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Post by 'Ace' Julia Dale on Jun 24, 2012 7:51:54 GMT -8
Ace walked into the forest from the outskirts of the academy, walking calmly through the foliage. The air was very refreshing here, the lighting darkened as she became more and more sheltered by the many overhanging trees. Even though the forest was man-made, nature did have a way of claiming the place for it's own. Despite the particular wildlife being imported from elsewhere, it seemed to thrive, taking over the earth in it's little space. The trees twisted and gnarled, growing tall with leaves shaking and falling, fruit ripening, saplings rising. The ground was a mess of fallen leaves and sparse grass which grew on whatever sunlight made it through the cover.
"Nice place isn't it?" She called to Rust who had followed her in. The calls of the forest meant that she had to speak slightly louder in order for him to hear her. They had only taken a few steps into the place but already the sounds of different animals and the chirps and caws of various birds meant that it was a little more difficult to make out what other people might be saying.
She placed her hand on a tree as she was walking through the forest, as though to make sure she wouldn't trip over a risen root or something like that. She carefully placed her steps, bounding from one stepping area to another. The girl was reminiscent of a child playing in her backyard.
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Post by JDGreat on Jun 24, 2012 13:57:25 GMT -8
Rust had quickly headed back to drop his things at the Academy before jogging quite fast to meet up with Ace again. He figured that leaving the stuff at the nearby secretary office would be FAR easier than lugging his entire ensemble around a dense forest.
"Damn right it's a nice place..." he muttered as he re-entered. "Just look at it. Compared to the concrete jungle that Britain is, it's an Eden..."
Brushing a tree with his hand, he grinned a little at the texture, before shaking his head and finally catching up fully with Ace, following her example and watching for the tree roots.
"Man Ace, you really know the best spots here. This is freaking awesome."
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Post by 'Ace' Julia Dale on Jun 25, 2012 12:10:57 GMT -8
"Damn right it's a nice place." She said, grinning out the side of her mouth as usual. She barely even noticed him running off and coming back. He hadn't said anything about it so worse comes to worse and Ace would just figure he had better things to do. Not a real issue.
"Britain? God, why are there so many Limeys around lately? Did Solstice just deliver like a truck of them or something? No offense." She said, only adding that after realizing how racist she was being.
He really should have been touched at her saying as much. It was a rare thing that she realized and gave any form of apology for her being rude. It was a moment in history indeed.
"I don't know if it's the best, but it is pretty cool..." She said.
Just after saying so, she took an intake of gasp, "Hey-" She said in a hushed voice, pointing towards the dense coverage of the forest. "Look.... It's one of those lizard things I was talking about. A leat-" She pointed to the creature in the distance. It looked like it was picking little sticks off the ground, and turned to look at them. It squaked, looked over it's shoulder, then ran deeper into the forest. Ace could make out it's tracks until the distance turned black with the foliage.
She grinned from ear to ear, "Let's follow it." She urged.
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Post by JDGreat on Jun 25, 2012 13:44:22 GMT -8
"None taken. And if there are any other Brits around, I ain't met 'em yet. Or I have and I've horribly misjudged their accent." Rust replied, keeping up with the girl. "Y'know, it's just my luck that. I've probably met all of them already and not realised it."
Grinning slightly, he ducked a low hanging branch before it knocked him out. "And don't sell yourself short. I'm enjoying myself, aren't I? Jeez, no one can take a compliment without getting all self conscious these days..." Rust muttered, before being held up by Ace's gasp. Listening to her explanation, he raised an eyebrow.
"It looks like God tried to play Will It Blend? with the local sushi bar..." he commented. "It is a WEIRD little critter, you got that right."
Then, the mechanic shrugged.
"Sure, follow the mutant fishie back to it's home. No way in hell that can go wrong, right?"
Nevertheless, he began to walk out, following the slight tracks it made. It was fairly easy to follow but he moved slowly regardless.
"Makes you wonder why these aren't discovered yet. Something like this would have been all over the news back home. Or at least in a sci fi movie."
