Child Of Darkness

Well if that's an offer I may have to take it up. That's what Ryo was thinking when he felt a Sharp tug on his ear. "My brother wasn't thinking about ditching me to get and watch the Bikini contest was he?" "Ow, Shizuko that hurts. No I wasn't I promise. Come on, let get of my ear please." "Hmpf. Bro, I will tell you this right now, if you don't go to that contest tomorrow, you lose your credentials are both a nerd and a man." "And what gives you the authority to revoke those? Besides, you're 11. How do you understand how the mind of an Adult works?" "I don't. You're just saying that to make me look like a little pervert. I'm young, I don't know about things like that." "I can smell the Sarcasm on your voice its that potent. And Ice Cream. You sure you're not going to be sick." "Positive." "Whatever. You're tired, so lets get you back home. First thing in the morning, we're running the store and buying a stockpile of everything non perishable. Then eating some of it. Then we can go the festival and have some money to spend on what ever we wish. Well more like what you wish. Spoiled child." "And who's fault is that?" "Mine." Still carrying his sister on his back, the two of them decided to take a long walk around town as opposed to going straight home. See some of the scenery while they could.

@@Mentis Soliloquy, "Well, its basically a little festival this town has during some point in the summer. Its mainly a beach festival where you do summer, outdoor things. I heard this year we're having a Swimming contest, I heard rumours of a concert, food stuff, bikini contest I think was thing, among a few other things I didn't pay much attention to. I'm mainly going because Shizuko wants to go." "Are you sure you didn't agree to go because you thought it would be a good chance to see some girls in swimsuits?" "And why would I have time for that when I need to keep my eye on your clingy little hands 24/7? You know I can't take my eyes off of you for a second outside without you causing trouble." "Valid point. I'm tired now." "Fine. Bass, hold on just one second." Ryo crouched to let Shizuko clamber onto his back, to which she went to sleep on really quickly. "Anyway, I think that's the store you're looking for." He nodded his head towards one direction, indicating a relatively large store which was the towns general goods market. "I'd offer to help you out in what ever other way you may need it but, I have my hands full already with this one."

@@Mentis Soliloquy, " *nervous laugh* Keen is an understatement. She graduated from a digital arts college just under a year ago. Their's a reason why she doesn't go to school. And well, I need her help I'd never finish on time if she doesn't nag me and help me. This job doesn't exactly pay as well as one might imagine. Considering we only get payed when we finish a project, the money from that usually lasts just under 2 weeks. And it takes us nearly two weeks to finish a single project we really have to be working non stop most of the time. It gets exhausting. Ehhehe, I'm sorry for rambling on. This probably isn't much interest to you." ​"Fortunately we just finished a project and we're getting paid double for it because of the speed in which we finished it. So money isn't a worry for now. We can actually take a break for once. Good timing too with the Summer festival tomorrow. I don't think its much further until the store now."

@@Mentis Soliloquy, "Nice to meet you Bass, and we're outside because mainly what we do is back drop work, landscape art or a skybox. Something you could like at and have you think of it was a background image or a Wallpaper. We base most of what we see on locations we have seen in real life. We take sketches of streets in towns and turn them into full art pieces, most of the time they get used in things like VN's. But mainly we do Landscape art, something that you could have as a wallpaper, or framed image on the wall, or a large world shot in a movie/ Video game. That's the kind of things we do. We're outside to get inspiration for our next project, which is currently undecided. But having a stockpile of bases to choose from speeds up development time a lot. So it's useful. For us to venture outside once in a while." "Yeah, what she said. She may be 11, but she's a lot better with words than I am."

@@Mentis Soliloquy, "No, it wasn't because of your uniform or anything. *awkward laugh* Umm, general store? General store? It's a short trip from here. We'll walk you to that place you need. In just a moment." Ryo picked his pencil up off of the ground and marked the place he was standing with an X, accompanied by an arrow indicating which direction he was facing. "I hope this doesn't damage the pencil too much." "Please forgive his strange habits." "Okay, this is all done. Uhh, it's that way the opposite direction of the way I was looking, which is most likely back the way you came. Sort of, maybe. Ahh, manners. Umm, my name is Ryo and this is my sister Shizuko." "Heyo." "So what's your name? That's if you are okay with telling me that." Ryo asked as the trio started walking away from the shop and more towards the centre of town, that would be the most logical of places for a general goods store. He thought to himself.

