((Kaya Robinson continued from What can I fix you with?))
After waking up the next morning, Kaya had gathered the belongings she hadn't traded to Stokes and, along with Bethan, set off to search for Lucille and Sofia. They'd wandered around a little, though she admitted she didn't know either very well. She did note, "A friend of Steph's a friend of ours', though, eh?"
The morning announcing Lucille's death at the hands of Sofia, though, dampened her spirits a little, and she spent a good deal of time staring out at the ocean. "I guess it's probably not a good idea to look for them now, huh?" She said after a while. She flashed a grin. "As long as the two of us can stick together we'll be fine, anyway." Finally, they decided to head up to the top deck of the cruise ship.
As they reached the exit up to the deck, Kaya stopped, signaled Bethan to wait, and stepped out side. The first thing she ran across was Leo's corpse, then RJ's, then Gus'. Her eyes slowly widened as she looked across to the different corpses. Her hands slowly went to the edges of her coat.
"Uh oh."
Someone Who Needs Me
Waiting on Pippi and Slam
-
Pippi
- Posts: 1118
- Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2018 6:32 pm
- Location: I'm Pip!
- Team Affiliation: Stephanie's Buccaneers
Man, Lucille was gonna be so disappointed to have been eliminated this early.
((Bethan Gayle continued from What can I fix you with?))
That was, perhaps, one of the best ways of describing Lucille really; more than just being intense, she was also intensely driven, at pretty much everything she put her hand to. She never did anything in half-measures, every single thing about her was done with purpose and intent, right down to the way she dressed and the way she spoke. And Bethan liked that! It was exciting! And a little intimidating to be sure, talking with someone with that much confidence and self-confidence, but that was exciting too! It was pretty weird, she supposed, that, like, she would go out to raves in abandoned warehouses and drink and take poppers, all while dressed in fishnets and short shorts and neon LED harnesses and stuff, and then come back home and feel this huge rush just from seeing a single message from Lucille, but, hey, that was just how it was!
And that was also how she knew just how bummed out Lucille would be, crashing out before the halfway point of this game. She was super into SOTF, after all! She’d probably been, like, chomping at the bit to do well, to make a name for herself in it, she’d definitely have been aiming to win but failing that, she’d likely been focusing on doing something that the fans would remember her for. And now she was just gonna have to wait this all out on the production boat, before being returned back home, probably with a new identity and stuff to keep up the illusion of all the ‘dead’ contestants being actually dead; Bethan had thought this whole thing through last night and on the way to the cruise ship
She was super disappointed too, of course! It meant they were physically down one Buccaneer, after all, while their other potential Buccaneer had, uh… well, Kaya had been right, it prooooobably wasn’t a good idea to go searching for someone willing to take out members of their own team! But more than that, it was what she’d been thinking about pretty much solidly nonstop for the past 12 hours; she really really missed Lucille. And she’d really really wanted to find her again out here and give her a big big hug and stuff! She still owed, well, everything to Kaya, and she wanted to stay by her side for as long as possible too, that hadn’t changed a tiny bit, but this was a different feeling and need to that, something else entirely.
Bethan didn’t know what it was like to have a crush on someone; she’d only ever gone as far as one-night stands and hookups and friends with benefits with the acknowledgement that it was always no-strings attached. She had no idea what her thoughts were towards Lucille, whether she like-liked her or if she only thought she did.
Maybe, once this game was all over, they could talk about it together.
She hadn’t really responded to Kaya’s question earlier. She’d mumbled something that had probably been totally unintelligible, and continued to stare out to sea. It was almost a bit of a relief to be asked to hold back, now, to wait in the stairwell while Kaya scouted ahead. She would get her mojo back in a little bit, she was pretty sure! She just needed a moment to zone out and think about could-have-beens and could-be’s and other hypotheticals. Then she could put the spring back into her step and let the world know that the Buccaneers meant business!
Hmmm. Oh. Or maybe she would have to be ready, like, right now instead.
“Kaya?” Bethan called out, drumming her fingers on the handle of her spear to bring herself back into Focusland. “Are you okay? Something up out there?”
((Bethan Gayle continued from What can I fix you with?))
That was, perhaps, one of the best ways of describing Lucille really; more than just being intense, she was also intensely driven, at pretty much everything she put her hand to. She never did anything in half-measures, every single thing about her was done with purpose and intent, right down to the way she dressed and the way she spoke. And Bethan liked that! It was exciting! And a little intimidating to be sure, talking with someone with that much confidence and self-confidence, but that was exciting too! It was pretty weird, she supposed, that, like, she would go out to raves in abandoned warehouses and drink and take poppers, all while dressed in fishnets and short shorts and neon LED harnesses and stuff, and then come back home and feel this huge rush just from seeing a single message from Lucille, but, hey, that was just how it was!
And that was also how she knew just how bummed out Lucille would be, crashing out before the halfway point of this game. She was super into SOTF, after all! She’d probably been, like, chomping at the bit to do well, to make a name for herself in it, she’d definitely have been aiming to win but failing that, she’d likely been focusing on doing something that the fans would remember her for. And now she was just gonna have to wait this all out on the production boat, before being returned back home, probably with a new identity and stuff to keep up the illusion of all the ‘dead’ contestants being actually dead; Bethan had thought this whole thing through last night and on the way to the cruise ship
She was super disappointed too, of course! It meant they were physically down one Buccaneer, after all, while their other potential Buccaneer had, uh… well, Kaya had been right, it prooooobably wasn’t a good idea to go searching for someone willing to take out members of their own team! But more than that, it was what she’d been thinking about pretty much solidly nonstop for the past 12 hours; she really really missed Lucille. And she’d really really wanted to find her again out here and give her a big big hug and stuff! She still owed, well, everything to Kaya, and she wanted to stay by her side for as long as possible too, that hadn’t changed a tiny bit, but this was a different feeling and need to that, something else entirely.
