[i]"So kid, take up that gun and shoot me."[/i] --Nameless Mercenary, Page 1. --- [center][b]South West[/b][/center] --- As Chris moved from cover point to cover point he would notice no sign of enemies in his immediate location, but plenty more corpses and body parts. If there were any enemies among the dead here, he wouldn't be able to tell anyway, one would muse to themselves. After all, the corpses of mutants could just as easily be BCSEC forces. As he reaches the tank he would be pleased to discover that the fog hadn't actually encroached the tank, though it was very close to it--merely a few feet away. Though, he wasn't quite as fortunate with the tank turret, or really, with the tank. He quickly discovers why it was abandoned here: While the treads were functional, the tank gun had been bent downwards just sufficiently so as to make firing it impossible, and the 50 calibre turret had been ripped from the hatch. Along with the upper half of the person who had been manning it. Inside the tank controls still looked like they worked, though, and the treads were undamaged, so far as he could tell with his limited knowledge. Beyond that he didn't really discover much else, though he had a chilling feeling, looking at the fog. The hairs on his back would stand on end, and his primal instincts urged him to flee. Something very disturbed was coming this way. That much he knew. Nathaniel, on the other hand, felt his parasites all quiver in unison for a moment before going silent. They had done this before, usually when he would try to sleep, but this was different... He felt something... Warm. Something comforting, compelling, the soft grasp of a beautiful woman. His mind immediately recognized it as a psychic emanation from a powerful creature, and one not hostile towards him to boot. Whatever it was approached, and while he too had the hairs on his back stand on end, they it didn't bother him. Then, he heard it, a lovely voice, sensual and yet innocent, pure as the light of the sun. [i]"Someone important to you is trapped in an APC... Just a small way inside... If you do not go now, he will die... I cannot save him, but you need to, to understand your fate."[/i] While the presence remained, the voice crept away. It was almost as if he was being watched--no, as if they were [i]all[/i] being watched, and judged. As the Ignis Dei passes Chris and Nathaniel on its way into the fog, a tank rolls out of the fog. There were burn marks from acidic chemicals, and what looked like a single, very messy cut into the armour, that had blood sprayed all over it. Inside the cut one could see two people in the tank and one corpse. Nobody was on the turret, though from the blood spray across the hatch, it was very plain and clear what had happened. The tank steers out of the way of Brucey and stops, the tank turret rotating until it was pointing at the fog. The radio comes to life. [b]"HEY! Is this thing on? Hey, hey--ladies, look, there's an APC in there, it has a biologist named Annie, you need to go get him. He is panicking and he won't leave the APC. We're holding it as best as we can, but the only reason we have lasted as long as we have is because of some... Woman, in blue clothes. Look, just go, hurry, get the biologist, and get the [i]fuck[/i] out of there. We'll follow you in... Oh, and my name's Sergeant Donovan, but most just call me Donnie."[/b] He waves through the tear in the tank, gas mask on, at Chris and Nathaniel. [b]"GO GO!"[/b] --- [center][b]South East[/b][/center] --- Georgia Rhettland manages to reach the apartments with the badly wounded Morai with surprising ease. There were no signs of life or monsters inside that one could tell at first glance, at least, none that wanted to attack two people, and quick enough, three. Georgia would also find at a quick glance that Morai's wounds, as bad as they were, could be fixed with a first aid kit to help him last several hours--the main issue being open, bleeding wounds could be stopped so long as he didn't try anything too strenuous afterwards, like running. His arm, however, remained pretty permanently broken, in six different places. The fact that it was still attached was either a miracle or intentional--that whatever had him in its grasp wanted him to suffer before he died, perhaps, and yet, he was taking the pain abnormally well. The interior of the apartments was nothing special. There was a staircase both outside and inside to get to the other floors, which were lined with bachelor suites. The room Morai ended up pushing himself into was filled with children's toys and looked recently lived in--teddy bears and tops, and colourful, shiny things were abound here, and yet, no sign of anyone who was living here. He scanned the area with his pistol before he allowed himself to slump down against the wall beside the door. He winces in pain, then puts his pistol down on his lap and reaches for his radio. [b]"Sorry stranger, I don't... Really... Have much of... Anything left to cover you. Don't depend on me. Depend on your allies... You came with three, don't be alone, work with them... Trust me, I've been doing this longer than you."