got off, some helping those more dazed. His cut had closed but he could feel the sticky blood still on his face. He hated facial cuts, they always bleed to much.

"Ok, ve are here, Girly could you secure the area with some of those usefull bugs of yours?" He asked, though his tone was that of an order. "And our snipers should help you set up a perimiter." He added looking around at NY city. All around where towering buildings, most decayed and rotting, most should have been condemned. They'd have to find cover soon but not before he made sure that everyone was in tip top shape. He silently realized that he was still on the raft and paused slightly before stepping off. He missed his ship but now was not the time.

"Doc give everyone a check over while those three keep watch then we'll switch them out so you can check them too." He said and motioned for her to head over to the scott who seemed to have been knocked out. The little girl was still shaking but the wind would dry them soon enough. He kicked himself inwardly knowing that a little girl could get sick easyier than anyone else. He walked over to where the little girl was making butterflies. "Any idea how to varm up before ve all die of cold?" He asked knowing that a fire just wouldn't do in this open area. Though he couldsee smoke in the distance.

Alison scanned the shoreline with her binoculars as the raft drew nearer. She didn't care for her comrades, the raft, or who was hurt or not. Their destination lay before them and superceded such trivial things. New York City was everything she had expected it to be; an urban wasteland, a literal Hell on Earth. It was a wonder how so many of the massive buildings were still standing. Some were leaning dangerously. Others had fallen or tipped over and were resting on one another, like toppled trees. She could see a few fires raging and smoke trails dotted the skyline.

They made landfall and she was among the first out of the raft. Alison immediately put away the binoculars and resorted to srveying the landscape through the scope of her rifle instead. That way, if she saw anything she could just shoot it right away.

"Ok, ve are here," Joseph said. "Girly could you secure the area with some of those usefull bugs of yours?" he asked of Ava. "And our snipers should help you set up a perimiter."

Alison glanced back at him and nodded to show she understood his orders. She would be working with the weird little girl and the shapeshifter guy. She hadn't seen him shoot anything yet, but he carried his rifle like he knew what he was doing. We'll see about that. The German was talking to Ava about being cold -- treating her like a child again -- so Alison went to speak with the shapeshifter first. She had a perimeter to secure; no time for babysitting.

"Okay," she said, approaching him. "Ocean to the east; demon territory to the north, south, and west. Pick a direction. I'll take another. Butterfly girl can take the third. Deal?"

The medic gave a reassuring answer, probably about the first bit of good news he'd heard on the trip if you could call finding out that nearly drowning hadn't put the girls life at risk later down the line. She seemed to have stopped shivering a bit which made it easier for him to let go of her when the boat arrived at the shore. He stepped off and savoured the feel of the sand slipping between his bare toes. On ground again. That was better.

Ava was been assigned a mission and it looked like he had sniper duty. At least the girls butterflies kept her at a safe distance from potential danger. Looking down a sniper scope was meant to do that to but not when you were responsible for securing a perimeter. The other sniper approached him and seemed to want to discuss tactics. "I'll take North you take South and the girl can do West that way if need be we can cover West between us within our firing arc. What she did on the boat was impressive but I'm still not that convinced by butterflies. I can cover ground faster and the best building in the North seems further than your southern one. Sound ok to you?"

He reached his arm behind his back to check his sniper was still secured to his back properly. He had the strap pulled tight to his skin allowing it little movement. There was a clip that loosened it when he needed it but he didn't like it getting in the way normally. His legs went black as they changed into paws and the tattoos on his arms began to ripple as they converged and also turned into paws. His eyes glazed over as he looked waiting for an acknoledgement before he moved off. This was one of the more unique uses of his power. He'd utilised the simple changing his limbs into weapons it was obvious how they could be used but it taken him awhile to work out that he could take nature as an example to move faster in this case mimicking a panther. He didn't care about travelling on all fours. It worked and it made him less of a target to.

Finally, a clear order, something she could work with. She wasn’t sure about what the others said, naming cardinal directions; how was she to know what was where if no one told her. Also, ‘area’ was vague, and it would have been easier if the man had given her a clear perimeter. But despite it all, Ava was simply glad to be doing the one thing she knew she was supposed to do.

The single butterfly that had accompanied her on the raft had started to glow brighter in anticipation, now emitting as much light as a small flashlight. From the light sprang another, larger light source, from which sprang another. As the light died away, only a softly glowing butterfly remained.

