Last Hope RP

[Ty]

In the year 2012, a catastrophic event occurs. The boundaries between earth, heaven and hell fall apart. A war erupts between angels and demons, fighting for control of the new world. Humans are enlisted by both sides, offered power and protection by the angels, or simply enslaved by the demons. Led by the demon king Mephistopheles, the tide of war is turning in favor of the demons. At their current rate, it won't be long before the forces of hell conquer all.

Faced with annihilation, the remnants of human governments in the Americas and Europe decide to employ a secret weapon: a well-equipped band of assassins, as ruthless as demons, airlifted right into the heart of demon territory. Their goal is simple: to hit the demons where they hurt the most, by killing their leader, Mephistopheles, and bring an end to the war. This mission, regarded by many as a fool's crusade, may be humanity's last hope...

RP Rules:
You get the general idea. Think Inglourious Basterds, but with monsters and magic. All normal RP rules apply here. For now, one character per person.

For characters, you can be a human, an angel ally, or a defected demon. Who and where you're from are basically up to you. Modern weapons are allowed, but nothing too futuristic. Angels and demons (and maybe humans if you're persuasive) can have some magical abilities, but nothing too all-powerful. As long as it's a character everyone can have fun with, I'll probably allow most things.

Characters:
Name - Race - Description

Freidrich Nikalaus Stein - Imbued - Frankenstein-esque reanimated creature
Jim Garrity - Human - Psychokinetic soldier
Jon Hencer - Human - Sixth sense
David Frost - Human - SIAS
Karis - Demon - Fire control

[Oct-taku]

Consider me in, Ty. Gimme a bit to come up with a concept.

[Ms. Cleo]

Heh. Feels like I haven't RP'd in years (which in actuality, might not be too far from the truth). In any case, I'm in. Bio in the works.

[Oct-taku]

Name: Freidrich Nikalaus Stein (Francis Nicholas Stein. Frank N. Stein, if you're feeling lucky)
Race: Imbued (again, Frankenstein, if you're feeling lucky)
Nationality: Formerly German
Skills/ Powers: Incredible physical strength, high pain tolerance/ endurance, all memories of his component bodies, several lifetimes-worth of combat experience, Azoth manipulation, electrical regeneration.
Weaknesses: Fire, Disquiet.


Background
There are some things that man was not mean to do, lines that man was not mean to cross. When those lines are crossed, things like the Imbued are born. They are born of Azoth, the Divine Fire. The mystic energy present in fire, electricity, everything. They are born of men, too: the men who make them and the men they're made from.

In the latter stages of World War II, the Germans were desperate to find some way of slowing the advance of their enemies into the Fatherland. A young assistant of Dr. Josef Mengele named Ancel Eisenbach was tasked with determining wether modern science could reanimate the dead to fight for the Reich. Eschewing the bodies of dead Jews as being unworthy for resurrection, Eisenbach instead raided funeral trains carrying the corpses of dead Germans back from the front for his research. After months of unsuccessful trials using chemical compounds, reactive embalming agents, and even mystical attempts at automating the corpses, Eisenbach decided upon a new approach.

Taking the best body parts of a battalion's worth of corpses, Eisenbach cobbled together five test subjects using iron clamps and surgical stitching the hold the bodies together. He then proceeded to run copper wire through the exremities of each body, braiding the wires into one large strand. Determined that only an extremely large surge of electrical power might exicte the bodies enough to reanimate, Eisenbach appropriated a truck and drove his creations to the nearest power station. As he dragged an inert electrical line to the truck to power up the bodies, klaxons began to wail, warning of an incoming Allied bombing raid.

Eisenbach hurriedly connected the line to the corpses and threw the switch just as the bombs began to rain down. For an instant the power surged and, as Eisenbach hurried forward to see if his experiment was a success, he was annihilated by an explosion.

The Imbued awoke in the darkness to the sounds of war.

The Imbued made their way out of Germany, holing up in the French Alps for the duration of the war. After it was over, they banded together and wandered Europe, horrified by the memories their minds carried and by the devastation of the war. Perhaps unknown to Eisenbach, the majority of the body parts he had used had come from an SS unit tasked with carrying out the "Final Solution". Over sixty years passed since that first terror-filled night, and not one of those Imbued has found the New Dawn. They came to beleive that the psychic rot in their bodies, residual resonances of the evil acts perpetrated by the SS troops from which they were made, was the cause of their failings.