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Post by 'Ace' Julia Dale on Jun 26, 2012 3:10:28 GMT -8
Ace shrugged, "I misjudge accents all the time, it wouldn't be anything to be ashamed about." She said with a smirk. She didn't even pay attention to his comment about taking complements.
"Yeah it is pretty weird alright..." She said with a small grin, already starting to follow it's tracks. "Not at all, It'll be fine, My power's got us covered, it'll be fine." She assured him, repeating herself.
The forest got darker the further they went into it. "I don't know, I guess it's the whole thing about the fact that we're in the middle of the bermuda triangle or something? Hell, aren't there like billions of species no one has bothered looking into in forests and shit about the place? I'm pretty sure it's something like that." She said conversationally, turning her head towards him to say as much.
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Post by JDGreat on Jun 26, 2012 7:06:00 GMT -8
"Hehe, well, I'll trust you on that score. You've got a gun at any rate, so that's...something I guess."
Rust shrugged. Guns weren't exactly common back in Britain, due to legislation issues. It was more knives and mugging rather than gun crime. Ace's gun had been the first one he'd ever seen in person and as long as it wasn't pointed at him, he didn't have a problem.
As the forest got darker and darker, Rust nodded at Ace.
"Yeah, you have a point. Still, it's kinda cool that only the people on this island know about them. Makes me feel like some kind of special group." he chuckled. "Hold up, by the way."
He shook his arm out and The Astral Arm appeared above it, a blue glow shining out from it.
"Allows us to see a bit better. Don't wanna test your luck power too much and end up with you twisting your ankle or something. That'd be cliche."
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Post by 'Ace' Julia Dale on Jun 27, 2012 3:15:24 GMT -8
"Heh, see? No problem at all." She told him about having a gun. "And that's a big something as well, you'd be surprised how many animals know what a gunshot is." She said in a voice that insinuated that she wasn't.
About him saying that he was part of some special group, Ace laughed for a moment, "Well, dude, the fact that you're here means you ARE in a special group... I mean, people can only be here if they've got what we got... Honestly, I'm still not entirely sure what that actually is... I think it's probably some kind of extra gene or something." She shrugged.
On his call, she held herself back for a few moments, watching as his astral arm lit up the area about them in a blue hued light. "Huh, that is a very nifty gift you got there." She said with a small smirk.
"Me, twisting my ankle? Dude," She patted the side of her leg, "These things are made of steel. I'm not planning on becoming a 'damsel in distress' thanks." She said with a raised eyebrow, turning away from him and looking back to the ground, to continue following the leat trail.
"I think they like to nest near little ponds and stuff, like frogs." She told him.
[/justify]
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Post by JDGreat on Jun 27, 2012 3:42:58 GMT -8
"Hehe, atta girl." Rust grinned back at her confident demeanour. "I mean, I was about to say you don't strike me as that type at all. Could be worse though. Could be me twisting my ankle and you having to carry me bridal style home. Or...the more likely option, you leave me here to rot while you carry on your merry way."
Ace was good fun to be around, the mechanic decided. She could take a joke and come right back whilst not afraid to state her own opinions. He still didn't hav a last name...and her first name probably wasn't Ace either, but it was a cool nickname, so he'd humour her for now. After all, to suddenly say "What's your real name?" would get you kicked out of a friendship as quickly as it would if you were chatting on Omegle.
He nodded at her little description.
"Would make sense. They're a mishmash of sushi after all." he agreed, leading and lighting the way, AA held aloft whilst his regular arms stayed in his pockets. "And knowing your luck, I'd reckon said pond will be right behind this next bit of underbrush."
Taking his right arm out, he gestured and the AA moved as fast as a whip, shooting towards the tangle of vines and sweeping them away with a slash. Rust grinned as the arm returned to it's default state.
"Bingo."
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Post by 'Ace' Julia Dale on Jun 27, 2012 3:53:34 GMT -8
Ace shrugged, "Kid, it depends on the situation. I'll be honest with you, if we were attacked by a bear or something, I'll probably leave you. But I'm not a total bitch, I'd take you if possible. Besides, I'm pretty sure they keep record of students shit around here. How would it look on my record?" She asked with a half-grin.
She thought it was hilarious that she was actually considering what her record would look like. What kind of a prat was she turning into she wondered.
