Night Three
Eschadoctor Lewwyn was proud of his achievements in service of UMEN. The internal consensus placed him at the top of his field. He had even been nominated for a Secret Nobel Prize in [redacted] 3 years ago. It was understandable that he would be embedded in the UMENSES support element, to manage the technical parameters of the translocation equipment that enabled the whole operation.
It was less sensible to include such a valuable person with the incursion directly into the Bionic underground complex. But as one of the few survivors of his team, and the only person present who could manipulate the Iron Curtain device - from an even-more-experimental branch of the translocation tech - his sense of duty carried him down with the Marines.
Fear quickly led him to make very public demonstration of the Iron Curtain, once the chaos began in the icy slick hallways of the facility. As expected, the device only had capacity for a single use. Hopefully it had given UMENSES the cutting edge it needed to finish the job.
...
Lewwyn slept near the commander's unit, for maximum security. There would only be time for a single move before the camp was alerted.
His unarmored body lost the structural integrity to gasp as the Infiltrator's nanoblade bisected him.
Lieutenants CutePanda and NANOOK had not been getting much love from their brothers-in-arms lately. They seemed to flit on the outskirts of the task force, and the latter had in public view contributed to the death of a good and beloved Marine, Lieutenant Garden Gnome.
And so they were assigned guard posts with their squads at the entrances to the armory.
After long hours on the watch, their professionalism did not permit boredom or fatigue to deter their vigilance. Thus they first noticed the spreading exhalation of phosphorescent mist around them. At a signal all guns came at the ready behind the barricades.
Ț̴̍h̴̯͐ḁ̸͠t̷͙̅ ̴̗͌h̷͔͘ů̵͉ṃ̶̿å̸̘n̴̡̎ ̸̺̇l̷̠̽i̸͔͑f̴̯̐ȇ̷͔ ̵̨̂m̷̳̈u̴̪͠s̵̼͘ţ̶̅ ̶̛̬b̴̾͜é̸͖ ̷̥̾s̶̬͌o̴̾͜m̵̙̌ė̸͍ ̶̣̕k̶̭͒i̴͓͠ǹ̸͈d̵͌͜ ̸̗̀o̸̮͠f̶͉͆ ̴͇͒m̸̘̽i̵̮̕s̸̝͐ț̸̋ȧ̶̠k̶̭̾ē̴͍ ̷̯̅i̴͈̐s̸͉̎ ̵̱̑ș̵͘ṷ̷̔f̷͔̀f̴͕̊i̷̬͑c̸̬̀i̸̩͋e̶̢̎n̸̗̍t̸͎͛l̸͙͐y̸̙͊ ̸̬̔p̶͚͆ŗ̴̚o̶͑͜v̴̢̋ė̷ͅd̵̮͑ ̷̫̒b̷̝́ÿ̵̭ ̴͙͝ṯ̸̈́h̴̻̆e̸̛̟ ̶̘̚s̷͂ͅĩ̸̤m̴̜͒ṕ̷̫ĺ̵̯ḛ̸̌ ̸̖̾ǒ̷̖b̶̡̓s̷̭͐e̷̥͛r̶̯͛v̴̱̐a̷̤̓t̸̻̔i̵̢̍ŏ̵̭n̵̹̓ ̷̧͆t̴̳̎h̵̖͊ȁ̸̬t̵̗͐ ̵͓̓m̷͙̆a̴̱͠n̸̲̄ ̷̗͒i̵̙̊ş̷͠ ̴̺͑ā̸̞ ̷̙̍c̵̭͋ò̸̳m̴͍͋p̷͔͝o̶̟͆ǘ̴̩n̴͋ͅd̵̢͠ ̴̰͆o̷̜͗f̵̠̀ ̷͙͠n̵̬͝e̵͙̾ê̶̟ḍ̸̾s̴̜̓ ̴͎͐ẁ̴̘h̷̡̓î̸̱c̷̘̅h̷̝̔ ̷͔͒a̶̮̓r̶̢̆ệ̴ ̴̹̈́h̴̩̓a̵͍̾r̵̲̽d̸̮̍ ̸̰̽t̵͉̽ȏ̶̬ ̶͓͆s̷̖̚a̷̯͆t̶̠͌i̷͜͝s̴̥̎f̸̛̘ẏ̶̮;̶̰̑ ̸͔̿t̷̞̀h̸̛̜a̴̪̓t̶̮̅ ̵͉͑t̴̛̼h̷̢̿e̶͍͗i̴̞͝r̸̜̔ ̸̼̋s̷̛͎a̷̧̽t̴̠̃i̵͕̐s̶̺̏f̸̗̔à̵̯ç̴͐t̸͊ͅi̶͂͜ỏ̴̥n̴̪͝ ̴͉̐a̸̬̒ć̸͎h̸̻̓i̴̋͜ȇ̷͙v̸̭͗e̶͈͐s̶̜̿ ̶̞͗n̵̗̉o̴̤̔t̷̘͆h̷͕̎ȋ̴͉n̶͈̈ǵ̸̺ ̵̻͋b̸̳́ů̷̟t̵̙̔ ̴̱͝ǎ̴͚ ̷̧̿p̴͕͠a̶̛͖ī̶̥n̵͇̓l̸͈͊ë̷͎s̴̝̈́s̸̲̈ ̵̣̇c̷̛͉o̷̜̕n̸͇͌ḓ̶͂i̷͎̕t̸͚̄i̸̖͋ȯ̴̢n̶̖͂ ̸̱͝ḯ̸͉n̶͓͂ ̷̠̑w̶̹͐h̸̞̆í̴̦c̵͎̕h̴͙̕ ̵̱̋h̸̪̃e̵͍͋ ̸͎̾i̴̪̓s̸͓͂ ̴̮͗o̸̤̽ṉ̸̅l̶̙̓y̴̽ͅ ̴̝̾g̷̩͋ī̴̩v̸̙͘ẹ̶̕n̵̼͌ ̵͕̕o̸̮͐v̷̤̅ẹ̸̏r̷̛͜ ̵͈͂t̶͖͐o̸͙̐ ̶̫̌b̸̨̂o̸̩̾ṙ̵̠e̸͇̎d̶̜̈́ő̵̻m̵̨͐;̶̺̉ ̸͈̚ḁ̶̋ṇ̴͊d̴͕͐ ̴̦̀ț̵͗h̵̘̃á̶͖t̴̖́ ̸̹̑b̴̯̆ö̵͓r̸̪̅e̶̢̚d̵͈͐o̶̹̕ḿ̵͔ ̵̧̋ï̶̝ṣ̴̑ ̸͖͝a̷̙̽ ̵̼͑d̶̜̋ḯ̴̥r̶̢̀ę̴̐c̴̝̄t̴͍̄ ̶̭͝p̷̪̽r̴̓ͅo̷̤͂o̴͇̎f̴̘̊ ̶̻̔ẗ̴̨́h̷͖͑a̵̫̓t̸̡̑ ̷̘̕ē̸͇x̶̪͊i̸̡̒s̴̏͜t̷̫͐e̷̪̍n̴͖̊c̴̥̈́ȩ̶̂ ̸̺́ì̶̘s̴̮͘ ̶̬̉ï̸͕ṅ̴̝ ̷͙̊ĩ̸͖t̴̢̐ș̸̈́ẹ̸͠l̶͇̍f̷͗ͅ ̸̹̆v̴̥͛a̵̗͋l̸̠̈ů̴͇ḙ̵̿l̸͉̆e̶̡̍š̸̝s̴̗̉,̴͈͂ ̶̰̄f̸̣̾o̷͇̓r̷͙̍ ̶̛͕b̴̦́ò̵̺r̴̠̔ȅ̷͙d̶͎͛o̶̙̕m̸̼̒ ̵̱̾i̵̩̍s̵̱͗ ̶̞͝n̴͚͊o̷̠̕t̴͉̓h̵̾͜ǐ̵̙n̵͕͌g̸͓͂ ̶̨͝ō̵̗ť̴̟h̴̘͗e̵͖̐r̸̞̆ ̸̘͝t̴̤͌h̶̞͝ȧ̶͙n̶͙̑ ̵͇̚t̷̰͗h̷̨̋e̵̕͜ ̶̬̍ș̵́e̴̞͗ň̶͕s̵̤͝a̷̻͘t̵̰̅i̴̼̋o̸͙͘n̴̈́ͅ ̶̤̕o̶͇͘f̸͖̔ ̶̹̈t̵͔̔h̴͇̚è̵̥ ̷̛̞e̷̝̚m̷̰̚p̴̯̂t̵͚̒í̴̪n̸̡̛ĕ̸̗s̵̹̅ṣ̷͌ ̶̺͒o̸̼̓f̷̀ͅ ̵̤̐e̷̙̾x̶͖̂i̷̅͜s̵̥̈́t̸̘̊ḙ̸̊n̵̞̾ć̵̠e̶͇̓.̶̕͜
The unlanguage echoed soundlessly from a point nowhere. Nanook detonated the explosive traps ahead of the barricade, raising the whole contingent to alarum.