Bethan didn’t know what it was like to have a crush on someone; she’d only ever gone as far as one-night stands and hookups and friends with benefits with the acknowledgement that it was always no-strings attached. She had no idea what her thoughts were towards Lucille, whether she like-liked her or if she only thought she did.
Maybe, once this game was all over, they could talk about it together.
She hadn’t really responded to Kaya’s question earlier. She’d mumbled something that had probably been totally unintelligible, and continued to stare out to sea. It was almost a bit of a relief to be asked to hold back, now, to wait in the stairwell while Kaya scouted ahead. She would get her mojo back in a little bit, she was pretty sure! She just needed a moment to zone out and think about could-have-beens and could-be’s and other hypotheticals. Then she could put the spring back into her step and let the world know that the Buccaneers meant business!
Hmmm. Oh. Or maybe she would have to be ready, like, right now instead.
“Kaya?” Bethan called out, drumming her fingers on the handle of her spear to bring herself back into Focusland. “Are you okay? Something up out there?”
Amy watched Kaya from her hiding spot, around the corner of the wall that held the exit. She had ran over there, with precise ballet steps, when she heard footsteps coming towards the exit, and the voice only confirmed that she wasn’t imagining. Now her gun was in hand, and her face was streaked with tears.
((Amy Barrows-Shaw continued from this cheeses me))
RJ was dead. She had already found him, with a horrible wound in his head. There was blood everywhere, caking his skull and the ground beneath him. Someone had murdered him in cold blood.
No, don’t be stupid, Amy. Of course it wasn’t cold blood: this was SOTF-TV. RJ had already killed someone, she remembered. It wasn’t like he wasn’t fair game. His gun was gone, so whoever had killed him had claimed a trophy. That, or he hadn’t had it to begin with. Maybe that’s why he had been killed by something hitting him in the head.
How quick had it been?
She rubbed at her face, failing the wipe the thought or the tears away. She was keeping as quiet as a mouse behind the wall, even as her heart beat furiously. The gun was trembling in her hand, but she tried to keep her attention on the new arrival.
Kaya Robinson. She was a loud girl, and she was strong. Amy hadn’t spotted a black bandanna yet. These were all warning signs. Amy was about to speak to HQ for advice, when another voice came out. It sounded more familiar, but it was hard to be sure. What was important was that it meant Kaya wasn’t alone. That only made things worse. Her gun could only take out one of them. Maybe she could pick one off and run for it.
She pressed her fingers to her collar, tapping the non-existent button to page into MI5 for information.
“Je-” she started to whisper, only to choke. RJ’s body was still fresh in her mind. She was strategising adding to the pile.
She shook her head, and focused her thoughts again.
“Jewel, I think there are two people ahead of me. What can you tell me?”
((Amy Barrows-Shaw continued from this cheeses me))
RJ was dead. She had already found him, with a horrible wound in his head. There was blood everywhere, caking his skull and the ground beneath him. Someone had murdered him in cold blood.
No, don’t be stupid, Amy. Of course it wasn’t cold blood: this was SOTF-TV. RJ had already killed someone, she remembered. It wasn’t like he wasn’t fair game. His gun was gone, so whoever had killed him had claimed a trophy. That, or he hadn’t had it to begin with. Maybe that’s why he had been killed by something hitting him in the head.
How quick had it been?
She rubbed at her face, failing the wipe the thought or the tears away. She was keeping as quiet as a mouse behind the wall, even as her heart beat furiously. The gun was trembling in her hand, but she tried to keep her attention on the new arrival.
Kaya Robinson. She was a loud girl, and she was strong. Amy hadn’t spotted a black bandanna yet. These were all warning signs. Amy was about to speak to HQ for advice, when another voice came out. It sounded more familiar, but it was hard to be sure. What was important was that it meant Kaya wasn’t alone. That only made things worse. Her gun could only take out one of them. Maybe she could pick one off and run for it.
She pressed her fingers to her collar, tapping the non-existent button to page into MI5 for information.
“Je-” she started to whisper, only to choke. RJ’s body was still fresh in her mind. She was strategising adding to the pile.
She shook her head, and focused her thoughts again.
“Jewel, I think there are two people ahead of me. What can you tell me?”
-
MurderWeasel
- Posts: 3431
- Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:56 am
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
Amy's collar remains silent.
Kaya just stared out at the bodies for a little while, taking a few slow, deep breaths as she steadily opened up her trenchcoat.
After a moment or two, she held the rifle up, looking around with a narrowed gaze. For a moment, she seemed to look over towards Amy, but then she had turned back the way she came from.
"I'm fine, Beth! Just, uh, a little bit of a mess up here, we probably shouldn't hang out here, you know?" She leveled the gun and took another look around.
After a moment or two, she held the rifle up, looking around with a narrowed gaze. For a moment, she seemed to look over towards Amy, but then she had turned back the way she came from.
"I'm fine, Beth! Just, uh, a little bit of a mess up here, we probably shouldn't hang out here, you know?" She leveled the gun and took another look around.
