OOC: He's younger than her, if you checked the bio.

BIC:

"Erm...hi, Gwen..." he mumbled through the helmet, his voice not quite sure where to start out.

"Oh! Um, sorry...where are my manners? I'll take this armor right off."

The armor fades into particles, and then regroup at his vambrace, revealing a much smaller figure. There appears to be some blood caked onto his t-shirt, but it seems quite old...

"Anyways...hi Gwen! It's been about how long? A couple of weeks, right? I'm not hungry right now, but I'd like to check up on Lance. I have a gift for him, as a thank-you for his hard work."

OOC: Just left standing? XD

BIC:

Theo nodded towards Gwen as a farewell, and walked inside the house.

"Lance," he calls out, "it's me, Theodore. I've got some things for you, but I don't wanna disrupt your work. I'll just leave the bag here..."

He drops down a mouldy bag, no doubt looted from the undead he's killed, but its heavy weight and clinking noises implies there's a lot of materials to work with in there.

Inside, there appears to be various scraps and bolts, as well as the occasional bag of soul dust. But, the most prominent of the materials was the Silver Coil on top. God knows where are how he got that.

Theo then walks out of the house, and begins to pace aimlessly around the village.

"Well, I'm not really from anywhere, I don't remember having parents, or a home. All I can remember is survival and speech. Now that I think of it, it's kind of cliche. I learned the finer things of life from this Mysterious Figure, Who eventually left suddenly and left me this mask." ((How Lefty.))
"What's so special about the mask?"
"Well, It's really annoying, It possesses you, In exchange for insanity and power. After this, I'm gonna go buy a weapon, so that it never eats another human soul. . . Never. . . again. . ."

Well, in the U.S., it's Father's Day. So most people are probably spending time with their Father and parents instead of going on the internet even though they probably really want to be.

OOC: I assume there are more elevators. Correct me if I'm wrong. This level will be different from the one everyone else is on.

Theo then re-activated his armor, and clunked all the way to the elevator. Depth 1 : Cooling Chamber - Haunted Passage

He took a small diagnostics run on his equipment, testing out his shield, among other things, and then went down a floor.

