CC stared into Nate's eyes with a stern glare... She wasn't up for any other explanations or negotiations... Nate then shrugged as he handed her the defensive dagger. CC smiled and handed Nate the quiver and the crossbow. Nate slid the quiver around shoulder and back, and held tightly onto the crossbow... Nate accepted the trade, but he carried on with a puzzled look. After giving up almost all of her protection, CC left the Welcoming Room in favor of Room 001 and the safe. Everyone had been badgering her to open her compartment, so she figured now was as good of a time then any... Heading into the safe, the brightness of the lights took her by surprise, but she carried on... She found her name on a nearby screen and registered her thumbprint. The 'Confirmed' screen appears within a few seconds, and her compartment door slides open. The first thing that catches her eye is the Umbrella T-Shirt with her name on the breast. On the second shelf though, she finds a #well-used lockpick# and #a black gemstone#. CC takes her the lockpick, but has to leave the gemstone because of item constraints and heads back out into the main room, as Natus passes her to enter the safe. The constant pressure of the others to open his safe compartment really got to him, so he decided to just get it over with. Natus scans the screens until he sees his name, and then he registers his fingerprint. He gets the 'Confirmed' screen. The safe compartment door slides open and Natus eyeballs the Umbrella T-Shirt bearing his name... He sighs upon seeing it... On the second shelf of his compartment, Natus finds #a pillbox# and #a whistle#... Odd items to say the least... Natus opens the pillbox right there and finds #two .22 Magnum Bullets#... The pillbox has the initials 'CG' on them... Karter had even taken Charlie's extra ammo... Bastard... Natus kicks the safe before heading out into the main room again... The Unholy Trio were plucking at his last nerves... Things were about to heat up... Back in the main room, AZ is questioning CC...

"So you found a lockpick, eh? Think you could use it on Room 002?" He asks hopefully

"From the looks of the lockpick, it has been overused... I think we'll only get one more use out of it before it breaks completely..." CC sighs

"So the question is: So we want to hastily use it to get into Room 002, which may or may not have a locked door back to the Pub... Or do we hold off until we reach another road block?" Tur tries to reason

"The pub has a weapon's cache..." GSMY added

"But the door in Room 002 that leads to the bar could be locked as well..." lj adds, "Then what would we do?"

"It's CC's lockpick..." Natus chimes in, "She should get to choose..."

"Sounds good to me." AZ finishes

"...I'll think about it... Just give me some time to think this out..." CC holds her forehead... It was tougher decision then it looked like.

Leaving CC to think, Nate headed over to the Item box and dropped off the doctor's memo, while in turn reading up on the files that have been left there. His intellect satisfied, Nate left the Item Box and walked back to the center of the room, raising his arms in the air.

"Well... There is clearly a division is the group... MF already went to the right tower, and others want to head to the Marketplace. And then there's Tidus, who I have no clue what he's doing... So, if we're going to split up, we should at least distribute the firepower evenly and be smart about it," Nate began. "If you're going to go with AZ, stand by him, if you please. If you're coming with me, stand by me."
---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

The group was kinda caught off guard by this direct statement... But they understood the need for it. One large group would attract the attention of the Trio undoubtedly... Couple that with the fact that they needed to cover the Village as fast as possible, and it was obvious that they needed at least two groups... It was actually the smart idea... Everyone in the room stared back at Nate, with blank eyes... Finally, AZ walked over and stood a few feet away from Nate, signaling that he too agreed with the idea...

"I guess I'll head with AZ's group to the prison..." CC spoke up

"CC we aren't going to the prison... While you were sleeping Steve told us the prison is full of BOW's and failed experiments. So we are going to the Hardware Store, or the Village Idiot if you want to use your lockpick on it." GSMY told her, as he walked over and stood behind AZ, "No more games... It's war now."

CC too got up and stood next to AZ... lj rose from his seat and stood between CC and GSMY. NES followed suit, bellowing out something...

"I'm going with AZ to the market place to get a gun! If the lockpick works though, I'm going in the bar!" He is pleased so easily... But one can't help but wonder... He was chosen to be a Class 6 Researcher? AZ just pats him on the shoulder and smiles at him...

"Whatever Nate... I'm with you..." Natus said to the group as he stands up and goes by Nate's side... Natus was acting weird, and AZ picked up on that...

Tur just sat in his chair, with he hands tented , staring off into space in thought. He was the only one left without a group... Did he want to stick with established loyalties, or try to build new ones? He was also worried about MF... And the tower group was understaffed right now... Tur placed his head in his hands... Ugh... He finally stood up, albeit very slowly...

"Alright. I’m going to the tower as well. Not much firepower in that group. You guys’ll need some more backup, I think. Market people, good luck. We’ll all meet back there once we’re done with our errands, right?"

"Good call Tur." AZ acknowledged, "And yeah, I guess we'll meet up at the market place... Good luck guys..."

Tur looked at his all too familiar group... It was the hospital group, version 2.0. Hopefully they'd have better luck then they did last time... Tur shook his head to clear that thought out of his head... If he started thinking like that, he was already dead... So he turned to Nate and Natus and gave them a single resounding phrase as he now looked passed them into the foreboding dawn:

"Let’s go..."

With that, Nate, Natus, and Tur say their goodbyes to the rest of the group and head out into the rising sun... Their destination the looming tower to the southwest... When the door closes, AZ turns to his new group...

"It seems we have one of two choices... We can use CC's lockpick to get into Room 002, or we can head off to the Marketplace now and save the lockpick for later..." He stalls for a moment, "But I guess we'll leave that to majority decision, unless someone else has a better idea..."

The group was silent... For some reason, they always end up silent... Perhaps they are in deep thought... Either way, the sun had just about cleared the horizon... It was going to be a long day ahead of them... It's time to get the day rolling...
---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

CC-
[Status]: Fine
[Equipped]: Dagger(Def. Item)
[Items]: Starter Kit, $500, Yellow Plug, Patron's Diary, Circular Crank, Fire Emblem, Lighter, Lockpick

lj-
[Status]: Okay
[Equipped]: Samurai Edge(11/18; Burst), Crowbar(Def. Item)
[Items]: Starter Kit, $500, Warehouse Office Key, Blue Gemstone

AZ-
[Status]: Fine
[Equip]: Modified Handgun (15/15), Survival Knife(Def. Item)
[Items]: $500, Starter Kit, Clip (4/15), Green Herbs x2, Computer Circuit, Cookie, Lvl2 Keycard, Blank Yellow Book

GSMY-
[Status]: Okay
[Equipped]: Shovel, Sheathed Knife(Def. Item)
[Items]: Starter Kit, $500, Hidden Note

NES-
[Status]: Fine
[Equipped]: Rusty Axe
[Items]: Starter Kit, $500, Self Defense Grenade, First Aid Spray, Red Gemstone


MisterFurious- The interior decor of the Right Tower was not one that was pleasing to the eye... All white, everything... It looked more like a loading room, then anything else... It was kind of freaky... MF shuddered as a chilly wind blew in from the door he left open... Odd, the wind was quite comfortable outside... MF doesn't find anything to interesting in the entrance room. As a matter of fact, this room is unusually baren... MF checks the couch, the counter, nothing... Alright... MF spots the elevator in the back of the room, so he heads there with his key in hand.

"Alright key, let's see what you're worth..."

When he gets there though, there is no keyhole... Just a single button... So, of course MF presses it... I mean, what else would he do? The elevator whirs and comes down to the main room. With a ding, the elevator double doors open, and MF takes a look in. The back of the elevator has a bloody handprint... As if someone had used the elevator to escape. MF shudders at the sight, but gets into the elevator nonetheless... He looks at the keypad and scans his options... @Basement@, @Floor 1@, @Floor 2@, @Floor 3@, @Floor 4@, and @Roof@. MF tries the basement button, but a password screen comes up... He types in 'Sir Spencer' but the 'Access Denied' screen pops up in red... Of course... The note had said the password was changed... Oh well... MF pushes the roof button, but the elevator doesn't move... A screen pops up that reads 'Please Insert Key and Try Again'. MF eyes the keyhole below the screen, so he puts in his key and turns it. The doors to the elevator finally close. MF presses the roof button again, and the elevator finally begins to rise... It rises all the way to the roof, and then stops... But the doors do not open... A screen pops up that reads 'Please remove key to exit'... So MF takes the RT:E key out of the keyhole, and the elevator doors open...

"Maybe I will leave the 'RT:E Key' in the lock, that way, since Nate was talking of following me here...."

So MF places the key back into the hole, but that causes the elevator doors to close... Hmmm... He removes the key, and the doors open... Hmmm...

"Looks like I can't leave the key in the elevator... Stupid security provisions..." MF mumbles
---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

So MF takes his key and exits the elevator. Standing atop the Right Tower, MF gets a birds-eye view of the Village. He can barely make out the Inn from here... He can clearly see the charred ground though... That grenade did serious damage... He sees movement all over the Village... Those bio hazard freaks were beginning to get everywhere... The wind is picking up at the higher elevation, and MF actually gets a few goosebumps... In the center of the tower is a big yellow 'H'. It's a helipad... Well, that actually makes sense... This tower was used for ordering supplies... Besides being a helipad though, there is not much to see up here... MF leans over the side facing the main gate, and sees the gun turret... It's actually positioned half way between Floor 4 and the Roof... It would make sense then for the controls to be on Floor 4... If MF was lucky... MF was about to head back to the elevator when something caught his eye as the early morning sun shined down on the helipad... #Something shiny# was on the center of the helipad... It kind of looked like a gun... Well, well, well... What do we have here...?

MF-
[Status]: Fine
[Equipped]: Handgun (15/15)
[Items]: {Jacket Item- None}, Starter Kit, Empty Flashlight, 'RT:E' Key


Right Tower Crew- Leaving the Inn, Tur, Nate, and Natus made their way to the Right Tower. The sun was almost above the horizon now, so the Village was pretty well lit... The groans and moans of the Undead fill the air... All three men take great care as they cover ground as quickly as they can... Approaching the Right Tower without incident, they catch movement at the Airstrip... Not wanting to be spotted, they quickly file into the Right Tower Door, which was left open... When they are all inside, Tur slams the door behind them... The last thing they needed was unwelcome visitors... Looking around the room, they are pretty freaked out... It was quite the ominous place. The entire entrance room was white. White paint, white ceilings, white furniture... Everything in white... But besides a few chairs and couches, there was nothing in the room... Nothing! The only thing the crew saw in this room was an @elevator@. I guess they kept the good stuff on the other floors... But what surprised them all was the fact that there were no stairs whatsoever... None. The elevator was the only way up or down...