The process repeated itself a number of times, basking Avalon in lights as more and more butterflies manifested itself. Then, without warning, the small swarm dissipated in all directions, a spectra of images forming in Avalon’s mind as she now saw her surroundings from over two dozen different perspectives.

The butterflies covered ground fairly quickly, separating where necessary, settling down on certain spots. The surroundings where rugged, and there were many ruined buildings to cover. Shivering and cold as she was, her field of vision was small, no more than half a mile, but it was solid, at least as long as she could maintain this amount of butterflies.

She had liked the last away mission better; a nice comfortable chair, surrounded by people talking in low voices and the beeping of computers, while viewing a pre set area. This situation was far more ‘not calming’. And the cold didn’t help either.

“An area with a radius of zero point four six eight miles. Thermo blankets are warm. Chocolate is warm. Dinner is warm. My bed is warm. Vivian is warm. A shower is warm.” There were so many things that were warm. She looked at the man in the white suit and the pretty medals, her own vision only one of the many images in her mind. Giving him a blank stare, she raised her hand. What was ‘dying’?

"I'll take North you take South," the other sniper replied, "and the girl can do West that way if need be we can cover West between us within our firing arc. What she did on the boat was impressive but I'm still not that convinced by butterflies. I can cover ground faster and the best building in the North seems further than your southern one. Sound ok to you?"

Alison held back a smirk. So, he's competent after all, she thought. Even if he couldn't shoot, he could at least turn into something useful. He was already beginning to transform his limbs into some sort of cat-like creature's. "Got it," Alison said with a nod, though it seemed like he was already set on this plan the moment he rambled it off to her.

She glanced toward the south to find a suitable location. Past the sandy beach, there was a street lined with small shops where beach-goers can go waste their money -- typical oceanfront real estate. "I'll be over there if you need me," she said, pointing to a run down bike rental shop. It was three stories tall amidst a row of single story shops. If there was a way onto the roof, she would find it.

"How about you?" she asked the shapeshifter.

"Me? I'll take that hotel over there. The roof has potential and plenty of escape routes if thinks flare up. Good luck." With that he dropped down on all fours and began to run. The sand he kicked up stung his eyes and stuck to his lips causing him to spit as he went. His paws nearly gave way under the unstable sand so he moved onto the concrete path that bordered it and began to pick up pace. Shattered glass from shop fronts littered the floor and tried to cut him as he went. Whilst his form offered some extra resistance it didn't make him impervious. It bloody hurt but at least he didn't bleed.

The hotel had probably fetched a pretty penny at its time. A small three floor place probably just a glorified house converted for the tourism boom but it would have offered a beach front and a view of the statue of liberty making it a popular choice now it was abandoned and neglected just like everything else here. He didn't bother with the stairs there was no telling what state the inside of the building would be in or if it was secure. Far easier for him to scale it he pounced as once again the limbs changed form back to the lance like form he had used when they'd hit the water. They drove into the wall and allowed him to get the grip to scale the building. Slamming the lances into the wall carving through the brickwork and providing enough support for him to pull himself up. It was tiring work but he soon found himself at the top.

His blue eyes has returned as his form withered away to be replaced with his normal self. The tattoo's taking form once more and the darkness withdrawing back into them and stabilising after rippling for a moment. The way it did that had always fascinated him. It had never done anything like that until he'd decided to get tattoo's there was nothing special about them they just seemed to interact. He pressed the clip on his rifle loosening the strap and swinging it round and knocking off the muzzle cap and moving the rifle into his grip before resting it on the ledge of the building and adopting a comfortable prone position. He flicked the safety off and then lowered the distance on the scope to 300 metres before beginning to scan the area. The rifle moved from left to right checking the arc of fire as he tried to work out blind spots, the point their arcs of fire were likely to converge and anywhere that would offer cover for the enemy. He wasn't sure on demon battle tactics and whether they were likely to utilise cover and how many were capable of long range combat but he did know they could utilise fireballs and he didn't intend to feel the inferno they possessed once again...

"Me? I'll take that hotel over ther," the sniper said. "The roof has potential and plenty of escape routes if thinks flare up. Good luck."

Alison nodded in agreement and he took off running across the sand toward his chosen perch. He was a man of few words, much like herself, ready to handle business rather than exchange small talk. She liked that. After watching him make his way across the beach on all fours, she turned toward her goal and began walking. The beach made running more trouble than it was worth; she didn't want to have to dump sand from her shoes later.

