6482/To the Island of Prior Carnage

To the Island of Prior Carnage
Date of Scene:	07 June 2021
Location:	Island of Carnage
Synopsis:	Although there will be no peace for some, those who remained after X-Force left them, guided by Dalyah (mate of Dannou), return to Asteroid M for medical assistance and relocation.
Cast of Characters:	Raven Darkholme, Clarice Ferguson, Nicolai Codona, Victor Creed

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Raven Darkholme has posed:
X-Force, accompanied by members of the X-Men had been here only days ago. A lovely island, tropical in nature, or rather it used to be. Now it is the remnants of a war zone. Massive black pits mark the terrain here heavy air to ground ordnance struck, some in the trees, other's in the middle of the village. Several huts have been completely destroyed, others are now held together by sheer will and string, perhaps even some prayer is involved because these people were hit and hit hard. Smoke still drifts into the air from where fires burned but the rain put out, and rain it did. There are still massive puddles like small lakes in places.

The entire area is littered with corpses, which some of the villagers are still knelt beside and weeping, others of those who attacked are just left to rot. One hut, just one, seems to have escaped unscathed, and it is around it that most of the remaining villagers seem to be huddled, lamenting, weeping, in pain and grieving. There aren't that many, perhaps twelve at most.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    It's in this scene of pain, death, and carnage that a tear in reality opens - tinged with Clarice's tell-tale purple as she steps through, her expression a grim and solemn mask. Yeah - the sight was just as bad as she remembered. "So. ...here we are," she remarks needlessly, as she gestures to the island. Some of the bodies bear tell-tale signs of Clarice's handworks. Some of them are severed in remarkably clean pieces as parts of their bodies were simply blinked away. A few appear to be partially imbedded in rocks - or in one case, a large tree. She'd gotten pretty brutal towards the end of the fight.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    Haunt knew going in what this was going to entail, so at least he wasn't taken totally by surprise. That isn't to say that anything about this is easy. The second he steps through the portal, he flinches and raises one hand to the side of his head. "Fuck..." he mutters under his breath before he pulls himself together, or at least appears to. Right from the start, it's obvious that there are places he's intentionally not looking. From time to time he'll jerk his head away as if avoiding ... something. They're fucking *everywhere* and... it's not unlikely that many of them can sense that he sees them. They know he's there, with one foot in their world.

Victor Creed has posed:
Victor Creed steps through after Blink, looking around and sniffing at the air. At the moment, a combo of fire, explosives and death is the most prevalent scent coming to him, but once he gets used to it, he'll be able to check for more specific scents. Looking around at the mess, he offers, "Looks like a couple of the wars I've been in."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique had readied herself for what she was about to see, but it didn't matter. Inside she screamed and lamented at the carnage in front of her. Outside, nothing. A blank face that she always wore. Looking around as she emerages, she takes in what was left of the village and is already contacting Asteroid M for places to relocate these people.

The sudden appearance of people causes those by the large hut to scatter again, like someone running through a flock of pigeons on the ground, they zip off in numerous different locations screaming.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    As they run, Clarice lets out a sigh, then turns to give the other three with her a brief smile. "I'll see if I can reassure them. I mean - I don't know. Some of them saw me, briefly, during the battle." And she does stand out a little. Moving towards the treeline she calls in a clear voice, "It's alright! We're friends. I'm Clarice, I was here yesterday - helping defend your village. We want to know what we can do to help!" she calls. The most reassuring smile she can manage is pasted onto her features.

Victor Creed has posed:
Victor just drops to his haunches where he is. He knows what his appearance usually does to people, so he's trying to minimize the difficulties he might cause by making himself appear as non-threatening as possible. It only kind of works, but at least he's not towering over everyone, anyway. Beyond that, he'll leave the talking to those better suited for it.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    When a little girl, no more than six or seven, sort of phases into existence in front of Nicolai, he lets out a little involuntary gasp. She's his burden alone to bear because he's the only one that can see her. Half her face is... missing and she's clutching a little doll in one arm. He wants nothing more than to turn away, but he can't. How can he? She's just a little girl. He drops down to one knee in front of her. It might look like he can't bear it all for a second or two. His glowing eyes are bright with tears and fuck anyone that calls him a pussy for it! "I'm sure she's here somewhere, sweetie," he whispers... to nothing. The living are left to Clarice, his job here seems to be the dead. Sometimes they're moaning and lamenting their own passing, sometimes they're angry and lashing out... and sometimes they have no idea that they're gone. The latter is likely the case here.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Those in the fields, over the dead that were their family, don't run. They no longer seem to care what happens to them. An old woman over the corpse of a young man. A child over the corpse of a woman. The place is horrible.