"No stairs?" Natus said, quite puzzled

"Guess Not..." Tur responded

"Where's MF?" Nate wondered, "Has he already gone on ahead?"

"Let's try the elevator." Tur decides, "It's not like we have many other choices..."

So the three men head to the elevator, and press the button. The elevator whirs and finally comes down to the ground floor. The doors open and they all file in... They all look at the keypad and scan their options... @Basement@, @Floor 1@, @Floor 2@, @Floor 3@, @Floor 4@, and @Roof@.

"Well... Where do think MF went?" Nate asks

"Want to go from top to bottom?" Tur suggests

"Works for me..." Natus chimes in

Nate presses the roof button, but he is met with an error screen... 'Please Insert Key and Try Again'. The elevator doors hadn't even closed for them yet... The three are quite disturbed... Tur kicks the back of the elevator, near the bloody handprint before walking out of the elevator... Nate and Natus soon follow him...

"Without the key, we can't go anywhere..." Nate states the obvious

"Then I guess all we can do is wait for MF..." Natus sighs

"But we have to get moving... NOW." Tur is getting a bit flustered, his headache returning...

The three men go and sit down on one of the overly white couches... Their day was not starting off right...
---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

Nate-
[Status] Fine
[Equip] Aluminum Baseball bat, Dagger (Def. Item)
[Items] Starter Set $600, 'LT:E' Key, [Yellow Herb, Blue Herb], Green/Green Herb Combo

Natus-
[Status]: Fine
[Equipped]: Self Defense Magnum (2/2), Steel Pipe(Def. Item)
[Items]: Starter Kit, $500, Pillcase(2/2), Whistle

Tur-
[Status]: Okay
[Equipped]: Sam (15/18; Single), Mr. Shocky (Def. Item, 50% Battery)
[Items]: Starter Kit [Encrypted Note], $500, Water Emblem, Mr. Stabby, 'House 300 Key'
---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

Taking in the view of the entire village, I say another quick prayer for a safe exit from this little slice of hell. "When I get home, that's it, I'm retiring and going to work on fixing up old cars. Enough of this corporate ****. Now, where is that gun turret..."

Looking over the edge of the tower, I see the machine gun, placed halfway between the 4th floor and the roof. "Ok, so the odds of the controls for the gun being on the 4th floor are?" I say to myself. With the way my day has been, I could use a little luck. Turning my attention to the helipad, I see something shiny catch my eye. In the morning sun, I can't help but think it appears to be a gun....

"Hahahaha, I bet NES would love to be here for this..." I chuckle to myself as I walk over and PICK UP the shiny object. To make more room, I place the EMPTY FLASHLIGHT into the JACKET POCKET. "Alright, let's see about those controls..."

When I approach the elevator, I see that it has been called to the first floor. "Oh! The others must have made it here. Excellent." Calling the elevator, I slide the key back into the lock, and head back down to the first floor. I am greeted by Nate, Tur, and Natus.

"Thanks for coming, guys. I checked out the roof, but the controls for the gun turret must be on another floor. We also can't get into the basement, as I'm sure you already know..."

"Step on up, guys, and we can head back up to the FOURTH FLOOR, and work our way down."

With that invitation, I slide the key back into the lock, and wait for them to enter the elevator, where we ride up to the FOURTH FLOOR.

Status: Fine
Equipped: Handgun (15/15)
Items: (Jacket - Empty Flashlight), Starter Kit, RT:E Key, SHINY OBJECT, Cash

---
There's more to life than video games! Like television!

Ahem... Whoops.

Nate-
[Status] Fine
[Equip] Crossbow(1/1), Aluminum Baseball bat(Def. Item)
[Items] Starter Set $600, 'LT:E' Key, [Yellow Herb, Blue Herb], Green/Green Herb Combo, Quiver(4/4)

---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

*I sit down on the floor.*

"Oh man....crap..this is f****** painful, heh."

*I use my green herb on my wounds*

*In mere seconds my wounds begin to feel better.*

"Wow! this stuff is awesome. Ok now, what to do"

*I look around and see the two Jim look-alike. I walk over to one of the bodies and repeatedly kick it in the groin area.*

"This'll show you, you bastard."

*I sit on the table and read my piece of paper.*

*I leave the room.*

"Ok I guess I'll be going to that waiting room."

*I reload my shotgun. I ready my shotgun, and am prepared to fire it at the slightest sign of danger (i.e a dead body walking towards me). I walk into the waiting room.*

*In the waiting room, I use my tape on the VCR/T.V.*

Status:Fine or Okay(I think I am because you wrote that i was in caution and I used a herb)
Equip:Shotgun (7/7)
Item:Shotgun Shells (7/14), Video Tape, green/red herb mixture, piece of paper, keycard

(I don't think there is a crimson head in the waiting room, because Nate smacked it's leg off. How can it be a crimson head with no leg to chase me?)
---
I am on my own, I am going to Survive the Village. Even with 11 other researchers on my ***.

why dont we use the lock pick on all the doors ???
--
i like chicken:) and....................RESIDENT EVIL!!!

GSMY looked around at the group ready to go. "CC save your lockpick. This sick world of the Village means we keep everything and use them in emergencies. Getting into the Bar is the least of our worries, lets go time to get out the Inn and to Hardwear Store for guns."

They start to leave with everyone in tow. AZ and Lloyd were leading to group to the Marketplace. It was too quite, CC looked up and saw a man on the Right Tower, no doubt MF. She stopped the group and pointed upward. The group gave a wave, and went on towards the Marketplace. The creepy, cold wind whistled through the broken window nearby. So guys whats first? General Store or Hardwear Store?
---
What do you want here something witty? **** you I ain't that smart.

Interesting story.
---
19 years of intense gaming and still going.

Hmm, it turned out the key I’d received was the house key for House 300. Excellent! Another place we could explore. After we were done with what we had to do, of course. But then again, a part of me wanted to go check it out now…

Letting AZ know what the key was for (he’d hoped it was for the Village Idiot, as had I; there may have been a slight chance to save Evan. But no doubt it was too late now…) hurt my head quite a bit. The pounding was like a jackhammer. God…

But all in all, I was lucky to be alive. And I could still move well, so I declined Nate’s kind offer of herbage. I wasn’t TOO seriously hurt. Best to save that potent healer for another time.

After that I must painstakingly transferring the ammo I’d found into my Sam’s clip, and I decided to give lj a portion of it, so our guns were more or less even (with mine being lower). I put the weapon in semi-auto, and talked with lj when he came out of the Game Room.

"Hey Tur, thanks again for the bullets, but I have a question for you." lj leans against the marble counter, "Where'd you get the pool cue of yours?"

Er, from the Game Room? "I got Mr. Stabby from the Game Room... But that was before he was good for stabbing... Why? The Game Room was the first place we really explored in the Inn."

"Oh! That makes sense then..." lj stifles a laugh, "I had just gone into the game room and the place looked like it had been torn apart and stripped of useful items... It makes sense knowing that you guys ransacked it... Never mind my rambling..."

I chuckle. “Already forgotten.” But then my eyes fell on CC, and I thought I’d give her a piece of my mind. She’d just slept through that whole thing. How long had she been asleep?

"I just had a playdate with our buddy the Judge while you were having a sound sleep..." I almost growled in a low voice, "Glad we could all go about killing ourselves so you could have a proper nap..."

"I... know, but... sorry... yes." She replied sullenly, with a tone of self-disgust to her words... "You have every right to be annoyed with me... I've just been selfish."

Ouch. Now I felt like a real ass. I didn’t know how stressful this had been on the others, and I was so adamant on not fighting amongst ourselves and working together. And I just lashed out at her like a total cad. I felt horrible about it.

"...Sorry," I said with a sigh. "Just forget it. I’ve had a bad night..." It was the best I could do. My words fumbled out awkwardly.

She whispered, "...You shouldn’t be..."

Aw, man… My jumping on her must have made her feel like she was useless. I didn’t want her to think that, or to beat herself up. Maybe a jest would cheer her up!

"But anyway, I did have a run-in with that Judge... Yep. I kicked his ass!" I grinned, pretending to brag.

CC smiled though, amused by my lame boast. I smiled back, hoping I showed her I meant no hard feelings. Hopefully she felt better.

After sticking some of my files in the item box for public use I had a seat. I felt crummy, physically and mentally. A few minutes later, CC came back from the lockers. Seemed she found a lockpick. AZ noticed this as well.

"So you found a lockpick, eh? Think you could use it on Room 002?" He asked hopefully.

"From the looks of the lockpick, it has been overused... I think we'll only get one more use out of it before it breaks completely..." CC sighed.

I made my input on the matter. "So the question is: So we want to hastily use it to get into Room 002, which may or may not have a locked door back to the Pub... Or do we hold off until we reach another road block?"

"The pub has a weapon's cache..." GSMY added.

(cont'd)

---
"It's a travesty of corruption!" - Felix Blunk

That got me thinking of Evan again. I didn’t want to have to hurt him if he’d turned… Poor Evan… My eyes felt hard. The others continued discussing how best to use the lockpick, but lost in my thoughts again, I didn’t catch most of what they said.

Nate announced that we needed to choose a group to split into: go after MF at the tower, or go with AZ to the marketplace. One by one they chose their side. CC went with AZ, as did lj, GSMY, and NES.

Natus went with Nate. I didn’t know who to join. Thinking about it for several minutes, I finally selected to go after MF with my hospital compatriots. MF deserved my assistance for bringing back Mr. Stabby!

I told everyone, "Alright. I’m going to the tower as well. Not much firepower in that group. You guys’ll need some more backup, I think. Market people, good luck. We’ll all meet back there once we’re done with our errands, right?"

AZ agreed and wished us luck as well. Good ol’ AZ.

Oddly convenient that I was with Nate and Seymour again. Last time we’d joined forces… didn’t go so well, in the grand scheme of things.