-
Pippi
- Posts: 1118
- Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2018 6:32 pm
- Location: I'm Pip!
- Team Affiliation: Stephanie's Buccaneers
“Oh, uhh… okay!”
Bethan hovered just inside the main body of the cruise ship, halfway between the stairs and the doorway, practically hopping from foot to foot as she tried to get a feel for the situation. She had to pause doing that, momentarily, because her gun almost jiggled out of her pocket and she had to shove it back in there so it was nice and nestled in the corner - and now that she was thinking about it, that was the major advantage her crop-top hoodie had over the super sentai dress, she didn’t think that magical girls really went in for the concept of pockets, last she checked - but as soon as it was secure once more, she went right back to her little dance of indecision.
Kaya had said it was just a mess, but her tone kinda suggested it was a little more than that? Like, uhhhh, that she’d gotten herself into the middle of a pistol duel or something? Or the deck was littered with landmines and she was trying to navigate the safest way through to the other side? Oooh, oh, or, more likely, there were just a bunch of people who’d gotten themselves into a fight, and there was just a handful of ‘bodies’ left behind, all of whom were waiting to get picked up by the Production Boat. There was probably a whole bunch of fake blood on the deck, and even though she knew it was just corn syrup and red food colouring, she also knew it’d probably really super freak her out.
But maybe it was just a mess of, like, abandoned things, and Kaya was picking her way through them and looking for anything salvageable to replenish their supplies? They had just traded away a bunch of their stuff to Stokes, after all. Perhaps she just didn’t wanna bother Bethan with tedious, manual labour, which she totally appreciated, really! But if she could help, she wanted to help out!
…
Y’know, instead of tap-dancing in a little circle of Fret, she should probably just ask Kaya what the situation was, huh?
“Do you need any help?” Bethan called out. “Or should I, like, stay here and look out for, uh…”
She rolled her eyes up, searching for the right phrase, then a lightbulb went off above her and she beamed.
“... Boarding parties, trying to take our booty?”
Bethan hovered just inside the main body of the cruise ship, halfway between the stairs and the doorway, practically hopping from foot to foot as she tried to get a feel for the situation. She had to pause doing that, momentarily, because her gun almost jiggled out of her pocket and she had to shove it back in there so it was nice and nestled in the corner - and now that she was thinking about it, that was the major advantage her crop-top hoodie had over the super sentai dress, she didn’t think that magical girls really went in for the concept of pockets, last she checked - but as soon as it was secure once more, she went right back to her little dance of indecision.
Kaya had said it was just a mess, but her tone kinda suggested it was a little more than that? Like, uhhhh, that she’d gotten herself into the middle of a pistol duel or something? Or the deck was littered with landmines and she was trying to navigate the safest way through to the other side? Oooh, oh, or, more likely, there were just a bunch of people who’d gotten themselves into a fight, and there was just a handful of ‘bodies’ left behind, all of whom were waiting to get picked up by the Production Boat. There was probably a whole bunch of fake blood on the deck, and even though she knew it was just corn syrup and red food colouring, she also knew it’d probably really super freak her out.
But maybe it was just a mess of, like, abandoned things, and Kaya was picking her way through them and looking for anything salvageable to replenish their supplies? They had just traded away a bunch of their stuff to Stokes, after all. Perhaps she just didn’t wanna bother Bethan with tedious, manual labour, which she totally appreciated, really! But if she could help, she wanted to help out!
…
Y’know, instead of tap-dancing in a little circle of Fret, she should probably just ask Kaya what the situation was, huh?
“Do you need any help?” Bethan called out. “Or should I, like, stay here and look out for, uh…”
She rolled her eyes up, searching for the right phrase, then a lightbulb went off above her and she beamed.
“... Boarding parties, trying to take our booty?”
Amy waited. And waited. And waited some more.
No response.
“Jewel?” she whispered out again, biting on the name, while pinning her eyes on Kaya. But there was nothing. Was Jewel abandoning her as quickly as she’d started helping? Some kind of sick joke at her expense?
Between the ominous nature of the gun-toting Kaya, and the fresh memory of RJ’s corpse in her face, Amy was having trouble thinking straight. Without the emotional capacity for her normal brand of impassioned logic, she was relying on instinct created from old memories, when people would stop talking to her suddenly. People she’d thought she’d connected with turned out to be bullies, maybe even airing their private conversations later. Or they’d just be making fun of her because she couldn’t navigate a conversation like a “normal” person. Even just thinking about that hurt.
It didn’t matter that Kaya and the other person (whom Amy was definitely sure she’d heard before, but couldn’t put her finger on in her current state) were only a few feet away, and could kill her at any time. She pulled her face away from peering behind the corner, pressing her back into the wall behind her. She had to get her thoughts back on track. She couldn’t ambush and pick off anyone like this. She had to.
She started to bounce on her heels, still breathing heavily. In through the nose, down to fill out the lungs, then out through the mouth. Visualise the flow of air. She concentrated on taking back control, the gun pressing back against her clenching hand. ‘I’m still here.’ it reassured her, but to no avail.
Every time she closed her eyes, RJ’s face looked back at her. Both of them: the one that was betrayed by her in life, and the one that was mutilated by a stranger in death. Over his shoulder she could see her figment of Jewel, whom she’d only ever met through a TV screen, like all of those James Bond characters.
