[Kalli]

The young man followed, having to trot a bit to keep up. His strange companion had a longer stride than he did.

“I’m not sure how to get out of here from this direction, though…” he said hastily. “You shouldn’t follow me. I was following you. What is that noise you keep making, anyway?” Somehow, the fear he had felt toward the creature was starting to melt away, bit by bit.

[Whatsyourface]

“It Is akin echolocation. To see with sound.” The creature was now speaking out loud as it walked. So that it did not have to look at the boy when it talked and so it could keep looking forward. It tread on all fours. The creature is rather silent for a while.

Then the creature tried to ascertain information from the boy. “Why are you here? Where you alone? Were some of these people with you?” The creature says as it is going along the right path.

[Kalli]

“Hey… you can talk…like…out loud talking.” the boy mused quietly, then fell silent, too. He got the feeling that the creature didn’t want to answer all his questions at the moment.

They walked on for awhile, going back somewhat by the way they had come, but turning a few more corridors, before coming to some stairs that led down. Not that the boy knew how to get back out; he was trusting the creature.

“I’ve been alone for awhile….a few years, actually.” he paused, something dark crossing his features. “I was down here looking for scrap metal and stuff to sell. Most people topside wouldn’t come near this place…now I kinda see why.”

[Whatsyourface]

The creature heard the boy with it’s enhanced hearing, able to even hear his heart beating and blood pumping from this distance. “I can direct my sound. My primary weapon is acoustically based.”

It treaded down the stairs if this was the right way. Other ways perhaps blocked. So it might have to go here and then find another flight of stairs to take it to top level again. The creature walking on all 4s. “I see.” The creature comments as it walks. Wary of where it treads. But wanting to leave this place.

[Kalli]

“Acoustics, huh?” The boy wasn’t exactly sure what this meant, but he had a rough idea. Honestly, he was glad the thing was talking out loud because having a voice in his head was too eerie. Like he was going crazy or something. Odds were still in favor of that explanation for all of this as it was. Once he got out, he half expected the creature at his side to vanish “in a puff of logic”, like he’d read in some old book somewhere.

Unfortunately for both of them, their exit would not be an easy one. As both descended a short flight of steps, they came into a large room that looked like an inner courtyard. Though no actual sunlight entered, the walls and ceiling seemed to glow gently with an artificial kind of its own. There were plants here, and somewhere the sound of running water. In spite of this rather tranquil setting, the young man couldn’t help but feel a strange prickling on the back of his neck, like someone was watching him. He had mostly been watching the creature at his side, but now, his blue eyes darted back and forth, unsure.

‘Hey…uh…I don’t know if you can hear me. But do you feel that?’ he thought, hoping the creature could pick up on it. If there was someone stalking them, he didn’t want their conversation to be heard. It wasn’t like he could see anything through the foliage, but there was definitely something there.

(Not sure if the creature would sense intruders, up to you. You’ll see what’s after them in a bit.)

[Whatsyourface]

The creature opens it’s mouth in the sanctum and makes a high pitched humming noise as it maps out the entire sanctum and beyond. Even able to see behind them and above ground. If there was anything made of normal matter near by, 48 was going to detect it. Then it stops. It’s reaction depends all on what it is that is there.

[Kalli]

Waves of sound passed through trees and foliage, sliding like an invisible wave over every millimeter of the room. Near a small waterfall on one side, the waves curled around a humanoid form that, unlike the two others in the room, was still alive and upright. Its heartbeat and breaths could be heard, but they were not elevated at all. Whatever it was, the humanoid creature remained hidden, but also completely calm. Through the thick foliage, a pair of pale pink eyes watched the young man and the pale, bat-winged creature with almost predatory interest.

Though he hadn’t seen the eyes yet, the young man could feel their intensity, and he looked around, gun safety off. Just as he was about to ask 48 if he detected anything, he suddenly heard another voice.

“Have you come to play with me?”

The voice was young and soft, without indicating age or sex. At first, it sounded like it was ringing off the walls, but there was an inner quality to it, like the way 48 spoke in the young man’s head. The voice resounded inside and outside of him, causing pin-pricks in his brain. It felt wrong, somehow.

Pointing his gun first in one direction, then another, he scanned the foliage to figure out where this new voice had come from.

“Who are you?” he demanded out loud. “Show yourself!”

From the trees near the waterfall emerged a creature that looked human, but only in that it possessed all of a human’s basic build and features. Its skin was pure white, as was its long hair, to the point of almost looking fake. Hints of the palest pink around its lips, cheeks, and other areas of its naked body showed that it probably had blood, in spite of its doll-like appearance. It was slim and androgynous and unscarred, approaching them almost with casual grace.

“Have you come to play with me?” the humanoid thing asked again, seemingly unperturbed by being completely naked, or facing off against total strangers, one of which looked monstrous.

Next to 48, the young man took a small step backward, not knowing why he felt afraid. Those pale pink eyes were creeping him out. They didn’t seem to blink…

(This thing is a Psion- a powerful psychic/telekenetic, even against 48)

[Whatsyourface]

48’s tail swayed back and forth as it looked at this thing it had never before seen. It was abnormal to him. It did not have human features. “To play? No. I do not wish to play.” 48 said to the thing in it’s own head. The boy did not hear it. The creature cannot block 48 from speaking within it’s head, because 48 cannot use psionic abilities. It doesn’t have any psionic powers.