"Though if i were to carry you, it probably wouldn't be bridal style, dude. that's Cliche." She informed him, joking, "I'd say dragging you through the dirt is more likely."
She laughed at him talking about her luck. "Well, don't you know how to play the fucking fiddle." She said surprised and with a hint of praise. "You're learning."
There beyond the underbrush was the leat's pond. Ace stepped through first, watching the leats all play in the water, a few of them looking almost like they were building something. Ace thought it was kind of like birds nests.
"Check this out," She whispered over to Rust. They continued to play for a little while, some just splashing about in the water, or chasing bugs...
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Post by JDGreat on Jun 27, 2012 4:22:32 GMT -8
Rust grumbled a bit at her name for him.
Don't call me kid. I'd bet dollars to donuts I'm the same age or older...
Still, he shrugged it off. Wasn't a biggie, after all.
"I'd bet it'd look pretty damn incriminating, that's for sure." he offered a half hearted reply, not really thinking of a good enough comeback just then. Still, wandering behind her into the clearing, he couldn't help but whistle again. "Man...full of surprises here. It actually existed."
Bending down to have a closer look at the leats, he smiled slightly as they got to work.
"Hehe, they're kinda cool actually." he noted. "I wonder what it is they're building? Homes or something?"
He blinked twice.
"Look at me, a day in and already I'm talking like David Attenborough. Next thing you know I'll be doing soft soothing voice overs on a reel of film that shows a flower growing in fast motion."
Shaking his head, he considered dismissing the arm, but shrugged and went against it. It gave them some light, right? And they'd need it on the way out.
He didn't notice the water ripple slightly.
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Post by 'Ace' Julia Dale on Jun 27, 2012 4:41:39 GMT -8
"Of course it existed, do you really think I'd just say shit to hear my own voice?" yes. "As for what they're building, I'm honestly not sure. I mean, they look like nests or something, maybe they're preparing for families? I honestly don't know..."
She watched curiously as they scampered around, picking up sticks and hauling mud to build their little places. "Who'd David Attenborough?" Ace asked sincerely, obviously never spending the time to watch nature programmes. She gave him a look when he started talking about speaking to flowers. The look pretty much said 'what the hell are you on?'
The leats looked up at them and their human-like eyes grew wide, before they turned and scampered away, leaving their sticks and mud and construction sites behind. Ace furrowed her eyebrows with a bit of concern. "Did we frighten them?"
Ace's eyes then flickered over to the water. "Hey look, Rust, you see that? ... The water's rippling, like an earthquake's starting or something... do you feel the ground shake?" She bent her knees, just in case something like that started...
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Post by JDGreat on Jun 27, 2012 4:48:10 GMT -8
"Hmm?" Popping his head up at the first question, Rust just looked at the water himself, noting the various leats running their tails off to get away. "Ah shoot, might have been me bending down. Sorry about that..."
But then he felt the same rumble Ace did and stood back up.
"Yeah... That would make sense. We are near a tectonic plate line after all..." he muttered, backing up and staying by Ace's side. He still looked at the water rumbling. "We better get moving. Do not want to be caught in an earthquake in a forest."
A low growl was then heard and Rust then felt something slippery on his shoulder. He froze.
"Ace..." he started slowly. "Please tell me you've developed a sudden attraction to me and that's you drooling on my shoulder right now?...Please?"
Gulping, Rust turned around.
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Post by 'Ace' Julia Dale on Jun 27, 2012 5:14:37 GMT -8
Ace snickered, "You wouldn't be so lucky." She said easily. Then she stood up as well, hearing his words about not wanting to be caught in an earthquake out here. She turned around quickly on her heels and her eyes grew wide.
"Uh... Actually, you're totally lucky and I take it back. You're luck, is like, a tidal wave that washes over everything around you and I think you'd better walk very sloowly over here." She said, barely above a whisper and as fast as she could manage.
She hesitantly reached into her bag for her gun, the zipper of the bag being far too loud for comfort as she stared at it.
