Shattered Spirits IC

[Whitepaw Niniichi/Enigir Shosa]

     The nation of Iara was relatively small compared to the rest of the planet's other powerful nations. It specialised in mineral exports and it's population was made up largely of miners and mages. The great Iaran Academy of Scriptures was world renown for producing high grade mages and, curiously, priests. It was also no secret that of all the countries devoted to their gods, Iara was the most strict about it.
     In the end, the bigger nation of Shazul became tired of Iara's posturing. The great Shazulian Kingdom declared war on Iara.
     It was a bloody war. A lot of civilians died. More were scarred for life. The Iaran military proposed a way out for the tiny and wounded nation. All it would take, they said, was a generation of children who would be taken, raised and nurtured to their full potential in Area 3-9-4. No information was disclosed as to what would happen to the young children or even where Area 3-9-4 was. The only things that were really said were that the MAGIS program would save Iara from complete and utter destruction. That promise alone fuelled the people's willingness to surrender their children.
     Those that refused would never realise how lucky their decisions were...

     Area 3-9-4; A-wing.

     The MAGIS program had been proposed and headed both by a Dr. Scamandro, an upstanding lion man with a nearly trimmed mane, well brushed fur and a fine suit. He strode along the whitewashed corridors of Area 3-9-4's A-wing. He tapped a message to a squad of guards attached to B-wing where #52 would be transferred to Central for testing. A lot was on his mind. One of these things was experiment #3. The whole of A-wing was lit from every angle so as to avoid any containment breaches. The effects of the type X and type F procedures had left #3 with the ability to shadow-blend. As such measures had needed to be taken to ensure the safety of the staff.
     The shadow blending technique was a rarity among even the Iaran military's vast Mage division although it was not altogether unheard of. What was unheard if was #3's ability to execute the ability at will. With apparent ease no less. Further testing would be required - the MAGIS program's end result would benefit from such abilities without need of a lengthy cast.
     Irregular footfalls became apparent as Dr. Scamandro finished distributing orders to a B-wing squad. The footfalls were the three guard escort assigned primarily to #3. The squad halted at a raised hand from the man. He leaned down and inspected the experiment's face. With a dispassionate expression but an eerily fatherly tone, the doctor asked:
     "How are you feeling today, number three?"

     Area 3-9-4; B-wing.
     Two soldiers stood on either side of the door, their rifles held ready. A third guard opened the door and glanced at the red apparition before him.
     "We've got some work for you. Please step out of the cell." The soldier's voice was in monotone. This was all standard experiment escort procedure. "We have orders to shoot you if you disobey any orders...so don't try anything stupid. Once we arrive at the testing area just follow the instructions over the intercom and you'll probably be fine,"

[SadDubwool]

As the red apperation looked at the soldier small red gloublets dripping from his long jagged teeth he finally stood up and said with a snake-like hiss "Yessss....i Ssshall follow you with great Hesitance"He began walking toward's his captor

[Nico]

#3 was awoken to a man standing over him this man talking to him with a type of ownership that #3 would not stand for much longer. He didn't like waking in strange the strange place he was brought but he knew why it was his strange ability to harness the shadows power and use them effectively although he believed he was locked up because they where afraid of his power. The mans name was Dr. Scamandro and every day he would be awoken to him asking "How are you feeling today, number three?" #3 always hated that question but every day he would answer the same "I feel like hiding in the shadows" and every time the doctor would laugh

[serpington]

Writer sat quietly in his sound proofed room, looking around slowly till he was looking at the door. Having laid down on his back to be able to see it he wasn't in any hurry to move when the door unlocked and opened, a vaguely familiar guard walking in and looking down at him.

"you haven't got any training on till later today, I brought you something to eat before your supposed to go practice."

Without a sound he slowly sat up and held out his arms, taking one of two trays of food and nodding with a smile. The guard sat down, having learnt that the nod meant he was aloud to sit down and eat in the small room. Writer liking the company, and the guard getting to take a short break and eat near the end of his shift.