@@Mentis Soliloquy, To saw Ryo was surprised would be an understatement. He jumped back, dropping his pencil and nearly dropping his sketch book. Taking a moment for a few deep breaths, Ryo tried to talk with the new person. "Umm sorry. I didn't notice you. Sorry. As for what I was, doing, well..." Noticing that her brother was talking with someone, Shizuko quickly made her way to his side to help him out when he inevitably would get stuck. Like just now. "We're digital artists by trade, bro was talking reference sketches of me for a possible project we would be working on in the future along with a full basic sketch of this scene." "Thanks Shizuko. Umm, yeah sure I can try and help out. It depends on what you need though, umm. I can't do everything of course." "You're going to have to forgive him, he's awkward to work with." "That's cold."

Shizuko and Ryo took a seat somewhere in town, they presumed they were close to the centre, but couldn't exactly be sure. Slightly down the road and across the street from them was a little coffee shop that seemed to be somewhat popular with the people, it looked somewhat packed from his angle. Deciding this would be a good place to set down for a while, Ryo took out his sketch book and a pencil from the bag he had brought with him and started to draw the Cafe from the angle he could see it at. It was at a slight angle, so you would still go the road and the pathway in the shot, a few other buildings would also be outlined along the edges, but having the Cafe as the centre of the image to draw most of the focus, which is also the point of the image he will put the most detail into. "A scene like this would make a great backdrop for a visual novel. Maybe a transition area, with the next image in sequence being the inside of the shop and maybe some CG's of everyone sitting at the table with a slice of cake and a hot drink. Immersion is important after all. Maybe I'll put some more effort into this for reference if we ever get a commission for something like this. VN backdrops are my favourite. Shizuko, do me a favour please? In this frame here," He put his hands up into a picture frame shape, boxing in everything he would be drawing. "Could you stand in alternate places in which you think it would make for a nice place to put an NPC?" "Sure. I can do that. But you realise how stupid we're going to look right now," "No price is too great to pay for a chance like this. Unless I have to pay money, because we have non. You get the metaphor. Oh, and could you do poses as well? Please?" "Okay okay. I'll go." Shizuko walked down the street until she was in front of the Cafe, most of what she was doing was standing still in various poses, walking, leaning against a wall, sitting on a bench. Basic things a normal person would do, though she was most likely right that they looked like idiots right now. An 11 year old posing while a 19 year old took sketch images of her. Completely normal behaviour.

"We did it. I don't now how we did it, but we did. Alright, I'll send a Watermarked and downgraded version of the image to the client, once the pay comes through we can send through the unmarked image in full resolution. And then we can relax. The question is, what do you want to do while we wait Shizuko?" "Well, maybe it would be a good idea to venture outside and get a look at some of the spots we may be visiting tomorrow. It's afternoon now, so this would be the best time to get pictures. If you don't want pictures It would always make for a nice little piece to sketch. Maybe we could draw a picture of a few buildings around town?" "Yeah we could do that. I don't want to waste too much electricity, since we need it to last until I have to send the full image. Which may be in a few hours, depending on if the client is busy or not. Which they usually are on days like today. I haven't sketched anything for a while now. Maybe it will be fun. That and playing board games with you over and over again, just to lose over and over again, gets really boring." "Yet you still always challenge me to RTS games because you're better at them. Hypocrite." "You really know everything don't you." "I don't know everything. I just know what I know." "Alright, enough with your references and put some shoes on. We're going for a little walk around town." *stomach growl* "Can I bring the Ice Cream?" *grr* "Fine you can bring some. Only some. A small bowl at max. You're not walking about with a tub of Ice Cream. You'll get sick and won't be able to get the festival tomorrow." "Fair enough." Shizuko did exactly as she desired. Taking a small disposable bowl and spoon, and overflowing it with as much Ice Cream as she could just to wind her brother up. Once the two had the appropriate attire on, they stepped outside into the ground floor of a moderately size apartment complex, the view they got was not exactly a seller, but it was the best they could do for now. A top floor room would be nice, a view to go with it. Ryo thought to himself and he and Shizuko left the building and headed with no direction in particular in mind originally. They thought they would go to maybe the centre of town, the should get a good grasp of the more popular buildings from that point. They could draw something from that place.