Y̶̊ͅe̷̦̿t̴̙͠ ̶̰̾w̴̝̾h̶̭͆a̵̱̔ṭ̴̈́ ̶̞̾â̴̝ ̷̠̎d̴͚͐i̵̩̽f̶͠ͅf̶͇̍é̶͈ř̶̬e̶͙͋n̶̨͠c̵̠͋e̷͇͗ ̷̙̏ṯ̴̂h̵̼̍e̷̢̋r̷̰̆e̷̪͒ ̶̟̃i̴͎̊s̸̍ͅ ̷̫̉b̵̆ͅe̸͚̎t̴̖̿w̸̤̐e̴̘̔e̷̬͐n̵̮̒ ̸̦̈o̴̼͠u̵͇̓r̶̢̍ ̸̠̔b̸͈͗e̵̥͂g̸̗̾i̴̲̾n̷̡̉ṉ̶̉i̵͔̎ṉ̷̀g̴̯͛ ̵͙̍a̸̜͐n̶̠̿d̸͆͜ ̷̧̇ọ̴̉ȕ̶͇r̵̗̕ ̸͚̀ë̸̝́n̶̩̈ḓ̷́.̸͒ͅ ̵̣͝W̵̛͚ë̵̮́ ̵̧̉b̵̗̃e̴͉̋g̴͍̔i̴͙̊n̵͉͌ ̷̺͘i̵̦̅n̴̤̈ ̶̲̍ṭ̷̆h̶̰͒ê̴̪ ̵̜̋m̷̤̈́ǎ̶͚d̸̲͂ṇ̴͊ȅ̷̠s̴̥̀s̶̰̏ ̵̮̌o̷̿͜ḟ̵͍ ̶̧͗c̴̛͉ą̸̃r̵͓͠n̴͈̂a̷̤͑l̸̼̕ ̷̯̉d̵̡͊e̵̘͂s̶͉͐i̵͚̅r̶͍̂e̴̱͊ ̵͖̈́a̶͉̍n̴̻͋ḏ̶͠ ̸̻̀t̴̥̀h̷̦̏e̷͈̾ ̷̮̍t̶̫̋r̷̜͒a̸͈̐ņ̷̀s̴̏͜p̶̺̐o̸͚̔r̴̦̒t̷̠̊ ̵̥̿ô̸̫f̶̬̓ ̵̱͊v̶̙̔o̷̞͋l̴̮͆u̴͓̿p̶̦̄t̴̞͠u̵͇̕o̵̞͠u̵̞̓s̵̡̈n̸̟̐e̵̬͒s̷̛̬s̷̳̊,̵̢͝ ̴̧̍w̴͠ͅë̶̤ ̴̹͆e̵͍̒n̴̬̍d̶̅͜ ̸̗̇i̶͇͊n̸̲̿ ̵͕̈́t̶̡̄h̷̥͂e̷̱̿ ̴̻̆d̴͔͌ì̷̝ś̷͇s̷͍̊ö̸͖́l̴̡̉ü̴̦t̵̜̆í̷͍ọ̶̑n̴̥͘ ̶̢͑o̴͈͗f̸͖͑ ̴͕͒a̸̙͝l̸̼͌l̷͕̈́ ̴̜̇o̴̦͝ů̷͚r̵̡̂ ̷̻̿p̴̪͒a̵̝̽r̵͍̂t̶̕͜s̴̮̓ ̶̘͠à̴̟n̸̳̽ḓ̸́ ̸̠̐t̵̞̔ḧ̵̘ë̸͓́ ̵̰͊m̶͍̒ủ̵̹s̴̙͆t̴͈̾y̴̗̚ ̷̼̚s̴̢̚t̴̘͒ê̶͔ṇ̵̒c̷̠̀h̸͕͋ ̷̖͌ŏ̸͙f̴̤͛ ̴̧͑c̸̤̿o̴̪͝ř̶͎p̶̳̚s̵̢̓e̵̩͐s̴̰͌.̷̩̈́ ̸̰̍D̴̹́o̴͉͗e̷͓͛s̸͒͜ ̷̝̕ị̸͂ṭ̵̈́ ̴͇̏n̶͖̽ó̸̖t̷̹̚ ̴͙̎l̷̯̾o̶̫̔o̵͚͝k̶̘͑ ̷̢͑a̴̳̐s̵̓͜ ̵̙͑i̸̛̳f̸̠͐ ̷̺͂e̷̒͜x̷̞͊i̵̔͜s̶̺̄t̵̜͆ĕ̵̲n̵̖͠c̶̹͝e̵̖͘ ̶̳̊w̷̩̐e̶̡̅r̶̥̅e̸̱̎ ̸̭̽ȧ̴͚n̷̝̄ ̴̺͝e̴̙͠r̸̢̄r̸͕̾o̵̅ͅr̸̙̓ ̴̨͌t̵͔͝h̴̹͐e̶̝͛ ̶̼͗c̷̮͑o̵͔͋n̴͔͠s̴̠̏e̷̫̅q̴͉̋u̸̖͐é̵ͅn̸̝͝c̶͉͂e̵͍̿s̴͚̆ ̴̻̒ỏ̸͙f̶̰̊ ̵̹͝w̸͚͒h̴̻̓i̴̗̾c̵̳̓ḧ̸̡́ ̴͖̓ĝ̴̺r̷̩͑a̵̩̚d̷͖̆ṳ̸̌a̴͉̍l̴̯͝l̸̻̃ỹ̵͓ ̶̘̏g̸̣̋r̴̗͠ö̷͜w̶̰̅ ̸̺̓m̶͔̏o̸͓͋r̴̤̋ê̸̼ ̷̿ͅa̴̟͘n̶̳̈́d̸̰̅ ̵̟͘m̷̹̉o̵̫̚r̵̹̀e̸̢͝ ̸̙̓m̴͙͠a̷̩̽n̵̮̎i̸͖͆f̸͐͜ě̸̲ś̴̠t̵̪̓.