forum || One-on-One w/ Headband-Warrior || Some kind of awesome apocalypse RP thing || :3

Started October 13, 2019 by @Moriarty

tune

Curtis paused for a moment, looking around the now ruined city. Half an hour ago it had been perfectly intact. He carefully crept forward, climbing up onto a pile of rubble so that he could get a better view (while, keeping in mind not to be spotted by any possible gang members nearby). It was incredible, how quickly a whole city could fall– and how different it looked once fallen.
"Oh," was all Curtis could say as he looked around at the devastation. There were bodies everywhere, but the hardest ones to look at were the children…
"Over there," Curtis said quickly, mostly to distract himself. He couldn't look at the dead people any longer, couldn't think about them. He needed to focus on helping to find any possible survivors. "The building was over there." He pointed towards a massive pile of broken concrete and metal. "That's where I found you."

He walked over to the remains of the building, stepping over the bodies around it like nothing was there.
"Huh."
There was literally an indent in the ground the shape of his body in the concrete.
"Nah, no way," Kaz said, shaking his head and backing away. "No way that's m-"
BOOM! A huge explosion enveloped Kaz's body, causing him to disappear in a cloud of smoke and dust. The gang had returned after hearing the sound of voices. The person set the smoking rocket launcher aside and pulled out a knife, grinning evilly at Curtis. The man made a mistake by walking too close to the cloud the blast had kicked up, however. A hand shot out, so fast it was just a skin-colored blur, connecting squarely with the gang member's jaw. He went crashing into a pile of rubble, his jaw so dislocated it barely looked attached.

Curtis thought for sure that Kaz had been killed (or at least knocked out) by the rocket launcher, but maybe he shouldn't have been so certain, considering what he'd seen earlier. When the man began to approach him, he had mentally prepared himself to fight– but it proved to be unnecessary when Kaz took the guy out. Aside from the fact that his eyes widened considerably, Curtis didn't show much of a reaction, but internally he was just as amazed as he had been earlier when the building fell on Kaz. He wasn't sure if he should be concerned or in awe– or both.
"You're indestructible!" Curtis blurted out, excitedly stating the obvious.
Maybe he stated it a bit too loud, though, because all he did was attract more gang members.

(When should we cue the entrance of Kaz's potential love interest chic?)

Kaz stepped out of the cloud, his clothing pocketed with burn marks and still partially on fire. He had no time to worry about it, however, as about 20 members of the gang converged on their position.
"Get behind me," Kaz said, cracking his knuckles as dozens of guns were pointed at the two of them.

(Maybe she rolls up with, like, the entire security force of the lab and chases off the gang)

"Holy cow–"
Curtis didn't hesitate. He practically dove behind Kaz, ignoring how cowardly it may have seemed at the time. As far as he was concerned, it wasn't cowardly since Kaz apparently couldn't be killed by… well… anything, and Curtis could.
A couple of the men opened fire on Kaz, but obviously that didn't do much of anything. They seemed more irritated than amazed that their target hadn't been killed yet, and they weren't going to give up so easily.
What came next happened too quickly for Curtis to fully process. The sound of vehicles breaking through the forest drew nearer. Originally, Curtis thought that the gang was bringing more people, but when the men looked as confused as he felt, he questioned that assumption. The vehicles came into view, and they looked like something he would expect to belong to a military.
A powerful military.
They were armed vehicles, several of them mirroring what Curtis would imagine a tank combined with an all-terrain cargo truck would look like. His mind couldn't come up with any other way to describe them.
The gang's attention was diverted to the new arrivals– whoever they may have been– but the guns didn't damage the vehicles. One gang member dove for the rocket launcher, but not before a vehicle opened fire on him. Instead of being blown up or falling dead from a bullet, the man collapsed to the ground, screaming and convulsing like he had been electrocuted.
"What the heck is that?!" Curtis asked, although he didn't really expect Kaz to know the answer.
Armed men spilled out of the vehicles, with guns that were larger and more menacing-looking than the gang members weapons. The gang suddenly didn't seem so macho; a few fire fights started breaking out (proving that the newcomers guns had the same effect their vehicles did), but the majority of the gang fled for the woods.

Kaz turned around as the gunfights broke out, wide-eyed. He didn't go insane. I really am invincible.
"I….I thought you had just hit your head too hard or somethin'," he said in an awestruck voice. "But….."
He studied himself as he patted out the fires on his shirt. Not a single scratch on him. Nit even a bruise.
"Wha-….what am I?" he asked no one in particular.

(She should get really mad that he has a bruise on his face)

"Well, whatever you are, you're alive. We're both alive. And that's all that matters right now. But I think that we should get the heck out of here before something bad happens to us," Curtis said, somewhat frantically. "You know, before they decide to shoot us." He peered around Kaz's shoulder and pointed at what appeared to be woman approaching them.

