#he is now based closer to a caracal!!

[sky-blue-cat]

I'll never not love zhongxiao ;;

[caracalclaws]

So... are Mint and Neo still friends at all? since they used to share a blog?

Somewhere in the Mystic Ruins, sometime ago.

"... Hey, Neo. I kinda need to tell you something..."

Mint steps carefully into the base; she has long gotten used to how dark it is in this place. Neo briefly turns his head in acknowledgement, away from the holo-screen he's always glued to-- she can never figure out what he's studying on that thing.

"You're early." Is all that the robot says. "You told me your shift ended at midnight. I would have come to the station if you had called."

"Y- Yeah, I know. I know you hate me walking allll the way here in the dark..."

"Hm." She can't really tell if that 'hm' is in annoyance or dismissal of the topic. He continues; "what is it you need to inform me of?"

The caracal swallows, thickly. She can already begin to feel her heart pound in her chest at the very idea of confrontation-- Hell, she's almost as nervous as she first began her G.U.N training. Or the first time she broke into this base and discovered him-- that Neo Metal Sonic was still alive & sustaining themselves here in the first place.

... Something that the Commanders are still very much unaware of, as per their agreement.

"... Soooo.... G.U.N want to take me on full-time, now. As of today, I've... I've finished all my neccessary training. I'm... I'm officially a Rookie." She tries to announce as confidently as she can muster. "So... Basically, you're not gonna be seeing me as often, now... huh."

Neo pauses his typing on the giant keyboard before the holographic screen, as if in thought. He soon begins tapping away shortly after. "That's great news. Good for you."

"Y-Yeah, but--"

"You do not sound pleased. Is this not a cause for celebration? I'm not familiar with this sort of thing."

"Well--"

"Well, what?"

"Would you let me finish!" She eventually huffs. Her ears fold back a little- she can hear the softest of chuckles. "This is important. I'm-- I'm telling you this because-- I'm... I'm not going to be... working in Station Square now."

The silence seems to go on forever. They both seem to be frozen, before eventually Mint sighs, dumping her backpack onto the floor in a heap. She fidgets, mouth opening and closing a few times, before her eyes squeeze shut and she just blurts it out.

"I'm- I'm moving out! I... I'm gonna be looking at apartments in Metropolis, later this week..." Ugh, suddenly her throat feels all tight. Why is this so hard?! It's not like this abandoned old place is a very nice place to live, and she always tells herself Neo's company sucks but its better than nothing. "The headquarters are in Metropolis, and... that's where I'll be working, now..."

"... So. You're leaving."

If she knew better, she might have said he sounded... Disappointed? No, sad? Neo was still exceptionally hard to read, and his constant-blank facial expression did little to elaborate on what he was thinking or feeling. She feels her eyes begin to well up a little.

But she forces them back. As much as possible, anyway. In the lowlight, its very easier to see her eyes are shiny with wetness.

"I-- I would've told you sooner, that-- that my training was coming to an end... But... I thought it wouldve been alright, y'know? I didn't think I'd end up stationed so- so far away... and..."

"Don't cry."

"I'm not crying, stupid!" Sniff. She very unsubtley wipes her face into her arm. "I'm just-- I'm just overwhelmed..."

She knows Neo isn't... The most empathetic of individuals. Which is why its so God damn embarrassing to be all welled up infront of him. Her bottom lip trembles, but she sighs again, a little shaky, however she begins to regain her composure.

"I'll... I'll start boxing up all my stuff in the morning." She mumbles out.

Neo's head tilts to one side. "I can help you with moving."

"Please. Its not like I can get a moving van all the way out here."

Neo lets out an amused hum. He makes a motion for her to come closer, turning himself towards the screen once again. Mint hesitates, but she does eventually begin to drag her feet over towards the robot...

"Don't get upset about this. This is your career; our... Affiliation put that on the line, as it was." Neo begins. She knows 'affiliation' does actually mean 'friendship', but she doesn't bother correcting him. "Its not as if you will not see me again."

Mint pauses to think about that for a second, her head lifting from how its hung like a sad puppy. But he continues.

"You will always know where to find me. Just make sure you don't get into any trouble."

She manages a small laugh at that. "W- When do I ever get into trouble?"

"Always. All the time. Constantly, actually." ... As condescending as he was, he did have a sense of humour.

"...I'll miss you, Neo."

There was another break of silence. But Neo eventually shrugs. "Your... Lack of presence here will not go unnoticed."

It was going to be hard. Alone.