The creature was about 12 feet tall, entirely aqua coloured with a slick oily finish. It's body was like that of a shark, but it's teeth were like an angler, much longer and pointier than a shark's tooth had any right to be. It's eyes as well weren't very sharklike, large and moveable like an iguana, blinking sideways. Also, Ace noticed while she slowly pulled out her gun that it had a number of legs. Legs that Ace didn't particularly enjoy looking at.
She didn't notice that as she pulled out her pistol, that necklace of gold and ruby came out with it into Ace's hand. The shark-like thing's iguana eyes turned to look at her gun, or the necklace, or Ace. She wasn't entirely sure. She gritted her teeth.
"Rust... " She turned the safety off, glancing to check bullets remained in the weapon. "I'm not in the mood to carry or drag you... So try not to get hurt."
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Post by JDGreat on Jun 27, 2012 5:23:21 GMT -8
Seeing the creature right up close, Rust stayed stock still, trying not to draw it's attention. He just nodded very slowly and got prepared to get to Ace any way he could, even if it took one step at a time.
"I'll do my best..." he muttered, then blinked as the creature got distracted.
....Fuck it, let's do this.
WHAM!
Swinging round in an arc, doubling in size as it did so, the Astral Arm slammed into the side of the beast's jaw with superpowered strength, hopefully bowling the creature over. With this "distraction" played, Rust dashed back to get back to Ace.
"Goddamn it, we can't run back through that foliage, we'll break our necks!" he cursed, turning round to look at the monster again, gritting his teeth. "I thought you said you had power over luck?! How the hell is this lucky?!"
Shaking his head to clear away the arguments in his mind, he shot Ace a quick apology and looked again at the creature.
"What the HELL is it?!" he wondered aloud, watching as it recovered from his blow.
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Post by 'Ace' Julia Dale on Jun 27, 2012 5:33:19 GMT -8
Everything was fine, everything was going fine until Rust decided that he would just take it down. Ace watched as the astral arm doubled and whammied into the creature, making it roar out a sound that put shivers down Ace's back. It was a freaking nightmare of a beast.
Whenever Rust had gotten out of the way, Ace didn't hesitate for a second to pull the trigger on the monster. She didn't care if it was endangered or whatever, she didn't like it and would let it know. The sound of the gunshot rang loud and left a ringing sensation in Ace's ears, bringing back memories she wasn't in the mood to think about.
"YEAH I HAVE FUCKING POWERS BUT PROBABILITY ISN'T CERTAINTY JACKASS." She shouted at him. Whereas he seemed to think that a situation like this was when you leave arguing for another time, Ace felt a rush of adrenalin at firing the shot and felt like letting her emotions out. She soon readied herself for another one.
Somehow she knew that one shot wouldn't bring the fucker down, so she waited until it stood up again on those legs of its... "MOTHER FUCKER" She said, positioning her gun. Just before she pressed the trigger though, the necklace in her hand caught the light and seemed to enrage the creature, who seemed to think it was time for some payback.
"COME AT ME!" She screamed at it, heart pumping, face stuck in a deep scowl of anger. The beast crawled towards the two of them, but Rust's astral arm seemed to draw it closer to him instead, it let out a echoing roar, preparing to bite with it's massive jaw. "HIT IT RUST, HIT IT, THAT MOTHER--"
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Post by JDGreat on Jun 27, 2012 5:53:05 GMT -8
Rust was already backing up as fast as he could.
"CRAP CRAP CRAP!" he yelled, trying to get enough space to wind up for another punch, but the creature lumbered towards him, jaws wide and ready to chomp into the Brit. Thinking quickly, he let the arm fade away for a moment, just enought to get some room and slow the creature slightly. Then, in all defiance of logic, he rushed towards the best and re-summoned the AA, slamming upwards into it's jaw. Keeping it going, he grabbed the creature's snout as he followed through the uppercut and reversed it's direction, using the clawed ghostly hand to slam the beast's head into the floor with a CRACK.
"That all you got?! DOWN THE HELL YOU GO!" he taunted the sharguana (shark iguana), dashing off again to get some more room as the creature was bound to recover. "Hey, big guy! You like the glowy arm? Come and get it!"
Said Astral Arm was holding a middle finger raised at the beast.