Mystique moves away from the location the portal appeared. Some of these people were mutants, some where human, she didn't seem to care right now.

"Victor, starting gathering all the corpses in the black uniforms, go over them with a fine toothed claw. Clarice," she looks to the woman as the teleporter starts to head after the people and actually says, "keep doing what you're doing. I'm going to let Nicolai do..." she gestures at him, not judging. "that while I help Victor."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice looks back to Mystique, offering a nod of confirmation, before shifting her attention to Nicolai as he talks to the air. For a moment, concern flashes over her features. But she has other things to deal with. Looking back towards the treeline she calls, "We can food supplies? Medical supplies? New shelters? Relocation? Please - how can we help?" she asks. Her eyes search the trees - then she starts slowly towards the woman sitting near a corpse. "I'm so sorry for your loss, ma'am. I can help you with burial, if you like.... He should be layed to rest, don't you think?"

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    He nods once and stands again. When Haunt, because he truly is Haunt here... his physical body taking on the appearance of his astral form simply due to the sheer number of dead here and how they're pulling and tugging at him to... step further into their world. He's a link to the living for them and they're all desperate for his attention. If anyone's paying attention, they won't see the little girl's hand wrap around his, but they will see the indentations her little ghostly fingers are making in his skin. "Let's go find her, yeah?" It's not difficult to figure out that he's likely talking about a child's mother, if only because he's speaking in that tone, that gentle tone, the tone most adults reserve for a child.

Victor Creed has posed:
Victor nods to Mystique and heads onto the fields, starting to drag the uniformed attackers bodies into a pile. Those that aren't implanted in solid objects, anyway. This will take some time, as they are rather scattered about, but it doesn't seem to bother him in the least, even when he's carrying dismembered body parts to his chosen collection area.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Most of the villagers dart into the trees, going silent when they do, terrified. Their lives have been simple until now, it was their Chief, the warlord that brought all of this down on them and outsiders just plain were scary as fuck now. At the edge of the trees, one young man stops however, using a tree to hide behind while looking at Clarice.... thus not really hiding well. He screams something in his native language that is then answered back a moment later by a strong, powerful female voice. The man nods once then makes a 'come here' gestures at Clarice

The enemy, all dressed in what appears to be SHIELD combat gear, are plenty. Their deaths were not merely at the hands of the mutant forces however. Victor could easily see that some were killed by other, diabolical means. Some sort of explosion from /inside/ their bodies, at the back of the neck, nearly severing their heads.

For once, Mystique is quiet. She aids Victor in moving the bodies, one at a time, or pieces at a time, keeping to herself in her own thoughts. Why would someone do this to a village? Humans or mutants? This was over kill to the highest degree, even she wasn't quite /this/ cold.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice looks at the woman she'd addressed, and the body in front of her - horribly mauled by one of the enslaved feral mutants. "Ma'am - I will come back and help you to bury him," she promises. "But first I will see what else your people need."
    She starts towards the treeline - keeping her hands open and empty at her side - moving with even, deliberate movements that hopefully will give no one a cause for alarm. "Please," she addresses the man. "We want to help you. Tell us what we can do?" she asks, as she allows him to lead her into the trees.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    Mystique will be the first to feel it, the icy tendrils at the nape of her neck that actually feel like fingers resting there. "Get away from her, I won't tell you again," Haunt growls under his breath. He doesn't need to *yell* to be heard by any of the dead. His, the only *living* voice they can really hear rings out loud and clear as a bell to them. He's still walking along with the little girl and she actually leads him... to her body and to the body of her mother. The two of them are laying together, mother trying to shield her child from whatever attack killed them both. He does raise his voice enough to be heard by his living friends. "It's thin here, it might just be me, but it might just because there are so many dead wanting to come back to the living. I don't think any of them can actually harm you. But the spirits of the enemies are here as well." Of course they are and they're likely the most angry because they were mean, angry nasty people in life too.
    Then Victor gets his own little icy tickle..

Victor Creed has posed:
Victor growls and swipes an arm out around him, "Fuck off. If yer dead, be dead already. Whassa matter, this your spleen?" He holds up an unidentifiable slippery looking organ, then tosses it over his shoulder onto the pile before starting to sort through the mess, stopping here and then to sniff at the bodies and clothes.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique shudders, the first real reaction she's given since arriving and looks around herself. She knows Nicolai can see them, and that in reality they have always been there, even before he was around, but /knowing/ they are there now is just plain creepy as fuck! "Interesting choice, but that was an appendix," she comments with a half smirk, joking, trying to find something humorous in all this.