̵̹̈́ ̴̰̒Ẉ̸̉e̴̛͕ ̴̝̈́s̷̹̀h̸̘̎a̷̺̕l̸̍ͅl̴̝̏ ̶̞̈́d̴̠̍ő̸̻ ̷̨̆b̵͓̏ȩ̸̍s̵̨̀t̷̫̕ ̷̪͑t̶̮̅o̵̘͑ ̶̿͜ť̵̥h̴͈̉ḭ̴͆n̸̠̔k̴͔̽ ̸͚̚o̷̓ͅf̵̡̒ ̶̬̆l̵̨͝i̸̪̅f̶͇͗e̴̻͒ ̵͖̐.̸̦͂.̴̲̿.̶̞̂å̸̠s̵͇̉ ̸̰͝a̴͖͠ ̸͚̚p̶̭̾r̷̜̆ǒ̶̭c̴͉͊e̴̪̓s̵̹̑s̴̰̀ ̸̫̈́o̸̙͗f̷̣̀ ̷͈̇d̷̰͗ȋ̸̱ś̸͓i̵̮̔l̸͔̾l̶̦̎u̶̗̓s̵̅͜i̶̞̊o̷̳̐n̸̹͘m̵̲̍é̸͎n̸̳̄t̷͕͝:̵̨̉ ̵̬̾ṣ̵̃i̴̇ͅn̴̮̉c̵̳̾ẽ̶̗ ̴͙̍ẗ̵̻́h̷̳͒ȉ̸̫s̷͖̕ ̷̙̈́ḭ̵̊s̵̬̈,̷͔͝ ̷͎̈́ć̶̖l̵̲̉ȩ̸͐a̴̠̅r̸̪̊l̷͓͘y̸̩̐ ̶͚̀è̷̟ṅ̵͜o̶̙̍u̵̳͐g̵̦̓h̴͙̕,̵̳̍ ̶̰̃w̸̢̔h̶̠̕ǎ̴̤t̴̛̖ ̵̼̋e̸͖͋v̸̳͐ḛ̵͊r̴͙̐ÿ̷̹́t̴͚͂h̷̙̽i̶̡̅n̸̛̗g̷̩̈́ ̶̈́ͅt̸̙̍ḧ̶̝́a̷̘̐t̷̝̿ ̴̮̌h̵̪͛à̶͙p̸͙͆p̶̙̆ḙ̶͠n̷̪̐s̷̻̏ ̸͚͋t̸͔͂o̶̦̎ ̴̤̈́ư̶̘s̶͙̀ ̵̲͝i̵̪̿s̸̺̿ ̶̼͒c̶͔̈́a̸̠͌l̸̤̊c̶̭̽ù̷ͅl̵̠͘a̸̘͝ṱ̵̋e̶̗̐d̸̾ͅ ̵͈̎t̵̖͐ỏ̶͜ ̵̻͗p̶̳̌r̶̫̔ó̶̟d̸͚͝u̵̬̐c̶̥̓e̵̫͆.̶̹̈
One of the men looked to CutePanda.
Sir, what the hell is going on? Orders?
But CutePanda had been quiet for a while now, gently vibrating all throughout his taut body. As the seconds passed, the mist seemed to inhere to him with greater prominence, or rather resonate in him. By the twinkles of the flames from the explosion, they could see a vibrant sort of delicious color dance beneath his skin.