"Ace I'll distract it as much as I can! Go for it's eyes!"
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Post by 'Ace' Julia Dale on Jun 27, 2012 7:00:12 GMT -8
"Probability of a shot through the left pupil.. 85... 90 percent" She said, almost trance like as she was focusing. She pressed the trigger aiming at said area. A burst of ooze came after the bang, drooling down the creatures face as it lay on the ground after Rust's blow. It's cry was of pain, but it tried to stagger to a stand.
Ace's nostrils flared and her vision felt a off by she squinted at the beast. The smell in the air was foul. Blood and ooze pooled around the creature's feet, and it bit at the air in vain as though to defend itself, but it wasn't close enough to actually hit anything.
She snarled, walking now to where Rust was to see it's other eye. The creature was now obviously in agony. She looking into it's other eye and it blinked at her in it's reptilian way. "Fuck you." She said to it, "Right eye hit, 93 percent." before shooting for it's other eye at a close range.
It was still breathing, so Ace backed away from it then. "Well I'm pretty sure, " She said to Rust, her voice a bit hoarse, "If we don't put it out of it's misery, bad things will happen..."
The blinded creature was crying out now, as though for help or assistance. A terrible thought crossed Ace's mind. "... What if it's a cub?" She turned to Rust with eyes wide.
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Post by JDGreat on Jun 27, 2012 13:13:55 GMT -8
Rust was already starting to briskly walk towards the creature, advancing ever since Ace shot it's eyes out. The Astral Arm lashed out and grabbed hold of the thing's tail. With a spin and a yell, the arm grew again, dragging the sharguana across the clearing and throwing it into the pool, where it thrashed about some more, in pain.
"That'll stop it's mom finding the scent for a while then." he explained, sweating with exertion as he rubbed his forehead. He'd never used the Arm to punch as hard as he did then, nor as quickly and in such a short amount of time. He hadn't had time to prepare himself so there was a bit of mental backlash. Still, he kept it lit, illuminating the way back.
"We better get hurrying back though. Just in case the entire family starts to show. Are you hurt at all?" he asked, genuine concern in his eyes.
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Post by 'Ace' Julia Dale on Jun 27, 2012 14:18:48 GMT -8
Ace's eyes darted about to watch the Astral Arm lash out and grag the sharguana into the pool. He talked about disguising it's scent, which made sense to Ace. Despite everything though she felt her eyes turning back to the creature crying out in pain, "Shouldn't we silence it?" She wondered. "I mean, are we just gonna leave it to bleed out?" She wondered, hesitating when he asked her to walk away.
She then found herself wondering inwardly what Will would have done. She snarled for a moment and turned away from it. "You're right though... We do need to hurry back." She didn't answer his question for a moment, the sounds of the gunshots still ringing in her ears.
"I'm fine, let's go." She said solemnly, not meaning to sound quite so cold. "What about you?" She tried to lighten the mood a bit, and found herself grinning, "So will I be carrying you back or what?"
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Post by JDGreat on Jun 27, 2012 15:47:48 GMT -8
Rust blinked.
Bloody hell, she got deadly serious there for a moment. I mean, I know it's a serious thing but...we couldn't have done anything for it...hell, dunno if it even has vitals so we might be doing to even more arm. But we need to go.
"I'll live." he muttered seriously, rubbing his head and ignoring her joke a little. "Just a slight headache. Bit of backlash."
Making his way back towards the entrance to the pond area, Rust held it open for Ace as he kept the Arm summoned, watching the sharguana with a fixed glare.
"You first, Ace. Let's hope your luck power can get us out of here quick before Tiny over there decides it can try to find us without eyes..." the teen said quite calmly.
Inside however...
OHGODOHGODOHGODOHGOD! WHATTHEHELLWASTHAT?! WHYTHEHELLDOESITEXIST?! WEWILLBESODEADIFACEISRIGHTHERE!
Still, on the outside, he looked fine.
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Post by 'Ace' Julia Dale on Jun 28, 2012 4:50:17 GMT -8
Ace let out a shaky sigh, and jumped through the bush that was held open for her. "I hope so too." She said honestly. The sounds of the birds in the forest that were there before seemed to have been replaced by that distance moaning from the beast in the pond. It was as though the birds were watching, waiting, listening to it's cries. It put shivers down her spine.