She didn’t seem like an M or a Moneypenny though, even if she was supposed to work for MI6, coaching her towards her targets. She was more of an Elektra King, or a Fiona Volpe. She’d seduce them with charm and offers of companionship, then tie them to a choke chair and straddle them. The Jewel of her mind wasn’t doing that, but she was laughing from behind RJ’s corpse. What a moron, thinking they were allies. Someone else would finish the job and kill Amy on her behalf.
Her eyes were still wet with tears, and she fought hard to keep from crying out as the weight of the moment bore down on her. She couldn’t when danger was so nearby. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that suddenly, when she was just starting to feel like she had a chance, everything was turning around to come down on her all at once, and that had always been the plan.
No response.
“Jewel?” she whispered out again, biting on the name, while pinning her eyes on Kaya. But there was nothing. Was Jewel abandoning her as quickly as she’d started helping? Some kind of sick joke at her expense?
Between the ominous nature of the gun-toting Kaya, and the fresh memory of RJ’s corpse in her face, Amy was having trouble thinking straight. Without the emotional capacity for her normal brand of impassioned logic, she was relying on instinct created from old memories, when people would stop talking to her suddenly. People she’d thought she’d connected with turned out to be bullies, maybe even airing their private conversations later. Or they’d just be making fun of her because she couldn’t navigate a conversation like a “normal” person. Even just thinking about that hurt.
It didn’t matter that Kaya and the other person (whom Amy was definitely sure she’d heard before, but couldn’t put her finger on in her current state) were only a few feet away, and could kill her at any time. She pulled her face away from peering behind the corner, pressing her back into the wall behind her. She had to get her thoughts back on track. She couldn’t ambush and pick off anyone like this. She had to.
She started to bounce on her heels, still breathing heavily. In through the nose, down to fill out the lungs, then out through the mouth. Visualise the flow of air. She concentrated on taking back control, the gun pressing back against her clenching hand. ‘I’m still here.’ it reassured her, but to no avail.
Every time she closed her eyes, RJ’s face looked back at her. Both of them: the one that was betrayed by her in life, and the one that was mutilated by a stranger in death. Over his shoulder she could see her figment of Jewel, whom she’d only ever met through a TV screen, like all of those James Bond characters.
She didn’t seem like an M or a Moneypenny though, even if she was supposed to work for MI6, coaching her towards her targets. She was more of an Elektra King, or a Fiona Volpe. She’d seduce them with charm and offers of companionship, then tie them to a choke chair and straddle them. The Jewel of her mind wasn’t doing that, but she was laughing from behind RJ’s corpse. What a moron, thinking they were allies. Someone else would finish the job and kill Amy on her behalf.
Her eyes were still wet with tears, and she fought hard to keep from crying out as the weight of the moment bore down on her. She couldn’t when danger was so nearby. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that suddenly, when she was just starting to feel like she had a chance, everything was turning around to come down on her all at once, and that had always been the plan.
"Uh, no, you're good."
Kaya called, slowly looking around once more at the bodies, stopping in place after a couple moments. "There's just, uh, some 'dead' people here." Kaya frowned, looking over her shoulder at a camera with a pained expression, but the quotation marks were still audible in her voice. "We shouldn't stay too long, so. Just wait there and keep an eye out in case someone sneaks up on us, alright? Yell if you need me."
Kaya continued walking after a moment, stopping next to one body, a boy with his head split open by what seemed to be a sharp implement. Kaya grimaced, nudging the corpse with her foot, causing it to move limply before she stepped away, careful to avoid stepping in the blood.
After another moment, Kaya crouched, staring intently at the corpse. Finally, she shook her head and sighed.
"Steph," Kaya whispered. "any of these our, uh, ex-teammates? How many of those we got left?"
Kaya called, slowly looking around once more at the bodies, stopping in place after a couple moments. "There's just, uh, some 'dead' people here." Kaya frowned, looking over her shoulder at a camera with a pained expression, but the quotation marks were still audible in her voice. "We shouldn't stay too long, so. Just wait there and keep an eye out in case someone sneaks up on us, alright? Yell if you need me."
Kaya continued walking after a moment, stopping next to one body, a boy with his head split open by what seemed to be a sharp implement. Kaya grimaced, nudging the corpse with her foot, causing it to move limply before she stepped away, careful to avoid stepping in the blood.
After another moment, Kaya crouched, staring intently at the corpse. Finally, she shook her head and sighed.
"Steph," Kaya whispered. "any of these our, uh, ex-teammates? How many of those we got left?"
-
Wham Yubeesling
- Posts: 1255
- Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:15 pm
- Location: there is a man standing behind you
- Team Affiliation: Stephanie's Buccaneers
- Contact:
A voice comes out of Kaya's collar:
"Not allowed to tell you that, sorry. You'll have to wait until the announcement.
"I can tell you that nobody in that mess is a buccaneer, though."
"Not allowed to tell you that, sorry. You'll have to wait until the announcement.
"I can tell you that nobody in that mess is a buccaneer, though."
-
Pippi
- Posts: 1118
- Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2018 6:32 pm
- Location: I'm Pip!
- Team Affiliation: Stephanie's Buccaneers
Aaaand there was the confirmation Bethan had been pretty much expecting, clear as day in Kaya’s tone! Her words suggested ‘corpses’ but the heavy intonation in her voice clearly stated ‘a bunch of dudes lying around, waiting for this place to become a Danger Zone so that they could be collected safely and stealthily’. Which really didn’t roll off the tongue so well, and also didn’t really fit the fantasy the show was designed for, so she couldn’t blame her for not saying it outright!
