Demon World

The group ran, moving through dark alleys and trash-filled streets. Their guide -- Rob, they called him -- seemed to know his way well. But that wasn't reassuring to anyone in the group. They still didn't know where he was leading them.

Alison stayed near the middle of the group. Her gun was out of magic and she couldn't stop to attach a new power cell right now, so she was virtually defenseless. If they lived long enough to make camp somewhere, she would have to remember to ask someone who knew magic to help her with that little problem.

Rob moved them through a half-blocked doorway, which he blocked off after they were through. It was a simple but effective blockade that got the rat demons off their backs and gave them some breathing room. A little later, he led them into a warehouse where more survivors waited.

"Resistance?" Joseph said. "How did you know we where coming," he asked Rob.

"You'll find out pretty soon," the man replied. "Eat some food first, and make yourself at home."

Alison slowly loaded three new power cells into her rifle -- the last ones she had -- just to be safe. Rob's reluctance to answer the German's question bothered her. She was far from trusting any of these people. "What's the plan?" she asked her CO in a whisper, though she doubted he had one right now.

Joseph thought for a moment at the question. Yes, what was next. "It is night already, they out number us, and I don't think they mean to kill us. Ve stay here for now, find out vhat ve can, and escape if ve have to." He said softly and walked over to where a boy was shoveling some type of food into a bowl. Beans. "Got any other bowls?" The boy looked carefully up at him then motioned to a pile of bowls that Joseph hadn't seen. "Thanks." he said and knowing the man had invited him to eat did not want to insult him. He waved for Alison to join him. He could do with a pretty girl to talk to.

"It is night already, they out number us, and I don't think they mean to kill us," Joseph said. "Ve stay here for now, find out vhat ve can, and escape if ve have to."

"Fine," Alison said. She expected as much. She knew their options were few, but she hoped he knew something she didn't. He moved away to see what their 'hosts' were serving for dinner. Disgusting beans in equally disgusting bowls. She grimaced slightly and considered eating the food she had brought -- packets of dried food rations she carried in her backpack. but she knew she couldn't afford to waste supplies when food was beign offered to them.

She sighed when she saw the German motioning for her to join him for dinner. "Is that an order?" she asked with a straight face. She wasn't joking. Nonetheless, she grabbed a bowl of the slop -- which seemed to have more in it than just beans -- and took a seat beside him. She stared into her bowl and reluctantly took a spoonful of it. Not bad, she thought before turning to face Joseph.

Mack jumped into the safe house as the slats of wood came down behind him. He heard the click of weapons and he held his own rifle at the ready, looking around warily. The situation was soon diffused however, and food was offered.

Mack heaved a sigh, releasing his adrenaline at last. He clicked the safety onto his gun and slung it over his shoulder. Food was a good plan. He followed the commander's lead and grabbed a bowl, which was soon filled with beans. He went and sat with the group consisting of the sniper girl, and their CO.

"So, we know where we're going after this? Or do we just explore the city 'till we find the dimension thing?"

Joseph kept from laughing but couldn't keep the smile off his face. She just looked so serious. "Don't force yourself, I wasn't even supposed to be on the actual mission, I'm only giving orders because no one else seems to want to take charge." He admitted to her. "If I am that bad a person please eat alone." He added taking a bite of his beans. Not what he was used to but edible. "I just wanted to ask you about that rifle of yours. DId you bring non-lethal rounds with you?" He asked not to sure how her rifle worked. He wasn't really sure she had taken the shot but from the angle the man had landed he was confident enough it was more likely her than the strange mutant guy.

"It was a good shot." He added, he would have killed the man himself but it would have been the wrong answer. They wouldn't have found these people. The scott man sat next to him.

"So, we know where we're going after this? Or do we just explore the city 'till we find the dimension thing?"

"Remember this is a recon unless an oppurtunity presents itself. Ve might just confer with the rebles here and leave, ve might confer vith them and then strike ourselves a blow against the demons.

"Don't force yourself, I wasn't even supposed to be on the actual mission, I'm only giving orders because no one else seems to want to take charge," Joseph said. "If I am that bad a person please eat alone."

He sounded rather sad. Alison considered apologizing and telling him he wasn't bad at all... but she decided she didn't want to do that. She'd rather let someone else pat him on the back and tell him 'you're doing great'. Being his personal cheerleader wasn't in the job description.

"I just wanted to ask you about that rifle of yours," he said. "DId you bring non-lethal rounds with you? It was a good shot."

Alision waited until he was done speaking to Mack before she responded to his questions. She knew he'd start asking things like this sooner or later, so she figured she might as well tell all now and not be bothered by him again. "All my shots are good shots," she said. She wasn't bragging, it was an undisputable fact. "It's just something I do. I don't even know how."