[Whitepaw Niniichi/Enigir Shosa]

     Dr. Scamandro scrutinised every detail in the slightly limp #3's body. Every time his answer conveyed the same desire. If that desire proved a side effect of his powers then a remedy for such a wanting might need be developed. The doctor asked a new question this time:
     "Is that what you really want?" A pause. Then the usual response. "Worry not. You can have all the shadows you want in this next test."
     The clicker responded as both the escorted experiment and the head if the MAGIS project went their separate ways. Regardless of #3's wanting a remedy would be developed. Such powerful desire might interfere with the recueval of orders. And such flaws were not acceptable in the final product. The final product...
     They were nicknamed the Zero Numbers. Unlike the likes of #3, the Zero Numbers were almost complete. As it stood Number Zero Three - #0-3 - most closely resembled the desired product. All that were left in store for that one were the cognitive type tests...
     Such thoughts were not to be had, so mused Dr. Scamandro as he neared the end of A-wing. The empathic and telepathic types might catch wind of MAGIS' purpose.
     PURPOSE... The intense pressure from that word drove thought temporarily from Dr. Scamandro's mind. He rose the clicker to his mouth and hit a button.
     "Level One, Type six containment breach in A-wing. All available units revise the situation immediately." It seemed #46 was restless. #46...the flawed telepathic. After it's next test there would no longer be reason to keep it alive.
     Soldiers rushed to the scene as Scamandro made off to the ring of labs located around Central. It was nearly time to release #0-6 from its development tank and begin testing. In all reality #0-6 was just an extra. The closest to perfection was his predecessor, #0-5. However so long as variables remained unexplored the MAGIS researchers were to probe until no data remained unknown.
     Dr. Scamandro entered the labs and sat in his chair opposite #0-6's tank. The masculine and unclothed body floated in the middle of the orange tank of liquid. Occasionally bubbles would rise from its nose. It had taken three years to culture the frame of this potentially soon-to-be Combat Mage. It's development had been faster than #0-1's, which had taken eight years. How far science had come. Soon Iara would be free. Who knew? Perhaps more. And Scamandro would be the head of it all...

     Area 9-0-3, Central, Test Chamber 13
     The three guards escorting the shadow blending experiment halted before a large armoured door and aimed squarely at the experiment. The light levels were not as extensive as the wing but nonetheless were within tolerances - the faint shadows apparently caused #3 physical pain when entered and it was easily spotted when in them.
     The heavy chamber lock opened and the experiment was forced inside under threat of death. Like always, #3 was herded through the three door locking system, each door opening only after the others were tightly sealed, until the testing chamber was in sight.
     "Subject number three. Before you is a reconstruction of a typical residential area. Your task is to eliminate the six prisoners sealed in with you. Each is armed with a nine millimetre handgun and a bright torch attached to the end. You have one hour to complete the task. Failure will result in death."

     Area 9-0-3, Central, Test Chamber 36.
     #52 arrived in his test chamber in a similar manner to that of #3's, way on the other side of Central. His test was the same and was announced in a similar manner.

     Area 9-0-3, Central, laboratories.
     Scamandro gazed dispassionately at the monitors. These two and the other experiment - the one that used sound - would provide the last data required before number Zero Six was completed and awakened for the first time. If the experiments did well, their genes would be sampled, synthesised, and added to the Zero experiments. Then the final product would be made, tested, altered if nessecary and mass-produced. The first lot if experiments would be culled, of course, to make room. Dr. Scamandro and #0-6's assigned monitors looked on..,

[SadDubwool]

As Edgar Screeched loudly he sprinted toward's the nearest prisoner,he easily amputate's the prisoners gun hand before beheading him,he then fuses the squirting blood into his body,spikes form on his chest before gunfire flies into him,Edgar roar's in pain before takling another prisoner and biting into his face he sprint's to a prisoner about to shoot and impale's him with his knife hand a prisoner grabs edgar by the neck,before he can pull the torch trigger Edgar throw's him and proceeds to stab him in the heart absorbing his blood and throwing him into his fellow prisoner and grab's the incapacitated man and slit's his throat,spraying blood on the wall,the last prisoner shoots edgar four times,edgar begins to weaken and the prisoner walks up ro him and kick him before he aims the gun at edgar's head,edgar spits blood in his face and slices his gun out of his hand before kneecaping the prisoner and put's the blade up to his neck,he think awhile before saying "i'll see you in hell" he behead's the prisoner before he kneel's to the blood taking time to heal his wound's

[Nico]