There was no time to waste. MF needed our help, the sooner the better.

I turned to Hospital Team 2.0. "Let’s go..."

And thus we left. The light from above was cast over us. It empowered me, even though the cries of the Trio’s victims (as the zombies and monsters were indeed their victims) echoed throughout. Those three: Karter, Martin, Wilder…they were bigger monsters than anything out here…especially Karter…

We made it without any troubles, but…something or someone was at the airstrip. Judge? Who knew, but every time I checked on something like that, it bit me right in the ass. And I was in no shape to fight yet.

Inside the Right Tower, we looked around all too briefly. There really wasn’t anything to check. No stairs, just the elevator nearby. MF had to be somewhere above.

"No stairs?" Natus asked.

"Guess not..." came my short response.

"Where's MF?" Nate wondered, "Has he already gone on ahead?"

Had to have. Unless something got him before he ever reached this place… DAMN! I knew we shouldn’t have let him go alone! ****!!! I calmed myself. There was no evidence to suggest that. Don’t think bad thoughts, lest they manifest themselves.

"Let's try the elevator." I told Seymour and Nate, "It's not like we have many other choices..."

But it was a no-go. We were able to summon the damn thing, but once in, the doors wouldn’t close, nothing would happen. We had not the key.

It was so infuriating! Arg! I booted the inside of the ‘vater in frustration. I walked out before I went off more.

"Without the key, we can't go anywhere..." Nate pointed out.

No ****.

"Then I guess all we can do is wait for MF..." Natus sighed.

I groaned, my head on the verge of exploding. "But we have to get moving... NOW."

We sit, and wait. I considered leaving for a bit. If we were to wait for Furious, I may as well kill the time by checking out House 300.

But before I could voice this, Furious returns. Just like that.

“MF! Hey! You’re okay!” I was quite relieved. “We’re here, so let’s check this place out.”

"Thanks for coming, guys. I checked out the roof, but the controls for the gun turret must be on another floor. We also can't get into the basement, as I'm sure you already know..."

I nodded.

"Step on up, guys, and we can head back up to the FOURTH FLOOR, and work our way down."

“Sounds like a plan,” I reasoned, and followed Furious onto the ‘vater. We were going up!

---
"It's a travesty of corruption!" - Felix Blunk

After stepping out of the inn and into the delightfully deceiving ambrosia of the early morning air. Taking a deep breath and allowing a grin to tug at the corners of his mouth, the remnants of reanimated corpses and the unnerving moans of converging creatures of unknown origin quickly brought him back to reality and depression. Turning back to face the building he had just exitted, he registered that his two best friends in this purgatory had begun to follow him. He was pleased, though only briefly.

They made their way uneventfully to the ominous monolith that was their destination, saying very little to each other. As the airstrip came into view, Nate remembered that he had intended to discuss the tragedy that they had overheard occurring there with Turducken after seeing how distraught he had been promptly following the incident. He decided they'd get to safety being bringing it up, but this was more of an act of procrastination than a legitimate excuse.

As he pondered how he would go about bringing up the topic, Seymour spotted movement from the airstrip. Knowing full well it couldn't be benevolent, they quickly closed the remaining distance between them and the tower and promptly barricaded themselves within. Once inside, a brief scan of the room provided little comfort. It could only be described as bland, desolate, vacuous, bleak. Void of anything worth mentioning, other than its integral shade of ivory. It was like being inside a cloud...

... with an elevator. But no stairs. Very, very strange. The inherent fire hazard aside, it was just not practical. Apparently the tower was only staffed by two or three people, there were never any other persons present, and that elevator was fast. This had to be the case, as there was no other justification for having one elevator as the sole means of vertical movement within a tower. Whoever was the *ahem* architect of this place, he was either mentally incompetent or had no sense of practicality.

"No stairs?"

Nate snickered inwardly at this inquiry. Maybe they were just hiding...

"Guess Not..."

Now what would cause him to venture such a guess? Nate had little time to ponder these philosophical questions.

"Where's MF?" he puzzled. "Has he already gone on ahead?"

He may have just disappeared...

"Let's try the elevator." Tur suggests.

I was thinking of taking the stairs, myself...

"It's not like we have many other choices..."

We could always leave...

Why was Nate being so pessimistic all of the sudden. Maybe it had something to do with his recollection of that condescending, confrontational prick Maddox he had met before coming here. He wanted to beat that guy's ass so bad. Just who the hell did he think he was, sitting atop his thrown, defiling some of the most noble and exemplary aspects of human existence for nothing more than a laugh that would not be heard.

www.maddox.xmission.com

(I hate this guy, but I love Robert Hamburger of realultimatepower.net ... Go figure.)

...

Anyway, back on topic. I press the button, the elevator descends, then opens and we all file in. Lovely.

Looking at the keypad and the many options presented, it's time to make a choice. What would it be? @Basement@, @Floor 1@, @Floor 2@, @Floor 3@, @Floor 4@, or @Roof@.

"Well... Where do think MF went?"

Instead of asking for advice, just close your eyes and pick one. Chances are just as good of picking the right floor as asking those who know just as much as you do for suggestions.

"Want to go from top to bottom?"

For convenience's sake.

"Works for me..."

[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

Phew. I was getting worried there for a minute.

So I jabbed that damn roof button with all the spite I could muster through my finger. That keypad and I just hadn't gotten off on the right foot.

'Please Insert Key and Try Again'.

I knew it! Damn thing didn't like me. Well I wasn't even going to bother with it. I had begun to speak in changing viewpoints - first- and third-person - and if this wasn't disturbing enough, I had no way of bettering that bullying piece of machinery at the moment, and I did not want to let it see me admit defeat. There are several more options, but for the strangest reason in the world, I assume I can't gain access to those floors for the same reason I could not access the roof. My mind had become so powerful by developing it in these high-stress situations that I could now skip steps in the basic problem solving process. Maybe this whole situation wasn't so bad, after all.

The doors stood open, tempting me to admit defeat. Sacrifice my pride, or starve to death in this metallic cell, right in front of that damn machine. I could have sworn I heard it cackle at me. I wanted to punch it, but showing emotions would let it know it had gotten to me. I would not allow that.

Tur kicks the back of the elevator, near the bloody handprint before walking out of the elevator. Bloody handprint? Where the hell did that come from? Probably from somebody's hand. That would be a well-determined guess. Perhaps it just might be the right answer. At this point, I've realized I'm saying absolutely nothing reasonable, but I'm tired in the mood for a good rant about things nobody understands. Probably didn't even understand that.

So I walk out of the elevator, because I've jumped to the conclusion, using my highly developed problem solving brain, that all attempts at moving the elevator would result in an error message. Cool.

"Without the key, we can't go anywhere..."

I felt compelled to state this, as I was not sure the others brains were sophisticated enough to skip steps in the reasoning process. They scratched their heads for a long while, before the epiphany finally occurred, and all at once.

"Then I guess all we can do is wait for MF..."

I can think of more productive things to do, but as I am so determined at this point to show that keypad who the real top dog is, I'll stay and wait.

"But we have to get moving... NOW."

That sure was random. Uh... why?

Whatever. I'll go sit down and ponder the meaning of life, while twiddling my thumbs and batting my eyelashes.

...

I was just beginning to slip into the abyss, and Furious' appearance snaps me to my senses. Okay, I'll try to be normal now and try not to break fourth wall again.

...

I listened intently to what he had to say. Agreeing with his plan, I got onto the elevator. Asking Furious if I could put the key into the slot, he obliged me this request. I did so, and upon realizing that I had finally conquered the Man... err... the keypad, I stuck my tongue out and closed my eyes in a mocking manner. Hoping nobody noticed, I glanced around with a smile. I was so proud of having stuck it to the Man... err... the keypad, that I just glowed with euphoria.

The elevator dinged when we reached the fourth floor, and I was the first one out, ready to grab anything of use before the rest could.

(Failed miserably at being serious. Too bad.)

Nate-
[Status] Fine
[Equip] Crossbow(1/1), Aluminum Baseball bat(Def. Item)
[Items] Starter Set, $600, 'LT:E' Key, [Yellow Herb, Blue Herb], Green/Green Herb Combo, Quiver(4/4)

---
I will take comfort in the saying "united we stand, divided we fall", and wish Tidus a swift and painless death.

GAME PLAN:

1. Take the Puzzle Box from the Item Box.

2. Take the Laptop from the counter and examine the highlighted letters showing AZ what phrase they make.

3. Put the Hidden Note in the Starter Kit.

4. When we arrive at the Hardwear Store, reason with the clerk.

5. If 4 doesn't happen ready the knife, ask one last time. If he refuses slit his throat and say a corny line before hand. Help everyone get the stuff from him.

6. Check the body, and then the thing he didn't want AZ to see.
---
What do you want here something witty? **** you I ain't that smart.

*Examines the puzzle box, after Lloyd digs it from the item box.. remembering what he read with the highlighted letters on the laptop music list..*

"Hmm.. Odd Four Forward... Even Two Back...."


*Uses said knowledge in an attempt on the puzzle box, as he hears Turk and crew heading out.. turning over his shoulder to wish them well..*

"Be careful, and we'll see you at the Tower.. judging from the size of those things, I assume there are going to be multiple floors to check.. and knowing UMB, I'm sure you'll have to hold onto that key at all times, unless you're using it.. that's how it was back at the old training facility.."


*As they leave, he does what he can with the Puzzle Box, then readies his equipment.. making sure everyone else is prepared.. Frank then heads out with the others in tow, en route to the Market Place.. Alert. Ready.*

"Let's go see how that last ShopK is holding out.. I have a feeling the Tower group will be busy for awhile.. those things are huge. LJ, maybe it would be a good idea to utilize your warehouse key, and finish off that location before we join up with the others again.. I have a gut feeling what we need is going to be in that Prison hellhole, and to get it, we're going to need as much firepower as possible.."

[Status]: Fine
[Equipped]: Modified Handgun (15/15), Survival Knife (Def. Item)
[Items]: $500, Starter Kit, Clip (4/15), Green Herbs x2, Computer Circuit, Cookie, Lv. 2 Key Card, Blank Yellow Book
---
«« Â.Ž.P.ü.ñ.ï.š.h.ê.r ™ •¯`·._.·•
•---------------------------------•

Something wasn't right...at the back of Natus' mind...He could tell something was wrong, but what?