The young man eyes Clarice, stepping back as she approaches but still remains. He points deeper into the trees and says something in his native language, then points more emphatically. Clearly he doesn't speak her language, but he recognized her from before so that's something to work with.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "...yeah, okay. Sure," Clarice answers the unfamiliar words - flashing the man a brief smile. She touches her chest as she adds, "Clarice." She waits a beat to see if he'll offer his own name - then turns in the direction he indicates - still walking with deliberate care meant to assure any watchers that she's unarmed, and (hopefully) non-threatening. "Hello?" she calls into the trees. "I'm Clarice. We're like to help you. Does anyone need medical care?"

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    Thankfully it doesn't turn into a case of having to hunt down the girl's dead mother or a case that the mother didn't stick around. Haunt lets out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding when the mother phases into existence near the bodies just like the little girl did. Whether or not they'll ever go on to whatever's supposed to be next, he doesn't know. But they're together. He turns away, a sad smile playing on his lips for a moment before he's suddenly ducking and putting his hands up as if to defend himself from an attack. "Fuck!" Difference here? He can see them! And even if they might not be able to readily harm him, it's a little disconcerting to see them coming at him in a sudden rush.
    He recovers his composure quickly all things considered and turns his attention to... well, more nothing. "There's so many of them," he murmurs hopelessly. How can he possibly figure out what they all need?
    ... ... "Get away from them!" This time he barks the words. The cold around Mystique and Victor grows to the point that they can see their own breath when they exhale. Seems the spirits of the fallen enemy aren't happy over the way their bodies are being disrespected.

Victor Creed has posed:
Victor just taps the SHIELD patches on the uniforms and mutters to Mystique, "Totally fake, not really even well done fakes. Got a weird smell to em though, I'll know it if I smell it again. At the breath thing he grins toothily and adds to the surroundings in general, "Look, if you weren't total losers you wouldn't be dead, so don't blame me for yer incompetence." He seems supremely unworried about the spirit world, and pokes at one of the wounds left by the implanted explosives, saying to Mystique, "I've seen this somewhere before, but I can't fer the life of me think of where."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
The young man starts heading in the direction he pointed, and keeps pointing, leading Clarice through the trees for quite a distance away. The tropical forest becomes natural again, whole and beautiful, the sounds of nature have started to return. After a few minutes Clarice can see what looks like a cave opening back among the trees and underbrush.

Mystique has really had it. "Haunt," she says in a tight voice, turning to look at him and watching her breath catch in the air. "There anyway to get them to fuck off?" She side-eye looks at Victor. At his comment, she moves over to look at the location on the body where the explosive took this mutants life. Turning her head one way, then the other, she uses her finger to stick into the flesh, muscle and bone to feel around then stops and her eyes narrow. "Son of a bitch..." she growls.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    The cave makes her a little uneasy. Seeing in the dark is not amongst her skillset - and the possibility of being ambushed while her eyes adjust should not be dismissed. "Great. They're in there?" she asks as they approach the cave. She hesitates at the entrance - calling inside, "Hello? It's Clarice. I was here yesterday, helping protect the people here. We came back to offer our help," she explains. If her guide goes in - she'll follow, but she doesn't have to like it.

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    "Well... I could bring the fight to them," Haunt suggests, but he definitely figures that's going to be a no go. "Otherwise, I don't think they'll actually be able to harm anyone. I've only seen that happen a handful of times with the newly dead, attacks that cross over. Now... the ones that have had a lot of times to spend figuring it out, different story." He flinches again at something unseen and admits, "This is a lot. I feel like there's just a strain here, like they all want to be back on this side so bad that they're stretching the veil. I don't think they can break it though." Another flinch and he admits, "I'm not used to this many fresh dead at one times. Even graveyards aren't like this because they didn't all die like two days ago. Just let me know if you start feeling... odd."

Victor Creed has posed:
Victor shrugs, "Just kind of cold. Don't think that's gonna do much to me, so I'm not worried. I've got enough to worry about from real enemies, I don't care about spooks swarming around long as they don't get in my way. So Mysti, you obviously got something from that, so where'd you see it before?"

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique stands up quickly, "This program was ended." She states with anger. "Someone dug it up, and I'm going to find out who." She looks over at Victor. "It's an old program from the US government, older than these two." she gestures to Nicolai and toward... now she's looking around. "Shit, where's Clarice?"