Grand Metropolis, present.

... One day, I'll see you again.

@neometalmadness

[towncalledkingdom]

The walnut in Merrick’s hand was crushed to dust before he realized what he’d done. He lifted the shattered pieces before his visor for a closer inspection before throwing them angrily to the ground, crunching the remains beneath a heavy boot. He stopped at the edge of a small clearing, squinting at the bright beam of direct sunlight boring down like some enormous laser pointer. His skin boiled beneath his heavy armor. Had it been a cooler day, however, Merrick would be boiling nevertheless.

The man approaching beneath the dazzling light set off alarms in Merrick’s head, moving his arm automatically to a heavy blunt object at his back. “The Weevil’s Head,” he’d named it. Mostly because it was, literally, the head of an enormous weevil. He didn’t wonder much about the science of that. He knew he wanted to hit things, and had been given just the weapon to do that with. Merrick’s fist curled instinctively, the other gripping hard at his weapon’s handle.

“I don’t want to fight you, son,” said the man as he passed from the light back into the forest shade. Cicadas cried out angrily from the trees. “I believe I know why you’re here, and I may be able to help you. But if you swing at me I promise it will not end well for you.”

Merrick did not move. “Berwald.“ He spat the name from his mouth. “Where is my father?”

Berwald eyed him coolly, hands clasped behind his back. “He is alive. Let’s talk somewhere more comfortable.”

“No. We’ll talk here,” Merrick snarled. Movement in the trees behind the defector Captain did little to ease the young man’s nerves. Rope ladders descended from high branches as men and women still wearing their uniforms climbed down to stand at attention behind their leader.

“We may no longer be Eleanor’s soldiers, boy, but that doesn’t make us your friends. You come here alone dressed for a fight and expect to leave with something? You’re at our mercy, not the other way around. You have no faction, you have no power. Come in. Sit down. Let’s talk.” Berwald stood relaxed and unarmed, eyes never leaving the dark space hiding Merrick’s eyes.

The armored boy’s face burned behind his helm. “Fine.”

Berwald motioned him forward, not bothering to step out of the way as Merrick approached and passed him. The defected Privateers parted as the pair passed through them toward a makeshift cabin beneath a towering tree trunk. A squat table had been arranged inside, two plates set with meat, garlic potatoes, and pints of water.

“I had a feeling you’d stop by,” said Berwald as he closed the door behind them. The two sat before the steaming plates. Merrick eyed his food suspiciously. He was starving and his skin crawled beneath pouring sweat. “I’m not going to poison you, son. And for God’s sake at least take your helmet off before you have a heat stroke.” The thought of hot food at this moment nearly made Merrick gag, but he was certainly hungry. He gave in and removed his helm, his hair now a soaking mess.

Berwald seated himself and took a long drink from his water. He considered Merrick for a long while before he spoke again. “Your father is alive,” he repeated. “Several of my people were escorting him to the Dungeon while your friend had me tied to a tree.”

“I don’t want to hear your story. I want to know how to get him back,” Merrick grunted. He shoveled a heap of potatoes into his mouth, holding them there for a moment as if checking for an unfamiliar flavor before swallowing them in a single gulp. “Where, exactly, is he and how, exactly, do I bring him out?”

The Captain clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes. He pointed a slow finger at the armored boy. “You don’t get to make demands.”

The cabin door burst open and a middle-aged woman in a crisp grey uniform careened through it. “S-sir there’s trouble!”

Berwald was already on his feet, “Eleanor? The fanatics? Report, private!”

“N-neither, sir!” she stammered. “A mob is approaching through the trees to the East! Scouts said they saw Kestrel and Mako leading them.”

“Phylla?” Berwald puzzled. “I thought Mantis had them under control.”

“It seems you were wrong, sir.”

Berwald’s gaze bored into Merrick’s. “I’m going to trust you not to surprise me out there, son. Truthfully I don’t know what’s going on, but I would assume the boiling pot has finally tipped for Phylla. They never liked Mantis or any of Eleanor’s screwed-up family. I’ll give you a pass until you swing at me. You do that and you’ve made your choice. A stupid choice, but it’s yours to make.”

“Shut up, old man,” Merrick scoffed. “Let’s go hit some people.”

As they emerged from the makeshift cabin, Merrick surveyed the area closely for the first time. Above him, so high into the canopy he had to crane his neck, a network of rope bridges connected dozens of circular tree huts. Long rope ladders were being dropped from them left and right, making way for people in Privateer uniform to join them on the forest floor. Their feet hit the ground in a steady rhythm as the fell into formation behind their Captain. Berwald’s hands were clasped once again behind his back as he pulled his troops to him like a magnet to metal shavings.

