[Josh/Luceal] Chapter 1: Final Stop

[Rei]

[blockquote]Survival check 1d20+4 : 19 + 4, total 23[/blockquote]

[Lucy]

[blockquote]Survival check 1d20+3 : 13 + 3, total 16[/blockquote]

[Throndir]

http://www.youtube.com/v/NzZ421uaX-Q

The catastrophe started to unfold itself.

A moment later after Lucy called out, a deafening explosion was heard from somewhere ahead of the tracks. It didn't quite sound like something from traditional explosives, but something more akin to a large and heavy object brutally slamming itself into either the ground or the train - perhaps even both. Along with that thud, was a distinct sound of metal being crunched together. Whatever it was, the sound was absolutely deafening, the pressure of the air even seemed to change from that sound.

It took only a moment's glance to realize that something was wrong. Very very wrong. The shockwave still ringing in everyone's ears, the front of the train suddenly jolted to a stop. The change of momentum was sudden and impactful enough that you caught sight of some of the passengers in the car ahead of you begin to get launched into the air. The both of you were near the very back of the train, and as the passengers in the next car over began to get launched, you could only imagine how it would have been like being nearer the front.

Time seemed to slow then when you realized that you too were no longer touching the floor of your passenger car. For that brief moment, you felt weightless. The lights turned off for just a moment, only to flicker on again. There was no screeching of train wheels, no one had begun to yell or even call out yet due to the sudden and unexpected nature of the impact. Apart from that earlier sound from the explosion, it was almost strangely quiet in that brief moment of time. You felt keenly every sensation as finally, you too, subject to the laws of physics, began hurtling forward.

[info]Lucy's Survival: 16
You had less of a chance to react when the train had its crash. One moment you were staring at Josh, and the next moment you found yourself flying straight into the vertical hand holding beams of the passenger car. You felt keenly the sound of your body impacting the beam, and a moment after that, everything was dark.

Josh's Survival: 23
Your military training gave you just enough of a reaction and foresight to hold on to one of the beams before you found yourself being launched. As the other passengers began to fly into the air, that act of grabbing to a beam alone managed to soften your eventual impact. You hit the side of the passenger car's walls, slamming your arm into window at the same time that the passenger car flew off its tracks.

Seconds that seemed like eternity passed. The train was at a complete stand-still. The passenger car lights aligned at the top of the vehicle flickered on and off. Sounds of metal continuing to be crunched together was heard from somewhere nearby, followed by the sounds of something large moving around. The passenger car itself was on it's side.

You found yourself with your back against what was now the ceiling of the passenger car, your arm bleeding as shards of glass cut through them. Near you lying very still was your best friend.

It was Lucy.[/info]

Rough Status
Rei: Near Death
Lucy: Dead

[include u=2]Rei Dmg Taken: -9, currently at: 2/11
Lucy Dmg Taken: -19, currently at -11/8, death at -10[/include]

[Rei]

Josh knew there was danger, but he suspected it to a far less degree due to his poor understanding of the unnatural phenomenon going on around him and Lucy. Due to his military background and the reaction of the passengers of the other cart- he assumed it was some sort of terrorist attack, akin to national disasters. A bomb maybe, one big enough to cause a change in the atmosphere. The idea of a bomb exploding nearby put his senses on high alert and as he had met up with Lucy, she too had come to understand that something was wrong. Terribly wrong. She backed into him and grabbed on to him. Never in his life had he experienced this young but strong woman act in such a timid manner. That fact, unnerved even him. The grave expression on her face told him all he needed to know- she feared for her life, or at the very least.. Suspected that it would end soon. Though knowing Lucy, death was always somewhat of a perpetual dance with her and the Grim Reaper. If anything, she feared more for him- or so Josh assumed. He too shared her unspoken sentiment, albeit his concern was wholly for her. Though she was strong mentally and emotionally, she was not so physically. Sure she did martial arts and was peculiarly good with a knife, but her body was much smaller than his and delicate to an alarming degree. If the train they were on should meet any turbulence from a bomb or whatever posed a threat to them from the outside, Lucy would suffer greatly.