Determined to atone for crimes they never committed, the Imbued decided to use the military talents that by their bodies and formed a mercenary fighting unit. Hiring themselves out to causes they deemed noble and donating most of their earnings to charity, Das Verdammte came to be recognized as a potent force, even though none of their clients had ever actually met the Imbued.

And then, when the boundaries between worlds fell, the Imbued were all but destroyed fighting against the demonic invaders. By the time he was recruited for the "suicide squad", Frank Stein was the last surviving member of Das Verdammte. He jumped at the chance to kill Mephistopheles. Either Stein would die in attempting to perform one of the most noble acts in history, or he would redeem himself through success.

Appearance
Stein is tall, topping out at seven-foot-ten, with shoulders that would make him a mean rugby player. He appears to be a square-jawed, blond-hair, blue-eyed man of Germanic descent, perhaps in his early thirties. Whenever he does anything obviously supernatural, or sometimes just out of the corner of one's eye, the surgical stitches and the staples become apparent. His skin takes on a gray pallor, and his eyes become dead and milky.




Info about the Imbued
The Imbued: think Frankenstein's monster. A reanimated corpse, or amalgam of corpses, given some semblance of life by Azoth, the Divine Fire.

Imbued have immense physical stength and near-endless fortitude, enabling them to do things like punch through a brick wall (if they're feeling particularly frisky) and take about an entire magazine from an AK to the chest. They don't require much in the way of medical aid: stitching the wound shut and pumping electricity into their bodies usually does the trick. Imbued can manipulate the Azoth within their bodies to a certain extent, with which they can do such wonderful things as power electronic devices or even generate the supernatural equivalent of Sith Lighting for about half of a minute. Imbued have access to all of the memories and skills from their original body (or bodies). Finally, they don't need much food. Roadkill will do them just as well as a Big Mac.

The drawbacks are somewhat severe, however. First of all, fire is a serious problem for the Imbued. It overloads the Azoth within them, causing them to go into a comatose state. In addition, they don't have a soul. The Azoth acts as an animating force and allows the Imbued to move, think, speak, etc. But it's a crude forgery of a soul. Everyone and everything, including the ground they walk on, hates them just because they exist. You know how in the movies, an angry mob always forms to kill Frankenstein's monster at some point? A perfect example. People are naturally violent towards Imbued, and if they stay in one place too long it can twist it into a hateful wasteland, unfit for habitation for the near future.

It is this that drive the Imbued. They wander the world, seeking a way to become human. This event, known as the "New Dawn", is the goal of all Imbued: to gain a soul and become human at last.

[Scorpio]

ooc: Sounds cool, I'll try and get something down for this

[Ty]

Alright, here's my guy:

Name: Jim Garrity
Age: 32
Race: Human
Nationality: American
Skills: Psychokinesis
Weaknesses: Physical ineptitude, mortality

Bio:
Jim grew up in a foster home, and from an early age showed signs that he was harboring special abilities. After high school, he was taken in by the army and used in a top-secret program to train psychic soldiers. Though most of the program was a failure, Jim showed a great deal of promise. He never got to use his abilities in the field until the events of 2012.

When plans were made to form the assassin team, Jim's supervisor immediately recommended him for the job. Since he was something of a military man, Jim was made the official leader of the group, in charge of leading the rest of the team.

Abilities:
Jim can move small objects at will with his mind. Given enough time to focus, he has been able to lift upward of 300 pounds into the air purely by concentration. He is also able to disrupt the nervous systems of living creatures, sometimes even kill them outright.

Weaknesses:
Using his psychokinetic powers is physically draining. Any major use of his powers leaves him fatigued and vulnerable.

[Kan]

I am gonna need to think somone up for this, looks goof though.

[Kan]

Name: Jonathon K. Hencer
Age: 22
Race: Human
Skill set: The ability to 'sense' demons and angels to various degrees based on power and other attributes.
Weaknesses: Mortality, can be sensed by high teir demons and angels when physicaly exausted.

