The Numberless

[SliceOfDog]

On Ryan's remark, he brushed down his headfur and patted down his shirt, then pushed him gently.
"I'll tell you as we walk. I was sticking around to try and... well, I was sticking around anyway, and that psycho tells me she has something to tell me, and it can't wait, or some bullshit. I can't believe I fell for it really. Then she just starts yelling for security. I don't know any more than that, but I know I want to get away from her before she finishes her plan. You got anywhere we can hide out?"

"We're all on a suicide mission, friend" said a lazy voice by Shade's feet, and there were general murmurs of agreement throughout the room.
"Cradle to grave" another said.
"It's almost paradoxical," Felis said, stroking his cheek sympathetically "that out there people say they've had a long day when they've suffered so much. In here we aim for one long day. We just... live, not worried by day and night, not worried by secrets and betrayal. In here, we have no cares, Shade. The outside world isn't there to hurt us any more" Another chorus of dreamy agreement.
"No more deadlines" a voice said
"No more pressure"
"No more dying relatives"
"No more cancer" the voice at Shade's feet hissed, then laughed.
"There is no more pain," Felis continued "because there is no one and nothing to hurt us. We are one, and we don't have a care in the world"
She pressed a pill into his hand, and brushed her lips against his ear.
"Free yourself" she whispered dreamily

[Husk]

The hulking, 6-foot-4, dark gray-scaled iguana made a sharp right turn into an alleyway while running at full-sprint and didn't stop even as he noticed the brick wall closing off the alley ahead of him. All suddenly seemed lost until he looked towards the top of the wall and saw the alley continued on beyond it, and that there was plenty of room to climb over it. A smirk began to cross his face.
"Don't stop. This'll be just like basic." he said aloud to no one in particular in his deep, gravely voice.
As he reached the wall, he lept forward, seized the top of it, and with not much effort heaved himself over the wall and into the alley on the other side. His black combat boots, carried to the ground by his nearly 260 pounds of muscle, landed on the concrete with an audible thud which was amplified by the walls on either side of him. Upon landing, he didn't hesitate but immediately sprinted for the end of the alley. Upon reaching it, he finally stopped, and bent over with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily as sweat dripped from his face.

"This ought to be (cough) fine," he said desperately trying to catch his breath. "I just need to catch my barrings and (cough) see how far I've been."
He began to look around for any discernible landmarks that he mind recognize.

After about half a minute, nothing seemed to give him any idea of where he was until he saw the building next to him.

"Sir Maximus"? (cough) Oh, that just makes it worse! I've been running for about 14 miles." He straightened him self up and immediately clutched at the stitch in his left side. "Oh, my sides! I need to sit down. (cough) Where's my canteen?"

He proceeded to undo the canteen from the belt on his left side, and sat down leaning against the wall of Sir Maximus' theater as he unscrewed the cap from his canteen.

[Daryn]

Ryan nods to Nowen slowly. "I'm not really sure where we can go to hide out. But I know that I'm on my way to meet someone I know." he gives Nowen a smile, "Just by looking at you I can tell you could probably use a bit of time away from here, and a good cup of coffee as well." he motions for Nowen to follow him, "Come on, let's get going, Prof's waiting."

[SliceOfDog]

Nowen nodded and followed, then slowed down, staring, moved close to Ryan and held out a hand, leaning in conspiratorially. He gestured over to the iguana near-by.

"Is that... is that a Security Forces guy? Shit, you don't think they're on to us do ya'?"

((Sorry for the short post, just wanted to get Husk included! XD))

[Daryn]

Ryan glances over in the direction Nowen indicated. He takes a quick note of the state of the Iguana, then shrugs. "If he is, he seems to be in a rather sorry state." he shrugs, then continues on, having to go past the Iguana before we can get to where we're going.

[Husk]

Noticing the two individuals starting to walk past him, Zig decides to throw caution to the wind and ask for a little help.

"You two wouldn't happen to know a good place is for me to hide out for couple of days, would ya?"

Zig finishes unscrewing the cap to his canteen and brings the nozzle to his mouth and up-ends it, but nothing comes out. "Damn. Empty." he says in slight frustration as he wipes the sweat from his brow.

[SliceOfDog]

Nowen eyed the stranger cautiously.