[/b] As James looked through his thermal scope in a different room from Morai, he would see a tank moving through the fog. It was going to clear it in a few seconds, and there were several people riding it... Something big was following them. Something four times the size of the tank, he watched it grab someone from the tank and within moments the two thermal signatures became indistinguishable. Whatever happened was likely unpleasant, though. Either way, he had a shot at the creature, though he would risk hitting the tank. Roman and Eira would hear the tank coming and watch it burst out of the fog, over a half a dozen people were riding on top of it, most trying to huddle themselves to the front without falling over it. Only one still had their gun, a standard issue rifle, and she was trying to unjam it. A single glance would reveal her to be a pilot, wearing a technician suit with... Duct taped elbows and knees, and around the waist, the jump suit was two sizes too large overall. Roman would get a good enough glance at the woman to realize that it was Carolyn. [b]"This is Antov inside the tank!"[/b] All the radios in the south west and central blared to life with a Russian accent. [b]"Mechs are lost, being pursued! Anyone outside, open fire on this thing, or we're all going to die!"[/b] Trailing the tank was now the apparent reason for its slower than usual speed: Gasoline was leaking out from the tank. It was likely almost out of fuel from the sounds of the engine whining in desperation. As for the creature that followed them, it was large, with grey skin and muscular beyond all reason. The arm of the person who had been dragged off was quickly being dragged underneath the skin of the creature--absorbed, it seemed. It had no discernible face, but had four large limbs, each with a pair of eyes, along with a pair of eyes on its chest, though, none of them were human eyes: They were merely black, like those of a spider. All the mutants in the area would feel a sense of extreme dread and almost a bit of sickness run through them at the mere sight of it. If it had any weaknesses beyond simply needing to be shot at repeatedly, there was no apparent signs of it. One of its eyes on its chest had been shot out, likely by Carolyn. The only advantage they all had was that the creature had not yet noticed them all. Roman and Eira could attack it from the flank or from behind, if they wished, even. Finally, a woman's voice came across, loud and clear, and both Jenive and Georgia would immediately recognize it as Carolyn. [b]"Fire at its legs! It regenerates but you can slow it down long enough to let everyone get inside the apartments here! HURRY!"[/b] --- [center][b]Central Apartment[/b][/center] --- After all this was said and done, Jenive looked to her compatriots. She had been silent the whole time, checking over her equipment, making sure it was all functional and letting them all get acquainted with one another. Her eyes open widely at the sound of Carolyn's voice, and she quickly looks to her squad mates, who apparently hadn't already moved inside the building yet. For a moment she hesitates before she finally gets a plan together in her mind. [b]"Look, I don't all your names, but... My name is Jenive. We have to act now. Junko, you and I need to set up on the roof here and try to slow that creature chasing the tank down. Maybe it has giant eyes or something we can shoot at... You two,"[/b] She points at Kiku and Kai. [b]"Get downstairs and start clearing the rooms together, you both look like you can handle yourself in a close quarters fight. When the rooms are clear, call me and my friend here down. I'll go with..."[/b] She mulls it over in her mind a moment, before pointing at Kai. [b]"You, once you've cleared rooms, and the other sniper can go with you."[/b] She then points at Kiku. [b]"Unless there's any objections, lets do this now, before everyone dies."[/b] She nods, uncertainty in her eyes. She wasn't made to be a leader, but, it seemed appropriate this time. Thus, without any further hesitation, she moves to the edge of the roof and starts setting up her sniper to fire by next round. With her training, if the creature attacked anyone, she would have a very brief chance to save them. As for the top floor, there wasn't much to say about it. There were five rooms on each side--easty and west--they were bachelor suites, each with a balcony that the snipers could shoot from with safety. None of them seemed particularly out of the ordinary, being coated with dust, and the occasional signs of mold here and there from not being maintained. If there was anything there, it was likely in hiding, waiting for them.