Try EVERYTHING!

Natus thought hard but couldn't place it. Something about the official reports on ARTNEM2...they said the ARTNEM2's standard weapon was an MRS Rocket Launcher, but the Judge was using it's 'secondary' weapon - the Chaingun...why?

Knowing your luck, the Judge isn't ARTNEM2 at all!...

Natus felt a chill run down his spine. What if there is another? Something we haven't seen yet...No. Impossible. Isn't it?

An ARTNEM3? Oh goody...

That couldn't be true. It's just a mistake - they don't have a MRS...that's all...

Then what the hell took down those choppers?

It's all falling into place - why the Judge doesn't need a safety word. Why the Judge carries a Chaingun instead of the MRS. Why the Judge doesn't have liquid tentacles. Because the Judge isn't ARTNEM2.

Dammit! They must have the real one locked up somewhere ...waiting...

"Guys... we should er..." Natus froze. What could he suggest?

"Er, what?" MF was confused...

"We should...check the farm..." Natus finished, amazed how bad he handled that situation.

"Ooh...Kay...How bout we deal with this first though?"MF answered

Natus could do little more than grin stupidly. Too close! Better be more careful in the future...


[Status]: Fine
[Equipped]: Self Defense Magnum (2/2), Steel Pipe(Def. Item)
[Items]: Starter Kit, $500, Pillcase(2/2), Whistle
---
"There are 2..."

And... We're closed.
---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

yay update
---
i like chicken:) and....................RESIDENT EVIL!!!

Note: Three strike rule... Blah, blah, blah... We're back on schedule! Hoo-Ray! Sorry guys, I actually spent the last few days doing the life thing. But I'm back and ready to keep the story going.

Right Tower- Standing atop the Right Tower's helipad, MF stares off of the sides of the tower. It is quite an eeire feeling to say the least. He looks down and thinks he sees someone waving to him, but he can't be sure... For all he knows, that could be a group of undead shambling down the path. Knowing that makes MF shudder... He was doing a lot of that lately. But it was reasonable under the circumstances. The sun glints down again on something shiny in the center of the helipad, and it catches MF's eye. MF, being the overly inquisitive man that he is, cannot refuse the oppurtunity to explore something out of place... So he walks right over to the shiny object. When he gets there he finds a #flare gun# sitting right there for no apparent reason. Oh... That's right... It's in the center of a helipad... It was probably used to signal the 'copters at night or during overcast skies... Whatever reason though, it can still be used as a pretty powerful weapon. It has a single shot, but at close range the flare would have an explosive impact... And from any distance, it would surely light anything it connects with on fire... Quite a good find, indeed. MF scoops up the flare gun and heads back to the elevator, but it was no longer on the top floor...

"Oh! The others must have made it here. Excellent." MF beams

He calls the elevator back up to the top floor, and using his key, heads back down to the main floor. When the doors open, MF sees Tur, Nate, and Natus sitting on the overly white furniture... MF pulls the key out of the elevator and walks out to greet them, holding a gun in each hand.

"Thanks for coming, guys. I already checked out the roof, but the controls for the gun turret must be on another floor. We also can't get into the basement, as I'm sure you must know..." MF summarizes

"MF! Hey! You’re okay!" Tur was quite relieved, and he nearly jumped from his seat to greet MF. "We’re all here now, so let’s check this place out."

Natus, Tur, and Nate nod in agreement and follow MF to the elevator. MF gestures for the rest of the group to enter first, almost acting like a Ringmaster.

"Step on up, guys, and we can head back up to the Fourth Floor, and work our way down."

"Sounds like a plan!" Tur beams. He was finally convinced that they were going to make headway here in the Village.

They all enter and MF goes to slide the RT:E key into the hole, but Nate grabs his hand.

"Can I do it?" Nate asks... almost TOO eagerly...

"Uh... Sure... Ok..." MF, like the others, are confused but he obliges Nate's request.

---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

Nate beams from ear to ear as he takes the RT:E key from MF and slides it into the hole. This causes the doors to slide shut, and Nate closes his eyes and sticks out his tongue... mocking the elevator. Tur looks back and forth from Natus and MF, but they all just have to shrug... It's not their place to pass judgment on Nate... Or anyone else suffering in this situation. They would just right it off as stress... When Nate opened his eyes, he gave everyone a sheepish grin, hoping that they hadn't noticed him. Of course, they all pretended as if they hadn't. Nate glowed with a sense of pride, and he slammed the button for the fourth floor. The elevator whirred to life, and carried the four men up to the fourth floor. MF removed the key and pocketed it, and the doors sprung open. The men exited the elevator, ready for anything that could spring out at them. They are plesantly relieved to find out that nothing is waiting for them... The fourth floor is all one room, a very large room filled with computer upon computer upon computer. The entire floor is scattered with paperwork, and that leads the group to believe that a struggle went down here. There is a large pane window that extends the length of one of the walls. Looking out of it, and up, the four men can clearly see the gun turret. MF heads over to the largest computer mainframe to the right of the window, and lets out the largest sigh man has ever heard...

"Guys... You are not going to believe this..." MF points to the computer screen

Tur, Nate, and Natus walk over behind MF and groan in unison. The computer screen is covered up halfway with the word 'ERROR' in a red letterbox. Underneath that read the words: 'Please re-insert Circuit C7'. Nate leans over the computer to find that it has indeed been broken open, and a circuit missing. That means that the computer can still function on it's previous orders, but it's orders cannot be changed... For now at least...

"Is there anything Karter didn't think of?!" Tur is getting frustrated to say the least.

"Yeah... There is..." MF sounds distant, but then he snaps back into reality, "He didn't think we'd get into the safe!"

"And what does that have to do with our current situation?" Nate asks, somewhat smuggly

"I remember AZ saying that he had found a computer circuit in his safe compartment! What else could that circuit go to?!" MF sounds proud to know this information.

"Well... Then we can't do anything with the Turret at this moment, and we've just wasted a good chunk of time." Tur came off more curt then he had meant too... It must be his headache.

"That doesn't mean all was for naught." Natus smiles, "There are still several more floors to go down."

"Yeah..." Tur rubs his head, "Sorry to get so jumpy..."

"Hey! What is that?!" Nate takes a step back, and points to the ceiling.

Rolling across the top of the ceiling is a small, robotic camera-on-wheels. It makes a mechanical clicking sound as it moves around the ceiling, simply of it's own accord. It shows no hostility to anything or anyone... Hmmm... And then, out of nowhere, it projects a light beam onto floor... The light illuminates something that the four men hadn't seen before. Underneath a stack of papers on the floor seems to be #an emblem# of some sort. Awesome...
---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

"A message from above?" Nate ponders

"Or trickery from below?" Retorts Tur

MF holds out his RT:E key... "We can still head to the elevator, you know."

"That's a familiar looking robot." Natus rubs his chin and almost as in afterthought he stumbles through his next statement, "Guys... we should er... We should...check the farm..."

Why is Natus acting so... odd? MF is beginning to get confused.

"So what exactly ARE we doing?" MF asks for a group concensus.

Good Question MF... Good Question...

Nate-
[Status] Fine
[Equip] Crossbow(1/1), Aluminum Baseball bat (Def. Item)
[Items] Starter Set $600, 'LT:E' Key, [Yellow Herb, Blue Herb], Green/Green Herb Combo, Quiver(4/4)

Natus-
[Status]: Fine
[Equipped]: Self Defense Magnum (2/2), Steel Pipe(Def. Item)
[Items]: Starter Kit, $500, Pillcase(2/2), Whistle

Tur-
[Status]: Okay
[Equipped]: Sam (15/18; Single), Mr. Shocky (Def. Item, 50% Battery)
[Items]: Starter Kit [Encrypted Note], $500, Water Emblem, Mr. Stabby, 'House 300 Key'

MF-
[Status]: Fine
[Equipped]: Handgun (15/15)
[Items]: {Jacket Item- Empty Flashlight}, Starter Kit, $500, 'RT:E' Key, Flare Gun(1/1)
---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

The Inn- The Inn crew had quite a lot of decisions to make, and not a lot of time to make them in. Quite a conundrum. CC was twidling her lockpick in her hands, trying to decide what to do with it. GSMY walks over to her and places his hand on her shoulder.

"CC save your lockpick. This sick world of the Village means we keep everything and use them in emergencies. Getting into the Bar is the least of our worries right now. Let's go and get out the Inn and head to Hardware Store for guns." He reasons

CC smiles up at him, signaling her acceptance of this idea.

Having solved that problem, GSMY heads over to the laptop and stares at the highlighted list.

"Hey, AZ." GSMY calls over AZ, "Did you read this?"

"Yeah... Odd Four Back... Even Two Forward..." AZ responds, "But I have no clue what it means..."

"What about the puzzle box we found in the bathroom?" lj throws out an idea

GSMY looks at AZ and then grins. They head over to the Item box and pull out the Ornate Puzzle Box. But it becomes sickenly clear that the music list has nothing to do with the puzzle box. Upon examination of the Puzzle Box, it has a 4 cm indentation on each of it's six sides. Each side is labeled in the upper left corner with a number from one through six. There doesn't even seem to be a way to open the box... Grrrr... Stupid Umbrella... Stupid Karter... Sighing, AZ and GSMY place the box back into the Item Box. It was useless to them at the moment. GSMY does some final shuffling of his files, and closes up the laptop. AZ heads back to the center of the room and calls everyone's attention.

"This is it guys... We're leaving the Inn. We'll be going to the Market Place first." AZ begins while checking over his gun, causing others to do the same, "Let's go see how that last Shop Keep is holding out. I have a feeling the Tower group will be busy for a while. Those things are huge. LJ, maybe it would be a good idea to utilize your Warehouse Key, and finish off that location before we join up with the others again. I have a gut feeling what we need is going to be in that Prison hellhole, and to get it, we're going to need as much firepower as possible."

Someone coughs, catching the attention of the group.

"We have one problem though... Simon already locked himself inside the Hardware Store... He said he won't leave for anything short of a helicopter out of here... I would have done the same, had someone not destroyed my store..." TJ said softly. Wow... Everyone forgot that he was there.