She readied her rifle as she drew nearer to the run-down bike shop. It didn't look any better or worse than the surrounding structures but it was dark and could be hiding all sorts of nasty creatures, demonic or otherwise. She switched her rifle to its cutting laser setting and plugged in an extra power cell. The cutter might come in handy if there was no way onto the roof and it could make quick work of most demons in a close quarters fight.

Fortunately, there were no surprises inside. Alison placed herself on-guard when she found the front door unlocked, but once inside, there was no reason to worry. The layers of dust on the floor indicated that no one -- and nothing -- had been in this shop for years. She found the stairs hidden in the back behind the counter and proceeded up. The second floor appeared to be small apartments also caked with heavy dust, so she ignored them and continued up to the third floor, where a small ladder at the end of the hall brought her out and onto the roof.

Crouching low, she scanned the area, first with her eyes, then through her scope. She had a clear view of the group as well as most of the obvious aproaches an enemy might take. Even if she couldn't adequately cover the buildings, there was at least 500 feet of open sand a demon would have to run across before reaching the others. She couldn't wish for an easier shot.

She crouched near the building's edge, being sure not to let the muzzle stick out far enough to be seen by someone on the street; there was no telling how smart these demons were. Then she switched her gun back to sniper settings, grabbed a dark grey cloak from her backpack, and draped it over herself and most of her rifle for warmth as well as concealment. There was a small black butterfly floating through the air nearby. She waved to it once, then remained perfectly still, awaiting her prey.

Mack half-fell out of the raft, keeping his rifle above the water. Their CO sent the girl, the Serb, and the sniper woman out to scout. Mack would have liked to tag along, but; it was the captain's perogative, and if he had wanted Mack in there, he'd have sent Mack in there.

Mack couldn't decide if the silence was a blessing or a curse. Demons hadn't swarmed them and began tearing their limbs off yet, so that was a good thing. However, that only meant they were hiding in the shadoes to swarm them and rip their limbs off when they were least expecting it.

Mack gazed on the fallen ruins of New York city. There were certainly many places to hide...

He checked his rifle's clip, slung it over his shoulder, and then checked his pistol.

The Japanese woman had somehow appeared next to him, and was looking on the city with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Hell on Earth, in there somewhere." Mack said conversationally. "Good a place as any to put it." The woman looked at him, her expression unchanging.

"What do you fight for?" She asked. Mack considered it, thinking.

"A better world," He decided finally. "A world free of abominations where men can live in peace and safety." He holsered his pistol. "Be free to worship, and free to serve." The woman looked back onto the ruined landscape.

"What do you wnat out of all this?" Mack asked her.

"Honor." She said. "For my world, my people, and myself." Mack nodded at her words. In a sense, they wanted the same thing. He smiled and nodded approval.

'Mack Mackenzie." She looked at him again and smiled back.

"Akane."

"A pleasure, lass. I dunno about you, but I'm feeling ready to kick some demonic ass."

Erika got out of the raft, their german officer was already shouting orders to the others, for now she didn't have to do anything. So in the meantime is was time to drain out the water.

Sitting on the sandy ground she took out her cube and opened it up, turning it over she let the water fall out of it and shook it a little to get some of the drops out. If only she had packed a towel with her. Fortunately it was waterproof, but she didn't want to take many chances with the prototype. Without some sort of rag though there was not much of a chance at drying it anytime soon.

She finally stood up and walked over to the officer, "Excuse me, but would you by any chance have some sort of dry piece of cloth that I can borrow? A small rag maybe?"

The sun slowly began to set, Joseph looked around examining the location in the dimming light. He wasn't sure if the snipers had been smart enough to pack night vision scoops. The thought of equipment caused him to check his. Saber still atached to his hip, pistol on the opposite, and of course the small gatling on his shin, two big pockets held bullet strings, still he probably should have brought more ammo.

"Excuse me, but would you by any chance have some sort of dry piece of cloth that I can borrow? A small rag maybe?"

Joseph laughed softly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his hankerchef. It was soaked of course, he had been complelty submerged after all. "A rag I have, dry, not so much." He anounced and twisted it causing the water to fall out of it to the ground. "It might help a bit if you remember to ring it out often."