Bethan realised she had a big big grin on her face, and then also realised that she was facing directly towards a wall-mounted camera, so quickly spun around to look the other way. Again, she really didn’t wanna ruin a perfectly good shot by accidentally breaking character! It all worked out fine though, because now she was actually facing the stairs, and so she was in the perfect position to intercept any would-be villains trying to sneak up on them.
“Aye-aye, cap’n!” Bethan called out, bouncing on her heels, completely failing to look intimidating in any which way. “I’ll make sure to keelhaul any landlubbers that try and get the jump on us!”
She giggled, muffling the sound with her hand, before focusing her attention back on her guard duty task at hand. She wondered how long ‘too long’ would be? She guessed that depended on what Kaya was actually doing out there. Maybe she was scavenging for useful stuff? It felt a little, like, mean to be taking stuff from the eliminated competitors, but she guessed it also wasn’t actually theirs, just stuff that the producers had handed out for them to use! And now that they’d been knocked out of the running, they wouldn’t exactly be able to use it any longer! Bethan nodded to herself, pleased to have come to a logical conclusion.
… It would probably get kinda dull if no-one else showed up, though, no matter how long Kaya took.
“Hmm… How about, ‘Avast, ye scurvy dogs’?”
Bethan muttered to herself under her breath, testing the waters, no pun intended, for what would be the best thing to say to anybody who turned up uninvited.
“Maybe ‘With sword and shot, we’ll take this ship back!’ Uh… ‘This is Buccaneer territory, bucko!’ No, wait, that’s too many ‘buck’ sounds close together, uhm…”
Bethan realised she had a big big grin on her face, and then also realised that she was facing directly towards a wall-mounted camera, so quickly spun around to look the other way. Again, she really didn’t wanna ruin a perfectly good shot by accidentally breaking character! It all worked out fine though, because now she was actually facing the stairs, and so she was in the perfect position to intercept any would-be villains trying to sneak up on them.
“Aye-aye, cap’n!” Bethan called out, bouncing on her heels, completely failing to look intimidating in any which way. “I’ll make sure to keelhaul any landlubbers that try and get the jump on us!”
She giggled, muffling the sound with her hand, before focusing her attention back on her guard duty task at hand. She wondered how long ‘too long’ would be? She guessed that depended on what Kaya was actually doing out there. Maybe she was scavenging for useful stuff? It felt a little, like, mean to be taking stuff from the eliminated competitors, but she guessed it also wasn’t actually theirs, just stuff that the producers had handed out for them to use! And now that they’d been knocked out of the running, they wouldn’t exactly be able to use it any longer! Bethan nodded to herself, pleased to have come to a logical conclusion.
… It would probably get kinda dull if no-one else showed up, though, no matter how long Kaya took.
“Hmm… How about, ‘Avast, ye scurvy dogs’?”
Bethan muttered to herself under her breath, testing the waters, no pun intended, for what would be the best thing to say to anybody who turned up uninvited.
“Maybe ‘With sword and shot, we’ll take this ship back!’ Uh… ‘This is Buccaneer territory, bucko!’ No, wait, that’s too many ‘buck’ sounds close together, uhm…”
She couldn’t think straight. Her thoughts were racing. Dead bodies, everywhere. The chance to make amends was gone. Kaya was right there, and she wasn’t alone. They weren’t allies. She didn’t have any more allies. RJ, Jewel, all gone or turned on her. After she’d turned on him.
Kaya leaned over RJ. Kicked him with her foot, from Amy’s point of view. She saw spite and a sick grin on a face Amy couldn’t see.
She pulled herself back, but she couldn’t stop herself. She couldn’t just abandon RJ again. She owed him that much.
“Get away from him.” she demanded as she revealed herself from her hiding spot, voice raised not quite to a shout, but with a tone as harsh as black ice. The gun was gripped with both hands, levelled in Kaya’s direction. It was like with Luciano: just for show, get her way, give her the control. She didn’t want to use it. Not because she wasn’t prepared to, but she couldn’t handle any more right now. She couldn’t add to the pile of corpses. She just wanted-
But she would.
Kaya leaned over RJ. Kicked him with her foot, from Amy’s point of view. She saw spite and a sick grin on a face Amy couldn’t see.
She pulled herself back, but she couldn’t stop herself. She couldn’t just abandon RJ again. She owed him that much.
“Get away from him.” she demanded as she revealed herself from her hiding spot, voice raised not quite to a shout, but with a tone as harsh as black ice. The gun was gripped with both hands, levelled in Kaya’s direction. It was like with Luciano: just for show, get her way, give her the control. She didn’t want to use it. Not because she wasn’t prepared to, but she couldn’t handle any more right now. She couldn’t add to the pile of corpses. She just wanted-
But she would.
Kaya stepped back from RJ's corpse, turning to look at Amy. Her expression was startled, but after a moment she narrowed her eyes to a more inscrutable face. "Okay," she said. She crossed her arms, her fingers hooking into the center front of her coat. "Should warn you I'm not alone, but we don't want any trouble, either."
Swallowing a little, Kaya looked back over at the door they came from before turning back to Amy. She shrugged in the corpse's direction. "Did you know him? My bad, no harm intended. I was just taking a look around. Don't think there's anything useful here, though. Unless you're a cannibal." She shrugged. "Not my style, really, but I don't judge."