Background

Up until 2012 Jonathon 'Jon' was any thing but extraordinary, barely skirting by in life, with the most he had ever done being finishing at a second rate college, and working at a mundane job.

Throughout his life however he had been taught to always have a backup plan, always be prepared. He kept a 'bugout' bag close by every exit to his apartment, loaded with survival supplies and random bits that he may need.

Jon just happened to live in one of the first cities to be destroyed, and managed to bugout just before the demons made their way to his apartment complex, somehow evading the swep teams. For the next fortnight Jon just some how managed to avoid, and even take out a few demons with an aquired M4 from a dead soldier's bod, using what seemed, to him, to be intuition.

During one of the last survivor sweeps made by joint low-mid tier angel and human teams they ran across Jon, but not pleasantly, as the man managed to take out damn near half the team out of commision, either death or by near mortal wounding, the humans on the team wanted to kill Jon on the spot, before one of the angels stopped them, having knowledge of the suicide mission and being to see Jonss ability.

Due to his 'ability' and his apparent survival skills he was quickly put onto the team, recieving quick and somewhat half-assed combat training.

OOC: this alright?

[Ty]

OOC: Fine with me.

[Scorpio]

Name: David Ambrose Frost
Age: 40
Race: Human
Nationality: British
Skills: Stress Induced Analysis Syndrome, field medicine and engineering
Weaknesses: Mortality, Migranes, SIAS feedback waves

Bio:
A doctor aiding the human military against the demons, David was put under heavy pressure in field hospitals with patients rolling in faster than they could be helped. Resources were thin and personell were overworked and tired. Suddenly at the limit of his wits, time seemed to stop for David, he walked around the frozen surgery unit finding that the people and objects had strange equations covering them. Once time resumed David began barking instructions, managing to prevent a large death rate, if only for a short period.

The Chief medical officials in the area theorised that the stress of the job had overwhelmed David enough to cause a sudden period of heightened intelligance within a short period of time, allowing him to read information from his surroundings, comprehend it, then retain useful knowledge once the period ended. Practise showed that this not only applied to medicine, but even maintenance with mechanics and electronics and ballistic trajectories.

David was put on the team as a combined medic and engineer.

Weakness: SIAS usage seems to cause a high risk of headaches after long term use, the brain struggles to adjust to knowledge that it can't remember learning in the first place. Also seen as a side effect are what are being currently called 'feedback waves'. Anomalies appearing in the same general area as David, looking like distorted spheres about 3 feet across, they seem to react chaotically and implasably when disturbed, exploding, imploding, reversing bullets shot into them back where they came or converting the air in them to toxic gases among the recorded examples.

[Ty]

OOC: Alright, I'm gonna try to start this thing now. There's still time for new people to join in if they want.

IC:

Anderson Air Base, Death Valley, CA
April 5th, 09:00

Today's the big day. The team I was put in charge of, this motley crew of misfits standing before me, will carry out its mission at noon. Truth be told, I'm a little nervous, but then I guess we all are. Looming demise will do that to you.

So, I'm supposed to give these guys some kind of mission statement in a minute. But for now I remain seated and look over the group. At this point, they probably don't even know I'm supposed to be in charge. I am wearing an old private's uniform, after all. But then, this team isn't exactly going to wear the nation's colors either. Hell, by the time this is over, regardless of what we put on in the morning, we'll all be wearing red.

Finally, after a few anxious adjustments to my uniform, I stand up and walk forward to address the group.

"By now I'm sure most of you know why you're here. This outfit has been called by a few different names: damned fools, dead men walking, red shirts... I'm not fond of that last one, but I guess it's fitting. Believe me when I tell you, the mission we're about to undertake will be dangerous, there's no doubt. But it's also the best chance humanity has of surviving this whole damn mess. I don't want to say the fate of the world rests on your shoulders, but I'd be lying if I said anything else. Gentlemen, welcome to Last Hope.

"Now, does anyone have a question before I continue?"

[Scorpio]

David fiddled with his bottle of aspiring nervously during the introduction, expecting a random sias burst any second and missing most of the briefing while he worked out how much wood a woodchuck chucks or something useless.

