HG Attacks! The Hunt for Red October!

[Fox]

To say that Ridley was feeling apprehensive was an understatement. It had been several weeks since he and Blair had first crash landed on Cinna Island. He’d spent most of that time finding other HGs and getting them all settled. Ridley swallowed hard as the fog parted at the island came into view. Nina, Blair, Frankie and Lee… he’d left them all somewhere safe while he took on this risk alone. And it was a risk. Not only had the incident with Homer and Marge occurred here, but the Marines had even been called. Ridley’s hands trembled at the memory.

He’d been working on getting a better handle on himself. He hadn’t had a blackout episode in a little while. There was that time with Jan… the initial incident with Homer… was there another one? Ridley felt like his memory was going too, but he just dismissed that notion out of hand. Once he got his episodes under control, everything would be fine.

As Ridley stepped off the boat, he paused. So, where should he begin the search? Both pods had crashed out in the sugarcane fields, but Ridley wouldn’t have been surprised if they were moved. Still, it was as good a starting place as any. He just didn’t relish going anywhere near Homer and Marge’s house again. Maybe he should have come at night… Ridley sighed, breathing deeply to steady his nerves. In and out. A quick thing. Grab what was in his pod - the vials of hormones, the files, and his suit that he’d left behind if it was still around.

Ridley glanced over at the Marine office, wondering if it had been possessed by them. Hm. He wasn’t sure. Homer seemed like the type to claim it for himself. With a nod, Ridley wrapped a cloak around himself and drew up the hood. He adjusted his scarf so that it covered the lower part of his bandaged face. People here knew what he looked like here. At least, Homer and Marge did. As well as some of their neighbors. He couldn’t be too cautious. Especially not when he ran the risk of running into some of Moreau’s men even.

“Here we go then…”

Ridley nodded to himself, forcing himself to walk at a brisk pace toward where he’d originally landed all those weeks ago.

---

Ridley | #800080 | Post Count: 1
Tags: pepsi

[pepsi]

-- CHAPTER 1 // THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER

As he predicted, the pods weren't there. Even looking from a little ways away one could tell that the landing zone didn't have any distinguishing feature other than a slight difformity in the terrain and distribution of sugar canes. That Homer and Marge could have moved the things, it was entirely possible.

Jedediah was supposed to deliver his mail that morning, like every morning in the past year or so. His typical route always passed through the sugar cane farm, so he got to admire the beautiful disposition of canes every day. He would often whistle, but ever since that happened he simply couldn't do so while hanging around near that farm.
As luck would have it, the boy would just find himself on the same path as Ridley. Bag full of letters confidently under his arm, he walked past him; in passing him, he noticed that the intimidating man seemed rather focused on looking at the sugar canes. Something inside Jedediah told him the man must've been looking for something, or someone, and something else inside him concluded that he should be frank - just so a person wouldn't waste their time. "Uh, sir?" the boy called.
"If you're looking for the farmers here, I'm afraid you won't find them. They've been missing for days."

-- NAME // Jedediah

-- CLASS // ?

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Fox]

Even from this distance, Ridley could tell that the pods had been moved. Though they didn’t poke out of the veritable forest of sugar cane, he could see the impact craters through the stalks. His apprehension spiked. The pods being moved could have meant a lot of things, but Ridley feared the worst. That Dr. Moreau’s men had come looking for them and had destroyed the evidence. If that were the case, then he had no more business here. It would actually be more dangerous to stay and poke around more. His anxious thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a voice. Ridley turned to see a boy looking up at him with a bag brimming with letters tucked under one arm.

“Missing?”

Ridley felt his heart seize in terror. They wouldn’t have gone that far, would they? To have hurt innocents… But part of Ridley knew that they could and would. He was the living proof of that. His brain screamed at him to go back to port and get back on that ferry now. To put as much distance from here between himself as humanly possible. But… There was also the part of him that was being crushed by the immense guilt of having unknowingly involved Homer, Marge, and their friends in something that risked their lives.