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The snipers could see the movement of short human shaped demons, with long black fur, the fur on the top of their heads sported dreadlocks. They wore rags, and their long pointed faces sniffed the air as they moved things about looking for anything to eat. The rat demons where awake, and soon others would arrive.

The snipers missed one thing, Ava watched a man, sneaking, sprinting from cover to cover, the man didn't even notice when a butterfly laned utop his wide brimed hat. He had a shot gun in his hands and was headed towards the group carefully. Orders were to meet the group, but he wasn't about to risk having a fight with the rats to do it.

"A rag I have, dry, not so much." He anounced and twisted it causing the water to fall out of it to the ground. "It might help a bit if you remember to ring it out often."

"Thank you," she accepted the damp rag, it would have to do. She started to dry the inside of the cube, the dampness made little effort to absorb the water, but she got most of it out.

"There we go," she handed it back to him, "I don't believe I caught your name yet."

"Joseph." He replied as he tucked it back into his pocket. "And you vhere Erika if I remember from your profile." He commented, smiling he thought momentarily before continuing. "21, 5'4, Inventing genious, and of course stunning to behold, I'm sure your just as stunning a conversationalist." He said relaxing a bit. "Creepy I know, but I don't like anyone getting on my ship until I know who they are."

"Joseph." He replied as he tucked it back into his pocket. "And you vhere Erika if I remember from your profile." He commented, smiling he thought momentarily before continuing. "21, 5'4, Inventing genious, and of course stunning to behold, I'm sure your just as stunning a conversationalist." He said relaxing a bit. "Creepy I know, but I don't like anyone getting on my ship until I know who they are."

She smiled, "Thanks for the compliment on my appearance, as for conversation I can be pretty good. Its funny that the person one is talking to knows more about yourself than you do them. I'm not sure what I could tell you about myself that you don't already know, so may you go first?"

“Contacts.” Ava had all but sacrificed her own vision in favor of that of her butterflies. Despite the fact she had started to shiver more violently, with her perception so widely spread she hardly registered how cold she was. “Closest contacts zero point two seven three miles away and closing.”

And then there was the man. Human, it seemed. Also heading their way. An uncalculated factor, as she hadn’t been informed of reconnaissance missions. “Reconnaissance unit on zero point three seven nine miles away and closing.”

"Sure thing." He anounced. "I'm 22, an admirl in the german navy," He leaned slightly closer as if telling her a secret and added. "and I'm a big fan of classic rock, Ramstein really." He said before standing back strieght. "That is really all there is to me." He anounced, he had been a very focused child and now was a very focused man. One tract mind really. Though in his defence he had accomplished most everything he had set out to do. Then the girl spoke up.

“Contacts. Closest contacts zero point two seven three miles away and closing. Reconnaissance unit on zero point three seven nine miles away and closing.”

Joseph moved over to the girls side. "Reconnaissance? What kind of Reconnaissance?" He asked her slipping his pistol from his holster.

The scope didn't provide the image he'd been hoping for infact he couldn't even settle on a target he kept jumping from area to area finding more. A good dozen in plain sight and shadows that seemed to move far to much suggesting others that weren't in view. Right now they didn't seem to have a clear direction meaning they weren't heading towards them aware of their presence which meant it was best not to provoke them and get their attention by opening fire. He wished he knew the protocol this German operated on. Securing the perimeter could mean just this then again in some circles it could of meant eradicate everything within your field of vision or just remove anything thats an immediate threat. He'd settle for opening fire if the other sniper did. If that happened they'd both need to work fast to thin the lines. God they could do with some form of communication right now to know what they had eyes on.

He shifted his left hand off supporting the rifle letting a building ledge take the weight but keeping his right hand and trigger finger ready despite the fact he knew if he fired it without support the shot would be awful. A gunshot that missed first time still had the ability to slow people down, encourgage them to take cover. Well at least that was how it went down with humans, he could only hope these demons might work in a similiar way. His left hand flipped up the bulky section that was built on to the rifle, an alien part that he used to store extra magazines since he tended to travel with little clothing to store it elsewhere. He lined 2 of the 3 magazines up next to him ready to access quickly if they opened fire. He snapped the section shut again and returned his hand to the stable hold on the rifle once again looking through the scope that provided an eeery green tinge to the surrondings.

He allowed the black form of his ability to consume his body not altering his shape but masking him more effectively in the night and breaking his outline. The rifle was painted black so that was fine. He was just another shadow all to still in a dark and dangerous neighbourhood waiting to strike with explosive force if need be.