In contrast to the synchronized bootfalls of the ex-Privateers came the soft, uneven pounding of running feet. Flashes of light tunics slid between the distant trees. The mob moved like a flood- some charging directly forward while others crept along at the fringes of Merrick’s vision. Two men easily outdistanced the rest of the fighters, one shooting forward so fast and light it seemed his legs weren’t even hitting the ground, the other shoving powerfully toward them in a loose, curving line.

"Darts at the ready!” called Berwald. “Only release on my word!” The two men leading the charge- Merrick assumed they were Mako and Kestrel- stopped abruptly at the edge of the clearing in the same space Merrick had been standing less than an hour before. Berwald’s hands remained firmly at his back as he took three steps toward them.

“I am not thrilled with a mob rushing our base without warning. Speak your business if you want to settle this civilly.” The Phylla fighters began filling the edges of the clearing like oil on water. Berwald’s squad stood in smart formation behind him, arms confidently at their tranquilizers.

One of the men lowered his head and flashed a deep grin, revealing narrow gaps between each tooth. Merrick knew it was Mako before he spoke. “Who wants to be civil?” asked Mako. Beside him his companion sifted through the soldiers, meeting each gaze in turn as if evaluating them for weakness. “You’ll remember it was your people who stabbed Caracal and whisked her body mysteriously away before anyone could actually see it. But please,” he stretched the word out along his tongue, “tell me more about Privateer civility.”

“We are no longer under Eleanor. We defected soon after the events at the King’s Council.” Berwald’s face grew uncharacteristically red.

“I see. So it wasn’t YOU and your people that shot all the Council members during the confusion? And it certainly couldn’t have been you at the front of a Privateer squad shouting 'for the Warden!' that day, could it?"

"Mako," Berwald cut in, "you have to listen to me now. The people you see are not your enemies until you make them so. We have decided to resist the Warden, and that makes us allies."

"You should have thought of that before declaring war on a hornet's nest like Phylla." smiled Mako.

Kestrel spoke for the first time. "And what, exactly, are you, little knight?" he called to Merrick, who had been standing at the head of the defector army just behind the Captain.

Merrick pulled Weevil's Head from its strap and bounced it in a hand. "I'm the man who's going to give you a real headache if you don't let me get back to what I was doing."

Kestrel took a long look at Merrick's weapon and began to laugh. "Is that- are you carrying one of HIS weapons? That disgraceful dropout couldn't do something right if he knew how!"

Merrick raised his eyebrows, remembering all of the items he had broken with Weevil's Head as he trekked through Kingdom. He had to disagree with the mocking Kestrel. It would do the job just fine. He glanced at Berwald and gave him a nod. The man returned a slight, sad smile.

"Captain Berwald," boomed Mako loud enough for both of the gathered crowds to hear, "seeing as there is no acting Council, Phylla stands accusing you of crimes against our leader and our people. We have determined you and all who wear the Privateer colors to be guilty and our enemies. Drop your weapons and come peacefully, or we will use be forced to resort to unpleasant means."

Berwald raised a fist in the air. Tranquilizers raised in unison. "You have no power to judge me and no right to attack my soldiers. Where is your acting Alpha? Where is Mantis?"

Mako and Kestrel exchanged a sly glance. Kestrel spoke. "As of this morning the Six Houses no longer recognize Mantis, defected Privateers, or any of Eleanor's compatriots as our own. They have been found guilty of conspiring against our Alpha and have made themselves our enemies."

"And such is the way of every war," sighed Berwald, "the commoner dies at the whim of the ignorant bastard."

"Lay down your weapons and come peacefully," demanded Kestrel, hands cupped over his mouth like a megaphone. Berwald rolled his eyes, drew his tranquilizer from his back and fired two shots directly into Mako and Kestrel in a single practiced motion.

In the seconds of confusion before the forest exploded Berwald turned to Merrick. "Son?" he called as the men's faces roiled in shock and outrage. "Hit anything without a uniform."

