Lock n' Load.

[princeinexile]

Zuko waits for everyne -- everyone! -- to be ready. With weapons or arguements or whatever. There's something disturbingly easy about falling into the old rote of being in charge, even though he wasn't, really

Comments

[notyourmudfoot]

Harper isn't so good with rules. Don't open doors, don't touch things that are likely to open doors, don't look at doors. He gets as far as the part about engineering before he stops listening. Don't touch stuff in engineering? He's kidding, right? The rest of them could rush off to save the kids, but he could actually do some good in engineering.

Harper naturally falls somewhere into the back of the pack. Close enough to keep in touch with the group, but unlikely to get caught in the worst of an ambush, with plenty of room to run. He's probably annoying those near him with his constant movement, but twitchy isn't just a survival mechanism, it's a way of life. He fiddles with his toolbelt, pulling out a small palm light and tracking after the narrow beam it casts with his blaster. No mercy? He can totally deal with that.

[boundbyhell]

Al follows closely behind Zuko. He doesn't appreciate following a kid's orders, but he seems to know more about the situation than Al. Besides, if there's monsters to be fought, Al's gonna be on the front lines.

His cape swiftly absorbs into the rest of his costume, and using his powers, summons a large, broad-bladed axe. He's ready for just about anything.

[allican_do]

Katara stands at the front, her brother nearby, and watches Zuko while he speaks. Her face is blank, arms crossed in front of her chest, the bison whistle hung from a string around her neck, Aang's staff strapped to her back with her water skin.

She watches Zuko in stony silence and doesn't check back for her brother as they start to move - just marches on, ready.

[meatnsarcasm]

Checking or no checking, Katara's brother is on the case. This is one of the times when he has to admit that Zuko's right, even though the very idea of saying "Zuko's right" really sticks in his craw - if bending doesn't work on some of these things and said things need to be beaten repeatedly, then Sokka is better at the beating than Katara is, staff or no staff. So she can hate him as much as she wants, and Sokka won't say he doesn't deserve it a little (though he was right, of course) - but she's got a spear and a boomerang at her back, no matter what.

...To an extent, Sokka rather hopes they'll find something that can't be 'bent at. Finally he'll be useful! But he also hopes that he will only have to poke that thing with his spear and then it will dissolve without fuss or screaming.

Toph, Harper, Sonia

[meatship]

The first group hit the ground after flying down the tubes and were able to choose a direction. Better move fast before the others come flying down, too.

Re: Toph, Harper, Sonia, Hanabi

[flowerfireeyes]

Since Cybil had given her permission, and she had no desire to team up with Cheetor and Rattrap, Hanabi decided to join the first group that went down.

"All right," she remarked after landing "where do we go now?"

Re: Toph, Harper, Sonia, Hanabi

[carrymyweight]

Toph lands on her feet, on top of her crystal ammunition. A few motions of the feet, and spikes dig into the ground. She listens for the lay of the land.

Re: Toph, Harper, Sonia, Hanabi

[notyourmudfoot]

Harper crouches as he lands, cautiously waiting for his ribs to start aching. He's more than mildly surprised and grateful when they don't.

He stays low as he starts moving tentatively in one direction, answering Hanabi without looking at her. "Anywhere's better than getting landed on, right? Anybody got a favorite direction?"

Cheetor, Rattrap, Spawn

[meatship]

After the first group had (hopefully) scrambled out of the way, there was group two.

Only two directions left. Which one will you choose?

Re: Cheetor, Rattrap, Spawn

[boundbyhell]

Al takes point of his little group. He isn't exactly thrilled about getting partnered up with the chrome duo, but he doesn't really care too much right now.

All that matters is getting through this and getting to those kids.

He turns to Cheetor and Rattrap. "You two. Follow me."

He begins moving forward at a rather fast pace.

Re: Cheetor, Rattrap, Spawn

[ratwithwheels]

Rattrap is doing his best to keep up. Once again he curses his short legs!

"Oh, yes sir, mister tall, dark, and pungent! Whatever you say!" Rattrap snapped sarcastically. This was probably not the best time to be getting annoyed at things like this, but what can you do, it's Rattrap.

Re: Cheetor, Rattrap, Spawn

[fastandferal]

There's an entire town here. They saw that Stacy was big, of course, but this...? (Five hours.) Cheetor shakes his head, muttering, "Woah."

And it's not a pleasant-looking town. Unlike Rattrap, Cheetor has no problems keeping up; he strides after Spawn confidently.

Cybil, Katara, Sokka, Zuko

[meatship]

Choices are far too slim - by the time the third group hits the ground, there's only one way left to go.

Be careful.

Re: Cybil, Katara, Sokka, Zuko

[allican_do]

It was not snow. Snow didn't feel like that, flaky and dead and dry, didn't carry the sense of death and decay with it.

Katara wipes it from her face with frantic movements at first, hating the feel, the sensation of it-- but has the sense to pay more attention to Cybil's words than her own feelings. "A whole-- town? Just in Stacy? But..."

Sparing a nervous glance to Sokka - and, for a moment, Zuko as well - Katara moves on, following after Cybil, holding a ball of water in her hands, like a readied blade.

Re: Cybil, Katara, Sokka, Zuko

[princeinexile]

Zuko did not look up; he was accustomed to the smell of ash and smoke, and so this land did not bother him. He strode forward quietly, one hand on the hilt of his swords--

--more often then not, his eyes tracked to Katara, but then went back to warily roaming the landscape. Full of apprehension, Zuko did not want to be caught off guard because he couldn't keep his eyes on the horizon.

Zuko

[seventhtrumpet]

For some reason--maybe it was just because he was one tough mother used to surviving quite a bit--Zuko was the first to wake. The others were scattered on the ground around him, all curled in various states os consciousness.

The little girl was out cold, Katara was stirring slightly, Sokka was mumbling.

Cybil was stirring the most and there was a muffled "Shit!" from her, so she looked only a little while away from consciousness.

The world around them was twisted now, even more horrifying than the foggy town of silence they'd been traveling in before. There was blood splattered on walls and barbed wire. The world was now one of rusted metal and moldy filth.

But in that darkness, in the horror around them, there was a familiar voice, down an alley.

"Zuko?"

It was a woman, and as soon as she spoke, she shook their head in disbelief and lifted their hood, disappearing into the darkness.

Re: Zuko

[princeinexile]

Zuko was bolt upright-- like waking from a nightmare. But he could only make out the dimmest form -- half remembered, from nearly a decade ago-- and the voice--

"M-- Mother?"

He stumbled, scrambled, and got to his feet, forgetting sense, forgetting safety--

--and went down the alley after her. "M-- Mother! Mother, stop! Don't-- don't run! Come back, we--"

We're here to save you?

Re: Zuko

[seventhtrumpet]

He only got footsteps in response, huffing terrified breathing as she ran, down a back alley behind two buildings--garages, not that he would know that was what they were.

Re: Zuko

[princeinexile]

"Mo--Mother!"

He glanced bakc, but only for a split second. He had to remember how he came, whicih way they went-- so they could get back to the others. "Please! Mother, mother, it's--"

It's-- not right.

But-- Aang said--

--Aang said--

--they've never shown me one of you before--

"Oh-- no--"

It's not right.

Because it-- isn't her.