"Who?" lj rubbed his sore back

"Simon... The Hardware Store Manager... Ever since the Second Judgment, he's been more then a little off..."

"No kidding..." AZ grinned, "That guy was more then a tad off... And I told you, I'm really sorry about that."

TJ sighs at AZ's sarcastic comment. "Before I came here with Steve and Tidus, I talked with Simon... He doesn't trust you guys... He said that if it wasn't for the fact that Karter promised him salvation, he never would have sold you guys anything..."
---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

"Wait... What?" GSMY held up a hand to quiet TJ, "What do you mean 'promised him salvation?'"

"Um... Er..." TJ stumbles as he diverts from making eye contact with anyone, "When everything went down last week, Karter made an announcement to the survivors... After the Village was truly decimated; after there was only about ten percent of us left... Karter came over the PA and told us the a rescue was going to be coming, but that there were only going to be a certain number of spots on the transport... To be sold to the highest bidder... Well, things got cut throat between those wanting to buy a seat out of here, and Steve's rebellion... But then infection took most of everyone left on both sides, and both groups pretty much dissolved. Rumor had it that the few people who gave their money to the Trio were taken to the Prison, and haven't been seen since. That's when I lost my faith in the great Dr. Karter... He took their money and had them locked away... But if what Steve says is true, then they might even be dead... But Simon wouldn't listen to me when I tried to tell him this. He has so much faith in the Trio that it is almost sad to watch... He stays in his store and hopes that there are still people alive to buy from his store, so he can buy his way out of here... And he hates new faces... Couple that with the fact that he seems to have gone into a state of eternal shock, and I don't know if Simon is all too stable..."

"Well, that does explain quite a lot..." AZ sighs, "He seemed way too happy when I said I wanted to buy something. And it also explains why he wouldn't give me loan..."

"I can't believe that Karter would do that... To the people that idolized him..." GSMY is furious

"It's... Inhuman..." Agrees lj

"Sickening." NES chimes in

"But you never thought this was important enough to tell us?" CC is a bit perturbed

"You never asked." TJ shot back, "So what I'm basically trying to say is, if you want to get into the Hardware Store, you're going to have to take me with you. He'll at least respond to me."

AZ leans against the side of the couch. "You leave us little choice... Let's go..."

"He took their money and their lives..." GSMY snorts

"Let's go." AZ says, with a bit more force

With that, everyone stands up and heads for the door of the Inn. GSMY holds the door open and everyone files out of the Inn. The morning breeze hits them in the face, and it is refreshing. Way too refreshing for the hell hole that they're in right now... Keeping on their toes, the group makes it's way to the Market Place. On the way, they think they see someone atop the Right Tower, and CC waves. No one waves back... They are able to make it to the Market Place without incident... That's a good thing. But everyone was a little un-nerved at the fact that the Market Place and the Mansion weren't that far from each other... Not far at all... This time AZ takes charge and holds open the door for everyone to enter. To the left they see the blood stained door of the Grocery Store... Straight ahead they see AZ's handy work of destroying TJ's General Store... And to the right they see the Hardware Store, shut and locked up tight...

"Well TJ, you're the wild card here." AZ gives him a slight shove, "Get us into that store."

"...Fine... You don't have to be so damn violent about it..." TJ mutters

---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

TJ heads over to the Hardware Store and knocks on the door. GSMY unsheaths his knife, ready for action. TJ knocks again, and Simon finally answers from the inside, not bothering to look out of the window.

"Who is it?! What do you want?!" The voice sounds very disturbed...

"Simon, it's TJ... Open up, man..."

"Are you alone, or are you still with them?"

TJ motions for the rest of the crew to get out of the view of the Hardware Store's window. They oblige, and just in the nick of time, as Simon appears in the window.

"I'm alone... Just let me in..."

Simon nods to TJ and unlocks his door. This prompts GSMY to take action and throw the door open. He rushes inside, and everyone else soon follows, with everyone brandishing their weapons. You'd think they were ready to fight the Judge... Simon falls over backward, and NES shuts the door behind everyone. Simon scrambles behind the counter and pulls out #an assault rifle#.

"So that's what you were hiding..." AZ groans

"Simon, put the damn gun down!" TJ walks over to the counter and places his forehead up against the muzzle of the assualt rifle, "You wouldn't shoot me to get to them, would you?"

"I... Um... But Karter said--" Simon is cut off by a very angry TJ

"**** Karter! He did this to the Village! He killed Steve! He is responsible for ALL of this suffering!" TJ screams

Simon lowers his assualt rifle from TJ's forehead. He is trying to comprehend the words that TJ just spoke. Then, just as quickly as he calmed down, Simon started up again, hitting TJ across the mouth with the butt of the rifle and then pointing the muzzle of the rifle at TJ as he rests on one knee.

"I don't believe your lies! You and the traitor Steve were always together; Always Plotting against Dr. Karter! You lie! You're just as bad as these fools!"

The situation has just gone from bad, to ugly, to deadly serious... Simon's unstable nature and loyalty to Karter has the group on edge.

"I don't have to be accurate with this thing, you know. Spray and Pray..."

That's it... I don't think there is any doubt that Simon is going to open fire at any moment. Simon's hands are shaking... The room is silent... And then, the one thing you never want to hear comes flooding into the room...

"JUDGMENT!!"

It's pretty far away... Probably the Mansion... But that means the Judge is back on the loose... Simon's attention is diverted slightly by the roar... If a move is going to be made, now is the time... A melee attack would never succeed on Simon, who is behind the counter. He'd have too much time to react. And Simon is only visible from the waist up, so shooting at his legs is impossible... TJ's mouth is bleeding... Simon whacked him pretty hard... The group is torn... Simon is clearly not of his own mind right now... Could they still reason with him, or was it way too late to even consider that?

CC-
[Status]: Fine
[Equipped]: Dagger(Def. Item)
[Items]: Starter Kit, $500, Yellow Plug, Patron's Diary, Circular Crank, Fire Emblem, Lighter, Lockpick

lj-
[Status]: Okay
[Equipped]: Samurai Edge(11/18; Burst), Crowbar(Def. Item)
[Items]: Starter Kit, $500, Warehouse Office Key, Blue Gemstone

AZ-
[Status]: Fine
[Equip]: Modified Handgun (15/15), Survival Knife(Def. Item)
[Items]: $500, Starter Kit, Clip (4/15), Green Herbs x2, Computer Circuit, Cookie, Lvl2 Keycard, Blank Yellow Book

GSMY-
[Status]: Okay
[Equipped]: Shovel, Sheathed Knife(Def. Item)
[Items]: Starter Kit, $500, Hidden Note

NES-
[Status]: Fine
[Equipped]: Rusty Axe
[Items]: Starter Kit, $500, Self Defense Grenade, First Aid Spray, Red Gemstone

---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

Hospital- Tidus sits at the sink, trying to restrain himself from crying. It's tough not to after the beating Tidus took... All alone, and bleeding, Tidus can't help but joke with himself...

"Oh man... Crap... This is pretty ****ing painful, heh..."

Tidus coughs, and groans in pain. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a green herb. He pulls himself up to the sink and mixes most of the herb into a paste, and applies it to his chest and leg wounds. He then consumes the rest, just praying for the pain to go away. It doesn't go away completely, but it is less severe, and that is all that matters to him at this moment in time.

"Wow! This stuff is awesome. Ok... What to do now?"

Tidus walks around on his leg and takes deep breaths to clear his chest. Blood finally stops pouring from his wounds, and they begin to scar up. Arklay worked wonders with cultivating those herbs... In a fit of rage, Tidus heads over to the corpse of one of the Crimson Heads and begins to viciously kick at the downed corpse, until he causes the wound on his leg to tear open again. Smart move. Tidus has to move some of the herb paste off of his chest and onto his leg again just to stop the bleeding. Tidus whimpers and heads over to the operating table so he can lean up against it. He takes out the folded paper that he found in the cabinet and begins to read it, hoping for any useful information.

File #28- Folded Paper

Anne... This has gone much further then we could have ever imagined. I'm beginning to believe Steve more and more as the days pass. I mean, there is no other explanation for the rising of the dead. It must be the virus that Steve told us of. I've been working with Steve to try and get into the Right Tower's Basement. He was able to pull the new code out of an encrypted database by hacking the Center's mainframe, but he couldn't figure out the encryption himself. So I've hidden the encrypted code under the plant in my office if you should ever need to find it if I... succumb to the virus at some point. Steve and I have also convinced James Jones, the Pub Owner's son, into joining the resistance. He is a computer genius, and he said that he was close to cracking the encrpytion, but that he was going to have to hide the solution in his computer, in case Karter were to search his computer. Even in this time of peril, I wouldn't put it past Kris to pull the plugs out of anyone who he thought was against him. Jim also was able to pull a file off of the Center's mainframe about 'Omega Research.' Even Steve couldn't shed light onto that for me, and the file is locked... For a gesture of good faith though, Jim gave us his keycard for the Center. He's definately one of us... Let's just hope that we can get through this before it is too late... I've got Karter coming over for an impromptu meeting later, and I'm going to try and get a confession out of him... I still hope Steve is wrong though... I can still hold faith in Kris... He's never done me wrong before... Even with the current state of the Village, I refuse to believe that Kris would do this all to us... On purpose...
~Mark

</file>

---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

Tidus can't make heads or tails of this. Who was Mark? Anne? Encrpyted what? Wasn't Steve the guy that Tidus rescued from the Grocery Store? Tidus shrugs and stuffs the note back into his pocket. His wounds were feeling a little better, and he felt as if he could properly move on his limbs again. But before he moved out, he took the time to reload his shotgun. I mean, anything could be waiting out there... He throws away one of the shell boxes, as it is no longer needed. Tidus raises his boomstick and heads out of the OR, his heart beating out of his chest. A corpse lies at the door to the ER, shot in the head, and it doesn't appear to be red at all. Tidus pokes his head into the ER, and sees nothing of use, and the smell makes him gag. Tidus then crosses the entrance hall and heads into the waiting room. A corpse lies here too, but it appears that the neck has been broken, and the head smashed in... Just what DID the hospital group go through? Tidus walks into the room, and a TV/VCR combo catches his eye. He walks over to it and slides in the video tape... The screen flickers to life, and Tidus pulls up a chair to watch the show...

