[OPEN] The exact moment things went off the rails

[fuhrinkaed]

Who: Ed, Susan, YOU??
When: During TSI: Train Scene Investigation
Where: Somewhere along the tracks of the VIP train
What: Train Investigations
Rating: PG-13 at worst


[The job had seemed simple enough, 'just head out and look for some of the missing rail cars.' However, the battle had lasted for a while and the train was quite long--in the chaos several cars could have gone all over the place. With the wilderness around the area, it made finding everything a bit difficult.]

[After something like a whole lot of searching, though, there's a crater on the ground next to the tracks.]

[Ed's hand goes to his chin as he looks at it, then over towards the wilderness.]

Okay. I think maybe we should look around here this time.

Comments

[suzinkazan]

[Susan kicks the exploded remains of a Noir soldier's mask and represses a smirk.]

We definitely need to focus on one area a time, so let's do it.

[She's still nursing some minor injuries, but nothing really major.]

[fuhrinkaed]

[And Ed... well he's got bandages all over and he's only JUST been cleared to actually walk again. That means he's clearly 100% fine.]

Yeah. If the bomb exploded here, a car would fly off... [He points.] Thatwayish. So I guess we'll just look around, and if we happen to run into any wildlife maybe they'll be able to tell us something.

[suzinkazan]

What the hell could wilflife tell us, Ed.

[SHE WILL HIT HIM IF SHE SAYS HE CAN TALK TO ANIMALS.]

...And don't push yourself too hard, you moron. It's still possible we find a surviving soldier.

[fuhrinkaed]

There's supposed to be fairies around here somewhere! That means they could be the talk-toable types of fey, which means that since we don't drink we have a 50-50 shot of either having our babies stolen or being helped.

And we don't have any babies, so that's basically stacking the odds right in our favor! [Ed that is probably not how fey work here.]

[suzinkazan]

I am not talking to any god damned fey I will not be cursed or led off a cliff on the off chance they might provide some irrelevant modicum of help.

[The salt flows freely from her lips.]

Let's just... let's approach this logically. We know how strong the bombs were.. so we can narrow down where to look.

[fuhrinkaed]

...Yeah...

We could also try climbing a tree and seeing if there's a sudden clearing. Wreckage like that would definitely down trees and the like, right?

I can't remember the last time I actually climbed a tree.

[carptricks]

[Kaito's hands curl into the strap of his satchel, which is thrown over his shoulder, as he leans over the edge of the crater and peers into it. he narrows his gaze, then follows Ed's towards the wilderness]

[strange. . .]

Soooo. . .

Where d'you think the car is?

[fuhrinkaed]

If I had to take a guess..? [He thinks about it, and shrugs.]

No idea. We'd need to look from high up, since wherever it landed the odds are good that the trees are all busted up. It's been long enough that it's probably stopped smoking... [His hand finds its way to his shoulder, where the spike went through it before.]

Eheh, well, we'll find it. I'm sure.

[carptricks]

[Kaito doesn't grasp any of his injuries, but he sure does have some heavy bandages wrapped around his upper left arm. he didn't come out of that fight unscathed, either]

I dunno about you, but as much as I'd like to fly, I can't. Looking from up above is gonna be hard without any buildings nearby. I wonder. . .

[he lets out a thoughtful hum, before he whistles]

Oi, Inari! You around? We need your nose!

[a few moments of rustling later, and an arctic white fox suddenly pops into view out from behind a bush. say hello to the Carrier, Ed]

[fuhrinkaed]

[Blinkblink.]

Oh my gosh, I shouldn't have left Lucas back home! He'd be super useful here, with the wings and all! [He smacks himself on the forehead.] Man, I can't believe I didn't think of it--that's brilliant!

I'll have to take him next time. Inari knows what to look for, right?!

[carptricks]

[flashes Ed a grin and a mock salute]

She's smart, so 'course she does. And I am always filled with brilliant ideas.

[he crouches down to scratch his Carrier behind the ears, although all she does in return is huff at him in annoyance]

You know what we need, right? Try to locate the scent of smoke and burning metal. That should be where the train car is.