For as long as she could remember, she was able to hit targets. Any target. It didn't matter what the weapon was or how far away the target was, given enough time, her brain would always find a way to calculate the exact conditions required to get a projectile from point A to point B. Although she knew very little about magic, she knew there was no logical explanation for her ability; it must be a magical power of some sort.

Alison realized she hadn't fully answered his question. She placed down her bowl and grabbed her rifle. "I took it," she said matter-of-factly. "When I got a letter saying I'd been accepted to go on this mission, I made up my mind I wanted to bring the best gun I could find." She paused for a moment, admiring its smooth lines. "My dad is a weapons designer, so I stole his key, broke into the lab, and took off with the prototype."

"I don't really know how it works," she said, fishing the instruction manual out of her backpack and offering it to him. "It turns raw magic energy into solid bullets. That's all I know. If you want more that that, I suggest you start reading." She tossed the manual into his lap.

"I don't need ammo, but I do need magic. You wouldn't happen to know anyone who can cast spells, would you?" she asked, showing him the dozen or so depleted power cells in her bag. She had seen him use a fire spell at some point and knew he was probably powerful enough to do what she needed, but she didn't want to ask his help. The man was a shameless flirt and she didn't want to be indebted to him at all.

Meav followed the others through the twisting, labyrinthine roads and alleys of the city, pack in one hand and rifle in the other in case they came face to face with any more rats. She kept a watchful eye on Ava as they went, as well as on the two who had been knocked unconscious. It occurred to her then that she didn’t even know their names, let alone any medical history that might be important. That was not good, not good at all.

Finally, they reached a blockaded doorway that lead round into a warehouse of survivors. Meav took in the scene with some amazement; how had all these people been living undetected in this city? If every day was eventful as this one had been she didn’t know how some of them had the energy to keep going.

Still, for all they were alive they didn’t live in the most pleasant of conditions. The food for one, though edible was certainly not appetising. But at this point Meav was really too tired and hungry to care, and even if she had she knew they all had to keep their strength up for the days ahead. As Joseph informed the Scot, they had no idea how long exactly they would be there - though how they were supposed to leave with the ship besieged by demons, the plane crashed and the raft only just seaworthy, she wasn’t entirely sure.

Well, she would find out soon enough she supposed. Settling into a cross-legged position near the others, she listened to them conversing as she ate.

Mack studied the weapon of interest that the sniper girl carried. An interesting contraption; but Mack wondered exactly how turning magic into matter was any more efficient than just using original rounds to begin with. She still had to carry clips around, still had to reload, and even worse; magical energy would be a bit harder to come by (and more dangerous to try and store, he guessed) than regular bullets.

He tapped the side of his rifle gently. Nothin' wrong with conventional warfare.

His fellow highlander came and took a seat near the group; and since the sniper and the German were into their own conversation, Mack finally decided to try some real introduction. He raised his spoon in greeting to her.

"Busy day so far, aye?"

As she watched the others, rapidly losing track of the conversation about Alison’s unique rifle, Meav caught the eye of her fellow Scot. He raised his spoon in salutation, and she nodded and smiled in reply.

“Busy day so far, aye?”

“That’s certainly one way to put it,” Meav said wryly, shaking her head. “I’m just grateful there weren’t any worse injuries.”

Mack nodded as he swallowed another mouthful of the beans. They were good, he concluded. He'd had army rations that had been worse than this.

"Aye, fortunate, that." He returned her smile, stuck his spoon into his bowl and shifted it to his left hand, offering her his right.

"I'm Sean Mackenzie," He said. "And glad to be fightin' alongside one of me countrywomen. How might I address you?"

“Meav Stewart,” she returned, taking his proffered hand in a brief but firm shake. “A pleasure to meet you.”

As soon a took another bite, she glanced round to make sure Ava was eating as well. Meav wasn’t sure if the girl’s sandwiches had survived the sudden sprint through the city, but the girl needed to eat to get her body temperature back up to normal.

Satisfied, she looked back at Sean. “So how’d you get involved with all of this?”

Meav's eyes flitted briefly to the little girl, a bit of concern written in them as she did. The girl was an enigma indeed, and the reflex of most was to treat her as a child. It had become evident, though, that she was much more than that. How much more, they had yet to find out.

In those few seconds, Mack took the time to look over Meav a bit more closely. A pretty face framed with dark hair and accented with matching eyes. A small, but obviously powerful frame; she was athletic. There was little nonsense in her aura; she had shown herself to be the type to get the job done and not fuss over the details.

She turned back to him.

“So how’d you get involved with all of this?”

He smiled.

"Voluntold." He said. "I may not look it, but I'm the SAS representative in this group. It's in the line of duty for me. Though I'll admit there's a certain amount of romanticism to the whole thing." He took another spoonful.

"Cleansing a city and exorcising the demons that haunt it are the work of a saint, after all."

“Aye, well, I think we’re certainly going to need the patience of saints.”