It was at that thought, that overriding concern for his friend and crush... that everything began to move in slow motion that was ushered in by the loud clash of metal grinding against metal and unnatural vibrations beneath their feet. As time seemed to slow down and his senses became crystal clear, his body became weightless and no longer grounded to the floor of the train. Flashbacks of convoys gone awry raced through his mind and he instinctively reached out with one arm towards a nearby sound structure to cling to. The train had lurched to a sudden and violent stop, throwing him and Lucy in the opposite direction from their standing position. There had been an explosion, his experienced senses picked up the distinctive sound of the explosion and that only further heightened his senses of survival. The lights flickered off momentarily, casting a curtain of death over the two friends that would soon separate them with the cruel engine of the mortal coil. It happened so fast and sudden that Josh had not gotten off any word of warning or protest, his eyes went wild as he reached out with both arms and his mind screaming as his physical reaction could not keep up with his understanding of the nightmare unfolding before him.

His dominant arm found the nearest vertical beam and he held onto it for dear life as he reached towards Lucy's diminishing figure. Her eyes had been locked onto his as the weightless sensation had taken over and Lucy's body involuntarily went along with the motion of the violent stop. He too went in that direction, but his main hand had grasped the holding bar and jerked him violently sideways as his other hand reached out in futile effort to grab Lucy's arm. His fingertips brushed against her shirt as his eyes went passed her position to the vertical beam and a silent scream escaped through his perched lips as his best friend hit the beam with a sickening sound. Just then, the lights came back on, flickering as if just to inconvenience the two and any effort of survival.

As his fingers tragically brushed against Lucy's shirt and she went beyond both physical and spiritual reach, his direction also shifted. The sudden violent stopping motion had thrown their passenger car off of its tracks and spinning on its sides. The flipping motion changed Josh's weight distribution once again and caused his holding position to slam him against the glass windows on the side of the train cart. The impact knocked the wind out of him and he felt a sharp burning sensation erupt from his free arm as his grip broke free of the hand-bar and the passenger car turned over once more. Several long silent seconds passed as he regained his breathe and oriented himself. The sliding and rolling motion of the cart had thrown off his sense of vertigo and left his knees shaky as he tried to stand. That was when he realized he had been laying on the ceiling of the car. With one arm, he steadied himself and used his weak legs to stand once again as his eyes frantically searched the cart for Lucy in the fast-paced flickering lights of the malfunctioning electrical systems. He could hear screams and cries from the carts ahead of him, but that meant nothing to him now. His only concern was the girl lying motionless in skinny jeans not so far away from where he had recovered from. "Lucy!" he cried out in fear, dread and even hope.

Though weak and bruised from the accident, he found the inner strength to stagger over to her form and reach out with both arms to rouse her from her apparent slumber. Even as he reached, only one arm came up to his will. His non-dominant arm he had reached out to save Lucy, had smashed into the glass window and now was covered in both blood and many glass shards which had sliced his skin open and some spots even stabbed deeply into his muscles. He was alive for now and what mattered more was Lucy. With his one good arm, he reached over to gently but firmly shake her shoulder to wake her. He called out to her again and shook her once more. With each shake, his fears became despair as the realization of the situation weighed down on him like the weight of the whole train. "No... No! Lucy, no!" he cried out as he re-positioned his legs to straddle over her and rolled her onto her back. With his good arm, he reached down and placed his fingers against her neck to check for a pulse. He held his breathe and used every fiber of his being to feel for her heartbeat, yet there was none.