#3 stood and followed the guards down the extremely well lit hallways in complete silence.. Silence it's what the shadows sound like he loved it, it gave him a slight indulgence to his addiction of wielding this dark power... They got to the large door and the first thing that passed through #3's mind was testing. Testing was never good for #3 one time he just sank into the shadows and stayed for hours and other times he would use the power of the shadows to obliterate anybody in his path so to be honest testing was always quite risky for #3 luckily for the men testing him he hadn't figured out that the walls were not able to keep him within
    He enters the testing room and instantly he closes his eyes and absorbs the nearest shadow then listens to the test rules he is told to kill nine others armed with nine millimeters with torches on the bottom "**censor**"
     #3 starts to walk through the small town casually then senses the first enemies shadow he then makes the enemies shadow pick him up and repeatedly smash him against the nearest wall caving in the mans rib cage and breaking his skull he drops the man leaving a large blood stain on the wall and a puddle forming under him quickly another one turns the corner seeing his comrade crippled and dead laying in the puddle of blood foolishly he runs up to the fallen man then #3 comes up out of the living prisoners shadow silently then breaks his neck with ease the veins in his arms pitch black he drops that mans body as three rounds fly through his body he turns around and sprints at the man two more shots hitting him #3 grabs the man by the neck then turns his free arm into a shadowed image of his arm he forces it through the mans chest then a scream rings out as #3's hand swims through his organs and grabs his heart like that in an instant all of his veins turn black #3 drops the man and watches him twitch and die slowly #3 laughs then starts walking around again looking through windows often just then three men come out into the open all aimed on #3
        Three smirks evilly and let's three streams of pitch black fly towards his enemies they fly into the others mouths still flowing you can tell that their stomach areas where expanding rapidly until a large bursting sound is heard and the men explode leaving guts and blood to decorate the buildings around him "three more"
       #3 walks into a coffee shop and sees one prisoner's ears behind the counter he holds in a laugh and appears in that mans shadow #3 forces the mans mouth open and shoves his shadow arm down his throat then he begins turning him inside out #3 finishes this leaving a scary looking corps and a puddle of blood "who's next" he says as he walks out of the cafe
        #3 spots his next victim running so #3 opens a shadow and watches the man fall half way in then #3 closes it leaving the prisoner cut in half bleeding out #3 laughs then just comes up through the last ones shadow pulling him down into it the hand calling for help through signals is the last anybody sees of the ninth prisoner #3 pops back up and destroys the shadow he pulled the man into still alive just in a never ending darkness "I'm done" #3 says casually

[serpington]

Writer finished eating and looked over at the guard, watching him eat in silence. With a smile the guard offered him some of his own food which writer shook his head to turn down, pointing at the door instead.

"The door? You wanna go out? You know we're not supposed to let you out unless it's to take you to the core."

Writer sat there quietly, looking down a little. He turned around, putting his arms behind his back the as if waiting for his restraints, earning a sigh from the guard.

"Fine. After I'm finished I'll go get your restraints and we can go for a walk. But you have to behave, okay?"

Nodding happily he waited, letting the guard finish his breakfast then watching him leave. Unable to sit still while waiting for him to come back.

[Whitepaw Niniichi/Enigir Shosa]

     Dr. Scamandro raised an eyebrow. Number #52 had dealt with his test exceptionally. He was apparently...healing. Not cleaning up after himself but actually fixing his wounds. And as for the performance of #3...his test had been altered and it had only taken him several seconds to eliminate the targets. It would be interesting to collect the data from a confrontation with actual soldiers...
     That, however, would be wasteful. Furthermore it would encourage the Initial Experiment numbers to take bold actions against the Area's staff. Such insubordinate behaviour directly contradicted the purpose of MAGIS. He brought the clicker to his mouth and thumbed a number.
     "Escort Wing B numbers 72, 74 and 107 to Central for testing." Another number was keyed in. "Subject numbers 3 and 52 require on the spot genetic extraction before reallocation to cell Wing A. A simple blood test will be fine. Exercise caution when testing #52."
     He sat back. A few more hours and #0-6 would be active.
     "Sir?" The least experienced overseer of #0-6's tank, Matsu, asked.
     "Yes?"
     "I...uh...about when we wake number -."
     "No mistakes will be made." Dr. Scamandro snapped. "This will not be another near-containment breach as with the awakening of #0-4."
     "Y...yes sir. I'm sorry, sir."
     "Doubtless you are." Dr. Scamandro said with an air of finality. Matsu had been present bad active when #0-4 had been 'born' and he had forgotten to activate the relaxant. The zero number had broken free and had nearly caused a full blown breach. Nonetheless the nine-strong Nine Tailed Fox squadron had effectively subdued the rampaging experiment before any real harm could be done. But this time would not be a repeat of that mistake.
     That at least, several months on, would be the closest thing the doctor would ever recall having truly believed. But he wasn't to know any of that, just yet...