He paid full attention when the man up front stood up and introduced himself, a little miffed that the team turned out to be some kind of suicide squad, which for some reason they'd assigned him as a medic to.

"I got a question, if we're Last hope, why all the negativity from high up about our success and survival? What are we actually supposed to do?"

[Kan]

In the back leaning on a wall is a man in his early twenties and dressed in come old camo pants, a plain OD colored shirt and a lightwieght tactical vest with load bearing pouches attached, a slightly beat up but well mainted M4A1 hanging from a sling over his chest.

He watches and listens as the military man speaks, indifference concerning the bit about this mission being suicide, he had already accepted the fact he would most likely die soon, that angel was the only reason he was here to begin with.

He glances at the medium sized assualt pack resting against the wall next to him, having been filled random odd and ends for those just in case instances, things that saved his life back in the first attacks.

He folds his arms and waits, slightly glancing the other team members.

OOC: so are there only us 4 or npcs in the group, IE redshirts?

[Ty]

OOC: Yeah, there are half a dozen or so random anonymous soldiers for cannon fodder. Eventually it'll just come down to us.

IC:

"Well, if you hadn't already guessed, this isn't going to be a walk in the park. In a few hours we're going to be airlifted right into the heart of demon-controlled territory. The second we land, everything that moves is going to try to kill you. If we survive the first few hours, our mission is to track down and kill the demon's king. Without him, the demons are unorganized and will be easy to take out.

"If, on the other hand, we succumb to their superior numbers and get slaughtered like everyone expects us to, the war will continue, the human race will be decimated, and if the events of the past few months are any indication, the demons will eventually force the angels into surrender."

I stopped and took a breath. Somehow, I knew I was going about this wrong. These guys didn't need a reminder of how screwed we all were. They needed a pep talk.

"Look, you're all here for different reasons, but most of you are here because you showed a talent and a desire for killing demons. Well, you're going to get your chance. From this moment onward, I don't want any of you to think about the war, I don't want you to think about our chances, and I don't want you to think about the consequences of failure. From here on out, the only thing you should be thinking about is killing demons. I want you must become as ruthless and bloodthirsty as they are. I want you to do what no one have ever done before: give the demons something to fear.

"Now, as some of you already know, we're going to be outnumbered, but we are far from helpless. We've got more than guns on our side. For starters, I'd like to formally introduce myself. My name is Jim Garrity."

A slight murmur arose in the group. Several of them had heard rumors about a psychic soldier, but few believed it.

"For those who haven't heard, I have a knack for making things die with my mind. And as I understand it, I'm not our only secret weapon." I looked around the group. "Would anyone else care to make themselves known?"

[Oct-taku]

A large, borad Germanic-looking man raised his hand, slightly.

"Ja. Freidrich Nikalaus Stein. Call me Frank. I would...rather not go into the specifics, but I probably have more combat experience than all of you." the giant said. "I was in the military for about a decade, followed by over 60 years' work as a mercenary."

These seventy years didn't add up. Stein was obviously in his mid twenties, perhaps early 30s.

[The Spy]

Name: Chicol
Age: 38 in this realm
Race: Demon
Nationality:Cocytusian
Skills: Dominion over fire(Can only be used if he has his lighter or there is a source of fire nearby) Fueled by opponent's rage, Shape shifting and a silver tongue.
Weaknesses: Mortality and can't use fire if there's no fire nearby, anyone will know he's evil if pay attention well enough.

Bio:

Created in the lowest level of hell where the Devil himself resides in along with countless other demons he has suffered the worst his master has to offer.

Not knowing about the Earthly realm until 28 years after his creation he was shocked and suddenly impressed with the world above his own, although he had to kill many humans by the will of his master.(Although that didn't bother him much)

A controller of fire and shape shifter by his deceiving nature, also adding onto the fact he gains trust by lies and deceit.

He deserted the Devil's side soon after coming to the surface to side with the humans for his own personal gain, which is freedom.