"Not like this Lucy... Not like this! You can't leave now... You are supposed to conquer Velothia's new expansion with me!" he would shout loudly in blind despair and frantic movements. He would not give up on her so easily. Father Death would not have Josh's most precious friend's soul so easily. Though one arm refused to listen to his desperate demands, his other arm acted on the skills and knowledge he had learned over years of service in the armed forces. He placed his one good hand over her diaphragm and began to pump in several sharp strong motions, enough to break her ribs if necessary to resuscitate her. After a carefully counted number of pumps against her diaphragm, he would lean over her face and apply his lips to her warm lips. He had secretly thought about kissing her from time to time, but now he regretted those coveted thoughts, as he finally got the chance... but not at this steep price. He breathed deeply and then blew air into her, hoping to rekindle that stubborn fire within her delicate body. Then he turned his head sideways and placed his ear close to her mouth to her and feel for even the slightest of breathe. There was none. Determined, he would repeat this process of pumping her diaphragm and then breathing air into her several times, all the while trying to encourage her with words and logic that seemed irrational and less coherent as he continued to try to revive Lucy. Several long minutes passed and eventually his own strength gave out.

Maybe it was his lack of strength due to not being able to use both arms.. or maybe her impact her caused internal damage to her brain. In any case, he was powerless to revive her... and that alone robbed all of the strength within him, both physically and mentally. He rolled over onto his back beside Lucy, his head beside her head as he stared at what was the floor of the passenger cart. The tears in his eyes blurred his vision in the flickering light and darkness of the cart. He opened his mouth to say more but all that would come out was a primal scream from deep within him as the tears would not stop. He felt no pain himself, at least not physically. His adrenaline was in overdrive and he was uncertain how much blood he had lost in the process. There was a pain though, one not physically acknowledged, but deep within his soul. He cursed at whatever had caused such devastation to the perfect little life he had known with Lucy. If the father of death had claimed such a heavy hold over Lucy's soul, then he would have to take Josh with her. It mattered not if there was an afterlife or even hell... If Lucy was not in the world, then he didn't wish to be there either! "Take me too you son of a bitch! Take me with her or I swear I will hunt you down and kill you myself!" he managed to say after his screaming had subsided and turned into a dull ache within his head and jaws. What he said made no sense, but it didn't have to. Sometimes the most genuine of emotions had no proper words.

[Throndir]

[info]Josh
Heroic Action Point earned.[/info]

http://www.youtube.com/v/TtIdUgdQvAo

Your screaming was mixed in with the sounds of a very few others wailing. The sounds of people in pain, or even those much like you, calling out for their loved ones, continued to repeat over and over throughout the train. However, their cries of anguish was just a mere backdrop compared to what you were currently facing. All of this wasn't supposed to happen. It should have been two close friends going out to a midnight release of a game they both looked forward to. It would have likely been an all-nighter with the mad rush to enjoy the free first days of the new content before everyone else. But now... Now was different. Not just for the two friends, but for everyone in the city.

In the distance the sounds of horns blaring, explosions, buildings collapsing, and deafening thuds reverberated throughout this section of the city. Even with the cacophony of all the noises that started to interpose itself with your own anguish, there was a distinct lack of sirens, ambulances, or emergency vehicles of any kind. With chaos ensuing all around them, it would still be a couple minutes more at the minimum for those emergency calls to be made, and even then, it could be another five or ten minutes until the first responders came to the scene. From what you can gather, the destruction was throughout New York city. The cracks in the sky included that much, and if one were to look, they would have realized that it kept spreading. Onwards and onwards, further and beyond. There was no help coming.

Things looked grim. Lucy's body was still warm, and though you tried vainly to attempt to bring her back to life and consciousness, nothing you tried worked. The sounds of explosions seemed to rattle from all around you, telling you that the sights around New York city was probably just as gruesome as the one before you. And as the seconds stretched onwards, more than likely, no one would get to you or Lucy on time. The snow continued to thicken outside as those beautiful and symmetric snow crystals clashed sharply with the death and discord of the city. The lights flickered out then, refusing to come back on for the final time. With the weather outside, you knew it would only get colder and colder. With each passing moment the chance of rescue was becoming ever more slim.

[spoiler]

It was then that you heard the sounds of something large begun to step away. That same thudding noise as it walked away was familiar. Amidst the destruction of the train, you had heard it along with the rest of the mix of noises. Thankfully, the footsteps were starting to move away.