What is taking them so long? They should be at least in my field of view by now. Something's not right. White took some a vantage point atop of Trixie's shack and took the sniper scope out of his bags. Looking down the roads back the way he came, he spotted the scouts moving along at a brisk pace, detouring away from the road a little though, had they seen something? Continuing his survey, he just managed to spot the group on the very edge of his field of vision. That's when White got a cold shiver down his spine. A Brotherhood Paladin. A Star Paladin from the looks of his armour. This wasn't going to be pretty, a Cyberpony would be a field day for those scribes, and Paladins are aggressive and hit headed. "Damn it. I can't lose those mercs to a stupid Paladin. One of them needs to have a brain. Remove the damn fusion core with Telekinetics. That or fill it with bullets. Do something." White grinned and laughed a little to himself as he thought of possible outcomes for this situation. "Or better yet, do nothing. Let him piss me off, I could always use some more Tags to add to my collection."

With the help of the scouts, White had succeeded in his little endeavour. He had about 5 corpses in total, all of them dressed up as White Sting member, gang tattoo and all, while the scouts looked just like normal scavengers, closer to a caravan now that he looked closer. Without a Brahman, they can up a story as they go along. With everything set, the team assembled a large stack of wood and light it on fire. The smoke from this could most likely be seen for a few miles. Most people should completely disregard it though. Its not exactly something new. One at a time, White would burn the corpses. It probably smelt really bad. Thank Celestia for gas masks. "Alright, that's everything guys. You've been a big help today. Head on west to R-7 and meet up with our guy. He's the gate guard for the afternoon shift. Can't miss him. I'll give you a bonus once you get home. Oh, and keep your eyes open. Some mercs will be walking down this way from R-7, just pay them no mind and keep walking. Act like a scaver." Scout Lead: "Yes sir. We'll see you back at home." The team of 4 scouts left the shack and started their walk on the roads out west to R-7.

"Shizuko. Take stock of our supplies. Search ever place in which we would store food. Report?" "Fridge: Empty. Freezer: All is gone but the Ice Cream, I place my claim. Cupboards: 1 pack on instant noodles. Your secret sweet stash has also run dry. I claim responsibility for that." "Wait how did you find that?" "You can't hide anything from my nose bro." "It seems I can't. So, we're running out of food. Drinks?" "Tap water only." "Hmm, we have a pack of noodles, water to boil. If I skip meals for today and let you eat. I can get the project done and that will get us paid a large amount of money. We can go shopping tomorrow, if we don't encounter any issues, we should be able to hold the fort." "Tomorrow is the summer festival and you promised to take me. Plus it would be a good chance to get some pictures we could base some art work off of. Coastal themed. Shopping, home, food, festival. We have to be efficient and fast." *stomach grumble* "Are you hungry already? 1 pack won't last you the whole day." "I can just eat ice cream if I get peckish during the day." "Don't abuse the situation as an excuse to eat a load of ice cream! Though, we don't really have much of a choice. We don't have money until I get paid tonight hopefully. Shizuko, promise me something. If I don't make it to tomorrow, promise me that, you'll delete my browser history." "I refuse." "Instant rejection! You're so cold sis. I guess I have no choice. I must work harder. And that means you, can put down that chess board and help me. Or else." "Or else what?" "Nothing... I just thought it would sound cool. I was mistaken. But serious talk now, go on your computer and help me out with this. If you could add a layer of shading to this sunset along the tree line while I add the reflection of the sun onto the water. It would save us a lot of time." "Okay. I'll get on that. Send a copy through and I'l get started." "Where would I be without you?" "Broke and living in mums basement." "It only hurts because I know that's the truth." Ryo and Shizuko. The two highly talented, self employed digital landscape artists who lived in a small little town, in a small apartment, doing what they loved most. What ever the hell it is they want. Ryo and Shizuko's art work is mostly commissions, and the pay from each individual one is enough to support them for at least 2 weeks. And with the two typically working at a slow pace due to their perfection or nothing standards they needed to work a lot. Ryo is the main artist, he does most of the body and is also the one who gathers images and takes pictures for inspiration. Shizuko is Ryo's assistant in most aspect of the term, her role is to mainly apply shading, filtering and colour balance once Ryo is done with a section of the picture. The two worked incredibly well together and produce professional standard works, some even seeing use in Indie games as back drops and sky boxes. With the summer festival just around the corner, the pair may finally have a change to get away from the main portion of work and move back to the fun part. Viewing real landscapes and photogenic locations. And this town didn't lack in that regard.