T̵̯͝h̸̹̍a̸̞͛t̵̳̑ ̶̙̑ţ̵̕h̴͈͊ë̸͎́ ̷̦̈́m̸̑ͅo̵̞͛s̵͉̀t̸̪͝ ̴̯̽p̶̻͘e̷̬͘r̸̢͆f̵̡͋e̷̥͐c̵͍͠t̴̲̄ ̵̫̉m̴͇̀a̴̯͝n̴̡͛ȋ̶̭f̷͉͘ė̸̯s̷̬̿t̶̹̓a̶̘̅ṯ̴̎i̸̮͗ȍ̴̝n̶̗͐ ̷̮̐o̷̟͊f̴̙̿ ̵͈̍t̷̥͑h̶͈̿e̶͎̾ ̷̣͒ŵ̵̞i̶͈͊l̶͙̓l̷͙̊ ̴̳̑t̸̺̀o̶̹̿ ̶͉̓l̶̟͑ȋ̵̦v̸͔̚é̶̡ ̵̲̓r̷̈́ͅë̷̟́p̷̝̏r̴̦̽ę̷́s̶͖͠e̵͉͗ṅ̴̳t̶̪͗e̵̖̽d̷͔̽ ̶̘̉b̵̠̉y̴̳͒ ̸̺̂t̷͚̀h̸͒͜ḙ̷̂ ̵͍̕h̸̠͌u̴̙͝m̴͚̿a̵̡̎n̵̰͛ ̶̻͊o̸͚̅r̷̻̓g̸̰͛ä̴̧́n̷̮̅i̷̮̾s̷̹͛m̸̲͠,̸̠̃ ̷̙͝ẅ̶͍́ḯ̵͇t̸̺̀h̷̦̄ ̵͈̃i̷͖̇t̵̘͒š̵̹ ̷̰̃i̶̳̚ṇ̶̊c̸̰̕ō̶̢m̵̮͛p̸͕͗a̸̞̐ŕ̷̩a̶̦͛b̷̥͐l̷̨̒ŷ̵̱ ̵͍̃i̶͇̓n̵͍̈g̵̦͛e̴͍͝ṇ̷̀i̴͙̿ọ̵̈́ū̴͜ś̸͖ ̴̟͗á̶͖n̸͈͐ď̷̩ ̶̘̇ç̷̉o̸̗͝m̷̻͂p̷̣͝ļ̴͂i̵̝̓c̵̱̍á̶̗t̶̳͝e̶͙̅d̶̻̈ ̸̪͘m̵̗̆a̴̞̔c̶̢̏h̸̘̊i̴͇͝n̸͖̂e̷̪͌r̵͎͒ÿ̷̳́,̷͚́ ̸͙̒m̶͖͂ǘ̸̙ṣ̴͆ṫ̵͓ ̶͙͊c̶̲͒ṙ̶͖ủ̷͖m̴͘ͅb̸̞̈́l̶̳̓ẹ̶͠ ̴̧̋t̸͎̊o̸̳͊ ̸͓̚d̴̫́u̸͚͘s̴͓̓t̴̢̕ ̸̼̓a̵͚͝n̷͇͊d̸̘́ ̵͈̂ị̷͂t̷͈͐s̸̹̈́ ̴̺́w̶̳̅h̵͎͝õ̴̧l̵͍̀é̷̩ ̷̱͝ȅ̵͔s̴̨̽s̶͔͂e̴͌͜n̷͕̓c̷̡͒e̶̤͛ ̷̜̅ä̷̢n̷̪͆ď̴͈ ̵̘̉a̷̫͝l̵̦̊l̶̢̋ ̴̧̄í̸̘t̴̬͘s̶̱̓ ̵̝̎s̸̲̔t̸͖̾r̸̭̽ĩ̴̬v̵̰̌i̸͈͆n̸͈̔g̸͙͗ ̸̞̏b̵̥̎e̸̓͜ ̸̪̿p̴̖̆a̶̯̎l̷͖͂p̴̨͠a̸̙͌b̸̡͒l̶͓̏y̵̓ͅ ̸͈́g̷̭͛į̷͂v̷̟̾è̵̡ņ̸͗ ̶̤̉o̸͕̕v̷̙̊e̷͉͝r̵̬͆ ̷̫̀
a̵͉̓t̴̞͊ ̷̟̊l̸̙̏a̷͚̾s̸̝̚t̴͈͠ ̷̹̌
t̷o̶ ̴a̷n̴n̷i̷h̸i̵l̵a̶t̵i̵o̵n̶ ̴-̶ ̷
̴͙̐t̴̩̿h̶͕͋i̷̯͗ś̴̡ ̵̙̕i̸̟̋s̵͇͊ ̵̤͂n̷̡̂a̵͙̓t̷͖̓u̴̲̚r̵̦͂é̸͈'̷̥̉s̴̙̾ ̴̤̏ǘ̷̩n̴̚͜â̶̤m̶̨̋b̴̛̪ȉ̴̩g̶͇͆u̸͔̐ơ̸̜u̶̳͗s̵̙̔ ̶͎͌d̴̤̒ȅ̶̹c̶̖̈́l̴̈́͜ả̸͎r̷̡̊å̶̦t̶̟͋i̶͉͊ȏ̵̼n̶̩̏ ̵̺̀ẗ̵̺́h̵̰̓a̵͋ͅt̵̼̏ ̵͔̊a̸̝̋l̸̡̿l̸͎̇ ̵̞̐t̶̬̂ḧ̷͎ȇ̴͔ ̵̨̚s̴̼̔t̸̘̊r̴̦̔í̴̜v̸͙͛i̵͙͘n̸̞̏g̴͉̋ ̷̗̀ȏ̸̻f̵̰͝ ̸͖͛t̷͙͆h̷̭͘i̵̘̓s̵͙̈́ ̵̥͌w̵͙͑ȉ̸̳l̶̘͗l̷̬̉ ̴̯̐í̶̩s̵̖̅ ̴͎͊e̸̼͘ș̶̄s̸̛̖ė̵̲n̶͔̿t̵̪͋i̸̳̕á̵̱l̵͈̏l̵̨̃y̴̭̆ ̴͉̎v̸̟͑a̴̺̒i̶̧̐n̵͔̿.̷̗̒