File #29- Video Tape A

{The scene is the door to the Grocery Store. The camera pans over to a man wearing an Umbrella Shirt with 'Dr. Karter' on the chest. He is also wearing a flowing lab coat. Then it pans over to two men, one of which is wearing an Umbrella Shirt with 'Dr. Martin' across the chest, the other is handcuffed and gagged, held captive by Dr. Martin. The handcuffed man appears to be unconscious.}

[Karter]: Trent, Trevor you make this son of a ***** pay. He's caused enough problems for us... I thought he would have made a better scapegoat, but unfortunately I was wrong. I mean, I got him to believe that he caused Judgment Day, but instead if blaming himself like I had hoped... He instead blamed himself AND myself, and he is trying to get revenge... or something along those pathetic lines. Maybe he's trying to repent for his sin. I don't know, and I don't really care. All I know is that he has too much information that he could use against us, and although the Village may hate him now, he may still be able to sway enough people in his makeshift rebellion. The infection has done a good job of quelling the rebellion for now, but there are still quite a few people left... We simply cannot take that chance. And make this tape good. When we get out of here I want to mail this time to their parents. It will make quite the family viewing to be sure.

[Trent]: No problem Kris...

[Trevor]: Heh heh heh... He still believes that he caused the accident? Awesome...

[Karter]: To be honest, I never really wanted to do it... But 'he' told me that it was necessary to expose the parasite to an extremly large quantity of the T-Dragon virus in order to enhance it's abilities... And 'he' was right again...

[Trevor]: He? Oh... Your mentor, correct? When do we get to meet this enigmatic mentor of yours?

[Karter]: If all goes right, he's the one who's going to be getting us out of here.

[Trent]: Ten years we've worked together, and you've never told us much about him... Why is that?

[Karter]: *laughter*

[Trent]: What?

[Karter]: Let's just say that you've heard stories of him, no doubt.

[Trevor]: Interesting... But what I never understood was, how did you get Steve to take the blame?

---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

[Karter]: I planted ideas in his head that I was going to unleash the T-Dragon into the prison. Which was only a half-lie, as I did turn the back half of the prison into a failed BOW Storage, but I never planned to release it into the regular prison sector. Trent and I even had faked phone calls, when we knew Steve would be listening. Well, Steve's heroic and upstanding nature took charge, and he tried to destory all of the T-Dragon vials. He was really destroying nothing more then sugar water. I stored the T-Dragon vials elsewhere, and when Steve felt like his job was complete, I slid a vial across the floor of Level 6, and it shattered across the table leg. I retreated back to Level 7, and when Steve turned around, he automatically assumed that he had knocked the vial off of the table. All I had to do was let Steve get out of the Center and then lock off Level 6. And there you have it... Instant Villian. Steve never knew the truth. And I want him to die not knowing the truth. So get in there, and give him the one thing he didn't want to see... His brother getting infected...

[Trevor]: So evil, yet so brilliant... That's the nature of the Unholy Trio.

[Trent]: Let's roll...

{Karter heads away from the Grocery Store, and out of the Market Place. Trevor looks into the camera and smiles, and then the camera blacks out. When the camera comes back up, Trevor is holding Steve at gunpoint, and ordering him to his knees. Trent fixes the camera on a tripod and also comes into frame, holding a gun at Steve. The handcuffed man is unconscious on the floor...}

[Trevor]: Steve Ol' Buddy, Ol' Pal... What's up? What are you trying to do to us? Trying to turn the Village against the Trio? That's Blasphemy. Heresy! Boardline Treason!

{Trevor grins that goofy ass grin of his, and unhandcuffs the man on the floor. He lowers his weapon and pulls a syringe out of his pocket. He uncaps it and places it against the unconscious man's neck.}

[Trevor]: Now isn't this lovely? A brother-brother reunion?

[Steve]: Please... Don't do this Trevor... Trent... Come on, be human...

[Trent]: Shut up, Steve. Seriously... Just shut up. Don't give us the guilt trip. Umbrella already screwed us, so we're ready to screw everyone back. Especially people who try to screw us again...

[Steve]: But you three are all acting like fools!

[Trevor]: Wrong Answer!

{Trevor jams the syringe into the man's neck, and mutation starts almost instantly. It's like a death, and a rebirth in a matter of seconds... You can clearly see the exact moments when Steve's brother stops breathing, and dies... and when the virus takes hold of his brain, and causes him to rise... Trent and Trevor take a few steps back, but stay in frame.}

[Trevor]: Wrong Answer, Indeed...

[Steve]: Nooo!

{Trevor fires his weapon into the abdomen of Steve, causing him to fall backwards off of his knees. His brother moans, and rises to his feet. The sight and smell of blood draws him towards Steve. Before Steve could do anything, his brother leans down and grabs him, biting into the flesh of Steve's abdomen. Steve cries out in pain, and pushes his brother off of him. He crawls over and reaches behind a nearby counter, pulling out a handgun. Trevor and Trent, despite their black hearts, had their heads turned from the brutality in front of them.}

[Steve]: I'm... so... sorry...

{Steve unloads 14 bullets in the span of a few seconds... Many of the shots miss, but three of them catch his brother in the head, killing him... again. Steve's hands are shaking, and he can't aim very well, but he points his gun at Trevor as he turns back to look at Steve after hearing gunshots.}

---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

[Steve]: I'll... See you... In hell...

{And with that Steve unloads his final bullet at Trevor, the shaky aim forces the bullet into Trevor's leg, but that is enough to put him down on the ground.}

[Trevor]: Holy ****! Oh my god! You... Owww... Bastard!

{Trent runs over to Steve and pistol whips him across the temple, knocking him out... Trent then takes Steve's handgun and runs back over to Trevor.}

[Trevor]: He shot me! That SOB shot me!

[Trent]: You'll live.

[Trevor]: That's NOT the point! He SHOT me!

[Trent]: It is bleeding pretty bad... Let's go, I'll help you to the hospital, and get Karter to help bandage you up... Then we'll have to clean up this mess...

[Trevor]: Then let's go, go, GO! Just leave the tape here, and let's go, NOW! It hurts like a mother ****er!

[Trent]: Alright. Alright! Just let me turn this thing off, alr--

{The tape cuts off here, and all that is left is static...}
</file>

Tidus blinks his eyes twice... What the hell did he just watch?!

Tidus-
[Status]: Okay {Wounds still fresh, and could be reopened}
[Equipped]: Shotgun (7/7)
[Items]: Shotgun Shells (7/7), Red/Green Herb Mix, Green Herb, Folded Paper, Class 1 Keycard

---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

*As Simon is distracted by the cry of The Judge, Frank makes a decision.. realizing that not only his, but the rest of those who had chosen to follow him to the Market's lives were suddenly very much in danger.. seeing Simon's aim trained still on the kneeling TJ, and having had his CH ready as soon as the ShopK brandished his own weapon, it took but a split second to adjust his aim.. and fire. Two shots.. towards the trunk (upper body) of Simon. The largest target readily available. As soon as he began firing, he dove to the side, seeking out the nearest cover.. hitting the ground, rolling, he braces himself as best he can behind whatever cover he could reach.. bellowing out*

"Everyone, scatter!!"


*Taking a breath.. holding it.. and waiting. Waiting for either the sound of Simon hitting the floor.. or the sound of his weapon's spray, and inevitable empty click.. grotesquely combined with the last syllable of the cry of The Judge..*

[Status]: Fine
[Equipped]: Modified Handgun (13/15), Survival Knife (Def. Item)
[Items]: $500, Starter Kit, Clip (4/15), Green Herbs x2, Computer Circuit, Cookie, Lv. 2 Key Card, Blank Yellow Book
---
«« Â.Ž.P.ü.ñ.ï.š.h.ê.r ™ •¯`·._.·•
•---------------------------------•

GSMY was in the back of the group, he helpped everyone to the ground and crawled to the counter where AZ was ducked infront. It was scary, 3 inches of wood was protecting them from a powerful rifle. He talked softly into AZ's ear. "I'll throw the shovel towards that open half of the counter. Then when he moves to fire at it, you shoot him into the back of the head. Then I'll jump over the counter, sit on his back and snatch the rifle away from him.
---
What do you want here something witty? **** you I ain't that smart.

*simon that sob he says to gsmy i think hes deasd az shott him twice but i didnt hear a fall to the ground thud yet
---
i like chicken:) and....................RESIDENT EVIL!!!

hey the satement i made a while ago is true i said "wouldnt it be awsome if there was an assault rifle or doubl uzis" :)
---
i like chicken:) and....................RESIDENT EVIL!!!

((Post that stuff in the Researcher's Club, Rebecca.))
---
«« Â.Ž.P.ü.ñ.ï.š.h.ê.r ™ •¯`·._.·•
•---------------------------------•

"A message from above?"

"Or trickery from below?"

Two very solid questions. "So what are we doing fellas?" The four of us stand there, watching the robotic camera roll to and fro on the ceiling. "We should....check....the farm?" I hear Natus say.

"Ummmmm, that's kinda..." I don't even finish my thought out loud. 'That guy is weird' I think to myself. "Natus, what did you mean about saying that camera looks familar?" Waiting for his response, it rolls toward me on the ceiling. Not sure of it's intent, I move away from it just before the beam of light is shown.

"Well, if this village has taught us anything, nothing we find is worthless." With that, I cautiously make my way toward the stack of papers, making sure not to get caught in the eye of the camera. Quickly, I run to the stack, and take the emblem. Taking a look at it, I say "Now how about we finish off this tower, then we can-"

I am cut short by one word.

"JUDGEMENT!"

"****, that thing is back on the loose. Let's get moving."

With that, I lead the group back into the elevator. "Third floor, housewares and furniture!" And we head on down.

Status: Fine
Equipped: Handgun (15/15)
Items: (Jacket - Empty Flashlight), $500, Starter Kit, EMBLEM, RT:E Key, Flare Gun (1/1)



---
There's more to life than video games! Like television!

"WTF? This village is one big twist after another."