Meav took the opportunity to study Sean as they spoke. She’d already noticed the crucifix hanging around his throat, so, along with his biblical allusion, it wasn’t too great a leap to assume he was religious, probably Catholic.

Though she had to admit she had been somewhat surprised to learn he was SAS; his casual dress was at odds with his elite status, and his laid back attitude contrasted sharply to the other soldiers’. Then again, given the explosives he had quickly constructed back on the ship, perhaps it wasn’t so hard to believe after all.

“I wonder if you’ll still think it’s romantic in a few days.”

Mack gave a light chuckle.

"I doubt it." He said truthfully. "Reality and romanticism mix rarely. And what's ahead of us is lookin' like a bleak reality." He paused for an instant, the smile still on his face. He considered for a moment that they could all very well die here. And he was a little surprised to find that he didn't care much.

Well, why should he be frightened of dying? No reason for it. He had to go sometime, and he knew his soul was well-prepared.

"How about you, Meav? What would possess a qualified doctor to join up on a suicide mission?"

She didn’t like the food, but it was warm, and the warmth alone was enough for Ava to scoop mouthfuls of the... stuff, by a lack of a better word for it... into her mouth. The warmth she liked. And the people, she liked those to. They watched her like soldiers. They watched her in a way she was familiar with.

She had managed to keep her still soaked clothing clean, but by the time she had ‘finished’ the food, there were royal amounts of the brownish paste smeared around the corners of her mouth. This was the point where Vivian wiped her mouth clean with a soft handkerchief. Her replacement Vivian, however, was too busy talking a man.

So she turned back to her bowl. It was far from empty, but after some clumsy attempts Ava gave up on the food. Instead, she simply waited for what was to come, her back to the replacement Vivian. She grew bored nearly instantaneous, and after throwing a quick glance around, she pressed her hand together. There was no replacement Arthur around to rebuke her, only a replacement Vivian.

She sat like that for a moment, then opened her hands again. A single yellow and orange butterfly stared back at her. Ava could see her own face trough the butterfly. She looked like Vivian looked before and during trips. White. Letting the butterfly rest on her left hand, she used the right to prod her cheeks and nose, as if it would cause her to regain her normal pink colour.

Setting the empty bowl down before her, Meav thought for a moment before answer. Why, exactly, she was here was a question she had been trying not to ask herself; it all seemed to have happened in quite a hurry, from being summoned to her Chief of Medicine’s office to the briefing on the ship and subsequent fight, flight, crash and sojourn through the city.

“Och, well, I didnae come up with the idea myself. Voluntold, as you said,” she replied, the corner of her mouth quirking briefly up into a smile. “But, it is a chance to try and do something about the demons … to try and preserve something of our planet. I want to help.”

She paused a moment, then added dryly, “I think the fact that I know how to shoot counted in my favour. You’ll probably find most doctors are as likely to shoot themselves as any demons.”

Mack chuckled.

"I've heard that; though I admit I've met few enuogh doctors in my time to confirm it." He paused. "And it's certainly a noble reason to go. We might have been assigned here, but the whole reason we were where we were before, I think, is to try to help."

Mack noticed the little girl sitting with her back faced toward them, giving small glances about the room, and then hunching over, absorbed in her meal, he guessed.

"You know anything about that one?" He asked, indicating the girl with a nod of his head.

Turning to see who Sean was indicating, Meav’s eyes fell on Ava; the small figure was sat with her back to them, hunched over and absorbed in something Meav couldn’t see. She certainly was a mystery, and seemed to have intrigued most of the group.

“Ava? Not really,” she admitted, looking back at Sean. “That is, I don’t know anything about her history. But … the way she speaks, and seems to think, it’s more like a computer than a person. It - it’s strange.”

It was strange. Yet, for all Ava didn’t seem to understand many basic concepts that came with being human and could be more that a little exasperating to talk to, she was also, in her own way, quite sweet. Frowning slightly, Meav wondered yet again what exactly the child’s background was.

Thinking about her reminded Meav that she hadn’t actually checked to see if Ava was any warmer now. The child no longer appeared to be shivering, and she had eaten with the rest of them, but given her lack of understanding about being ‘sick’ it was possible she wouldn’t recognise any signs that she was unwell.

Uttering a brief apology to Sean, Meav turned and called out to her. “Ava. How are you feeling now? Are you still cold?”

"I don't need ammo, but I do need magic. You wouldn't happen to know anyone who can cast spells, would you?" Joseph resisted the urge to smile. She was looking at him expectantly, she was a sniper she knew he could use magic. Snipers where obvervant. Still he enjoyed playing these games sometimes and reached for one of her empty mags slowly gauging her reaction before allowing the warm glow of magic flow from his finger tips into the container. He was a strange feeling and it stopped soon, Joseph feeling a bit tired.