"No, I'm afraid we don't. Law abiding citizens have nothing to hide. And some friendly advice," he motioned Zig's clothing up and down "next time you want to try some snooping, I'd suggest getting out of the uniform first. Works better that way"

With that he turned to walk away.

[Daryn]

Ryan looks over at Nowen and manages to stifle a groan. He looks over to the Iguana. "Offhand, if you want to go into Maximus' theater you can probably lose yourself there. But as for me, I don't know any place to "hide out" off the top of my head." he then looks back to Nowen, "We need to get going, coffee is calling."

[Shade Leshyr]

Shade blinked, but it felt far from normal, every tiny millimeter of movement seemed to take more effort than it was worth. Nothing seemed all that important at this moment and Shade began to feel his eyelids droop and a giddy smile stole across his muzzle. A part deep inside of him was screaming a warning, knowing full well something was wrong, but Shade's senses were both dulled and sharpened at the same time. His heartbeat and breathing were loud in his ears and the soft repetition of the normally subtle sounds made him relax further as he took a deep breath, taking in the hypnotizing scent of the room. For a moment, he all but forgot about the pill, but then he looked down at his hand and regarded the pill with a soft, silly expression, "Free my mind huh?" he asked with a slurred tone, his tail swishing slowly back and forth.

Shade started bringing the pill toward his muzzle, but the warped sensations he felt made the whole motion seem to last years, but a part of Shade's mind was still running at top speed and this slow ascent gave that part plenty of time to wear away at the hazy defense that sought this everlasting peace. The hand hesitated as an internal debate began taking place. What was he doing? This was obviously some sort of drug, and a powerful one! Yet... looking at the people around him, seeing their indifference and peaceful expressions... why should he be denied such peace? Well, he had given his word that he would try to persuade the Numberless to help them. Maybe a drug would help him? How? Maybe... well some of the other dancers had danced while under the influence and they had been so free with their bodies. Yeah, that was the problem, he'd once told Paxlo that he wouldn't give anyone more than a nice, sensual dance, until he was sure...

Paxlo... he would know, but they weren't on talking terms right now... were they? Paxlo... Shade's heart gave an involuntary flutter. Paxlo had always been so nice... but he'd lied to Shade... Shade shook his head, bringing himself out of his dizzy thoughts and focused on the pill in his hand. This was his decision... yet he couldn't decide. Something was wrong, but he couldn't see what it was. One time wouldn't kill him... would it? Ahhh, it was taking too much thought. Nobody else here needed to think that much... why not? Another long, slow blink passed and the room began to take its toll. The hand came up and the pill fell into Shade's open mouth, but still he hesitated about swallowing...

[SliceOfDog]

All of a sudden there was a screech of tires and the sound of many engines. At the end of each street dark vans began to stream towards Maximus' theatre, and after them large trucks blocked the exits. Confusion took hold of those in the streets, and Nowen breathed "What the -", but when the vans stopped and uniformed soldiers exited them, guns in hands, the confusion turned to panic. Several people screamed, and there were loudly voiced protests from those who had never been on the receiving end of such aggression before. Nowen swore loudly and leapt to the floor, pulling the rifle from his back. Fortunately the soldiers had not seen him among the packed street.

"EVERYBODY ON THE FLOOR NOW!" screamed a helmet-less wolf captain, as his soldiers closed on the theatre entrance. More screams were heard as the visitors inside realised the situation, and figures appeared in the windows above looking down with horrified expressions. The soldiers on the ground floor noticed this with extreme agitation and some raised their rifles.

"BACK AWAY FROM THE WINDOWS AND GET ON THE FLOOR" the captain shouted. Most of the faces disappeared, but one particularly large individual continued to stare down with complete incomprehension. The captain saw him and continued to yell his commands, but the figure seemed not to hear a thing, simply staring with horror at the scene below.

Nowen couldn't help but glance up, and seemed shocked "Is that... Gibralti?"

As he spoke, the figure raised two shaking arms and took a step forward. His mouth and eyes were wide open. He stared straight down, and then jumped. His body landed with a crunch a dozen feet away from where Ryan, Nowen and Zig were located. Civilians in the street screamed, and even the remaining soldiers stopped for a moment to stare, but most were now inside and the ensuing chaos was easily audible.