“What do you mean? Did something happen? Did the authorities not find any clues or leads?”

Ridley swallowed hard, but somehow managed to keep his voice steady. He still couldn’t shake the concern from his voice, but that was fine. He just didn’t want to give any indication that he might have known this sort of thing was coming. He took slow, deep breaths to calm himself down. He didn’t need to have an episode. Not right now. Right now, he needed to see if there was any hope for helping Marge and Homer. He’d caused them enough pain already.

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Ridley | #800080 | Post Count: 2

[pepsi]

-- CHAPTER 1 // THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER

Jedediah didn't really stop to look at the stranger in the face before speaking. In the few moments when he did, though, he couldn't feel but a vague sense of fear; was is the bandages all over the guy's face? Weird, but it could have been a bad, recent accident. Was it the height? Not really, he'd seen taller.
As the seconds passed, he felt the need to boot it out of there as quickly as possible - but when he heard the stranger's words, he instantly felt a sliver of pity. The guy really was looking for the farmers after all. "No, it's just..."
Jedediah took a moment to weigh his words. "Pirates. They started attacking very recently. Some people got robbed, some got killed. This farm was a recent target." The boy looked over the horizon, where the sugar cane fields of other farms disappeared behind small hills. "That's what the Marines told us anyway. I'm just the postman."

-- NAME // Jedediah

-- CLASS // ?

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Fox]

Pirates. Ridley clutched his chest and followed the boy’s gaze out into the fields. If it were just pirates, then that would make Ridley feel a little bit better. But, it felt like the Marines were wont to just lump in all sorts of criminals together and label them as pirates. With a withered sigh, Ridley ran a bandaged hand through his hair. Well. Nothing for it but to investigate, was there? He turned to the boy and nodded, forcing a smile even though he couldn’t see it.

“Thank you for telling me,” he managed, “But I think I’ll take a look for myself. Have a good day!”

With a courteous nod, Ridley took a turn off the little dirt road down a smaller path. He vaguely recognized this area, though it was hard to say. It was easy to get lost amid the fields of sugar cane that reached up high above his head. But, eventually, Ridley found his way to the familiar shape of Homer and Marge’s abode. He’d recognize it from a mile away honestly. He rubbed his temple. He wouldn’t soon forget what transpired here.

So… where did he go from here? Out to where he and Blair’s pods had crash landed, or check the house first? They were apparently missing, so he didn’t expect someone would answer him at the door. He had left his suit in the guest bathroom there though, so perhaps he’d try there first before slogging through the sugar cane fields aimlessly. Nodding to reassure himself, he walked up to the front door and tried it, half hoping that it was locked and Marge would be on the other side to answer it.

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Ridley | #800080 | Post Count: 3

[pepsi]

-- CHAPTER 1 // THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER

Much to Ridley's relief perhaps, the door was indeed locked. No way other than breaking it if he wanted to open it, and knocking would serve no purpose. It really seemed like there was nobody in the house. No one would respond, no one would answer to their name: just that, terrible silence.

There were other ways to get inside of the house, however: many of the glass windows beside the door were smashed into pieces, making for a rather uncomfortable if quick access to the mansion. The glass shards were scattered on the floor on the inside, almost none on the outside; the tents, too, had been ripped off and thrown on the ground. With careful walking one could avoid sticking a million glass shards on the sole of their shoes.

The house inside was a mess. Shattered pottery, broken chairs, tables and furniture flipped upside down; the chimney still was full of charcoal, ash and embers from the last fire lit. In the middle of the living room, oddly isolated from the rest of the chaos, stood a notebook; the first page was blank, but by inspecting closer one could see that the very first page had been ripped off after use. The pen's pressure had left its impression on the page below it, too, and one could almost make the words out. But without the means of highlighting that text, it was simply too difficult to read what those words were.

From one of the few intact windows the field where Ridley had landed could be seen. Perhaps predictably, the pod was not there; a streak of flattened corn indicated that it had been moved elsewhere.