Meav nodded at the CO’s order to check everyone over. They all professed to be fine, but after two of the assigned scouts moved off Meav insisted on giving those that were left a preliminary assessment; even if they had sustained no severe injuries she wanted to be sure any cuts or scrapes were cleaned and any unnoticed symptoms caught. Problems often arise hours or even days after traumatic incidents, because adrenaline, among other hormones, began flowing, and the patient believed themselves to be fine.

Thankfully everyone did seem to be unharmed. Only one woman - Alice, she was told her name was - remained unconscious, but didn’t appear to have any broken bones or internal injuries. They would just have to wait for her to wake up, then Meav could assess her for concussion. Other than her, the rest seemed to have a few cuts and bruises that were duly bound.

“Contacts. Closest contacts zero point two seven three miles away and closing. Reconnaissance unit on zero point three seven nine miles away and closing.”

Recognising the voice as Ava’s, Meav looked around. The little girl was staring away into the distance, seeing something no one else could. How? Something to do with the butterflies that appeared seemingly from nowhere? What was this child?

Then Meav noticed her violent shivering. Much worse that it had been on the raft. Damn it. Joseph had already moved over when she spoke, and Meav followed.

“Reconnaissance? What kind of Reconnaissance?

“Joseph, she’s unwell,” Meav stepped forward. “See how she’s shivering? She needs to warm up, now.”

Look at these stupid animals, Alison thought as she watched the rat demon rummaging through a garbage can. Her NV binoculars made the scene clear as day, despite that fact that the demon was over a football field's length away. She could see others as well, in various places, searching for scraps of food in a city that had long been devoid of life. They would be better off searching for water in the desert.

One shot and they'd swarm like ants. Even someone of her skill couldn't hope to take them all down if that happened, especially if it happened amidst the narrow alleyways and streets. So she made up her mind to not fire unless they reached the sand. That was the point of no return; a wide open field perfect for killing. The first rat to set foot on the beach would be the first to die. Fortunately, the rest of the group seemed to be hiding in plain sight. They were sitting and standing near the raft, most of them not moving. With the fading light, the rats may not notice them at all.

"What's this?" she pondered as she noticed another figure, slightly more humanoid, making its way through the alleys. Her CO hadn't mentioned anything about survivors. The figure seemed to be trying to avoid the rat demons, but it was still possible he could be a demon in disguise -- he had a weapon in hand. Alison laid down her binoculars and began watching him through her rifle's scope, just to be sure. The same rule applied: if he set foot on the sand, she would fire.

Well, maybe a warning shot, she thought, as she turned a dial on the rifle's control panel, reducing the density of the bullets it generates. At this setting, it would be comparable to being hit by a rubber bullet: enough to let him know someone was watching... and that someone wasn't playing around.

What kind of reconnaissance? Ava frowned, trying to make sense of the question while at the same time more and more demons appeared in her field of perception. What kind? “Human. Male. Armed. No military uniform.” Which meant there was no way to get the man’s rank or name.

Another violent shiver made Ava aware of how cold she was. With the awareness now back at her body, several of the butterflies vanished into thin air. The sudden loss of vision was startling, a new and unpleasant experience. Even as she attempted to restore the lost butterflies, drawing them from their brothers and sisters that were still spread across the city, another violent shudder caused her to involuntarily hug herself in an attempt to trap the precious little body heat.

Joseph wanted to snap at her that the girl was a soldier on a mission first and formost and her skills where needed, and the initial look he gave her said that but after a second his look softened. She was still a child after all, and the woman was the doctor after all. "Right, Ava stand down, then go see the doctor she'll warm you up." He said and looked up noticeing movement in the distance. He wasn't sure if it was movement or just the light playing tricks, but she had said a recon was on its way. A man then, hopefully. Armed. "Stay ready, he may or maynot be human, but ve should find out first."

Fransisco was quickly becoming tired of everyone talking about doing something for the girl and not acting, he had taken off his jacket and had been drying it so it was mostly dry now, dry enough at least. He stormed over to ava almost ran into Joseph and wrapped the jacket around her before giving the child a warm, uncharicteristic smile. "That should help." he said with his thick spanish accent. "Remind me to talk to you about god when we have a chance." He said softly and then walked away and back to being by himself.