She didn't know what it was, but she wasn't sure she wanted to. She thought as well of questioning Rust or at least wondering aloud why the hell that thing was on the property of a school, and where the hell it came from. She realized she was still holding her gun in her hand, clenching it tighetly. She didn't let go, but looking down on it she noticed finally the jewel.
A few distant thoughts entered her mind, of that old chamber with the spikes, that platform where she had found this. The way that creature's eyes had fixated on it, how it had made it angry. The way, in the chamber before, that strange creature of shadows had chased them out. An epiphany occurred to Ace.
As they wandered through the forest, heading down the way they had come quickly, Ace turned her head back to Rust, "You know," She began, "They say that Atlantis used to be here..." She shoved the necklace into her pocket, and allowed the air to rest for a moment. The sounds of the beast echoed towards them even at a distance, and Ace thought they might haunt her forever.
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Post by JDGreat on Jun 28, 2012 5:16:46 GMT -8
Rust just kept looking back over his shoulder, AA still summoned both as light and protection. It's not that he didn't trust Ace's marksmanship, it's just he had the best chance of distracting them with his arm if the family DID decide to show up.
Then Ace rattled off her fact, and instead of looking behind him, Rust turned to face her, skeptical.
"Ace, c'mon." he replied. "Atlantis? S'a kid's fairy tale. The whole island that sunk to the bottom of the sea thing."
Then again... a shark iguana spider thing was only in fairy tales too and you just full on punched one in the noggin.
The mechanic sighed for a moment, shaking his head before going back to looking over his shoulder. Stranger things had happened today.
"So...it sounds like you have a theory of some kind then." he spoke slowly and quietly as they hurried along. "Well, you reckon this thing was due to some Atlantean ancient genetics lab or something?"
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Post by 'Ace' Julia Dale on Jun 28, 2012 5:28:34 GMT -8
Ace nodded to him, "Yeah, it could have been a fairytale... But you know what? We're superhumans. Didn't it ever occur to you that we were once fairytales ourselves? Weird things are happening, Rust. You can't deny that..."
Ace continued on ahead for a moment, looking around her and listening about the place. She could see the way out now, that at the end of the path down a ways was sunlight.
"And I may have found a weird pyramid thing with an ancient arena, spikes, and dead bodies on Perdu... maybe." She added quickly. "The point of the matter is," She didn't want to rest on the previous point too long, "I do have a theory. I think that Atlantis didn't sink. It just evolved."
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Post by JDGreat on Jun 28, 2012 5:47:37 GMT -8
Rust slowly nodded.
"Weird things have been happening, Ace. But I've only been here less than a damn day. I'm going to need some context here if I'm to get any of this I think." he replied, keeping up the pace until the beast's cries faded a little. Making sure his bandanna was still tied around his neck, and as a little stress relief, the mechanic continued.
"May have? How do you "may have" found a dead pyramid?" he asked incredulously."You either do or don't, Ace, I doubt there's an inbetween stage at all. And...Atlantis evolved?"
That gave him a little pause.
"So you think that these islands are connected to Atlantis' disappearance then or something?"
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Post by 'Ace' Julia Dale on Jun 28, 2012 5:55:25 GMT -8
Ace let out a frustrated groan, "Look Rust, I don't fucking know anything. And yes, yes fine, we did find that pyramid thing, but it was all very complicated and I just want to have a cigarette!" She looked over to Rust for a moment, stressed.
"It's the only thing that would have any of this make any sense at all... that I can think of right now." She said quickly, obviously getting antsy and tired. Her fingers started twitching and noticing herself doing this, she moved to turn the safety on on her gun and pack it away. "Look... We're... We're nearly outside again..."
She started to scratch at her arms with her twitching fingers through her jacket. "You don't have any cigarettes though do you? I mean... You said you used to smoke... not even for back-up? Just in case?"
Her arms ached so she stopped scratching at her scars. "Look... I don't know Rust, what do you think? I know you just got here but you saw that shit too."
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