In the smoky room, the screams punctuated the gentle music like a sudden immersion into cold water, shocking Shade fully awake again. However, none of the other denizens of the room seemed to notice. One, near the door, even chuckled.
"Sounds like things are getting pretty wild down there" he said dreamily.

[Husk]

"Holy s**t!!" Zig exclaimed as he saw the body hit the ground. It was at that moment that he finally realized that there were soldiers in the vicinity and it was a possibility that, despite, their primary objective, their secondary objective could be to apprehend him.

Not wanting to be arrested, He drew his handgun from the holster on his right hip. It was at this moment that he also noticed Nowen with his rifle drawn.

"This day just keeps getting better and better. Nice rifle, by the way." He stated as he fought to keep a sly smirk from crossing his face.

[Daryn]

An armed conflict is not something Ryan wants to get into at the moment. He may have a sidearm on him, but this does not seem like a tussle he can safely get out of. With that clearly in his head, he simply uses the chaos of the situation to slip away, not slinking, but walking away like he has no part of what's going on. He doesn't hurry his pace, he simply makes it look like he was a bystander that got caught at the wrong time. He hates to just leave Nowen and that Iguana there, but getting caught again is absolutely NOT an option.

[SliceOfDog]

((I've typed this damn thing out 3 times now. I was having some connection troubles while I wrote it, so I thought "I'll write it now and then post as soon as I'm connected". I hit post twice, despite knowing I wasn't connected to the internet, just because of the learned reaction of finishing the post and pressing Post. Before the "Problems loading page" notice even came up I'd realised I'd just blanked my message. Ah well, at least it's not a particularly long one))

Nowen looked up and met Zig's eyes. He nodded grimly, but said nothing. He didn't notice as Ryan began to walk away. Unfortunately, a young soldier did. Just as Ryan passed the vans at one end of the street, the soldier, double-taking, moved to intercept him, clearly taken by surprise at seeing a civilian walk so casually through the present scenario.
"Excuse me sir, this area has been officially quarantined through Tower-sanctioned military action. We require all personnel to remain within our blockade and present themselves for-" He was cut off by several gunshots that erupted from within the theatre. The radio on his hip crackled Gunman on first floor has opened fire, repeat gunman on first floor has opened fire. Engaging. He swallowed hard, and continued "... and present themselves for ID check. So please get on the ground sir"
Juarez is down, repeat, Juarez is down, request immediate assistance
He slammed his hand onto the radio, silencing it, and jutted out his jaw in an attempt to assert his own confidence.
"Get on the ground"

[Shade Leshyr]

Screams...screams...SCREAMS!! Shade jumped to his feet, the pill falling forgotten from his mouth to the floor. His mind, awakened by the sheer reality of it all hitting him, worked as fast as it could, slowly breaking free of the haze that clouded his thoughts. Then his ears heard...gunfire! Shade staggered, moaning in woe as he realized that this safe haven was now under attack... and it was probably his and the other escapee's faults. Amid his staggering and pained moaning, a sudden, unflinching voice in his subconscious mind reached out with words that rang like silver bells, but bit deeper than the fear and despair could reach...

So make it right...

Shade stopped, swallowing slowly, again the feeling of being splashed with cold water running over him. Welling from somewhere deep in his soul came the feeling of... dominance. The fluff of his tail began to lay flat against the skin even as that part of his body ceased to wag and instead began to lash from side to side. Thoughts of his dancing days came to him and suddenly took on a darker, more sinister purpose. Looking at the color of his body, a small plan began to formulate inside the ex-dancer's head. Reaching down, Shade removed his clumsy, loud shoes, touching the soft pads of his feet to the carpet quietly.

The hybrid turned to look at the loopy people around him as he spoke in an urgent voice, "Please, for the love of all that is good in this world, don't do anything silly." he begged them before softly sliding toward the door. Standing to one side, it crossed his mind that he might have to get physical if anyone found him and the best he could do was hope that he could surprise any attackers long enough to do something, anything. Another thought, and spark of inspiration hit him. If they couldn't see him, they couldn't catch him... but he didn't know where the... but someone did.