“What is your intention…?” 48 says then out loud. “What do you mean by play…?” 48 stepped in front of the boy defensively. On it’s back a device seems to retract out from it’s back. Something with a hole it seems…

(Fun fact: All of 48’s powers are actually pretty possible. He is even based off actual materials, weapons and technology that exist now or will/can exist. This leads to 48 having logical drawbacks and limitations. However, even if it is limited by actual physics, it is still very powerful. It lacks durability compared to some things. This is so it is light enough to fly ^_^ He has a lot of technical aspects to him and I can explain away most of him. He can take a beating but he isn’t exactly a tank ^.^)

[Kalli]

The thing’s features were smoothed out, like a porcelain doll that had been buffed too much. It had no real expression, either, just the huge, staring eyes. Once in awhile, a quick flit of grey would slide across them, almost like a transparent third eyelid.

“You do not wish to play? Why not?” the humanoid thing asked, tilting its head to one side. As there was no change in its features or voice, its feelings were, for the moment, unclear. It disregarded 48’s questions, either because it didn’t understand them, or didn’t think them important enough.

The boy standing behind 48 certainly thought them important- what did this thing want? A shudder ran through him every time it spoke, as though its voice was something he ought to remember, but couldn’t. Perhaps something out of a nightmare. The porcelain-white humanoid thing kept advancing without any apparent fear, its terrible gaze fixed on them both.

“Your brain is more interesting than a human’s- I want to see inside.” it said to 48, its wispy voice resonating around the walls and in their heads. Somehow, it seemed to affect the air around them, even though the humanoid thing never moved its mouth.

(The Psion is going to attack 48’s mind, but I’ll let you decide how it affects him. It’s somewhat different for each individual, especially for non-humans.)

[Whatsyourface]

48 stood there. 48’s mouth did not move at all as he said this and looked at the creature. “Very well…” It said calmly. The fight with the creature from before disabled 48’s primary LRAD based weapons. Though the system stood by to repair it. 48 was stalling and gathering data.

If the thing were to try and read 48’s mind and muck with it’s brain, it would find there is much trouble. Especially considering how much of it’s brain is cyberdized, and even the organic parts were synthetic. Much of the data is computerized. Entering it’s mind with the mental capacity may or may not result in sensory overload from the sheer amount of things it’s processing, depending on whether or not it can effect much of it’s mind in the first place. It hears the air shift as it’s tail moves to a fro, the drops of water hitting splashing in the distance, a leaf falling to the ground 30 feet away. It could even hear the flow of the thing’s and the beating of it’s heart from this distance. Even with this level of silence, it would rattle any ordinary person not used to it, and if they were somewhere like a bustling, a man would likely go in short time. Though since 48, unlike something of nature, was specifically engineered to be able to properly function and even adjust things to best fit the situation. Particularly it’s senses, if something were to try to deafen or blind it…

And that is not to account the amount of data running through it from actual conscious thought. It looking her over and looking through it, mapping out internal organs and finding the resonant frequency of various bodily fluids. Specifically the cranial fluid in it’s brain. The flesh and machine worked well together. It even able to determine how durable it is, and trying to see, if it is capable of tearing it apart, should it come to that. However, this thing had abnormal abilities it seemed. And 48 underestimated the creature from before. It mustn’t underestimate this one. Especially since it is simply standing there. This is an opportunity for it to gain data before it does anything. The way it influenced the air seemed to indicate that it had other types of mental powers…but the question was. To what degree? Could it simply crush the boy at it’s leisure? 48 had to be ready to act if it did.

[Kalli]

“What the hell is that thing?” the boy behind 48 breathed, not at all liking the Psion’s look or feel. Its way of speaking didn’t much appeal to him, either, like a child with no emotion.

Pink eyes slid in his direction, making him cringe, but the Psion was busy pushing into 48’s mind, just staying at the edge, like a car trying to merge into the fast-lane of a freeway. The Psion perhaps couldn’t merge with 48’s thought-processes, but it could still read the overall pattern. It wouldn’t have been difficult in any case; 48 was a pretty obvious weapon (but then, so was everything in the Psion’s experience). Being a weapon, and a machine, its brain functions would be set accordingly, which meant it would attack once it felt the Psion was a threat. What the Psion found interesting was how it seemed to determine what constituted a threat. Which was precisely why its gaze shifted to the boy behind 48.

“You’ve been programmed to act as a shield for the human.” it said in its lilting voice. “Either that, or your programming shifted. Self-awareness in an AI…fascinating…”

For a moment, it dipped further into 48’s mind, but even the Psion found it difficult to deal with. It had been created to pull apart the brains of organic beings, not living computers. There were other types of Psions for that.

After a moment, it pulled out of 48’s mind and let out a small humming noise, neither pleased or displeased. “I wish to play.” it said.