You managed to get a glimpse of it. It was a large 40 foot-tall, pink-hued construct. It gave off a metallic sheen in the nighttime sky, making you think it was made out of metal of some sort. It had a humanoid frame that was thick and large, with its oversized arms drooping low and touching the ground. Due to his large and thick back, it almost looked like it was hunched over, though it kept its body straight.

Each of its footsteps were slow and deliberate. And with each step it took, the ground trembled as it continued its march away from you. As it moved, a distinct sound could be heard in its movements; a unique bell-like sound that could only be described as a crystalline-like chime.[/spoiler]


[spoiler]Before the strange sights was over however. The sounds of something else could be heard. As you turned to look, you saw eight red-crystal eyes staring at you. Like the previous creature, this one too had the same hue, and likely was made from the same material. However, unlike the first one, this one looked more akin to a spider. That is, if spiders were giant, car-sized, and metallic, with legs ending in pointed spikes.

[/spoiler]

Roll for initiative!

[Rei]

[blockquote]Josh's Initiative 1d20 : 3, total 3[/blockquote]

[Throndir]

The initiative was a tie, so I'll need you to reroll your Initiative for the tie breaker.

[Rei]

[blockquote]Josh's Initiative 1d20 : 8, total 8[/blockquote]

[Throndir]

The spider-like creature started to make the same crystalline sounds as it trained its eyes on your lone form inside the passenger car. It had crawled on top of the passenger car with its eyes looking straight down towards you, peering in between the broken windows and shattered glass. At that moment, it raised two of its front legs, and using them as weapons, began to pierce and damage the side of the train. Further destroying the window that lined the side, and attempting to make a bigger hole for it to crawl inside. With you being the only living thing inside this passenger car, the spider's goal was readily apparent.

Its pointed legs began making their way through the train's exterior, you suspected it wouldn't be long until it got through.

Round 1
Metal Spider attacks passenger car

Rough Status
Josh: Near Death
Lucy: Dead

[include u=2]Rei Dmg Taken: -9, currently at: 2/11
Lucy Dmg Taken: -19, currently at -11/8, death at -10[/include]

[Rei]

Using Heroic Point

As the lights in the train cart that serves as a metal coffin went off, things became more calm to Josh. Though he was experiencing indescribable agony and rage at the same time: he had managed to reign in his physical reaction, slowly stowing those deep emotions and memory into his very being. He continued to lay beside Lucy as he rubbed his tear-streaked face. Tragedy had struck, not just him... but everyone else in the train and apparently the city. As his sobbing had ceased and he laid there, his ears picked up the distinct sounds of explosions and buildings collapsing further away. The city of New York really is under attack... he realized, though whom the assailant was had yet to be discovered.

His eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness which seemed to be unnatural. The fractured sky possessed equal darkness as it did light from the cracks in the sky. Looking up through the glass window nearby, he finally could see what was causing such a mess in his one perfect world. He saw what Lucy had surely seen from her position before her death. Whatever was attacking the city, was not man-made. It was a silly thought, almost enough to make himself laugh at his own delusions. He had just experienced a traumatic event and sported his own bleeding wounds... Maybe he was just imagining all of this?

His doubts were washed away only seconds after doubting his own sanity. The clear sound extremely heavy footsteps that reverberated through the metal train's frame. He turned his head in the direction of the source. He knew that sound... It had been the sound which had caused their train to crash! What he saw there cured him of his own doubts and somewhat sobered him from his state of poor composure. "A golem..." escaped his lips even before he had registered the concept. Subconsciously he knew. His good fist clenched in rage... that monstrosity had caused Lucy's death! The metal-like golem creature had ignored him, intentionally walking in a different direction with each chiming footstep.