"Well, this was a nice reunion and all, but we really should get going lest we be left behind here forever. So maybe we should all take a seat and someone should fly us back to the ship.@, Flame! We need you on in the cockpit right now. We need to get back to the ship right now before we're left behind. Don't ask how the ship survived, just know it did and we need to get moving right now,"

Trixie's shack. White never did understand why such a seemingly random building was marked on his map. He never really understood how this device got its maps and the name of every location, even new ones that didn't exist pre war. It baffled him. But that, is a story for another day. Right now, White had a little something he must do. The shack was being used as a small outpost for White Sting scouts and patrols. It was the only 'base' they had outside of the mountains. And right now, they would have to abandon it for a short time. White: "Alright guys. We have a plan. I've made contact with the mercs who are trying to kill the Queen. I've made a few question choices to gain their trust, which may cost some lives. I will accept the punishment for that once I return home. I can do one more thing to gain their trust, which is why I've come to you guys. I need to borrow some bodies. We most likely have a corpse or two lying around. Doesn't need to be too fresh. I'll be burning them, but I need your armour. It has gang marking on them. If they see I've killed member of the gang, they're more likely to trust me. Oh, and make sure to paint some gang markings on them. I'll be burning them one at a time. So I need some bodies left over by the time they get here. Can you help me?" WS Scout: "Well boss, we do have the corpses of a few scavengers a bit down the road we killed a few hour back. We could dress up in their clothes and make 'em wear ours. Paint some markings on them. If anyone asks who we are, we're deserters of the gang. That could work, but one issue is that we shot them. Whole bunch. This allies you're under only uses knifes, we know that much. Scratch that, everyone has to make an exception at some point right? Alright boss, we can get this done within the next 15 minutes and then we'll be on our way. We'll go west, get the report from R-7 and then head home. By that time, these mercs should well and dead." White: "Sounds like a plan guys. Let's get a move on, we're tight for time."

@, "You don't get to make requests out of me. You get what you're given. I also have one last thing to say to you in particular." White took a few steps towards the pony and started at him directly in the eye. At this distance, Kronos could most likely see the faint Red glow behind the Gas Mask at the eyes. "If you continue to make me think you're a liability. Dangerous to the success of this little mission, I guarantee I'll make you regret it. I have a lot riding on this hand I will not let someone with a split personality disorder ruin this for me. Fair warning for you." He stepped back from Kronos and stretched out. "Well, we better start walking soon. This place isn't all that close, but lucky for us its only a small detour north. Meaning we will keep well clear of Fetlock. I need to stop by a shack a few miles down the road anyway. I have a personal matter to resolve in that place so I'll go on ahead, I move faster alone. Just follow the road and you'll come across it just fine. So you all in a short while." With a quick flick of a switch, White had activated another Stealth Buck and was moving quickly down the road east before anyone could protest. If they did protest, he wasn't listening. He knew he held some of the cards, so it was likely they would listen and meet up with him at the shack. If not, well its just less for him to worry about. Win Win either way.

@@Ethan Sawyer, Specter had not moved or spoke since the shuttle had landed. Being well out of his zone of usefulness. He felt unneeded and rather useless. 'Such is the life of a machine eh?' His silence was broken when the communications received a transmission from the last place he had expected. Destiny. 'Wait? What? The ship survived. How? What? Did I overlook something? Is this even passable? Stop blabbering you useless robot and respond.' Specter accessed the communications within the shuttle and responded as quickly as he could. "I'm gonna be honest I've never been so happy as to have made an oversight on this scale. You're alive! And from this talk we're having it seems that Destiny is back to a high level of power. I think I understand what it is I didn't think of. The Ancient always had a solution for every issues didn't they? Sorry, blabbering on again. It fantastic to see that you and everyone else survived. I know someone down here needs to have some good news. Excuse me for one moment. I'll be right back, keep this transmission open." @@Unicorncob, Specter flew into the area of the ship that Solar was in, he could see that something sort of major happened between everyone, but now was not a time. "Solar. I think you should come up to the cockpit for a moment. I think we may have something that will brighten up the mood here a little bit."