     In it's chamber #0-6 stirred. It dreamed - or at least, its brain was active. Having never seen anything before, not even colour, it's mind was a flurry of nondescript activity. The muted words it had on occasion perceived from within its tank repeated themselves endlessly in its mind. Had it been able to feel, it would not know how to feel about it's current state. But even such a simple thing as self awareness was but a fraction out of it's reach...
     Again it stirred...

[SadDubwool]

Edgar looks at the Guard's flooding the chamber and he looks at the sky again the snake-like hiss overtakes his voice "Are you going to kill me?....."He sucks the last of the blood up and smiles,the jagged teeth in his mouth covering his mouth he stand's up and wipe's the fur,skin and blood off his knife hand,in blinding speed he stabs one of the dead bodies and says "This one need's to be juiced..."He sucks the seeping blood from the corpse and throws it into the ground squirting the blood everywhere saying "Ive had my filling"

[Nico]

      #3 listened to what the doctor had to say then sat down as if he hadn't just killed nine people, which if he was on the street would horrify people but he wasn't on the streets anymore he was in a test facility being treated like an animal, and he wouldn't be able to stand it much longer if they kept treating him and the others like this. To be honest he was on the brink of insanity and even he knew that.
       The guards opened the large door that #3 had come in making large amounts of noise that could wake the dead, and for once #3 didn't sit in silence pondering his escape he said "hello"and was met with rifles well trained on his head,
"Stand up!" A guard barks at #3.
So he stands then gets poked in the back with the muzzle of a rifle signaling for him to walk or he'd be shot, they walked through the corridors near silent, #3 always loved having the guards surround him it made him feel dangerous and like a god but the guards didn't know that,
      Eventually they reached a rather dim lit room with one chair inside and a large machine to draw blood next to it, not thinking one bit #3 walks into the room and readies himself for multiple intensely painful shots that would drain him of his blood and would ware him down.
        In almost an instant the blood samples are taken leaving a burning pain in his arm, he stood back up shaking at his knees slightly then walks out being escorted back by the guards, they stop past a socializing area and tell #3 to stay in there for a while so he listened and sat then watching the men walk away, nobody else was in there so #3 made a small ball of shadows and started playing with it in silence.

[SadDubwool]

as the doctors grabbed a needle he say's "this will be interesting" A guard aims a rifle at edgar and readys his torch,the doctor sticks the needle and gets a large amount of a black goo with a red sheen the doctor looks at the needle and say's "Interesting blood sample #52....but please do NOT control it...i see trace's of admantite and we know you have a strong control over it" after multiple extraction's they take him to a socalization field and give him some chicken blood for entertainment,he lean's on a wall Admantite sticks to the wall,he begins solidifing the blood before bending it into a red star-shaped chunk

[serpington]

Writer calmly stands with his arms crossed behind his back, facing away from the door as the guard walks back in with the restraints. Strapping the arm covers into place and following it with a muzzle and collar. The arm restraints cover his forearms and hands, stretching to his elbows, the muzzle keeping him from talking and the collar designed to talk for him.

He gets up and arches his back to stretch, looking around quietly and following the guard through the halls. He was upset that his walk was cut short by the announcement, following the guard through the recreation room and passed two other test subjects, avoiding eye contact as he quickly walked through the room and towards central.

[Whitepaw Niniichi/Enigir Shosa]

     Dr. Scamandro decided to watch the blood extractions as well. All of the numbers were predictably compliant. As he flicked between monitors he paused as #3 walked between places. It's expression was not blank as it usually was. Was that a false feed? Or was there a smile upon the experiment's face? For the moment it mattered little.
     "Sir!" The head of MAGIS turned and glanced at the officer carrying a phone. It was military HQ. he took the call. It lasted fifteen minutes. At the end the man delicately hung up and sat in silence. He was thinking hard. Eventually Matsu asked what was going on.
     "The program is to finalise phase two." Shock shot through the room at this statement. All the other zero types had been woken after days of heavy lockdown. As if to unsettle the room more: "We are to gather the blood samples, have them gene spliced and active within #0-6's body by nightfall. In order to avoid disaster we must first flawlessly perform our roles. Secondly, all empath and telepathic types are to be eliminated. They will only serve to jeopardise our position at this point. Furthermore they serve no further purpose. These are out orders. Make it happen."
     Dr. Scamandro stood and made to leave the area. He had things to prepare...