[Fox]

Only silence welcomed Ridley as he tried the door. His mouth felt incredibly dry for some reason, making him swallow hard. His eye trailed over to the windows that had been smashed open. He wondered by whom. Was it an intruder or Marge and Homer frantically trying to escape. His hands shook. Ridley took a moment to take a deep breath, steadying his hands and his nerves. Best to push thoughts like that out of his mind until he knew for sure what had happened.

Ridley walked to the window, examining the glass shards before attempting to climb inside. Definitely the intruder then. The fragments of the window were scattered about on the floor inside, which indicated which direction the force of the impact had gone. Wrapping his scarf around his hands, he carefully climbed inside of the all too quiet home. It had once been filled with warmth and light, now it stood cold and empty. He was careful to sidestep the pieces of glass on the floor as he maneuvered his way into the home.

Broken furniture, shattered decor, all signs of a struggle. Ridley put a hand to his forehead to steady himself as he stepped into the living room. Oddly, there was a notebook that had been untouched by the apparent chaos.Ridley frowned at it, noting the impressions on the page below it. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, glancing out one of the windows.

Outside was where his pod had landed. Blair’s landing site couldn’t have been too far away from it, but the pod was not there. It had been moved, a streak of flattened vegetation denoting as much. He could probably track it part of the way, but there was something else he wanted to do first. Taking the notebook, Ridley carefully removed the page with the impressions on it, taking it into the kitchen and grabbing a piece of charcoal from the fireplace.

He cleared off a spot on the counter so that the page could lay flat. Then, carefully, he rubbed the charcoal lightly across the surface of the page. This should reveal whatever was written on the page that had been torn out. Ridley smiled bitterly at himself. Look at him. What a detective. He shook his head, concentrating on the task at hand. It didn’t take him very long to finish.

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Ridley | #800080 | Post Count: 4

[pepsi]

-- CHAPTER 1 // THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER

It was elementary, no?

Ridley's intellect could just suggest him the right thing to do. As he took the charcoal from the chimney, and as he took the notepad off the floor, all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. He scribbled, revealing whatever had been written in the last page...

"I...
... knew...
... you'd...
... come...
... NUMBER TWO!"

In that very moment, the noise of moving furniture filled the room; red hair, spiky, moved swift in and out of sight. Then, the loud thud of wood hitting the floor. And then, silence. Not a single noise would disturb it.
Peering from a different angle would reveal that a broom, with plastic red hairs, had just fallen on the floor. Perhaps because of air currents, or maybe just Ridley walking around the room. Maybe just a coincidence, or maybe something carefully planned.
But the poor O'Bannon's pulse just couldn't get no rest.

"HELP!"

A familiar voice called from outside. It was the postman, running for his life on the same street he'd met Ridley. The young boy panted, his breath cut short from such a sudden sprint; clothes dusty, where they were once quite clean. He looked like he'd been in a fight of sorts, or at least he had been pushed on the ground.

"Please! Someone help!"

-- NAME // Jedediah

-- CLASS // ?

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Fox]

Ridley could feel his pulse rising with each word revealed. His heart caught in his throat just as something moved and slammed to the floor. Ridley blacked out for a moment, blinking to see himself all turned around and staring at the empty house. Purple sparks of electricity buzzed off of him even through his clothes. But, the only threat was a broom that had fallen over, perhaps due to a draft. Maybe. To be honest, he couldn’t risk anything now. Not with that message left behind.

Placing a hand to his heart, Ridley steadied his breathing and slowed his racing heart a little. He couldn’t afford to lose himself. Not here, not now, when the danger was all too real. This was a trap. A trap for him. His mind raced as he considered his options. The safest thing to do would be to leave as soon as possible, but even that risked being tracked. And what of Homer and Marge? Before he had any time to organize his scattered thoughts and decide on a plan, a voice cried out for help from outside.