"Make sure you don't shoot him," Eden said firmly over the intercom.
"Thought you said he was impossible to kill," one of her allies replied gruffly.
"Still, don't shoot him."

After struggling for some time to pinpoint his location, Eden Linari wasn't about to let a rag-tag gang fire rocket launchers at Kaz all day long– even if he was indestructible. She neither had the patience nor the time for that kind of nonsense.
So she had them obliterated.
Now, here she was, sprinting through one of the last fire fights as bullets grazed past her. Those that hit her armor merely deflected off, leaving her completely unscathed. Besides, most of the gang members had retreated by now; those that were left were dropping like flies. It really wasn't much of a fight, truth be told.
Finally, she spotted Kaz, standing near one of the many piles of rubble. "I've spotted him."

((Part of me wonders if she would initially think Curtis was a threat or an enemy, since she'd never seen him before. And he basically looks like a hobo so it wouldn't be far fetched to assume that he was working with a gang of some sort. XD ))

"No," Kaz said, turning back to the fights erupting. "They would've shot us already if that was the plan."
The woman looked….really familiar. She was speaking into the headset she had on her head and did not look very pleased to be walking through the ruined city. Bullets glanced off of her armor like they did off of his skin, making him wonder if that's what he was made of now.
"Do you know who at is?" he asked Curtis, raising an eyebrow.

(It's your call)

"I have no clue," Curtis responded, watching the woman as she came closer. She was slightly above average height for a woman, with auburn hair pulled back into a ponytail. Nope. Never seen her before in my life. "And she doesn't look too happy. Are you sure she doesn't want to shoot us?" He didn't want to admit it out loud and look like a wuss, but he was half-certain they were gonna die if they didn't take cover.

Eden had finally gotten close enough to say something– but her train of thought took a whole different route when she noticed the bruise on Kaz's face. He's hurt? How the heck did that happen?!
"You're injured?!" she asked incredulously.

He glanced down at his body, seeing nothing but his burnt clothes and bare, unbloodied skin.
"Nah, I'm good," he said, then looked up at Eden and frowned.
She's looking at me like I should know her. Did I?
"Um…." Kaz scratched the back of his head. "Do…do I know you, per chance?"

"Do you know me?" Eden echoed, assuming that he was just pretending to be oblivious for whatever reason. "Kaz, stop playing dumb. This is serious. That is serious," she said, motioning towards his injury. "If it were anyone else, I wouldn't be surprised, but considering it's you–" She interrupted herself. "We need to hurry and get back. You can tell me what happened on the way."

"Hang on a second," Curtis dared to say. "Get back? Back where?"

"I'm not playing dumb. I seriously have no clue who you are." Kaz frowned when she said a name. "Is my name Kaz?"
He turned to Curtis when he spoke, glancing down at his sleeve and patting down the last little ember. "And, yeah, where do you plan on taking me, anyways?
He was finding it hard to trust a woman who he had no relocation of, despite the fact the she seems to know him.

Eden stared at him for a short moment, her expression unchanging, as if she were trying to see if he was being serious. When she decided that he wasn't kidding, her eyes widened a bit.
"Oh geez. This is bad. What have they done to you?" She pressed a button on her intercom. "I've found him, but he has amnesia. I'll have him back ASAP." She let her finger off of the button and turned back to Kaz. "Yes, your name is Kaz. I need to take you back to the lab. Can you remember anything at all?"

"Wait– lab?" Curtis asked, voicing his concern. The woman completely ignored him, as if he didn't even exist.

"Um….waking up?" Kaz said, frowning as he racked his brain. Anything? He shouted into the empty void of his head. Nah, it shouted back.
"Curtis says he saw a building fall on me and dragged me out of the rubble," Kaz said, pointing over to where his new friend stood.

(What if Kaz was only built to withstand large explosions and things of that nature? So, like, a building falling on his exceeds expectations? And! OOO. What if he was grown in the lab?)

" Anything? He shouted into the empty void of his head. Nah, it shouted back.

(( This is the best thing I have ever read. XD))

((Also…. I THINK THAT'S BRILLIANT. So, wait, is he a clone or was he created from multiple genes? What if, like, they took all of the best soldiers' or fighters' DNA they could find and combined those to create him? Or something similar.

"Curtis?" Eden glanced at the shorter man standing next to Kaz. "This guy? He looks like a–" She paused mid-sentence. "Wait, did you say a building fell on you?"

Curtis just nodded, although Eden didn't seem to be paying any attention to him even still. "He's not joking. It really happened."

(First thing: Thank you! I laughed typing it out)
(Second: Yes to the second one. And, after the people who created him found out that he could survive such a beating, they saw him as too powerful and try to kill him.)