     Area 3-9-4, Wing V
     A well-built wolf with golden eyes and red fur stopped what he was doing and glanced at the others. He had a silky voice.
     "Do you feel that?" The others stopped writing and solving puzzle toys and gazed at him.
     "Not as likely so strongly as you, Zero-two." A beautiful female replied with a melodic voice. A black furred and, like the rest, golden eyed male responded.
     "Just what is it you suggest we feel?" His tone was as dark as his fur. The red male paused and said:
     "What I felt on the other occasions seven days before Zero-one and I met you, Zero-three and Zero-five."
     "Then there are to be six of us?" Asked a snowy furred female.
     "It would seem so. After all, Zero-two is seldom wrong in his perceptions."
     "How many more of us shall be born?" Mused the third and last of the ladies.
     "It matters not. What matters is obedience. All of us should be silent and continue with our tasks. Them perhaps we can move to the communal areas and interact with the raw materials."
     "Raw materials? According to the dictionary that is a cruel way of referring to the primary test subjects."
     "Guard your tongues. We've not been permitted such fanciful a thing as philosophical thought."
     "Humph."
     The Zero Numbers resumed their tasks in their large plain room...

[aperson1]

(I'm sorry for my out-of-order post, I just want to get an introductory one in so that I have my metaphorical foot down in this RP.)

Salfers Starnes was running. Behind him loomed a gigantic beast with blood in its eyes and death in its mind. He knew that he could only hold up for a few minutes longer before the monster would use its gigantic maw to devour him with- and he was quickly tiring. Ahead of him he could see nothing but a few scattered bushes, and far ahead a cliff. He had noticed it before, and hoped he was devoured before having to reach there, but it was much closer. Several hundred feet now, the monster still several in the other direction. He reached the cliff, took one look back, and jumped. He felt his speed increasing, the ground drawing nearer and nearer- and then he woke up.

"I already told you, no napping!"

Salf blinked a few times and groaned when he remembered where he was. Above him, one of the guards peered over him with a look of boredom and hatred.

"I'm sorry, it's really hard when you haven't had a decent sleep in over 50 hours!"

"I don't want to hear excuses, besides I don't make the rules, so it's pointless complaining to me. Anyways, you're needed at the central chamber, so get your lazy a** up and get going."

It wasn't as if Salf had much of a choice- a previous incident involving an old guard of his had led to the decree that he be chained to a guard at all times. Wherever they went, he had no choice but to follow. Together they got up; the guard took a key and opened the primary door, did a laser-cornea test for the second, and a thumb-print test for the third. A tired-looking guard resting against the entrance jumped up, startled, and, seeing who it was, joined in in escorting Salf to the center.

On the way, Salf felt the guards' contempt for him. Their suspicious looks, their hushed whispers. He often tried to joke to himself about how many days he had until he got a bullet to the head- not that it was much of a joke though. It was a very real danger, and he often thought about it in what little time he had for free thought. Which was almost never.

Something else that worried him was that, as far as he could tell, he had now power at all. All others he had heard of in the project had gained and learned their powers within weeks of starting the project, but after what seemed like months (he had lost count of the days) he was still about as sure of his power as he was when he joined. A failure most called him, one of his first guards and apparently somebody of power at the time, however, had insisted that their tests revealed him to instead be a late-bloomer. He likely since left, because it became clear to him that he was no longer favored in peoples' minds.

As they reached the end of the hall, the guard unchained Salf from him and put the open end of the chain on a reinforced steel ring attached to the wall- made especially for him.

"Now don't get any ideas of escaping or anything- you'll get killed before you reach the first line of our defenses." The guard motioned to his rifle.

Salf sighed and waited while the second guard inspected him for bacterial contamination- something found to interfere with MAGIS-acquired powers. He tugged at the steel collar a bit, letting them know he couldn't get out of it if he tried. However, he felt the subtle bending of the steel. It wasn't exactly a power, and he wasn't keen on letting anyone know it yet, but he had strength very high for that of even an adult. He had had it since birth, and it was likely the reason he was accepted. Even if they already knew he was strong, they couldn't have known how much, because if they had known that, there would be no doubt that his collar would be titanium at the least.

The guard's tool blinked green- he tapped a few buttons into it and left. The first guard motioned for him to wait.

And so he waited.