The guide doesn't enter the cave, the opening requiring a person to get really low, but it there is light further back. In that light she can see one figure laying on the ground and another, armed with one of the guns from the battle field, watching the cave entrance. The one standing is female, and she looks both agitated and upset.

"Come in or go away, those are the choice," she barks toward the cave entrance as Clarice comes inside. "You say you were here before, you come and then you go? What do you want?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I'll come in," Clarice answers, still keeping her hands open - palms out whenever possible, as she crouches low to enter. "I'm sorry that it took me so long to return. It was... complicated. We came to rescue the teens that were being held hostage. We didn't anticipate the attack. Now that we know what you're up against - we want to help. What can we do?" she asks - her words earnest, but somehow tinged with both regret and hope. "I can bring healers if they're guaranteed safe conduct. I can bring medical supplies, food, temporary shelters... And we can assist with relocation to a new location, so you can find a new, safer place to live. Just let us know what you need."

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    Shit. He was too busy with being overwhelmed by the dead to notice where she went. Haunt is still a little busy being overwhelmed by the dead if the way he keeps flinching and and looking away from nothing is any indication. It's just too *loud* here for him. His ability to turn it all into background noise is seriously damaged. Now it really is like he's in both worlds, with both of them turned up full blast. It's like trying to watch two movines at one time. "I don't know... Clarice?!" He would offer to go Astral and find her, but they have a Victor to do the tracking.

Victor Creed has posed:
Victor looks around, "Well, crap, where'd she go?" He moves over to where he last saw her and starts sniffing, soon picking up her scent. With another sniff, he heads off in the direction the trail leads. It doesn't take him all that long to follow the trail into the woods and to the cave, this is, after all, something he normally does. When the cave comes into sight, he stops and waits for the others to catch up to him.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
The woman looks Clarice over, judging her, "He did this," she spits out. "/Our/ leader... he did this and left us. We are nothing, we could not stop you if we wanted. We need your help, my mate Dannou needs your help. He is dying. He will not wake! I have tried all the old ways."

Mystique moves to follow Victor, knowing full well that he will track her down. "She can't have gotten far."

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    "I can talk to them, you know." Haunt nods at the dismembered body pile. "Works best if I'm over though. I can be more... persuasive on their own turf." He's already pretty certain that's a no go, but he has to mention it. He watches Victor slip off after Clarice and leaves that to him... and well, Clarice. He's not overly worried, girl can take care of herself. But when Mystique goes too, he follows. He'd rather not be left alone around these parts, with all the dead, even if they do tend to follow him.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "We'll help him," Clarice promises, flashing the woman a reassuring smile. "I don't have medical training myself - but we have people, I promise you." Slowly and deliberately, she activates her comms now - as her companions track her trail through the forest. "I've found some of the survivors. There's at least one victim who's lost consciousness. Do we want to bring medical resources here, or evac them to somewhere with suitable facilities?" Her preference is on the latter - but it's not her call.
    Towards the villagers she adds, "I came with three others - they mean no harm, even if one of them looks pretty fierce. And he has a tendency to come looking for me if he thinks I might be in trouble. But there's no need for any threats or aggression, okay?"

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique catches up easily, noting the cave before looking around. "We aren't alone," she comments, catching movement from someone in the trees, then follows it. "Blink!" She bellows toward the cave. "Damn girl," is added as a mutter.

The villagers have no interest or intend to fight, they really have nothing and are scared of the outsiders, but the only person with an idea what to do is in that cave with one of them, and now the others have come over here and it's just a bad second day.

Victor Creed has posed:
Victor looks at Mystique as she shouts for Clarice, then chuckles, "Well heck, I coulda done that. I thought you'd be sneaky or something. Next time I'll just remember to start yelling to begin with." He stands up and moves towards the cave mouth. "Blink, whatcha doin wandering off, he calls as he approaches the enterance.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique speaks back into the comm, "They should start appearing with the other teleporters soon, found another empty island we can move them to, should have everything they need, minus the carnage."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "And there's my people now," Clarice remarks with dry humor. "The job, Mister Creed! Finding some of our people in need of help." She looks to the woman, offering her a reassuring smile. "My boss just let me know we have another island we can evac your people to. It should be safe, and empty. I'm sure we can leave you with some way to contact us - if you have any trouble. And I'll figure out medical care for your husband, and any other injured amongst you," she promises. She reaches out to place a hand on the woman's upper arm - assuming she doesn't shy away. "I really am sorry it took so long to return - but you and your people are not alone, now. I promise you."
    Pulling back - she moves to retreat from the cave, and report to the rest of the team with a wry, almost apologetic smile - quietly murmuring the numbers of people she saw, and their condition. "And what about their injured?" she asks softly. "Can we risk taking any of them up to the clinic? Or are we going to bring medical facilities down to their new home?"