"That's what Curtis has been saying," Kaz said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Obviously, I got no relocation of it, but he nearly had a panic attack talking about it."

"Well, if you'll come back with me," Eden said, "we'll get your memories back and then maybe you can remember for sure what happened. That's the only way you're going to to remember. No offense, but you can't take the word of weird little homeless man."

Curtis almost retorted that he wasn't homeless, until he realized that his home had literally just been obliterated, so any argument he had died along with all of his previous acquaintances.

"Hey, Curtis is coming too," Kaz said, crossing his arms. "It is way too dangerous for him to be out here by himself. What if the gang comes back?"
This isn't something Kaz would've said before he lost his memory. He would have left the guy in the dust without even a thank you.

"Since when do you care what happens to people?" Eden asked, a bit surprised. "No, no. We can't bring strangers to the lab." She shook her head. "It's too risky."

(So, since Eden is a love interest, I have an idea. What if the reason why her and Kaz hadn't been a couple before all of this is because Kaz was such a jerk? Like, she cared about him, but his personality kept her from really making that next step?)

"Well…." Kaz trailed off, glancing in between Eden and Curtis.
He was conflicted. This lady told him his name and offered him sanctuary, something that was beyond enticing. Plus, she was pretty. But, on the other hand, Curtis had saved his life while risking his own. The gang could have easily doubled back and dropped another building on him, which was something he wasn't sure he'd survive again.
"Well…" Kaz crossed his arms. "then I'm not going."

(( Ooo! That's a really good idea. It has my stamp of approval :D

"What?" Eden was genuinely shocked– amazed, even. This was even more surprising than the injury or memory loss. "You're not going… because you don't want to leave him?" she asked, just to clarify. Was she sure this was even Kaz? Of course it was, but he was acting like someone else.

Curtis smiled, which may have been a bit out of place considering the current situation, but he couldn't help but feel happy and grateful for what Kaz was doing. He obviously had no friends left (not that he'd had any BEFORE the city went kaplooey), and the fact that Kaz was sticking with him meant a lot– especially since they'd only been friends for a good half hour.

Kaz nodded, albeit slowly. Is this really best decision? he thought, then a wave of guilt hit his mind as hard as the building had hit his face. (So pretty dang hard.) Yes, this is, his brain fired back. He would do the exact same thing for you.
"Yeah. He helped me," Kaz said with more determination backing his voice. "If I left him, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

(( The way you word things is the best way. XD ))

Eden blinked. "Wow. Okay, then." She paused. She had to get Kaz back, although she didn't want to bring an extra person. Maybe she'd get lucky and find a way to drop Curtis off in the woods somewhere along the way. But she couldn't risk not bringing Kaz, and forcing him to come wasn't really a good idea. "Fine, then. I'll bring the hobo too, if you'll come."

Curtis wanted to thank Kaz right then and there, but he wasn't sure about the timing, so he swore he'd do it later. He'd never met anyone who had been so loyal to him so quickly.

((Curtis casually considering Kaz a brother at this point and they're like 30 minutes into a friendship XDD))

"Well, then, let's go back to this 'lab' you keep talking about," he asked glancing over at the tanks. "Is there gonna be enough room in there? You brought so many soldiers it looked like a freaking circus act when they climbed out of the vehicles."

"A circus act?" Eden asked. She grinned a bit, though it didn't last long. "Hm, well you'd be surprised how many clowns can fit in a tiny car. Come on." She spun around and started back towards the vehicle.

Curtis wasn't sure if this chic was calling him and Kaz clowns, or if she was referring to the soldiers.

Kaz grabbed Curtis's wrist and pulled him to his left side as they walked
"Just walk forward, alright?" he said, twisting his body so it would shield his friend from any sniper fire.
Good lord….am I even human? passed through his mind, dealing his self-esteem a heavy blow. No normal person can do what I can. What does that make me?

(So, how do you think the owners of the lab that created Kaz would treat him? As a person, or more of an object?)

((Honestly probably more as an object, all things considered.))

Curtis nodded, sticking close to Kaz. He was amazed; he'd never had a friend like this, one who actually risked themself for him. Usually it was the other way around. Curtis almost couldn't believe it. "Why are you doing this? I mean I'm grateful beyond words– but– no one besides my family has ever really cared. We just met. Why did you choose not to leave me?" Curtis knew he wouldn't have left Kaz, had the situation been reversed, but that didn't mean he expected the same treatment.

Eden stopped next to the vehicle to wait for them.

"You'd do the same for me, man," Kaz said as the reached the vehicle. "Besides, right now you're the only person I know I can trust."
His hair was laying on his forehead like a limp napkin after he took a rocket launcher to the chest, so he pushed it back into place with a huff.
"Hey, lady?" he asked, turning to Eden. "Will there be a new set of clothes for me when we get to where ever we're going?"