Other Marines tottered with their gaze transfixed ahead. Those who still had some presence of mind started firing off into CutePanda's figure.
A few screaming indescribable moments later, nearly all the hundred surviving Marines had mobilized to the scene.
A few thought they noticed a strange mist, but at a second glance it was nothing but smoke from the fires. Only the hidden Bionics in the assembly quivered as a growl passed through the ranks.
I̶n̴ ̷s̷u̶c̴h̴ ̷a̵ ̸w̸o̶r̷l̷d̶,̷ ̸w̷h̵e̷r̶e̴ ̶n̴o̶ ̸s̶t̵a̴b̷i̶l̶i̸t̵y̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̸a̶n̵y̴ ̶k̷i̷n̶d̴,̷ ̶n̷o̸ ̶e̸n̷d̵u̸r̷i̵n̴g̷ ̸s̷t̸a̴t̷e̷ ̵i̷s̵ ̶p̸o̷s̷s̸i̷b̶l̵e̶,̴ ̷w̸h̶e̶r̶e̷ ̷e̸v̶e̴r̵y̴t̷h̴i̶n̷g̶ ̶i̶s̵ ̴i̶n̴v̷o̵l̶v̷e̴d̴ ̵i̶n̵ ̸r̴e̴s̶t̸l̶e̷s̸s̶ ̶c̷h̶a̷n̷g̴e̵ ̴a̴n̸d̴ ̴c̴o̸n̸f̶u̸s̷i̵o̷n̶ ̶a̸n̸d̸ ̶k̶e̷e̵p̷s̷ ̸i̷t̶s̷e̶l̶f̷ ̴o̶n̴ ̴i̷t̵s̸ ̵t̷i̶g̸h̸t̴r̵o̴p̵e̷ ̴o̸n̸l̸y̴ ̷b̵y̶ ̸c̴o̵n̷t̸i̵n̸u̶a̷l̴l̵y̴ ̵s̷t̷r̷i̴d̷i̷n̵g̶ ̴f̶o̵r̵w̵a̷r̸d̵ ̴-̶ ̷i̶n̷ ̴s̸u̵c̸h̴ ̶a̴ ̷w̵o̷r̴l̶d̵,̴ ̷h̶a̸p̷p̸i̷n̸e̷s̸s̶ ̷i̴s̶ ̶n̴o̵t̴ ̷s̷o̶ ̸m̶u̸c̷h̶ ̸a̶s̸ ̸t̵o̴ ̴b̷e̷ ̴t̷h̶o̵u̴g̶h̷t̸ ̸o̴f̷.̷ ̴I̸t̵ ̷c̷a̶n̵n̸o̸t̸ ̸d̴w̴e̵l̶l̴ ̷w̵h̴e̴r̷e̶ ̴n̸o̴t̸h̷i̸n̷g̷ ̴o̸c̸c̸u̴r̵s̸ ̵b̴u̷t̵ ̴P̵l̸a̷t̷o̸'̵s̵ ̵'̸c̷o̶n̴t̴i̴n̴u̵a̵l̴ ̷b̶e̷c̷o̵m̸i̶n̷g̷ ̴a̸n̵d̶ ̷n̵e̷v̵e̸r̷ ̷b̸e̷i̸n̵g̴.̶
Of the men at the guard post only something like ashy topsoil remained, like that from a particularly-rancid Superfund site.