Josh stirred from his position. just moments ago he had lost all will to live, but now he had one. He desired only the pain and destruction of this creature and anything else involved in harming Lucy. As he sat up, he caught a movement from the corner of his eye, the same glowing sheen of metallic movement not so far away. Where the first had been humanoid, Josh quickly recognized the distinct features of an arachnid. Eight red eyes stared straight at him as the spider clattered towards him. The creature was as large as a car! "Bastards... I'll make you pay!" he yelled out the window of the train car as the spider lurched forward aggressively and slammed into the window with its two front legs attempting to pry the window open large enough for it to grasp him as trapped prey. He was not sure how or when, but he knew that his time was close at hand as well.

Maybe Father Death had heard his curses and decided to take him up on his offer. Or maybe it was just the foreign attack was indiscriminate and his yelling had alerted the carnivorous creature of his survival. At this point, it mattered little what was truth in the situation. The only thing on his mind was inflicting as much harm as possible on the creature before him. He would not let it defile Lucy's corpse, even if it turned him into a meal... Possibly even a hive for eggs. He had seen plenty of horror movies, played enough fantasy games with monsters to know what kinds of terrible things happened to adventurers who were too weak. There was no hero in this world to save him or anyone else.. He would have to save himself.

As the creature clamored to get at him, he quickly looked around, trying to ascertain if there were any more creatures like this about(Perception Check).. His mind was clear even though the adrenaline had waned and he could feel his own heartbeat through his bleeding arm. "You will have to work for your meal!" he yelled at the giant spider, cursing and spitting in its eight red eyes as he fell backwards from the impact of the spider's slam into the train car. He had plenty of experience in combat, but he had no weapon... and worse, human kind had never experienced extraterrestrials before. How was he supposed to combat a giant spider with only his body, worse- with only one good arm and bleeding badly.

He willed his bleeding arm to move, but all he could muster was flexing his fingers. The glass must have severed his muscles, yet he didn't give up. If the spider was going to make a meal of him, he at least wanted to squirm as much as possible. Inflict damage to the creature and hopefully choke the damned monster when it ate him. That was when the unexpected happened. Though unintentionally and unwittingly, the blood from his arm began to drip over Lucy's body. "What-"
[spoiler]Name: Reanimation
Magicka Type: Necromancy - +1 MP
Spell Base: Runes - +2 MP
Spell Effects: Summon Undead (CR 1) - +2 MP
9 MP to summon 3 CR 1 undead creatures[/spoiler]

As his blood mingled with Lucy's skin, it would suddenly writhe unnaturally as if it possessed its own will. The red liquid would defy gravity as it raced up to Lucy's face into into her closed eyes. That was when Josh noticed even despite the creature currently attempting to rip the train apart. The blood from his arm poured more heavily, so much that he felt terribly weak- thinking that he would die from sudden blood loss even before the spider managed to breach the metal window frame. As his blood poured over Lucy, instinctively he tried to pull his dead arm away from soiling her skin and clothes- yet his blood refused him. Even as he stepped back, his blood continued to react, extending and reaching to Lucy and invading her eyes.

Josh suddenly felt very weak and light-headed, his knees buckled and he felt against the back wall, directly in front of the spider trying to break through. His vision began to blur and his breath became short rasps of air as he tried to breathe in with little success. His eyes slowly began to close and his bod refused to move. Damnit! Not like this... he cried out in his mind, defying everything and refusing to accept the cruel cold unnatural reality. Just as his eyes finally closed and consciousness sank into emptiness, the blood stopped flowing to Lucy. Her eyes would open suddenly.

[Rei]

[blockquote]Josh's Perception 1d20+4 : 5 + 4, total 9[/blockquote]

[Throndir]

[info]Josh's Perception: 9
Before you fell unconscious you heard the sounds of other creatures moving about. You caught sight of the neighboring passenger car which was being attacked by one of it's own metallic spiders. Other than that, you weren't sure how many other spiders or other creatures there were, though you did hear scraping and smashing sounds from neighboring cars.