[sagethewriter90-blog]

Firestorm

    A five foot five female teen with a shaved head was running through a dense forest, the tree's branches intertwined with each other blocking any light from entering as the branches of the bushes swatted across her ankles leaving welts behind. She wore a hospital gown a smudged plastic wristband on her left wrist and a pair of  handcuffs were on her right.            She entered a field of tall grass that surrounded a very tall and wide tree, she walked over to it and sat down at its' base breathing heavily with beads of sweat falling from her brow. Just then the sound of rapid footfalls and overlapping voices was heard which caused the girl to lie flat on the ground concealing herself amidst the long stalks, she peeked between the grass and could barely make out the identities of sixty men who entered the clearing from the forest.           Each carried a loaded Taurus Model sixty-six point 357 Magnum Revolver tucked inside the waistband of their pants. Each man was of different ethnicities, ages, and shape and each man was clad in sky blue scrubs from head to toe. A lone man who had magenta eyes took a walkie out of the pockets of his pants he pressed the call button and spoke into the device. "Target spotted we have the girl surrounded what are your orders? Over," said the man the radio produce  a loud clicking sound before a low feminine responded, "Excellent capture her alive my ETA will be six minutes. Out."   The radio cut out and the man tossed the radio to the side where broke it in two as it hit the ground. The magenta man rose his hand up pointed toward the tree and yelled out, "Men advance!" Just then sixty more sky blue scrub clad men entered the clearing and joined the others as they started to move slowly toward the tree.The Girl started to whimper and whine loudly causing the group of one hundred and twenty men to stop in there advance, one of the men whose face was covered with long jagged scars scoffed with indignation and fired all six shots of his gun at the base of the tree silencing the cries.   The magenta eyed man grabbed the man's shoulder and turned him around, "What the hell!," the man yelled the scarred man snorted with a shrug of his shoulders, "Her whines were annoying me so I eliminated the annoyance.," he said in a matter of fact way the magenta eyed man took in a deep breath and let it out slowly just then very bright headlights casted the men's shadows against the woods.   The headlights belong to a rusty blue pickup truck that pulled up and stopped at the edge of the grass field. The truck's driver side door creaked opened and a seven foot tall shadowy feminine figure exited out of the truck. The woman features was covered in shadows the only thing visible was a pair of emerald green eyes,she had long bony fingers, she stood by the truck and she started to sniff the air. "Who fired their weapon?," she asked in a cheerfully deadpanned tone.   The men stepped aside leaving the scarred man to stare up into the tall woman's eyes. She stepped in front of the truck the headlights causing her shadow to loom over the area. She stared at the man her eyes smiling as she crossed her arms, "I'm sorry mistress it was crying and I shot at it to silence it that's the truth.," the man cried falling to his knees with his head touching the ground. The woman started to chuckle and the man lifted his head up smiling at her, his eyes went wide as a long shadowy tendril entered his chest.          Suddenly the man's body started to rapidly decomposed until nothing but a lifeless husk remained, the tendril then dispersed the man's body fell to the ground and immediately turned to dust. The woman looked at the rest of the men and pointed a bony digit toward the tree, "Recover the test and I swear if she is damaged I'll rip out your spines through your anuses now march.," she said.     The men quickly rushed towards the tree once they reached the tree they found six bullets lodged into the tree and no sign of the girl. A low growl caused the magenta eyed man to look up into the tree and two glowing rainbow colored eyes were staring back at him, instinctively the man reached for his weapon the eyes widened and in a blink of an eye the men, tree, and grass were incinerated to nothing by rainbow flames.     The flames died down a full moon glowed above its' beams revealing a smoky and ember filled area. In the middle of the ashen field was a six foot seven black furred black maned creature that was hunched over breathing heavily. The tall woman who also survived the attack started to clap slowly with smoke wafting from her body, "That...was...awesome! Just an excellent show.," the woman said walking closer and closer to the creature.      The tall woman stood behind the creature with a smiling with her eyes. The creature looked back at the woman in fear the woman smiled and said., "Don't look at me like that. I'm your friend I'm here to take you back home."  She reached out a bony hand, the creatures stared at the appendage with apprehension. A few seconds later two long black Caracal ears appeared in the mane.     The woman let out a long squeal just then the creature fell to the ground convulsing as a long black fur tail sprouted from its back, the creature stood up and looked over its lean cat like body and said "Wh...What the hell happened to me."  The woman clapped her hands in excitement "Yes it works, my serum works I've just created the world's first animal girl.," said the woman she placed her hand near her chest and a syringe full of dark yellow liquid.    "Well, Franny it's nighty night time.," the woman said lunging at her. Franny jumped back and got on all fours growling at her smoke started to slowly rise from her fur. The woman tossed the vial away and held out her right hand the shadows covering her body went toward her hand revealing a pale skinned lady with long luxurious hair and she had a tiny scar on her left cheek. In her hand she wielded a black short handle scythe. "See I tried to be nice and give you a sedative, so I could harvest your DNA without harming you. But now you gonna feel every piece of this.," she said with anger.      She tossed the scythe at Franny whose body then exploded in flames turning the blade into dust. The woman smirked, " This is truly outstanding. You are gaining control of your powers as we stand here.," the woman said she stood in a boxing stance and vanished. Franny looked around frantically trying to spot her; just then the woman's hands came from under the ground and pulled Franny into the ground to her neck.     A few hundred yard away the ground split apart spewing smoke and molten rock. Out of   the chasm four long white appendages about the size of two hundred football fields exploded out of it. The arms pushed up and the woman who was seven ft grew to over ninety feet and had four white arms on her back. The woman jumped ten feet up and the arms on her back started to rapidly spin causing her to hover off the ground.         Like a flash, white flames jetted out from her feet rocketing her towards Franny who was struggling in the hole. The woman landed, the arms on her back started to cover her entire body leaving nothing but her eyes and it gave her a four giant pointy horns on her head. The woman looked down at Franny as she struggled, " WELL I WOULD SAY THIS WAS FUN BUT I WOULD BE LYING. BUT I WON'T LET AN UPPITY EXPERIMENT STOP ME FROM CREATING A NEW RACE.," she said in a booming voice but with the same cheerful tone.        She jumped high into the air kicking up dust causing Franny to cough uncontrollably.  When the woman stopped she was in space hovering just above the planet, the horns on her head started to split up and cover her entire body in spikes. She then plummeted back to Earth going fast enough to break the sound barrier.         She landed on the ground with a giant explosion knocking over all the trees in the forest. The sounds of waves crashing against a shore was heard as a seagull flew overhead, at that moment the giant woman let out a yell of pain long streams of black blood dripped down her cheek. She placed her hand on her cheek she looked at the palm of her hand with a confused look. She let out a blood curdling scream as both of her achilles tendons were sliced.      She fell to the ground surrounded by a large puddle of blood as Franny sauntered closer to her licking the back of her left hand (which now sported twelve inch long rainbow colored claws) and rubbed it across a white wolf muzzle, with a flick of her wrist drops of blood landed in the pool on the ground. The woman stared at Franny with appreciation in her eyes.     The woman closed her fist and rose her arm high into the air she dropped her fist toward Franny. Franny vanished from sight and appeared in front of the woman the claws on her hand ignited in multi colored flames, she then vanished again and appeared standing behind her. The woman's eyes went black and her head  fell backwards and it landed on the ground with a thud creating a crater below it, as her body disintegrated to dust.    Franny jumped down into the crater and stared at the beheaded head, the eyes then glowed a dull green. The head started to cough loudly., "I'm still pretty peeved that you did this to me but, I can't help but be proud that a creation of mine is such a huge success. You did well Franny.," said, the woman. Franny scoffed and placed a clawed hand on the woman's head, "My name is Francine Ire.," she said as rainbow flames covered the head rendering it to nothing. Francine looked up into the night sky and she let out a powerful roar.           Francine's eyes rolled in the back of her head as she fell back and reverted to her normal self wearing nothing. A few hours later Francine awoke in a barn lying on top of a makeshift pallet made from cowhide and hay. Her body was covered with a long white silk robe that had a swirl design on it. Francine stood up from the cot looking around in the corner of the shed a black plastic tarp covered up something in the corner and the windows were boarded up. Just then the doors swung opened and a tall and bald disheveled man who had red scabbard attached to his waist from a yellow sash, who looked to be about fifty years of age entered.      The man's sudden appearance caused the young girl to drop down on all fours and her eyes flashed multi colored. The man put his hands up,"Whoa there stand up and calm it down I am only here to talk not fight.," said the man. The man placed the scabbard on the ground and sat down in front of her.     Francine looked at him warily before sat on her haunches her eyes turned back to normal. The man smirked, "Good, now my name is Tranks. What's your name," Tranks asked he held out his hand in a shaking position Francine slowly inched closer examining the outstretched appendage closely. After a few minutes Francine shook his hand, "My name is Francine."    Tranks smiled and he and Francine stood up, "Now Francine I am not the woman you fought but she is not the only thing that is doing experiments on children. But if you swear to help me save others such as yourself we can liberate them so what do you say." Francine looked at him and transformed into her animal girl form and nodded her head, "Let's do it.," said Francine.