*I stand up and walk out of the Hospital. From the Hospital, I walk to the Inn.*

*While walking I start to feel pain in my leg.*

"What are those things!? Why do they turn into that? Let me get this straight, they start off human, then they die....later on they become zombies, then when we kill a zombie, it turns crimson and becomes stronger. This sucks. Why is it that those other zombies didn't turn crimson?"

*While pondering that question I enter the Inn.*

"No one is here...oh well..........I'VE GOT IT!!!!! The only difference between the crimson Zombies and the ones that were still dead is the shot to the skull! If we shoot them in the head they die and don't come back. I discovered there weak point hahaha. From now on I'll give those crimson Zombies a name....what should it be........V-act? No no no no........CRIMSON HEADS, yeah that's what they'll be."

*With that I walk towards the item box and deposit my folded piece of paper, but before doing so i tear it up , place it in my mouth and chew it. Then I spit it in the Item box.*

"That'll teach those bastards, from now on any info I get I'm keeping it to myself."

*I walk to the couch and sit to stop the pain in my leg.*

"Yeah this feels better."

*After sitting for a few minutes, I get up and leave the Inn to get some fresh air. While outside I look around and try to think of what to do.*

"I guess it's time to explore a different location, the more I find out the more I keep those morons in the dark, the more they stay in the dark, the easier it is for me to escape this village. Hahahahahaha, ok maybe that's not such a good thing to do since a handful of those people have done nothing to make me angry. I'll only keep a few of them in the dark hahaha. Ok I'll go to that there forest."

*I leave and head for the forest.*

Status:Okay {wounds may be fresh or more dried depending on FF}
Equip:Shotgun (7/7)
Items:Shotgun Shells (7/7), Red/Green herb, Green Herb, Key card
---
The Forest, houses, and prison are the key areas left in the village. The only way out is through the research center, but it's locked for the time being.

seeing AZ lift his gun lj quickly rolls to the ground."What the hell was he thinking." after the burst of gunfire is over lj grabs the sam tur gave him and gets up slowly. He looks around and it seemed that all the researchers were alright. lj points his sam at AZ. "What the hell were you thinking he could have easily killed us all with that thing!" lj puts the sam down" I'm sorry Az, but he wasn't that much different from us. He was just another victim of Karter. There was a chance we could of still reasoned with him."lj quickly thinks about Tj and runs behind the counter to check on him.


lj-
[Status]: Okay
[Equipped]: Samurai Edge(11/18; Burst), Crowbar(Def. Item)
[Items]: Starter Kit, $500, Warehouse Office Key, Blue Gemstone


---
President is Bush, vice president is Dick, so a whole lot of ******* is what we gonna get- Talib Kweli

And... We're closed... And I even gave you an extra half-hour... ;_;

Strike 1- Tur, Natus, CC
---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

As the four men stepped off the elevator in defensive stances, a scene of chaos greeted them. There is no immediate danger, it would seem, but papers of all kinds are strewn all across the room, obscuring the countless number of computers. It seemed there had been a struggle.

Ignoring all the papers on the ground for the moment, he walked over to the large window that covered one side of the room and looked out... and up. The gun turret! A rush of adrenaline filled his veins and jolted his mind. They had to get to it. Nate looked around for any way to get to the gun turret to operate it manually or control it digitally.

He is interrupted from his investigation, when MF says, "Guys... You are not going to believe this..." He indicated a nearby computer screen.

Walking over to see what he was all about, he glanced at the computer screen. 'ERROR'. Hmm... what the hell did that mean? 'Please re-insert Circuit C7'. Nate was confused, so he briefly searched the computer's exterior for any sign of the cause. He quickly realizes the cause: a missing circuit (duh!).

"Is there anything Karter didn't think of?!" said Tur in a raised voice.

Hadn't even thought about it being Karter. Maybe it wasn't him. That didn't really matter. They needed to find that circuit if they wished to find out what that computer had that was important enough to be sabotaged.

"Yeah... There is... He didn't think we'd get into the safe!" stated Furious. This made Nate very curious.

"And what does that have to do with our current situation?" he asked.

"I remember AZ saying that he had found a computer circuit in his safe compartment!" Nate's eyes widened. That saved them a lot of trouble. This place sure had a sense of irony, though... heh. "What else could that circuit go to?!" Various things, Nate thought. Well... how often do computer circuits go missing? Not very often. Bah! It had to go to this. Too much coincidence for it not to be, he deduced.

"Well... Then we can't do anything with the Turret at this moment, and we've just wasted a good chunk of time." Wait! Who said this computer was the one that controlled the turret? Maybe there was a way to get to it and control is manually. They had to try, if for no other reason than to take it off its mount, if possible, and take it with them. Nate had seen and held an old BAR, though it wasn't quite as big as the gun he saw outside, but nonetheless it was something he thought he could carry and wield efficiently enough.

"That doesn't mean all was for naught. There are still several more floors to go down." Had everybody already accepted that the machine gun was unattainable?

"Yeah... Sorry to get so jumpy..." It looked to be so.

"Hey! What is that?!" Nate exclaimed pointing at a small object that was moving about on the ceiling. He had been watching it for some time now, waiting for a lapse in the conversation to point it out.

It didn't appear hostile in any way. It looked to be some sort of monitoring device, though it must have a highly advanced computer running it. It was amazing. Suddenly, a beam of light was projected from it, straight down at the floor. Following the trail of light from the ceiling to the floor, something they had failed to notice before was brought to their attention. Amongst a stack of papers protruded the metallic semblance of a key.

"A message from above?" What a stupid thing to say... D'oh!

"Or trickery from below?" To follow up a lame phrase like that with one with exceeding excrementality was just... sickening... You lose, Tur.

"We can still head to the elevator, you know," stated MF. Well, DUH! As he stated this, he moved to retrieve the key.

"That's a familiar looking robot. Guys... we should er... We should...check the farm..." Nate quickly looked over at him. What the hell was he talking about? Note to self: Don't trust Seymour!

"So what exactly ARE we doing?" asks as he retrieves the key and looks over it. What choice did they have? Stay on this floor and rot?

Not feeling inclined to answer that rather obvious question at the moment, Nate bent down and picked up a paper and looked it over. He then picked up another and looked at it, comparing it to the other. He picked up another and another, curious as to what they might contain. Most likely nothing of importance, but...

After looking over the papers and feelings satisfied, Nate glanced back at the gun turret one last time. Was there really no way to get to it manually?

If there was no way to get to the turret, and the papers on the ground unveiled nothing of interest, Nate made his way over to elevator without saying a word. No need to state the obvious, the others had already done that. Catching the key pad out of the corner of his eye, Nate gave it a stern glare. He would exact vengeance for his wounded pride, if it was the last thing he did. Damn key pad.

...Oh yeah, Nate... Well, I caught your post before I started updating so all is well...
---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

Haha! ****! I must the ****ing deadline! Just perfect...

---
"It's a travesty of corruption!" - Felix Blunk

Right Tower- The four men stare up at the robot on the ceiling, with slightly confused stares... Except for Natus, who just stares at it because everyone else is staring at it... Nate sighs and steps back to the large window. He places his hands on the cold glass and looks up at the gun turret.

"Guys, have we given up so easily on the turret?" Nate pleads, "Maybe we can reach it manually!"

Tur turns to Nate and rubs his forehead. "Nate... The thing is smack in between the fourth floor and the roof. We can't lean down from the roof and reach it, and if we get through this window I seriously doubt we would be able to reach up and grab it..."

"So how did they get it there?!" Nate is determined

"Crane, or something." MF turns as well, "Maybe they lowered a platform from the roof. I don't know... But all I DO know is that we can't reach that turret."

"Well then, what about these other computers? Couldn't one of them control the turret instead?" Nate continues to go on

"Um... Possibly..." Natus finally turns around as the robot moves along the ceiling.

So the RT Crew starts to fiddle around with the other computers around them. Data on the Village Residents, Inventories of the Warehouse and Towers, Flight Lists into and out of the Village... Nothing of importance... The Right Tower was basically your normal office building... With a big f'n gun on it... A collective groan rises out of the RT Crew as they find nothing of importance on the other computers. Nate is boiling now... He picks up scraps of paper on the ground, looking for anything of importance. Spreedsheet. Nate picks up another paper. Ordering List. And another piece of paper... Wait... What? It's another ordering sheet, but something is scrawled on the back...

File #30- Ordering Sheet

Reprogramming Code: R-TKMW3

Even though changing the turrets course activates the secondary defenses, I'd rather take my chances at a mine field then a devistatingly accurate turret gun. Just pray that we can make it out of here...
</file>

Nate stares down at the Ordering Sheet... Ugh... Deep down, he had hoped they could change the trajectory of the Tower Turrets and just waltz out the front gate... But not with an active mine field blocking them in as well... What the hell kind of Village has a mine field?! MF has returned to staring at the robot.

"Natus, what did you mean about saying that camera looks familar?" He questions Natus' previous statement

"I... um... Nothing really. Things just come out of my mouth and I don't even understand them sometimes." Natus puts on a faux grin

Tur sighs, "Let's head down a floor guys."

MF nods, ""Well, if this village has taught us anything, nothing we find is worthless, so I'm just going to pick this up, and..."

MF waits for the robot to pass by, and then reaches down to pick up the #emblem#. Unbeknownst to MF though, the robot had paused behind him and had once again shot out a beam of light. The light practically envelops MF and the robot beeps three times in rapid succession, before rolling away. Natus simply groans. MF grabs the emblem and spins around to look at the robot, which retreated to the corner of room. Hmmm... Oh well. MF looks down at the emblem and sees a cloud of black upon the gold backing... Pocketing the #Shadow Emblem#, MF crosses the room and heads to the elevator. Tur and Nate follow suit without much argument, but Natus is a little shaky... From the elevator, Tur calls to him.

"Natus! Come on. What's wrong with you?"

"Oh, nothing. Just thought something was going to happen... Nothing big. Silly robot." Another faux grin by Natus, who joins the crew in the elevator.

---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

"Now how about we finish off this tower, then we can-" MF is cut off

"JUDGMENT!"

"****, that thing is back on the loose. Let's get moving." MF jams his key into the hole, but before he can push the three button, Nate shoots out and does it for him. MF shakes his head as Nate smiles, but then puts on a smile of his own.