He's now sided to a team, lead by a renowned psychic human soldier.

~~~~

Karis walked into the crowded briefing room and placed his M60 on the table next to the door and reached into his pocket for a zippo lighter and a pack of cigarettes.

"Name's Karis, demon deserter." I say with a smile, followed by a few small outbursts of opposition of me being in the room, much less being alive.

"Hey hey fellas, calm down now I have the same goals you guys do, which is freedom if that's what you Humans call it." I add on with my smile still present on my face.

"Hey I'm dressed like you guys and I look like you guys don't I? I mean come on would you all feel much better if I looked like my normal self? Haha." I say as I put my cigarette in my mouth and I light it by catching the flame from another soldier's cigarette and using it to light mine.

"Oh, I'm so rude...would anyone else like a cigarette?" I ask, taking a seat and holding out the pack.

[Ty]

OOC: Alright, you're in.

IC:

"Ah, yeah, I almost forgot. Nobody kill that guy; he's with us." When Karis lit his cigarette, I jokingly added, "You know, you shouldn't smoke. Those things'll kill you."

I turned and stepped off to the side, drawing attention to a large table by the wall. On the table was an assortment of AK's, Carbines, M1's, and various other automatic weapons.

"Alright, we'll have time to get familiar with each other on the ride over. At this point, you'll need to familiarize yourselves with your weapons, if you haven't already. What we've got here is basically whatever the US military had leftover. You can take your pick from anything here, and there are sidearms in the cardboard box there on the floor. Now, I can't guarantee these are in the best condition, so inspect them carefully before we move out. There's going to be more ammo in the chopper if you need it."

I cracked my knuckles and looked over the group again. "Well, unless there are any more questions, that's about all I've got for you right now. Our ride leaves at 1200, so anything you need to do before then, say a little prayer, take a piss, whatever; do it now. I'll be here if anyone needs me. You're dismissed, gentlemen."

With that, I picked up an old AK-47 from the table and returned to my chair at the front of the room to clean the weapon.

[The Spy]

I get up from my chair and I walk toward the boxes, on the way I bump shoulders with the some American man.

"Hey watch where you're standing around you gun loving yank." I say to the man leaning on the wall(That's you Kan.).

[Kan]

The man looks and glares at the demon, able to 'see' through his deceptive appearence, sensing his demonic presence, This could complicate things he thinks to himself, this demons presence would make his 'sense' a little more difficult to utilize.

He grips his rifle's pistol grip and places his other hand on the handguard, "F*ck off demon" he says very gruffly, it visible that he is struggling against his instincts to put lead into the demon's body, "I'll kill you if you cross us, and I've killed better than you" he growls.

[The Spy]

I chuckle loud enough at the man to hear and then I stand up and face him.

"Boy you're antsy, want a muffin?" I ask, reaching into my backpack and pulling out a bran muffin, I take a bite, before slamming him into the wall behind him and shoving the muffin in his mouth.

"Watch your language around me boy, I may be nice demon but I'm still a demon and I don't take kindly to insults pertaining to my race." I say in a casual tone, releasing him and staring him down.

"No hard feelings eh?" I say, turning my back and looking through the weapons again.

[Kan]

The man spits out the muffin and throws it on the ground, stomping it into the ground as he steps forward and raises his rifle, his finger moving into the trigger guard, a fire of rage in his eyes, "You b*st*rd!" he shouts as he takes aim and pulls the trigger.

Just as the man is pulling the trigger a nearby soldier hits the rifle upwards, the rounds hitting the upper wall on the far side of the room, he and another grab's the man and hold him back from the demon.

He stares with a deadly rage at the demon as the soldiers talk him down, "Chill out man, not here, save it for the demon king"

OOC: nothing personal hira

[Ty]

I sighed as I watched the confrontation. I expected this kind of reaction to having a demon on the team, but I didn't think the guy was actually going to start picking fights.

"At each other's throats, and we haven't even left yet. Hell of way to start this thing." I shook my head. "I'm not saying you guys have to love each other, but can we keep the friendly fire to a minimum? There's a whole army out there eager to kill us; we don't need to be doing their jobs for them."

[The Spy]

"Sorry sir, don't know what came over me, demon nature and all, I'm sure you'll understand." I say mocking an apologetic tone.

I place my backpack in front of me and I grab a half dozen signal flares and a 2 cases of 7.62x51mm NATO ammo inside.