"They hold quite a bit of power." He remarked deciding against trying another one. "I'm sure that I could charge a few more after some rest, it has been a long day after all." He added.

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Fransisco walked up to the girl smiling. He say down next to her his own bowl in hand and took a big bite chewing it slowly. "Are you doing better?" He asked her gently wondering if they would have enough time to have a conversation. He certainly thought it would be a good time to attempt to bring this girl into the light of god. She certainly neededs the help.

The replacement Vivian called out to her, asking how she was feeling, and if she was still cold. The sudden mentioning of her name caught her by surprise, and she dismissed the butterfly, feeling guilty she had brought it forward to begin with. Yet the woman didn’t rebuke her for it. Of course not, only a replacement Arthur would. Like Vivian, the replacement Vivian only asked how she was feeling and talked about things that were nice.

“I am ok.” Ok, as in, ready to receive orders and execute them to the best of my abilities. “I am still cold.” Not as cold as she had been, but cold never the less. The woman had not asked about how cold she was, so she didn’t mention it. Should she have? These people asked things , but always seemed to want to know more then she told them.

Her chain of thought was broken by the man who had given her the heavy jacket at the last location. This man, like the replacement Vivian, also inquired about her wellbeing. Perhaps she should survey have some butterflies around her and watch herself.

The question whether she was doing better seemed vague. Better then when? She frowned for a moment, trying to figure if she should formulate a question or simply answer in the same way she had answered the replacement Vivian, when she remembered how she had looked. She looked up to the man, well pleased with herself. “I am whiter. I was pink, now I am white.” She would leave the conclusion whether or not she was better up to the man.

Fransisco nodded and wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulder. "You still look a little cold to me." He anounced allowing hoping his own warmth would transfer quickly enough. That and it would give him an oppurtunity to talk with her about god. "So tell me Ava, have you heard of god before?" He asked and added. "And what have you heard?"

Meav frowned when Ava said she was still cold. If it were not for two things, she might not have been worried - after all, they were all cold. But before coming here Ava’s body temperature had been dangerously low, and the child regularly misinterpreted what Meav meant. Opening her mouth, she was about to try and get Ava to clarify exactly how cold she was when the child was approached by the Spanish priest.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes - he was probably going to try and convert her - she watched with approval as he put an arm around Ava, transferring some of his own body heat to the child. Well, combined with the hot food it was the best they could do. She would keep an eye on them though, just in case.

“Sorry, but responsibilities and all,” she turned back to Sean to explain. “She was showing signs of entering the stages of mild hypothermia before, and I want to make sure she’s properly warmed up.”

Mack watched as Meav inquired as to Ava's welfare. It was interesting how the little girl behaved more like a machine than a human being. What was her story, he wondered?

The priest that Mack had noticed earlier took a seat next to the girl, and it appeared that he was going to take the opportunity to expound a bit of knowledge to her. Mack wondered at the wisdom of doing so before he really knew her, but supposed it couldn't do much real harm. Ava certainly was a strange one, but she still had a soul...didn't she?

“Sorry, but responsibilities and all,” she turned back to Sean to explain. “She was showing signs of entering the stages of mild hypothermia before, and I want to make sure she’s properly warmed up.”

"Oh, no need to apologize," He said, he glanced at the girl again, and then back to Meav. "So, as far as you can tell, she's anatomically correct? Nothing missing, or nothing there that shouldn't be there?"

“Gentleman, for a long, long time, we humans have fought each other, out of jealousy and anger and spite. We are flawed creatures. We were born that way. God made us that way.” Arthur gave the gathered men a slick smile as he walked to the stool Ava was sitting on. He put a single hand on her shoulder before turning back to his audience. “But I tell you now, we can do better. Create a better humanity. We can out do God.”

Ava frowned at the man as she remembered one of the few times this elusive ‘God’ the man referred to. “God made you bad. Arthur is better than god.” That was what he had said, that presentation, wasn’t it. No, she corrected herself. It wasn’t. “The Human Evolution and Reproduction Association is better than god.”

“Not that I’m aware of, no.” Meav shook her head.

Indeed, Ava appeared to be in perfect anatomical order. What worried her was the child’s mind, the way she seemed to think. Very detached and clinical. No apparent depths of emotion. Meav was sure they were there, Ava just didn’t know about them. Or had been taught they were unimportant.

Meav would dearly have loved to meet whoever raised or created Ava and given them a piece of her mind. It wasn’t just the doctor but the human in her that was screaming out it was completely and utterly ethically iniquitous.

Perhaps that was why she seemed to have taken it upon herself to look out for the child.

“I think,” she mused now, “She doesn’t really understand what it means to be … well, a person. She’s been used as a tool, and doesn’t understand basic human concepts.” She spread her hands, a little helplessly, and tried to give an example, “I had to explain to her what it means to feel sick.”