[MIST : 67%]

~~~

As he went down the elevator, Theo's eyes were a light in the dark, dank Clockwork tunnels. An icy gale swept through the level, notifying Theo of the absolute desolation. The young man doubted there was even a Frozen Shambler left; they had all surfaced to the stratums above, where villagers were. Which would mean...there would be plenty of time to grab some materials here and there.

Hello?
THIN?

The men tried to back off, but ran into another barrier. It soon became clear that they were completely enclosed in what was essentially an invisible prison. Gwen walked up to Ethan and released his bonds. "Did you get into trouble again, or did trouble find you? You have a penchant for scraping through by the skin of your teeth. Especially with my parents; they nearly caught you, y'know." She giggled as she let it sink in that she knew about his crimes.

She then pecked him on the cheek. "Don't worry, I won't turn you in. You *did* help me recover after your attack, after all. That, and you're too cute to put in jail!"

She turned to Alice. "So, you've got this awesome Fractured Mask of...Mysterious Figure. Does this crazy dude have a name?"

Evera opened the door. Her eyes widened with delight; it wasn't often that someone they'd helped for free came back from their travels. "Lance dear, Theo's at the door!" There was a sound of a chair shuffling, and soon Lance popped up behind Evera. "Well I'll be! Howdy do, mister?" He looked at Theo's sack curiously, and couldn't decide whether it was supplies or explosives. He decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, and released his grip on his revolver.

(OOC: No, there is no way to tell that he had his hand on his gun. He doesn't tense up when he holds it or relax when he releases it, and the hand movement itself is subtle. It's just that he always carries a gun with him at all times, ever since an incident where he was betrayed and luckily had his gun on him that day.)

"So, you've got this awesome Fractured Mask of...Mysterious Figure. Does this crazy dude have a name?"
"As far as I know? No. He never spoke during the month he spent with me, teaching me of life.
"Arch, whatever your name is, I bought two swords, take one for self defense."

Theo made a small bow, and opened up the sack. There were at least twenty Sword Stones sitting inside, all of them ready to be alchemized, or pounded into fine blades.

"I left behind a bag earlier, full of materials. That and this bag are just thank-you gifts for making the armor. More than a few people wouldn't be here had I not used the armor. Thank you."

(OOC: Darn. Also, not gonna be active here again till tommorow. If you don't know already, I have a time limit on my PC \6:30 PM\)
"How could he teach you without saying anything? Did he go all caveman on you and write on the walls and dirt and stuff? Why would he give up his Fractured Mask of Power? Why didn't he tell you his name? Did he have something to hide? What did he teach you about life? What did you learn from him?"
"Firstly, he taught me with emotions. He pretty much took me into his mind and showed his past. Secondly, the mask itself was a safety mechanism basically, But as you can tell, or I hope you can, IT'S REALLY EVIL! As for what I learned. . . Well, emotions are much stronger than words, in such a way that is impossible to describe. The best way I can describe it. . . A seventh sense, If that helps."
"You still didn't tell me if he had anything to hide. . ."
"Well, the way he put it, his species couldn't speak, but they could make a little or large "Bink" Sound. That, and it didn't seem like he had anything to hide.

"Don't you remember, Ethan? I told you my name last time we met. I'm SO insulted that you forgot! I'll never speak to you again." She crossed her arms and pretended to pout. She broke out into laughter and said, "I'm just kidding! My name is Gwenyvier Valentine."

Suddenly, her head lurched back, and she toppled to the ground with a yelp. When she had gotten up, she was shaking from head to toe. "That was the creepiest thing I've ever felt! I just...lost control for a moment. It was like my brain just decided to up and do its own thing. Is that...normal?"
__________

Back at the house...

Theo had decided to accept their offer, so Evera spooned out some soup into a bowl and set it at the fourth place at the table. It was notable that there were four chairs, but only three family members. Perhaps they kept a place for guests? The three sat down at the table, and Lance quietly muttered something to Evera about Gwen, but she shook her head and shrugged.

Speaking of which, where was Gwen?

I slash a zombie across the face, making it stumble back a little. They are running towards me now. All of them. I stab a zombie in the neck, and start running. I pick up random things as I run, never having to stop and pick something up, but more like what my dad described as a "shopping spree." I run faster, running out of items to throw. In the distance there is my tree, the one I sit in specifically because of it's place.

When the virus broke out, two camps were formed. Beta and Alpha. One stood for keeping the ways that had grown upon them, and the other cried for revolution. I had never been accepted by a camp for my lack of speaking. I can't speak, not ever. Not until I am worthy...no, not until they are worthy, of the Secret. The Secret that could tip the scales of power on a mass level.

But that's the thing. They aren't worthy until they settle their disagreement on how the world should be run. I am at the tree, jumping and using my arms to climb up into it. It's one of the biggest trees around, completely dead, with enough branches branching out to send a person into unconciousness counting them. This tree symbolizes unity. If we can all meet at this tree someday, maybe life will be different enough for us all to be happy. I bring out my holographic touch screen, a phone with a metal rim and a holographic.....yeah, you get it. I twirl the stylus in my hand, and touch a dot on the right side of the screen.

The Super Blaster I wired to the right side of the tree, and down into the hollow trunk where a heart rests, starts to fire in the direction I press the stylus, diagonally being height, horizontally being direction. I shoot the zombies down, holding my fortress. I look to my right and left to only see smoke in both distances. Alpha, Beta, why can't either of you help me when I need it.

Gwen's curiosity spiked. "You're right, I have no idea what an arch-drive is. What is it?"

Man, we need to learn timing! xD
Also, RWBY Yellow is out.
Yep.

I sit in the tree, keeping myself from shaking. I figure...well, maybe I could. I pick up my phone, and touch the screen. It lights up into an unfamiliar red. My eyes widen, and the phone gives of a vibration. A signal? Where could a signal be coming from? The Core is just out of reach of the hi-tech device, so....the Sanctuaries? But...they don't have intelligence!

Do they?

I stare off towards Alpha Camp. I need food or I am going to starve, and they have never excluded me for any reason. I jump from the tree. I land softly on the ground and feel my necklace jump. I reach up to it and hold the Maiden's Tear, closing my eyes and seeing the burning of Almire.

When I reopen them, gold light shines through the darkness of the smog, and I sprint quietly towards Alpha Camp.

*pats on back* You're so silly, Lim. o3o

BIC: I arrive in A-Camp, and go towards the nearest technician. After a few hand signals from me, he points me in the direction of a pile of scrap metal. I walk over to it quickly, and sift through it until I find a phone, out-of-date compared to mine, but the monitor and wires are still acceptable. I put it in my back pocket, and look until I find a keyboard, standard, and a broken Sprite, which I can't afford with my current scraps, but I'll return for...one way or another. I pick up a Nitronome core, and toss it in my hand. I might have enough green shards for a Super Blast Bomb, if they allow me to disassemble it...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some time after the dealings, and me getting a Super Blast Bomb core and a small phone as a monitor, I head towaards the rations tent...

As Ethan spoke, Gwen's face grew pale, and she swayed unsteadily until she collapsed to the ground. Her body twitched uncontrollably for a few moments, then became still.

No breath.
No pulse.
But not dead.

Alice was mistaken; this was clearly not normal.

What happened, and why now, of all times?

I notice the assault just as I stroll past. I run across the ground, strangely feeling like I'm flying before I stop behind the figure. I turn on my phone, and a crackle of red lightning bursts from it, the volts even taking a man of that size down. I nudge his twitching body on the ground, and the electric waves stop immediately when I touch him. He lives, but I can tell with the force he hit that his wrist is broken. I look up to the victim, a young girl. I show her my phone as a hologram blinks in, "Hi, I'm Xindao." I smile behind my mask as she reads it. It's too bad I can't have a decent conversation with her. She probably pities me, but I'm used to it by now. The phone holograms, "What's your name? Care to join me for a meal?"

A stronger Lore with nothing to pursuit. That's kind of how the other RPs(successful) did it. We need a strong, motivating, slightly wise character with a sin to make them pure hero. Not a swagger or a god, not an outcast or a rebel. Well, maybe a little rebel. We need a character like Seatus's or Infernus-Dragneel's or Thinslayer's (RtC Gwenyvier) to get something moving. Or another insane battle for power plus each character's inner motives or feelings. As I read these RPs, I see most of the characters only being used as a story follower. If you really want to push a story forward, give small suggestions to show a character's feelings on the outside reflecting inside, fight like you really want to fight, and add more backstory the further you go and inject it's ideas, each at a time, and last of all, you need to prove you are who you say you are, and not divert yourself to comply with the story, but instead, weave yourself into the web of events making up the story.

Good. Now all those many thoughts can be cleaned with neater ones.