[/info]

Turn order
Metal Spider -> Josh -> Lucy

Round 1
Metal Spider attacks passenger car
Josh uses Heroic Action Point and casts Reanimation, falls unconscious, Lucy reanimates

Rough Status
Josh: Near Death, Unconscious
Lucy: Uninjured

Lucy's Level 3 Stats
Subtype: Fast-Zombie
HP: 8 (lv. 1) +5 (lv. 2) +5 (lv. 3) +5 (zombie template) +4 (toughness feat, zombie template) = 27
AC: 10 base) +3 (DEX) +2 (natural, zombie template) = 15
BAB: 3
Physical Resistance: 4 (base) +0 (CON) = 5
Agility: 4 (base) +3 (DEX) = 7
Mental Resistance: 4 (base) +0 (WIS) = 6
Offense:
-Quick Strikes (Ex)
-Whenever a fast zombie takes a full-attack action, it can make one additional slam attack at its highest base attack bonus.
Movement: 40 ft.
Dagger Attack | Damage: 1d20+6 | 1d6
Slam Attack | Damage: 1d20+3 | 1d6

Lucy to take their turn.

[include u=2]Rei Dmg Taken: -9, currently at: 2/11
Lucy Dmg Taken: -19, currently at -11/8, death at -10[/include]

[Lucy]

Don't waste a single drop.

Lucy's eyes shot open as some unnatural force surged life back into her once limp and lifeless body. Bone once broken by the impact splintered and cracked, as if being reshaped and mended by the ungodly spell that Josh had managed to cast upon the corpse of his friend. As he began to lose consciousness and fall, her body reanimated and stood in his place, ready to face this voracious metal creature that was trying to hard to get to them. Normally, there would surely be some confusion if being brought back to life. However, there was nothing to be confused about. Though reanimated, Lucy wasn't necessarily alive per-say. Josh's spell had indeed brought back his friend, but she was not there in mind or spirit. The spell he had cast was merely using her body as a vessel to destroy the foe in front of them. No thought, no wit, no total nerdgasming about being undead. Heck not even the typical moans that one expected from the classic horror films of new and old. Lucy wasn't there, no rational thought or personality remained. Only the desires and wishes of the one who had summoned such a thing. It's goal was to kill, mangle and destroy this thing. If it would be able to would be one thing, but with no capability to fear the fight to come, she simply went forth viciously.

Despite being mindless, her body could still remember how to fight. Reaching into her pocket and taking out one of her balisong knives, she flicked it open effortlessly and gripped it tightly. With surprisingly fast movements for a zombie, Lucy's body attacked the metal spider head on. Knife in hand, aiming for the eyes that peered in at the prey it sought.

[Lucy]

Offense:
-Quick Strikes (Ex)
-Whenever a fast zombie takes a full-attack action, it can make one additional slam attack at its highest base attack bonus.

[blockquote]Lucy's Dagger Attack  1d20+6 : 14 + 6, total 20[/blockquote] [blockquote]Damage  1d6 : 2, total 2[/blockquote]

[blockquote]Lucy's Slam Attack  1d20+3 : 18 + 3, total 21[/blockquote] [blockquote]Damage  1d6 : 5, total 5[/blockquote]

[Throndir]

[info]Heroic Action Point earned[/info]You struck out at the metallic spider creature, both of attacks hitting, however, even though your first attack hit, it didn't seem to do as much damage. Your second attack hit as well, dealing some damage, though, not nearly enough.

The creature continued to attempt to reach at you, however, the train was still in the way, and it continued to use its arms to widen the crack. In just a few more seconds, it would be able to reach you.

Turn order
Metal Spider -> Josh -> Lucy

Log
Round 1 begins
Metal Spider attacks passenger car
Josh uses Heroic Action Point and casts Reanimation, falls unconscious, Lucy reanimates
Lucy full round attacks, both hits, deals damage.
Round 2 begins
Metal Spider attacks passenger car

Rough Status
Josh: Near Death, Unconscious
Lucy: Uninjured
Spider Creature: Slightly Injured

[include u=2]Rei Dmg Taken: -9, currently at: 2/11
Lucy Dmg Taken: -0
Spider Dmg Taken: 2[/include]