Rushing to his discarded shirt, Shade slipped it on and his frantic hands clutched at the microphone on the fabric. He drew a breath to speak, then froze. What if they could hear conversations over this mic? Musing over this for a moment, Shade decided he didn't have much choice, but he didn't have to be stupid about it. Hoping someone that knew dancer signals was listening, Shade tapped the mic in a quick tempo three times, a signal dancers and bouncers knew meant "crowd's getting rowdy, need help"

[Daryn]

Ryan looks the soldier over, seeming annoyed by having to stop and confront this goon. He sighs, "I'm sorry, but I really need to get back to my students." he says smoothly. "He motions with his beak towards the building, "Your colleagues seem to need your help in there You'd probably do more good getting in there than having to babysit me." Ryan has to play this next part very carefully, because if he misjudges this soldier's body language, things could go very badly. "Besides... There might be a commendation waiting for you in there."he says that with a warm smile, not patronizing, but thoughtful. His gambit thrown down, Ryan has to hope he read this particular goon right.

[SliceOfDog]

The soldier forced a laugh, but it was hinted with nerves.
"Oh please, I'd only get a commendation if I took out a traitor personally..." he trailed off, eyes flicking to his rifle.
"Besides," he said suddenly, "I have to hold this point and make sure no one leaves. They picked me out specifically for it"
As he was speaking, some squad members came out of the theatre with a small train of civilians who held their hands on their heads. They were quickly lined up on their knees outside, and one soldier was left standing over them, while the rest ran back into the tumult of the building.

Two tapped messages came back in response to Shade's message. The first said "Safe room" and the second said "Head Office". Wherever they were being sent from, gun shots and screams came through in the background.

[Shade Leshyr]

Shade had to bite back a sigh of relief, but he concentrated on listening for approaching feet as he tapped his reply: "No", "Lights too bright", "Need to leave the stage." Hoping the person on the other side of the line would get the message, Shade slipped out of the smoky room quietly, his padded feet making little noise on the floor. Shade had never in his life been more thankful for the decorative tastes of the rich, using the various statuettes and gaudy plants as cover as he tried to get a feel for the situation.

[Daryn]

Ryan blinks in surprise at the soldier. He gives the guy a very sorry smile, "Do you realize what it is you just said?" he asks with a smirk. "They picked you specifically for this job? So that means they think you're good at standing around and doing nothing else." ((Oh man this had better work...)) he is thinking to himself even as the words are leaving his beak. "I'd be insulted if that was what my CO's thought of me."

[SliceOfDog]

((I'm sure most of you worked it out, but I'm afraid I'm laying Numberless down to rest. It's almost entirely my fault, and thank you all for taking part. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, but for some reason I was just terrible for updating it and keeping things moving. Perhaps I was too ambitious in my first RP as GM...
But I learnt a lot from this experience, and really liked the direction many of you took with your characters. You really made me think about where I was taking it, and considering that I had a stringent plan of where to go and had to edit it many times, I think you did a great job of making this story your own. I consider it entirely good that I had to change my plans, it shows you were all getting involved enough to affect the direction of the story.
I hope I'll see a lot of you again whenever I decide to create another RP, and again hope you enjoyed this while it lasted. Sorry for all the mistakes I made, I certainly learnt from them!
And because I'd hate for them to go to waste, I'll post all of the plot-twists and my plans and secrets and so on later, just in case anyone's interested. Also I hope you'll be able to respect the effort I put into it ^_^))

[Daryn]

Well I'm sad to see this come to an end. I was having a lot of fun in this RP. It was fun while it lasted though, so hey, maybe we'll cross paths again in another RP.

[Husk]

I'm sorry that I came into this towards the end, but it seemed like it could have been something pretty cool. I enjoyed reading this one before I got involved.

If you ever maybe want to "Dual GM" an RP together let me know. I have a couple of ideas.

[SliceOfDog]

Yeah, I'm sorry to let it die on you Husk. I was a bit worried the experience would have put you off the site!

But dual GMing might be a good idea. Should give me the motivation to keep it moving, or at least make sure the RP can keep rolling even if I'm unexpectedly busy. I don't have anything else in mind at the moment, but if you'd like to contact me with some of yours we could see

Although I probably won't take on another GM role for a couple weeks, it's my exam period at the moment.