She glanced over at the door again. "Amy, yeah?" she asked, not facing the girl. "What've you been up to? Haven't heard you from the magic voice in the sky yet, and you didn't shoot me on the spot, so I assume we can at least try to be cool, right?"
Swallowing a little, Kaya looked back over at the door they came from before turning back to Amy. She shrugged in the corpse's direction. "Did you know him? My bad, no harm intended. I was just taking a look around. Don't think there's anything useful here, though. Unless you're a cannibal." She shrugged. "Not my style, really, but I don't judge."
She glanced over at the door again. "Amy, yeah?" she asked, not facing the girl. "What've you been up to? Haven't heard you from the magic voice in the sky yet, and you didn't shoot me on the spot, so I assume we can at least try to be cool, right?"
-
Pippi
- Posts: 1118
- Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2018 6:32 pm
- Location: I'm Pip!
- Team Affiliation: Stephanie's Buccaneers
Uh-oh. That sounded like trouble.
There was a second voice coming from behind her, loud and clear and distinct from Kaya’s, and it was a voice that really did not sound like its owner was in the best of moods. Bethan immediately snapped to attention, body and mind now entirely focused on what was occurring out on deck instead of the cool and badass line she was gonna say to whoever came up the stairs in front of her.
Maybe she could try one of them out on whoever had approached Kaya! Call it a trial run, or something!
She kept perfectly still, standing vigilant, ears pricked and listening out for any signs of escalation. She could hear Kaya’s voice, or her tone at least, but the words themselves were obscured by the noise of the waves and the wind. What was important was that there wasn’t anymore yelling going on, from either side, and what was even more important than that was that there weren’t any gunshots going off, cause jeez, she was kinda totally done with those for a good while, thanks!
There was still a feeling of indecision lurking inside of her, though. Like, on the one hand, she wanted to just pop her head round the doorway to make sure everything was going smoothly, and that Kaya wasn’t surrounded by a whole bunch of ne’er-do-wells holding her up or something. But on the other hand, she was almost totally absolutely certain that as soon as she did that, then that’d be the moment someone actually did come up the stairs and pop her in the back.
Euuurgh. Euuuurughhhhhhh.
Wait, actually, no, no this was a super mega simple choice actually! She was a Buccaneer, and Kaya was a Buccaneer, and backstabs be darned, she wasn’t about to let anything happen to her fellow swashbuckler!
She turned, jog-stepping through the doorway, raising her hand above her eyes and blinking quickly as she adjusted to the change in lighting. She held the spear upright and by her side, looking between the two girls, surrounded by, uh, oh wow, Kaya had been right, this really was messy, jeez.
“Stop right there, matey!” Bethan cried out. “This here is Buccaneer territ- Oh my gosh, hi Amy! Long time no see, huh!”
There was a second voice coming from behind her, loud and clear and distinct from Kaya’s, and it was a voice that really did not sound like its owner was in the best of moods. Bethan immediately snapped to attention, body and mind now entirely focused on what was occurring out on deck instead of the cool and badass line she was gonna say to whoever came up the stairs in front of her.
Maybe she could try one of them out on whoever had approached Kaya! Call it a trial run, or something!
She kept perfectly still, standing vigilant, ears pricked and listening out for any signs of escalation. She could hear Kaya’s voice, or her tone at least, but the words themselves were obscured by the noise of the waves and the wind. What was important was that there wasn’t anymore yelling going on, from either side, and what was even more important than that was that there weren’t any gunshots going off, cause jeez, she was kinda totally done with those for a good while, thanks!
There was still a feeling of indecision lurking inside of her, though. Like, on the one hand, she wanted to just pop her head round the doorway to make sure everything was going smoothly, and that Kaya wasn’t surrounded by a whole bunch of ne’er-do-wells holding her up or something. But on the other hand, she was almost totally absolutely certain that as soon as she did that, then that’d be the moment someone actually did come up the stairs and pop her in the back.
Euuurgh. Euuuurughhhhhhh.
Wait, actually, no, no this was a super mega simple choice actually! She was a Buccaneer, and Kaya was a Buccaneer, and backstabs be darned, she wasn’t about to let anything happen to her fellow swashbuckler!
She turned, jog-stepping through the doorway, raising her hand above her eyes and blinking quickly as she adjusted to the change in lighting. She held the spear upright and by her side, looking between the two girls, surrounded by, uh, oh wow, Kaya had been right, this really was messy, jeez.
“Stop right there, matey!” Bethan cried out. “This here is Buccaneer territ- Oh my gosh, hi Amy! Long time no see, huh!”
-
VoltTurtle
- Posts: 491
- Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2018 5:41 am
So Amy was here too, huh?
((Seo-yun Lee continued from Return of the Bear and 악몽))
She lurked just out of sight below the deck, listening in on the conversation that was happening above.
It was nice to know that in a way the gang was all back together. All they were still missing were Mary and Lucille, but unfortunately the latter was permanently indisposed. A true meeting of hearts and minds could never happen again, and there was some tragedy to that. It even made Seo-yun feel a little bad, knowing that she would never get the chance to get any kind of closure with Lucille. She almost wished that she had done the girl in herself. At least then Lucille's death would have been contributing to something greater.
Seo-yun had been lurking below deck for quite a while, waiting for her moment to emerge like a fallen angel out of the bowels of Hell itself. She knew that Bethan and what sounded like Kaya were on the deck up above her. She hadn't realized that Amy had been in tow until just now, with Bethan's declaration. It was odd that she had sounded so chipper. Seo-yun wasn't quite aware of the relationship between Bethan and Lucille, but she could've sworn that they were far, far closer than either of them let on. Wouldn't Lucille's death have destroyed Bethan? Was Bethan really that callous? Maybe Seo-yun had misjudged her all along.