[and with that, he pulls back, allowing Inari the room she needs to stuff her nose against the ground and start sniffing]

[burnmydread]

[ Missing cards is one thing, but what's inside of them is decidedly more interesting than the cars themselves. If he'd had a different sense of humor, Minato might have almost thought it amusing that his first mission in SEES had involved stopping a train, and here he is cleaning up the remains of one he helped derail.

Okay, so it's a little dark and maybe it was a little amusing, but he didn't laugh. He wasn't that dumb.

Minato stands with his hands in his pockets, looking over to the other boy. ]

Do you think it fell or exploded?

[ ...Also not funny, but he isn't laughing. ]

why did i not get this notif i am super sorry

[fuhrinkaed]

[He actually gives the problem some serious thought, prior to answering--Ed never had learned the meaning of the phrase 'rhetorical question.]

Judging from the scorchmarks, and the way that the trees got overturned... Both?

[He scratches the back of his neck, chuckling awkwardly.]

S-still, if anyone was in there...

They'd be alive, right?

no worries!

[burnmydread]

[ Minato's silent. Exploded? Very unlikely. Fell over? More likely, but he's never been an optimist. ]

Probably not.

[ He's a realist. There's no reason to have unreasonable expectations of refugee survival. He spares the other boy a glance, realizing that it's not very...well, it's not the type of response most people are looking for. ]

But people are surprising.

[fuhrinkaed]

No argument there. [He grins a little, getting to work on sifting through some of the rubble. He's using his staff as a pry bar for larger pieces--so long as they're not too heavy.]

Well... I'm going to hope that if we find anyone, that they're alive anyways. I've seen and heard about enough bodies for one month. A-and if I'm wrong... well, I'll deal with that later.

[burnmydread]

[ Minato, on the other hand, starts to just step up and walk over it. Small hills, it seems, of broken bits of train. At the top of one of them he knees down, peering in between pieces. ]

Do they bother you?

15 minutes late with starbucks (also ota)

[rememberher]

[ The moment Lux saw the listing, she was on it, packing an overnight pack, ready to be on hand for as long as they needed her. Arriving independently from both Ed and Susan, she happened upon the crater from a different angle at about the same time.

Well, this certainly looked like something. She wasn't sure if she was ready for what she was about to find. Bending and wincing a bit--she was still feeling her injuries--she gave an apologetic smile. ]

Would you mind helping me move this rubble?

Re: 15 minutes late with starbucks (also ota)

[suzinkazan]

Of course.

[Not that Susan is exactly Hercules herself, be she did come prepared, even having a long dowel with her to be used as a lever, to make moving any pieces of rubble.. well, exactly like this, easier.]

[rememberher]

[ Really, she should have come better prepared herself. Lux wasn't used to being on the cleanup crew. The dowel was hardly necessary here; it was her injuries that held her back, not the size of the debris. ]

Thank you, I appreciate it.

[suzinkazan]

Anytime.

[She crouches to start looking through the smaller debris... and her expression fades a little more each bit she pushes some aside.]

[rememberher]

[ Lux was slower moving, fighting back a wince as she crouched as well. Taking shadow blades to the legs is not fun. 0/10 would not recommend.

Seeing the older woman's expression darken, Lux dims a bit herself, avoiding eye contact. ]

I know that there was only so much that we could do, but...

15 minutes late to your 15 minutes late omg i am sorry.

[fuhrinkaed]

[Susan seemed to have the rod to shove the rubble aside, but they might still need help--and seeing Lux is always a happy coincidence.]

Uh--did you guys have it? If you need a third, I'm available.

[rememberher]

[ Normally it would be a happy coincidence for her as well, but something felt a bit... off here. She was surprisingly muted. ]

Please. Thank you.

[fuhrinkaed]

Alright...

[He gets to work moving rubble.]

Um... Are you... y'know. Okay? You seem a little down.

[rememberher]

[ Ed, people were dead. A lot of people were dead. Their mission was, as far as she was concerned, a colossal failure, and if she has to hear another clueless reporter over the radio prattle on about the efficacy and usefulness of her fellow Heroes, she was going to snap.

So no. She wasn't Okay. ]

...