Rushing to the window without a moment’s hesitation, he saw the postman from earlier, running from something. It reeked of a trap, but Ridley didn’t care. He moved without thinking, unlocking and throwing open the front door, running out onto the street toward the boy. He waved frantically to get his attention.

“Here! I’m here! Run this way!”

They could barricade themselves inside to buy them a little more time to think of a plan. Ridley scanned the area, looking for the boy’s attackers. Above all, he needed information. Who had Dr. Moreau sent for them? How many? Were they armed? And with what? He wouldn’t allow himself to be taken back.

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Ridley | #800080 | Post Count: 5

[pepsi]

The poor boy was running for his life. His bag still on his shoulder, lagging a bit behind him, he immediately tried to make it for the abandoned farm as soon as he heard Ridley's voice. "Help!..." he yelled again, this time a little more direct towards the person he almost knew would save him.
Jedediah in his panicked running didn't look where he was going; he tripped over a root poking out of the ground. The boy fell down and ate the ground, dirtying up his already dusty coat and spilling the contents of the bag all over.
With that terrible mistake, his attacker finally caught up to him. The attacker had no recognisable clothing or features, other than perhaps the roughed up salt-crusted tattered clothing of your typical pirate. In his hand, a metal baton that didn't look like it belonged to that place.
As he caught up to the boy, short of breath, he began to rise up the armed hand looking to give Jedediah a thorough beating.

"No, please!"

-- NAME // Jedediah

-- CLASS // ?

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Fox]

Ridley pushed himself faster than he even thought possible when the boy fell. He caught up to him in no time, skidding to a stop over his prone form just as his attacker caught up. The man reeled back with some sort of metal baton, which Ridley would have ordinarily thought looked really out of place if he wasn’t preoccupied with other thoughts of saving the boy. He reached out with a hand as the baton came down without a thought to how it would crush and break the fingers in his hand.

TUNK!

Or. It should have, as Ridley realized an instant after it struck him. He was holding onto the metal baton and felt… nothing. He’d felt the impact, obviously. Maybe it was just the adrenaline? The impact had sounded strange too. Confusion and surprise gave way to resolve. He didn’t really have time to deliberate. Ridley jerked the metal baton to one side, hoping that the boy’s attacker would let go of it at the sudden movement.

“Leave him alone! Who are you? What do you want?!”

Ridley’s voice came out louder and with more venom than he intended, even startling himself. He cleared his throat to try to compose himself even though he could feel his pulse racing. He needed to calm down. He didn’t want… He didn’t want what had happened with Homer to happen again. He needed to get it… no, himself, under control. Instincts were just instincts. He could overcome them.

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Ridley | #800080 | Post Count: 6

[pepsi]

The assailant was stopped in his tracks by a shady figure he did not recognize. "What the hell?" he yelled, lifting his baton up a second time to go in for a second strike.

The boy looked terribly afraid. "They... they broke into my house!" he mustered up the courage to say those words. Still crawling on the floor, trembling like a leaf in the wind, he tried to push himself away from the attacker. "And my sister..."
His voice broke from tears. All the blood he saw, all the fear he felt. Jedediah turned around, pointing at the pirate: "... give her back!"

The pirate's expression hardened. "You bastard..." he muttered, clenching his teeth; then, he tried to push his opponent away with a kick to the gut. "I'll kill you!"
His eyes were red with blood, and his expression really conveyed only anger and murderous intent. The boy had no means to take him down, but something needed to be done quick...

-- NAME // Jedediah

-- CLASS // ?

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Fox]

The assailant seemed about as surprised by Ridley’s sudden intrusion as Ridley felt, but not surprised enough to not lift up his baton to attempt another blow. Ridley wasn’t quite sure how he’d fare against another one. He hadn’t had time to assess what damage the first blow had done. He didn’t feel any pain, but that could very easily be the shock numbing the pain. Ridley lifted his arms to shield himself as the boy behind him spoke.

