On Patrol

[John Pierce]

John walked through the almost empty town of Valli, his cloak billowing slightly in the breeze. His red eyes scanned the horizon, looking for the Viruses that were said to be around. The last few of the citizens were on their way out of town, headed to Clocktower Boulevard, no doubt. He stopped and stretched slightly. If there were Viruses around, they were hiding rather well... He reached into one of his belt pouches and pulled out a notebook and opened it. 'Assignment: Valli. Multiple Virus reports. Full Elimination.' Was written on the first page.. Unless he copied his assignment wrong... No, he double checked to make sure it was right. Then, as if to prove him right, three Viruses came out of a nearby Alleyway, each looking like a wild dog. He put his notebook away and grabbed his Pistol. "Well, let's get to it then." He said with a grin. The three dogs circled him, as the world around him started to twist, slowly getting corrupted. The three lunged at him swiftly, one stopping as a gunshot rang out. He ducked low, toward the fallen virus and twisted, shooting the other two. The three faded slowly and he nodded.

"That was... Too easy to be my full assignment. I'll continue my patrol, and look for any civilians left in the city while I do." He said, putting the pistol back in its holster and continuing. His black boots made an eerie echoing sound as he walked through the mostly empty town.

[mouse]

The town was quiet and the air seemed still. It was eerie to say the least, but Ana had always like Valli. It reminded her of the brief paradise she shared with her father. The houses looked much like Akito's. They were simple and small, cottage like. She hopped from roof top, to roof top, as she usually did. Though sometimes this proved difficult here since the homes were quite far apart in places. When she reached the one with the red shingles she stopped and felt the warmth they had collected from the sun during the day. It was soothing.

Then there was noise. Ana peered down into the street just in time to hear a gun shot. Thump. The wild dog lay limp on the ground before fading into the nothingness. Ana flinched, it was a sight she did not particularly enjoy. She looked away as the other two dogs fell. When she looked back she saw the man standing alone in the street. Curious for him to be here. Ana wondered what his reasoning would be, perhaps he is a part of the Virus Defense. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she decided to make her appearance known, "Oy!" She shouted down from the rooftop, "You're disturbing the peace!"

[John Pierce]

John rotated and looked up at the bystander on the roof. "This is a hostile area. A child should not be here." He said, then glared at her. "I'm not Disturbing the peace... Im bringing the peace back. Unless you'd prefer living with the Viruses." He said, feeling the wind pick up slightly. His head shifted and looked up the street as a somewhat larger Virus lumbered toward him, this one looking like a large Armadillo. Armored plates ran down it's back and tail, and it's tail swished as it walked. "Stay clear. I don't want to have to report Casualties on my watch." He said, pulling his pistol out, and waiting for the large Virus to get closer. He took a shot at it's head, but the armor on it's head protected it. 'This is going to be interesting.' He thought to himself, and ran toward the thing. If he was going to do anything to it, he'd have to get closer...

He ran toward the thing and took a couple shots at it's face, one hitting it in the Jaw, the other hitting the armored plate. It growled at him and took a swing with a clawed hand. John jumped back, avoiding it, and taking a shot at it's underbelly. It let out another growl, but still continued its attack.

[mouse]

"This is a hostile area. A child should not be here."

Child? Ana gritted her teeth. There were no children left in the world. Though her appearance was extremely youthful, her face round and innocent, her body small, it was only a shell. A shell with a hard nut in side. She smiled at her own joke, though she was still thoroughly annoyed by the do-gooder defense man. However she became distracted when she saw the armadillo lumber into the picture. Never had she seen so many Virus in this area before. Peculiar.

As the man ran toward the armadillo she jumped to the next roof, to stay close. Ana watched his song and dance with some amusement. She found such safety being up high, the only problems she ran into often were bird creatures and the like. Although he was under some stress with the armidillo, she continued their conversation as though nothing were happening. "Let me correct myself... You are disturbing my peace. And I am not a child you nit wit!" She was shouting.

[John Pierce]

John looked back up to the girl with a questioning glance. "IM disturbing your peace? Im doing my Job." He said, "And I'm not a nitwit. You're a child in this world. You may have been a child 10 years ago, but you're still a child now." He said, jumping toward the Armadillo again. Taking a few more shots, these ones each hitting it in the chin. He had to get under it, somehow. He thought for a moment and grinned. Getting closer to it, he used a gust of wind to throw it into the air and flip it. He jumped onto it as it hit the ground and took three more shots. One in the Heart, one in the Neck, one in the head, before hopping back off, and grinning as the Virus vanished.

He jumped onto a dumpster, and then onto the roof with the girl. "Now. What is your business here?" He asked, putting his gun back into his holster. 'Three more shots before I have to reload. Ive got two extra clips. I should be safe for... a while.' he thought to himself. If any other of the Big ones, like the one he just beat, show up, he'd need to report back to base early and feed. He pulled out his notebook and wrote in it. 'Three Minor Viruses, one Major. Civilian bystander, Safe.' He slid it back into his pouch and looked at the girl.

[mouse]

Ana growled under her breath. She was not a child. What a total waste of energy this man was. She glared daggers at him as he climbed onto the roof. Her hand wandered down to her side where she kept her precious silver revolver, just in case. Ana stayed crouched in her spot, though anger quickened through her blood. There wasn't a whole lot more insulting to Ana than to be called a child.

"Now. What is your business here?"

"My business is to be left alone." Ana spat at him. Her innocent face was distorted by small scratches scattered here and there and a small dark bruise lay just underneath her left eye. She wore a plain blue dress with the hem torn off as well as white tights with matching holes. Her long blonde hair was a mess, sticking out in all sorts of places. It was plain to see that she was a scrapper.

[John Pierce]

"Civilians should be evacuated to the safety of Clocktower Boulevard." John said in an official tone, before sighing and sitting down next to Ana. "But I'm not going to force it. If you lasted this long around viruses, Im sure you can last longer." He said, scanning the road below them. "There's more of them around, I know, but they're a sneaky bunch. If you see any of them, make sure you don't get hurt fighting them, alright?" He asked, laying back on the roof. It was good to take a break, especially after the Virus he had just killed. He thought for a few moments. "Two more hours... I think I can last that much longer before heading back to HQ, before getting low on energy." He nodded, staring upwards at the sky. "Why'd you decide to stick around in hostile territory?" He asked her, examining her look. "You live on the streets... Dont you..." He mumbled with a sigh.

[mouse]

Ana stayed in her crouched position as he came toward her and sat beside her. This way she was ready to spring away or leap in to an attack. Ana could not relax when others where around, just about everyone was bigger than her and so they had the upper hand right away. Though she did feel some tension release in her body when the Virus Defense officer told her he would not force her to leave. She eyed him carefully, now that he was within arm reach of her.

"Why'd you decide to stick around in hostile territory? You live on the streets... Dont you..."

"I go where I please." Ana shot at him, still a little miffed at him for calling her a child. She had as much reason to trust an officer as she did a virus. Both of them seemed to want to catch her. Though a virus would kill her after they caught her and an officer would likely cage her. Which one was worse, she could not decide.