No one was looking at that yet, as they first accounted for what remained of Lieutenant Nanook.
He alone, it seemed, had at some point taken to fleeing towards the main body.
Major Montmorency knelt down to his form sprawled out on the ground fewer than 10 meters from the scene. Nanook feebly scratched at the floor as the Major watched.
He could not touch it, but looked horrifiedly into the distorted parody that had been a face.
What was it, Lieutenant—what was it? he whispered, and the cleft, bulging lips were just able to crackle out a final answer.
Nothin’ . . . nothin’ . . . the color . . . it burns . . . cold an’ wet . . . but it burns . . . it lived in the wall . . . I seen it . . . a kind o’ smoke . . . jest like the flowers in the spring . . . the wall shone at night . . . Rocky an’ Romeo an’ Jeromy. . . everything alive . . . suckin’ the life out of everything . . . in that wall. . . it must a’ come in that wall. . . poizened the whole place . . . dun’t know what it wants . . . that round thing them Bionics dug outta th'sky . . . they smashed it . . . it was that same color . . . jest the same, like the . . . must a’ ben more of ’em . . . seeds . . . seeds . . . they growed . . . I seen it the fust time days ago . . . must a’ got strong on that Bonic. . . it beats down your mind an’ then gits ye . . . burns ye up . . . in the wall . . . you was right that is huntin'. . . evil wall . . . Panda never come back from the wall . . . can’t git away . . . draws ye . . . ye know summ’at’s comin’, but ’tain’t no use . . . sence Panda was took . . . whar’s Gnome, Majuh? . . . my head’s no good . . . dun’t know how long senct I slept . . . it’ll git us ef we ain’t keerful . . . jest a color . . . the wall is gettin’ to hev that color sometimes towards night . . . an’ it burns an’ sucks . . . it come from some place whar things ain’t as they is here . . . look out, Major, it’ll do suthin’ more . . . sucks the life out. . . .”
But that was all. That which spoke could speak no more because it had completely caved in.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
There was indeed a terrible monster on the loose. Surveying the carnage before them, the Marines felt for the first time chilled to the core. Could even the very best of UMEN - lose here?
Maybe clues could be found in the Bionic labs and research section..
Lewwyn has died! He was a
CutePanda has died! He was a
NANOOK has died! He was a
DAY FOUR BEGINS
There is no more postcap!
Phase ends
Living Players (9)
hollowkatt (hollow/HK)
Dolby (Dolbster/Dolb)
Winston Hughes (Winston/WH/McGinty)
Ibn-Khaldun (Ibn/IK)
BorgPicard (Borg/Picard/LA/Argon)
Csargo (Csar)
Laurentus (Laur)
Vroendal (Vro)
pzelda (Zelda/Capage/Cap)
Dead Players (8)
Raskolnikov (D1)
c4e5g3d5 (N1)
Timsup2nothin (N1)
El-ahrairah (D2)
Garden Gnome (D3)
Lewwyn (N3)
CutePanda (N3)
NANOOK (N3)
Originally Posted by Laurentus
Re: Rampage Out of Space
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