It didn’t sound like Moreau’s people. He looked more like a pirate. Why? And his confusion only served to distract him as his assailant kicked him in the gut. The air whooshed out of Ridley’s lungs as he stumbled backwards. His awareness blinked momentarily, and Ridley had suddenly found his footing again. He could have sworn that he was about to fall. Shaking his head, Ridley threw himself back into the fray, tackling the man to knock him aside.

“Stop!”

Ridley staggered back to put himself in between the both of them. Something wasn’t adding up. He panted as he looked between the two of them, trying to get his brain to work. His mind was starting to feel foggy, which was something that he couldn’t afford right now. He couldn’t afford to lose control nor could he afford to let his mind wander. His violet gaze turned to the assailant.

“Answer me! What’s going on? Why did you attack him? Where’s his sister?”

A deluge of questions tumbled from Ridley as he struggled to wrap his mind around everything. Was this just a random pirate attack? With the timing of it all and the ominous message left on the notepad, Ridley doubted it. In his panic, he’d just assumed that this man had to be one of Moreau’s men intent on finishing the job and just killing everyone that he’d come into contact with, but the methods were so different. And the man’s reaction… Ridley just thought it was odd though he couldn’t put his finger onto why.

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Ridley | #800080 | Post Count: 7

[pepsi]

The pirate's bloodshot eyes turned to Ridley. The veins on his neck were engorged and throbbing, in a way that seemed rather unnatural. "Who the hell are you?" the pirate replied, pointing his curved sword at the bandaged man.

Jedediah had just enough time to get back on his feet, and he scrambled for the house's doors. In a panicked attempt to get inside, he tried to push the door, knock on the door, and kick the door open. He was desperately looking for a place to hide. "Come on...!" he mumbled, looking around the main door for an entrance. He seemed to not realise that the windows had been shattered, or maybe he simply did not want to risk cutting himself on his way in.

"Out of my way!" said the pirate, taking a swing at Ridley trying to cut across his chest. He seized the opportunity to dash in the same direction.
But as it tried, the pirate tripped. "No... it's happening to me too..." he whispered to himself, as he attempted to reach the sword that fell out of his hands.

-- NAME // Jedediah

-- CLASS // ?

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Fox]

Well, he had at least gotten the pirate’s attention. Not that really helped because he certainly hadn’t calmed the pirate down. Ridley’s brow furrowed at the man’s bloodshot eyes and bulging veins. What…? He didn’t have too long to study the man’s condition, however, because he soon pointed his blade at Ridley. Ridley blinked and held up his hands, taking a step back.

“I’m a doctor- W-Wait a moment!”

Jedediah had scrambled back to his feet and bolted toward the house. The pirate barked at him and took a swing, which Ridley just narrowly avoided by the skin of his teeth. He patted himself on the chest briefly just to double check that it wasn’t wet with blood. No, he was fine. Whirling around, it seemed that by some stroke of luck, the pirate had tripped and fallen to the ground. Ridley seized the opportunity, bouncing over him to pick up the sword before the pirate could.

With the sword heavy in his hands, Ridley suddenly felt awkward. He was certainly not trained to wield such things, and he had few doubts that the pirate could and would disarm him when he got back to his feet. So, Ridley did the sensible thing. He turned and ran, joining Jedediah by the door.

“Stand aside,” he said softly, though his heart was pounding in his ears. Using the sword like a pry bar, Ridley forced the door open. He gestured for Jedediah to get inside and then swiftly followed after slamming it shut and looking around for something to blockade it. He spotted a dresser right next to the entrance and shoved it in front of the door, backing away slowly with the sword held in both of his hands pointed down.

“Th-there. He won’t be getting through that terribly easily,” Ridley murmured, glancing over at the broken window. That would hurt to get through quickly. Still, they’d ought to move. Ridley turned to Jedediah, forcing a smile that made the bandages on his face stretch out a little bit, “But… we should probably keep moving. Can you tell me what happened?”

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Ridley | #800080 | Post Count: 8