She shook her head, dismissing the thought. Now was not the time to second guess her own reasoning. If the announcements and that inane dream had made anything clear to her, it was that she needed to be far more careful about what she was doing. Before she made the next move in her grand game, it was time for her to go back over the situation she was in.
She was actually at six, or possibly seven, kills. That bitch Gabriella had stolen her kill on Hannah, and Matias wasn't dead. Alaska's status was unknown, the announcements hadn't mentioned her, but they had held off on Seo-yun's other kills in the past too, and they could easily be doing so again. Until she had confirmation on that, she would count Alaska as a half-kill. So that meant she was at six and a half. Worst case scenario, she needed four more to get out. Best case scenario, she needed three.
That left her with a conundrum. There were three potential victims up above that she knew about, but she couldn't hear guns until they were fired, so she didn't know how well any of them were armed. Trying to fight all three of them at once could lead to disaster, and trying to disarm them first could similarly end poorly. So then, what was the shrewd move?
Not going for all three, obviously.
If she wasn't going to be making any more stupid mistakes and losing even more than she already had, then it was important not to take unnecessary risks. Sure, she could go in guns blazing and hope that she killed all three of them, but that didn't mean it was smart. Playing smart meant choosing her battles. One safe kill was better than three dangerous kills. If she could find an opportunity to just pop off one of them without fear of serious retaliation, then she would take it, and if she couldn't find that opportunity, then she would just let them go. There would always be more potential victims.
With that last thought, Seo-yun poked her head around the corner, looking up the stairs out onto the deck. Bethan was the closest, and wasn't looking in this direction. She couldn't make out Kaya or Amy from where she was at currently, but they would reveal themselves in time.
She swallowed, trying her best to maintain her concentration. Doing her best to ignore the pit of doom that had opened up inside of her ever since this morning and that terrible dream. Part of her wondered where Mandy was, now that she had reason to believe the other girl was, in fact, still alive. Her thoughts kept drifting back to that, over and over again. Maybe one of the others above had seen her. Maybe she could ask, if she got the chance.
Seo-yun placed one hand on the corner, pulling herself slightly further past it.
Sweat dripped down the side of her face. The shotgun felt heavy in her other hand.
((Seo-yun Lee continued from Return of the Bear and 악몽))
She lurked just out of sight below the deck, listening in on the conversation that was happening above.
It was nice to know that in a way the gang was all back together. All they were still missing were Mary and Lucille, but unfortunately the latter was permanently indisposed. A true meeting of hearts and minds could never happen again, and there was some tragedy to that. It even made Seo-yun feel a little bad, knowing that she would never get the chance to get any kind of closure with Lucille. She almost wished that she had done the girl in herself. At least then Lucille's death would have been contributing to something greater.
Seo-yun had been lurking below deck for quite a while, waiting for her moment to emerge like a fallen angel out of the bowels of Hell itself. She knew that Bethan and what sounded like Kaya were on the deck up above her. She hadn't realized that Amy had been in tow until just now, with Bethan's declaration. It was odd that she had sounded so chipper. Seo-yun wasn't quite aware of the relationship between Bethan and Lucille, but she could've sworn that they were far, far closer than either of them let on. Wouldn't Lucille's death have destroyed Bethan? Was Bethan really that callous? Maybe Seo-yun had misjudged her all along.
She shook her head, dismissing the thought. Now was not the time to second guess her own reasoning. If the announcements and that inane dream had made anything clear to her, it was that she needed to be far more careful about what she was doing. Before she made the next move in her grand game, it was time for her to go back over the situation she was in.
She was actually at six, or possibly seven, kills. That bitch Gabriella had stolen her kill on Hannah, and Matias wasn't dead. Alaska's status was unknown, the announcements hadn't mentioned her, but they had held off on Seo-yun's other kills in the past too, and they could easily be doing so again. Until she had confirmation on that, she would count Alaska as a half-kill. So that meant she was at six and a half. Worst case scenario, she needed four more to get out. Best case scenario, she needed three.
That left her with a conundrum. There were three potential victims up above that she knew about, but she couldn't hear guns until they were fired, so she didn't know how well any of them were armed. Trying to fight all three of them at once could lead to disaster, and trying to disarm them first could similarly end poorly. So then, what was the shrewd move?
Not going for all three, obviously.
If she wasn't going to be making any more stupid mistakes and losing even more than she already had, then it was important not to take unnecessary risks. Sure, she could go in guns blazing and hope that she killed all three of them, but that didn't mean it was smart. Playing smart meant choosing her battles. One safe kill was better than three dangerous kills. If she could find an opportunity to just pop off one of them without fear of serious retaliation, then she would take it, and if she couldn't find that opportunity, then she would just let them go. There would always be more potential victims.
With that last thought, Seo-yun poked her head around the corner, looking up the stairs out onto the deck. Bethan was the closest, and wasn't looking in this direction. She couldn't make out Kaya or Amy from where she was at currently, but they would reveal themselves in time.
She swallowed, trying her best to maintain her concentration. Doing her best to ignore the pit of doom that had opened up inside of her ever since this morning and that terrible dream. Part of her wondered where Mandy was, now that she had reason to believe the other girl was, in fact, still alive. Her thoughts kept drifting back to that, over and over again. Maybe one of the others above had seen her. Maybe she could ask, if she got the chance.