"Third floor, housewares and furniture!" DING! MF takes out the key, and the doors open. It is a bit darker on this floor, as there are not that many windows here, but everything is still quite visible. The four exit the elevator, weapons at the ready... They weren't getting caught off guard for anything. Right after they exited the elevator, they see a @bathroom@ to their left. Staring out into the rest of the common area, this proves that the Right Tower was in fact an office to govern the ordering and distribution of supplies needed for the Marketplace, Inn, Hospital, and Pub. There are several #cubicles# all over the room, for the everyday workers. At the back right of this floor is the @manager's office@, presumably the person who was in charge of all of the ordering. There are several Umbrella posters hanging on the wall by some #plants# as well, which sickens the entire Right Tower Crew. There is also an #out of place notebook# just lying several feet in front of them. All of a sudden, the lights flicker to life, and white light floods the room. They must be motion sensitive... But, wait... No one moved... The crew scans the room... What?! The #Plants# are moving?! Two plant-esque monstrocities begin to lumber towards the RT Crew...

"Ivy!" Natus blurts

Plant BOWs? Aw hell no...

Nate-
[Status] Fine
[Equip] Crossbow(1/1), Aluminum Baseball bat (Def. Item)
[Items] Starter Set, $600, 'LT:E' Key, [Yellow Herb, Blue Herb], Green/Green Herb Combo, Quiver(4/4), Ordering Sheet

Natus-
[Status]: Fine
[Equipped]: Self Defense Magnum (2/2), Steel Pipe(Def. Item)
[Items]: Starter Kit, $500, Pillcase(2/2), Whistle

Tur-
[Status]: Okay
[Equipped]: Sam (15/18; Single), Mr. Shocky (Def. Item, 50% Battery)
[Items]: Starter Kit [Encrypted Note], $500, Water Emblem, Mr. Stabby, 'House 300 Key'

MF-
[Status]: Fine
[Equipped]: Handgun (15/15)
[Items]: {Jacket Item- Empty Flashlight}, Starter Kit, $500, 'RT:E' Key, Flare Gun(1/1), Shadow Emblem
---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

Tidus41390- Tidus is in awe of what he just watched. "What. The. ****!? This village is just one big twist after another."

Tidus gets up and starts to wander out of the Waiting Room, dragging his shotgun behind him. He is almost in an out of body experience. He doesn't have any concept of what is going on or where he even is anymore. He bumps into a few chairs and such, until he manages his way to the Hospital Entrance. There, at the body of Key, Tidus remembers why he is here and why he has to fight for his life. Tidus bids Key a fond farewell, and then exits the Hospital, on a return trip to the Inn. On the way, Tidus' leg begins to throb once more.

"What are those things!? Why do they turn into that? Uh... Let me get this straight: They start off human, then they die. Later on they become zombies, then when we kill a zombie, it turns crimson and becomes stronger. This sucks! Why is it that those other zombies didn't turn crimson?"

At the word 'zombie', Tidus is blindsided by two shambling corpses as he approaches the Inn. They must have made their way around from the back... Tidus raises up his boomstick, and fires at the closet one, it takes it in the chest and falls backwards. Tidus takes a few steps forward and aims high at the second one and takes off it's head before it even has a second chance. The headless corpse falls to the ground. But then, an extreme pain in Tidus' ankle catches him off guard as the first zombie sinks it's teeth into his ankle. Tidus screams and yanks his foot away from the zombie. He brings the heel of his foot down on the zombie's head, crushing it in and snapping it's neck. Tidus whimpers as he heads into the Inn...

"Dammit... No one is here... Oh well..." Tidus fights the pain in his foot, "The only difference between the crimson Zombies and the ones that were still dead is the shot to the skull! If we shoot them in the head they die and don't come back. But what could I call them...? They're a deep red color, and are pretty fierce... Hmm... Crimson Heads... Yeah, that's what they'll be."

Tidus limps over to the item box, desecrates the folded paper, and spits it into the Item Box... Bastard... If someone wanted to, they could still make out the file, but it would be damn hard.

"That'll teach those bastards. From now on, any info I get I'm keeping it to myself."

Tidus heads over to the couch and sits down, until the bleeding stops in his ankle. That wound burns... And burns bad... Tidus eventually rises to his feet again and exits the Inn, no longer wanting to loiter there. Back outside, Tidus raises his shotgun again to fight off anything that might come out at him. The fresh air does him good...

"I guess it's time to explore a different location... The more I find out, the more I can keep those morons in the dark. The more they stay in the dark, the easier it is for me to escape this village. Hahahahahaha! Ok, maybe that's not such a good thing to do since a handful of those people have done nothing to make me angry. I'll only keep a few of them in the dark, hahaha. Ok... I guess I'll finally go to that there forest."

---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

Tidus begins the fairly long trek to the forest. He has to pass by the Hospital again, and he can see the graveyard in the distance. When he reaches the forest's edge, he is very winded and tired. And nervous... Very nervous. Although the sun was beginning to raise in the sky, that forest looked pretty dank and dark. Throwing caution to the wind though, Tidus begins to trek through the forest. Strange noises fill the air, but Tidus can't tell if they are because it is a forest or because it is a forest in the Village... Never lowering his shotgun, Tidus walks some ten minutes until he reaches a clearing. Here he finds #an abandoned shack# and a few feet away from that is a #deep well#. However, the forest does not end here, and there could be something else in the forest. But for now, Tidus stares at the shack... This shack wasn't on the map... Neither was this well. And there's noise coming from inside...

Tidus-
[Status]: Okay {Fresh Ankle Wound}
[Equipped]: Shotgun (5/7)
[Items]: Starter Kit, Shotgun Shells (7/7), Red/Green Herb Mix, Class 1 Keycard

---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

Market Place- Simon was momentarily distracted by the Judge's roar... GSMY took this oppurtunity to shuffle over to AZ ever so slowly... He leaned into AZ's ear and whispered...

"I'll throw the shovel towards that open half of the counter. Then when he moves to fire at it, you shoot him into the back of the head. Then I'll jump over the counter, sit on his back and snatch the rifle away from him." GSMY was pretty damn destructive all of a sudden.

AZ thought for just a second, and leaned into GSMY.

"Just throw the shovel and get down..."

GSMY was angry, but nodded. He threw his shovel to the other side of the room, and when Simon turned to react, AZ took action.

"Everyone, scatter!!" AZ screams

With that, AZ took but a split second to adjust his aim, and plugs two rounds into the upper chest of Simon. From reflexes, Simon's finger squeezes the trigger, letting off four rounds... NES can't get down in time, and a round nicks the top of his ear. NES whimpers as he hits the ground, and CC and lj quickly check to see if he is alright. GSMY shuffles over and jumps the counter, snatching the rifle from Simon and turning it against him. GSMY lowers the rifle slowly though, and turns back to AZ, who has yet to lower his handgun.

"You got him in the heart..." GSMY actually cracks a grin, "That'll be the last we see of him."

AZ comes over and confirms this fact. Simon is dead, and finally free of this Village. Although he was a Trio supporter, AZ couldn't help but feel sorry for him. It wasn't really his fault the way he turned out... NES let out another cry from the floor. He just got a flesh wound. Suck it up. lj and CC help him to his feet, and the MP Crew looks back at each other in silence. TJ stands up slowly from his knees and walks over to the counter, and leans over it. He takes on look at Simon's body, and then turns away, walking to the back wall of the Hardware Store. There he sits down and places his head in his hands, and begins to sob silently... lj draws his SE and walks over to AZ, placing it just inches from AZ's head.

"What the hell were you thinking?! He could have easily killed us all with that thing!" lj is furious, "NES almost lost his head!"

"Exactly! I couldn't take the chance of him opening fire on all of us! Think about it!" AZ retorts, raising his handgun as well... but in defense, not in aggression.

lj blinks twice, and then lowers his SE. "I'm sorry AZ, but he wasn't that much different from us. He was just another victim of Karter. There was a chance we could of still reasoned with him... You didn't even give him that chance..."

"lj..." AZ sighs

"Just don't AZ... Not now..." lj heads over to TJ and sits down next to him, "You alright man?"

"Everyone of my friends... Everyone I've known for years is dying in front of me... Steve, Simon, my co-workers, my customers, my friends... I just want to be with them again... Living is getting to be too much of a burden..." TJ is still sobbing

"Don't say that..." lj pats him on the shoulder, "You don't want to give Karter and the Trio the satisfaction of that."

TJ looks up at lj with a stare of anger and sadness, and nods...

"But for right now, I just want to be alone..."

---
I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword

"I understand." lj rises to his feet and sees NES holding his ear. It has stopped bleeding, but he is missing the top portion of his ear. Ow... Behind the counter, GSMY finds an #assault rifle clip# which he happily takes. Checking the body, AZ notices #a index card# sticking out of Simon's front shirt pocket, which was just barely missed by the bullet. Then of course, there is always the @back room@ to explore. The Hardware store was half the size of the other two stores, so the back room might hold something interesting.

"I didn't WANT to kill him..." AZ still finds it necessary to defend his actions

"Let's just hurry up and go..." lj shoots back

Where did things go SO wrong?!

CC-
[Status]: Fine
[Equipped]: Dagger(Def. Item)
[Items]: Starter Kit, $500, Yellow Plug, Patron's Diary, Circular Crank, Fire Emblem, Lighter, Lockpick

lj-
[Status]: Okay
[Equipped]: Samurai Edge(11/18; Burst), Crowbar(Def. Item)
[Items]: Starter Kit, $500, Warehouse Office Key, Blue Gemstone

AZ-
[Status]: Fine
[Equip]: Modified Handgun (13/15), Survival Knife(Def. Item)
[Items]: $500, Starter Kit, Clip (4/15), Green Herbs x2, Computer Circuit, Cookie, Lvl2 Keycard, Blank Yellow Book

GSMY-
[Status]: Okay
[Equipped]: Assualt Rifle(26/30), Sheathed Knife(Def. Item)
[Items]: Starter Kit, $500, Hidden Note, AR Clip(30/30)

NES-
[Status]: Fine {Wounded Ear}
[Equipped]: Rusty Axe
[Items]: Starter Kit, $500, Self Defense Grenade, First Aid Spray, Red Gemstone
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I think FFDragon just became my new Idol. Screw Clockspider. ~Crimson Sword