Nicolai Codona has posed:
    As the others deal with the living, Haunt gets distracted again by the dead. There's still so many of them pawing at him, clawing at him, begging and pleading with him to help them that everything else fades into the background, reverse of the way it typically is for him. A few times, he finds it difficult to not just let go of his physical form and really *be* there for them, but he holds it together. He winds up back where they started, delivering messages the best he can to the living for the dead. The language barrier makes it a little harder, but he does speak a lot of different languages, and fluently, maybe he can piece together enough based on the familiarity with related languages to get the basics. Understanding the dead, no matter what language they speak, isn't the problem. It's getting the living to understand what their loved ones need to say.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique looks toward the cave for a moment, then back to Victor, "You may need to talk to that girl... the job my ass. Crawling into a cave alone." She shakes her head.

The woman in the cave kneels down beside the man, "We are too few, the Chief will not return, if you truly wish to help us, take us with you that we might recover. That we might join you against those who did this to us!"

The man is motionless, he looks to be sleeping.

Victor Creed has posed:
Victor shrugs, looking to Mystique, "I'm thinking bringing them to a new island won't really help them much. They could just walk a mile on this island and be in the same situation. Maybe we should move them to Genosha, we got lots of people there after all. Ain't so many of them that they'll take up much in the way of resources or anything, specially now that we're helping them rebuild anyway."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I'm faster than any of you when I need to be - and it's not like the cave could hold me." Not faster than a bullet to the brain, mind, but she doesn't need to be in a cave for that to happen.
    We could do Genosha," Clarice agrees. "And they want to go. My biggest concern is that the unconscious man deserve the urgent medical help he clearly needs. Doesn't look like he was injured in the fight, though...? His condition looks a little more... chronic?" She's puzzled by that. Her gaze flicks towards Nicolai, concern flashing on her features before she adds, "And maybe we shouldn't keep him here longer than necessary," in a softer voice.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Keeping her eyes on Nicolai, Mystique nods, "Alright then, we take them all to Asteroid M for medical care, then from there to Genosha and if there is an issue over that, someone can bite me in the ass. I know some are human, but..." she almost twitches. "... I can't believe I'm saying this... but they've lived here together as a tribe, keep em together, even with the humans." She looks back to Victor, "Agreed?"

Victor Creed has posed:
Victor Creed nods, "Sure, I mean, there's only a few of them, they may not be useful for much, but what the hell. Let them stay, not gonna hurt anything really. I think there's probably some humans living on Genosha already at this point, with the aid groups and all that are there."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Alright," Clarice agrees - a smile growing on her features. "I can handle the evac. Did you learn everything you could?" she asks - looking between the pair of them.
    "Gather up all your people," Clarice adds - raising her voice so the woman inside the cave can hear her. She's not sure if any of the others speak English. "I'm going to take you somewhere to get medical care and a meal. Probably work in a shower and a chance of clothes, if you like. We leave no one behind - alright?"

Raven Darkholme has posed:
The woman makes her way out of the cave, pulling behind her the man who is unconscious. Even being drug through the dirt and sand, he doesn't move, he is completely dead weight. Once she has him out she stands and looks around, at each of the new faces. She shouts out into the trees in the native language, "Which of you will take the Promise of Blood with me?" She continues to look at each other, eyes ending on Blink.

Mystique watches the woman dragging the man out, but she's already speaking into the comm. "No Blink, you won't be doing this alone." She looks back over at Victor. "So long as we don't piss anyone off with this. Lorna, might have an issue with all this after all."

Victor Creed has posed:
Victor shrugs, "Lorna spends her time at baldy's school, he's always on about humans and mutants working together, so I doubt she'll bitch much about it. This is just the kind of thing they would love over there, so what the hell."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "And Genosha has always included a human proportion to its population," Clarice agrees. "Besides - they will, ultimately, need more people." 16 million people died. A little immigration is more than warrented - and this small number really won't tax the relief resources. "I can talk to Lorna. I feel pretty confident this won't be a problem."
    She works with Dalyah gathering everyone up - and opening a portal to the Asteroid so the survivors can get the help they need. Dannou is blinked directly onto one of the beds in the clinic with all the care Clarice can muster. Her expression is grim, as she sees some of the injuries the surviving villagers had escaped with - if only she could have done more.