Seo-yun placed one hand on the corner, pulling herself slightly further past it.
Sweat dripped down the side of her face. The shotgun felt heavy in her other hand.
It wasn’t like Luciano. Kaya wasn’t flinching, or standing down. Probably because she was clearly armed with a bigger gun than Amy’s. She would’ve counted her blessings that there wasn’t a firefight, because she wasn’t prepared for one. But there wouldn’t have been one, because Amy would’ve blown Kaya’s head off if she’d looked like she was raising her gun. She was pretty sure she would have, though at this range, it would have come down much more to whether she could have.
Despite her eyes still being red from the crying, and how she wanted to reach up and wipe them because the salty tears were irritating and made it harder to see, Amy kept her stone face, even as Kaya went on a spiel that, to her, sounded like an overconfident bad guy. They weren’t afraid of Bond, probably because they had a sniper trained on him right then and there. The camera would pan to the view through his scope, just to let the audience know. Given that Amy knew she wasn’t alone, that was almost certainly the case.
“We can be ‘cool’,” she responded, trying to sound the same but really just sounding monotone. “But I don’t trust you while you have that gun.”
She couldn’t take her eyes off of Kaya, because that’s exactly the opportunity she'd take to draw. It was a dangerous situation that Amy had gotten herself into. And all this over the corpse of a boy she’d known for a day, and stabbed in the back. There was another pang of guilt at that thought, but she kept her focus. Until Bethan interrupted it.
She took her eyes off Kaya to confirm what she’d heard, instinct rather than conscious decision. A sloppy move, but one that didn’t prove fatal. Bethan, from the mall trip. Waving a spear around. Looking far too chipper.
Amy didn’t relax.
“Bethan.” she acknowledged, before returning to focus on Kaya. She kept the gun raised. Bethan only looked like she had a melee weapon, and she wasn’t close enough to use it. Kaya was more dangerous. Even if Bethan was someone she actually knew. Of all the time in SOTF-TV, it was her first time meeting someone she could actually consider a friend.
But hadn’t Seo been that? She couldn’t remember any more; all she could remember was Seo trying to murder her and succeeding with two other people. Had Bethan killed people, her name being broadcast on the announcements? She couldn’t remember that either. There were so many names, and she had been concentrating on RJ’s, Luciano’s and Seo’s. She couldn’t remember everyone who had killed everyone. Trying to make the decision on who to trust was hurting her head. Far easier to default to not trusting anyone.
But Bethan was still as upbeat as she’d been back at the mall trip, which was entirely inappropriate given the situation. It felt almost like she was doing a jig on RJ’s corpse, just by being so unphased. At least Kaya had the good manners to sound cool. It pissed Amy off.
“Why are you talking like that?” she asked, still focusing her attention and gun on Kaya. “There are dead bodies here. Show some respect.”
The gun wobbled slightly in her hand. It was actually pretty heavy, she was realising. Or maybe it was just nerves. She still wasn’t used to speaking so forcefully.
“...please.”
Despite her eyes still being red from the crying, and how she wanted to reach up and wipe them because the salty tears were irritating and made it harder to see, Amy kept her stone face, even as Kaya went on a spiel that, to her, sounded like an overconfident bad guy. They weren’t afraid of Bond, probably because they had a sniper trained on him right then and there. The camera would pan to the view through his scope, just to let the audience know. Given that Amy knew she wasn’t alone, that was almost certainly the case.
“We can be ‘cool’,” she responded, trying to sound the same but really just sounding monotone. “But I don’t trust you while you have that gun.”
She couldn’t take her eyes off of Kaya, because that’s exactly the opportunity she'd take to draw. It was a dangerous situation that Amy had gotten herself into. And all this over the corpse of a boy she’d known for a day, and stabbed in the back. There was another pang of guilt at that thought, but she kept her focus. Until Bethan interrupted it.
She took her eyes off Kaya to confirm what she’d heard, instinct rather than conscious decision. A sloppy move, but one that didn’t prove fatal. Bethan, from the mall trip. Waving a spear around. Looking far too chipper.
Amy didn’t relax.
“Bethan.” she acknowledged, before returning to focus on Kaya. She kept the gun raised. Bethan only looked like she had a melee weapon, and she wasn’t close enough to use it. Kaya was more dangerous. Even if Bethan was someone she actually knew. Of all the time in SOTF-TV, it was her first time meeting someone she could actually consider a friend.
But hadn’t Seo been that? She couldn’t remember any more; all she could remember was Seo trying to murder her and succeeding with two other people. Had Bethan killed people, her name being broadcast on the announcements? She couldn’t remember that either. There were so many names, and she had been concentrating on RJ’s, Luciano’s and Seo’s. She couldn’t remember everyone who had killed everyone. Trying to make the decision on who to trust was hurting her head. Far easier to default to not trusting anyone.
But Bethan was still as upbeat as she’d been back at the mall trip, which was entirely inappropriate given the situation. It felt almost like she was doing a jig on RJ’s corpse, just by being so unphased. At least Kaya had the good manners to sound cool. It pissed Amy off.
“Why are you talking like that?” she asked, still focusing her attention and gun on Kaya. “There are dead bodies here. Show some respect.”
The gun wobbled slightly in her hand. It was actually pretty heavy, she was realising. Or maybe it was just nerves. She still wasn’t used to speaking so forcefully.
“...please.”