Suddenly, the boy behind 48 felt a buzzing in the back of his mind, followed by a sharp pain in the front of his skull. Memories flashed across his tightly closed eyes, in no particular order, accompanied by pain. He didn’t even hear his gun drop to the floor as both hands moved up to clutch at both temples.

“So easy.” the Psion murmured, this time sounding disappointed.

The boy growled- it was almost like having the Psion scream into both ears with a bullhorn. “Knock it off!”

“You mean stop? No. I don’t wish to.”

Recent memories, of finding 48, of the fight with the blue creature, of his conversation with 48, all mingled and mixed and felt like they were being yanked from him by force.

[Whatsyourface]

48 stopped and turned around to the boy. It turned around as it spread it’s very large wings around it and looked at the boy distressed. It seemed cleared the creature was assaulting the boy mentally. 48’s tail stretched to it’s side, where it pulled out a bush from the ground with ease and then flung it at the humanoid white thing’s face in a whip like motion.

The gun disappeared from the ground as bullets came, likely faster then sound towards the creature. Hitting almost instantly at such range. Most bullets were faster then sound, though pistols do sometimes have subsonic ammunition. The bush masked the flash of the weapon going off, leading to little indication the bullets had been fired. Giving this thing. Less then 1/1000 of a second to react to them.

[Whatsyourface]

48 stopped and turned around to the boy. It turned around as it spread it’s very large wings around it and looked at the boy distressed. It seemed cleared the creature was assaulting the boy mentally. 48’s tail stretched to it’s side, where it pulled out a bush from the ground with ease and then flung it at the humanoid white thing’s face in a whip like motion.

The gun disappeared from the ground as bullets came, likely faster then sound towards the creature. Hitting almost instantly at such range. Most bullets were faster then sound, though pistols do sometimes have subsonic ammunition. The bush masked the flash of the weapon going off, leading to little indication the bullets had been fired. Giving this thing. Less much then 1/1000 of a second to react to the shot at such range.

[Kalli]

The Psion, whatever it was made of, seemed to realize what was happening just in time. Almost as soon as those massive bat-like pinions stretched around the human, the Psion’s mind branched out and lifted a strip of metal from the floor almost too quickly to see it happen. The metal curled up between 48 and the Psion, catching two of the three bullets, which pinged off its surface harmlessly. The first bullet managed to get past, lodging in the Psion’s shoulder as it ducked with an eerie sort of grace.

Pinkish blood pooled on the floor under its feet, but the Psion didn’t seem fazed. At least, not that anyone could see. Its attack on the boy behind 48 continued, with only the smallest hitch.

“I like this game.” the Psion told them, yanking the metal up from the floor and sending it hurtling toward 48. At the same time, it began to gather water from the waterfall behind it. Its mind continued to bore into the boy’s, though now it was looking specifically at recent memories of 48, at how 48 functioned.

The boy realized what it was doing and cried out, shaking his head, trying not to think about these things. Luckily, he didn’t know much, but he still didn’t want to give anything away. The only thing the boy could think of to do was push back, and in a way he could never have defined. The Psion’s attack felt like an entity inside him, rooting around, and his mind instinctively tried to reject the intruder. Even as he fell to his knees, the boy fought back, not knowing how long he’d last.

[Whatsyourface]

48 forcefully shoved the boy aside with it’s tail as it then opened it’s arm and caught the metal sheet. 48 not flinching, but dragging back, it’s feet scraping in the dirt. 48 annoyed put it’s claws through it in a way that one would do when forcing open a double do, both hands in the middle. Then it tears it in two.

“I do not like your game. Die.” 48 opened it’s mouth in the thing’s direction as it’s weapon now healed. The boy heard nothing, and neither did the thing. Nothing could be seen. But the thing could feel it, and if the boy had been in front of him, he would feel it too, but he isn’t. The Psion would have difficulty focusing as 48 did not use telepathy or psionics. He used sound. 48 brown noted it the creature from analyzing the resonant frequency of it’s cranial fluid. it projected sound powerful and focused enough to vibrate it’s cranial fluid within it’s head. No medium of matter could be used to block it, since that sound traveled through solid, liquid and gas alike. The attack on it’s brain was physical, disrupting basic vital functions of it, to ruin any semblance of focus the creature has.

The creature would feel extreme pain and nausea. Becauses it’s brain was being shaken, crushed and boiled within it’s own head. 48 continued to walk towards it. Making another sound on a different frequency, raising the pressure of fluid in the inner ear to completely disrupt it’s sense of balance. Another high frequency that within it’s range, would vibrate the creatures eyes in it’s socket’s, causing more and more excruciating pain. The pain growing worse as it does. 48 then narrows the cone of sound so as to focus even more energy on the creature and hear. It would begin crying blood. Any attempts to cover the ears would be useless, sound goes through everything.

The boy would not hear this. Only the white thing would. As 48 stalked towards it…almost like a monster. “I am your bane. A part of my weapons platform design was made with your kind in mind. As your will matters not. Had this been the battlefield, I would have destroyed you without you even having known what I am.” 48’s voice towards the thing would be very demoralizing.

“You seek games. But now your end is near, and you will only find death.” 48 was getting closer. And closer. And closer to the creature.