White walked back to the group along side Crackshot and the new mare, using the distance to get a good look again at what he was dealing with. As it stood, these are quite a dangerous bunch. Maniacs with guns can do a lot of damage and with the information he had given them they became all the more of a problem. Of course he hadn't told them some of the secrets that awaited the on the ascent. He didn't want to ruin every surprise. @@1Bit, @@Ethan Sawyer, @, @@Unicorncob, @@Meson Bolt, @, (Sorry if I missed anyone) "All right. May I have your attention please? That should be less of a question and more of a demand but let's be kind right now. You all have no clue who I am and I have no clue who you are. Let's keep it that way, but I know what you are trying to do and I have to say. You're all going to die a horrible, slow, painful and torturous death at the Hooves of Sting. You have no chance of winning with all that pathetic levels of gear. And running in without a plan is signing your death warrant. Madam Reaper will be here to collect any day now. I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen and you actually stand a chance. Not because I care, but because I need some willing victims to do my dirty work for me. Now aside from the obvious 'Who is this bitch and can I please shoot her?' At least one of you are wondering what I can do for you. Ha ha, lets be honest no one was thinking that. I can offer you high grade weaponry, a small base of operations, tactics you can use, information that will be vital to your success. You want to get this done. My sources have told me this bounty is worth more caps than you could ever dream of. Basic summary. If you all trust me and follow me, I can make you nigh unstoppable. You don't trust me? Well, feel free to try and die. Any questions? And if you want to shoot me I suggest doing it now."

Mel, who had been slightly tuned into the conversation kept his eyes low as he watched Lightning walk away from the situation, crying. 'Why is he crying? What reason does he have to be in such a state? Tsk, his lack of understanding for basic interaction and the complications that come with the effects of a prolonged addiction is astounding. At least he back off, but that could have been handled with more, grace. Best to keep an eye on thing from now on.'

@@Unicorncob, "Keep being so soft and it's going to bite you in the ass one of this days Sweetie. You want her to come along, I can't stop you. If you intend to take her into the mountains she's just going to be a liability. And let's not forget our agreement. The more liabilities you have, the more likely I am to claim my insurance. Just a friendly heads up." "No promises on that regard."

@@Ethan Sawyer, White was only slightly nudged back by the pulse and giggled to himself with the little display. "I wonder if that magic pulse happens consistently. If I hit you again, would you send out another pulse? I'm tempted to test that theory out. If it works, that would just drain your energy twice as fast. Seems sort of redundant." He holstered his knife as, 'Damn I still don't know his name.' Started speaking. He did sort of want this mare to join, mostly because he wanted to keep an eye on her. White wanted to understand exactly who she was and what she can do. This does make on thing complicated though. She knows EDEN, EDEN is at the bunker. This would cause an issues if not addressed soon. Using the pipbuck on his hoof, White sent a message to EDEN to leave the bunker and seal the door behind it. Master security lock. 16 figure password. No one could crack that. 'I do not want these guys getting a hold of my tech. Though I think I'm playing this role very well. Just a waiting game now.'

@@Ethan Sawyer, White pulled out his knife, turned it around to the hilt, hitting the mare over the head rather hard with it. "Less of the attitude miss. You admitted to stalking us and what we are talking about is very sensitive information. I make a living selling this kind of information and I can't risk someone running their mouths with things only I know. So maybe you should be more polite when talking okay?"

@@Unicorncob, "Well, don't get your hopes too high. That covers most things. We have a basic plan now. I'd say you stand more of a chance now. But I doubt you can actually succeed. This will be an interesting few days. *giggle*" Beep The compass on Whites HUD was pinged with a new target. It was green, so not hostile right now. But he wouldn't take the chance of this person possibly overhearing everything he said. It would be disastrous to Sting. Putting one hoof into his Saddle bags, he looked around the area a little bit before looking back at the pony he was talking to "Listen, I don't know your name. I'll be right back." With a flick of a switch, White became invisible. He turned on a Stealth Buck. Under the cover of his cloak, White slowly made his way around the side of a small shed, the opposite end of which the target was located. Needless to say, he was a little bit surprised and relieved when it turned out to just be the strange mare from R-7. 'I really need to think of a name for her.' Standing on his hind legs and leaning against the shed wall behind her, White timed himself with the deactivation of the Stealth Buck. @@Ethan Sawyer, "A little rude to be eavesdropping on us like that little miss."

"The controls of this ship is no different than a standard aircraft you're use to. Dashboard layout is mostly the same, joysticks do the same. The only basic difference between this ship and the ships you know is the language it was written in. A little terminal on the middle of the dashboard will help you understand anything you don't know. It's mostly translated. I think I just need to finish the "In case of Emergency" section and the "overview of the Dashboard layout." Maybe I should have prioritised that second one a bit higher. Doesn't matter, you'll be fine. Also, watch your language."