I stand up and I sling my backpack on my back and I start walking back towards my M60, sneering at the American as I walk back.

[Scorpio]

David avoided the fight by shuffling along to the weapons table far away from the demon and soldier fighting. He poured over the various rifles and other firearms not knowing where to start, not having had much weapons training. His head pounded as he blanked out for a few seconds, feeling like half an hour. He saw the details of the weapons printed over their frames before snapping back clutching his temples.

"This one, it's faulty." He moved an old bolt action rifle to a another desk. "It'll backfire in the next three shots and propel the bolt through your the poor guy firing it."

Finally he settled on an old Uzi 9mm and a pair of baseball bats, the gun and ammo went into his medical bag and the bats in two slings on his back.

"I don't think one is going to last all mission, need a spare."

[Ty]

"Fine with me," I said to David. "What you see is what we've got. I think the higher-ups wanted to save all the new equipment for the front lines. We might find some fresh gear in the field, though. I heard a lot of the demons have started carrying guns."

Not that they need them, I thought. I'd never seen a hostile demon up close, but I watched enough of the news to get an idea. The average demon soldier was about 7 feet tall and muscular, armed with sharp horns and powerful claws. Some had wings, some didn't. There are rumors that some of them breathe fire like a dragon, but I've never seen any evidence of that. More likely they just have a weaker version of whatever powers Karis had.

"So..." I looked over at the bold-action that had been set aside. "What's your story, pal?" The higher-ups had been very vague when they told me about the British doctor.

[The Spy]

I take one last drag of my cigarette and I crush it on the table, then I line up a shot in the waste basket about 2 meters away and I flick it in with no apparent difficulty.

"Awesome, two points." I say and I look around, watching the squad mates mingle amongst themselves, and the Soldier I pissed off earlier still seems angry.

I look at the leader, Garrity and I see him conversing lightly with the British doctor, and I get up and walk towards them.

"Mother always told me I should make new friends." I say in a friendly tone.

I extend a right hand to Garrity and I extend my left hand to the doctor, although I make my left hand into a right hand with my powers.

"Pleasure" I say, waiting for them to shake.

[Scorpio]

"They put me on the team as your medic Sir." David fiddled with the clasp on his medical bag to get it shut. "and engineer, my talents are sort of multi use."

"You heard of Stress Induced Analysis Syndrome? I'm one of the people with it, when I panic I get a temporary intelligance boost, lets me see the 'code' for how things work so I can fix them quickly. Though if I overdo it sometimes anomalies happen that don't obey regular rules, some people think it's order and chaos balancing out."

The demon soldier introduced himself, David had to swap hands when he shifted his appendages around.

"Interesting trick. Maybe you should trade in for a pair of handguns, you'd always fire with your good arm."

[Kan]

OOc: not a soldier this time guys, civilian.
IC

The man glares at the demon, his hands now off the weapon, but with obvious hate and disdain. He walks to the otherside of the room, near the rather large germanic man and an ammo case and reloads the magazine he fired out of.

[Ty]

I shook Karis' hand.

"Well, I'll bet that ability will come in handy," I said, noting the shape-shifting. "Er, sorry, I know that was a bad pun."

I glanced briefly over at the guy Karis had pissed off earlier. I still didn't know much about him or why the higher-ups saw fit to put him in this group. And then there's the German guy. I know more than I'd like to about him, unfortunately. I wondered how the team would react when that little secret gets out.

"Anyway, it's good to have you both on the team," I said to David and Karis. "Let's watch each other's backs out there, alright?"

[Oct-taku]

Frank looked over the weapons on the table with a sigh.

"Brought some of my own, if zat's alright." he thundered, opening up a duffle-bag full of guns. He grabbed an AK from the bag, along with an old bolt-action rifle and a Walther P38. An old but well-maintained knife went into his bootsheath. A few grenades completed the ensemble, along with seemingly ordinary water in glass bottles. Finally, Frank grabbed a stun gun and a bunch of batteries.

"A stun gun? Against demons?" one of the grunts asked, choosing his gun.

"Personal use." Stein said simply, collecting as much ammo from his bag as he could heft and still move reasonably quickly.

"I've a few extra munitions. There's not many, but they're in better condition than these, at least." he said. For a moment, if you were looking, his eyes seemed to cloud over, as if he had severe cataracts.

And then he was normal...ish.