Dust particles floated in the air suspended and highlighted by the filtered rays of light. Light. Something the bandaged man had not seen in many a day…a month….a year. He simply didn’t know how long it had been. He couldn’t remember. All he knew was this was a new experience. Cameron’s eyes opened to the sight of the first rays of light. The air carrying with it a moldy stench that was hard to describe. Looking down at himself, he could see the ragged coat, the velvet vest or waistcoat and stained shirt. He wore leather gloves that were tattered and frayed. Small holes were the stitching had long since perished. He tried to breath through his nostrils but alas they were blocked by the bandaging, so he breathed instead through his mouth. A long groan emitting from his lips as he pushed himself up to standing.
Where was he? The room he was in was long, dark and littered with old fashioned furnishings. Oil paintings that would date back hundreds of years. Worn faces in gilded frames. The wooden floor was stained and every few metres there were small rugs that looked to be the type from Persia or the orient.
Taking a few steps he came to stand before an old floor mirror the kind women would dress themselves in front of. This would be when the bandaged man would see himself. He froze in his place. Bandaged from head to foot, and wearing a fedora upon his head. Dark glasses with wire frames that went into the bandages where his ears should be. But what shocked him at first was the fact he saw no lips. Just blackness. A void behind the bandaging. How was this possible? Slowly he removed his hat and set it down on a small table. Reaching up he started to unwind the bandages, but the more he unwound them he came to see….that there was nothing there. Did he not exist? Faster and faster he unwound till he came to the end of the cloth. There was no head….no eyes….nothing.
A strangled cry came from within. He could hear it, yet had no ears.
Cameron had no memory of who he was…or better yet…what he was.
He just stood there…and stared at what was an invisible man.
Unimaginable horror to not be able to see your own reflection. How can that even be? The invisible man reached out with his gloved digits to touch the mirror. Perhaps it had properties that made you believe what you saw to be true. This brought no solace, for the image was unchanging. Cameron panted heavily and whined like a dog that was about to be beaten, for he could not get his mind around the shock. When he reached out to his own face, it was there – he could feel it. He just couldn’t see it.
A rising anger roared to the surface out of nowhere, and his fist clenched as he smashed it through the glass. Shattering the pane and sending broken shards falling to the floor. Now what remained was a distorted reflection – fractured and broken, just like his mind. Someone had to have done this to him. An unknown enemy or even the devil himself. Why….why would someone steal your face?
It was only then, the invisible man looked down and saw the blood that seeped through the holes in his torn gloves. Rich…vibrant. The colour so real that it caught him off guard. As much as he felt the pain, he reveled in the sight of his own blood. Staining his rotting glove. His hand tremored as he brought it up to his lips and licked at the sweetness. Closing his eyes, he felt an inner joy that could not be described. He wasn’t dead. Far from it.
“Ahaha…Ahahaha….AHAHAHAHA!” A sick laugh erupted from within him as he took a broken shard of glass and then turned to one of the more beautiful paintings that was upon the wall. A woman with eyes of green and hair of snow. Such beauty that she was exquisite.
Cameron walked up to the painting, almost in a dance like sway and he whispered to the woman on the canvas.
“My dear…you shall be my first…work of art.”
At that, he slashed at the painting in a frenzy that was so fierce that the canvas tore into shreds. The beautiful woman nothing but a memory. Standing back, the invisible man cocked his head and said. “Now…you are beautiful.” He spun on his heel and did a soft shoe shuffle. “I am…an artist, no?”
There was no one to answer his words but in his mind there were those that listened. He was never alone to the voices in his head.
“This House must be ripe with such sad beauties that need a loving touch.” Cameron crooned.
Pocketing the shard of glass that was now his tool of trade, he again bandaged up his head, and found his hat. A man was not a man without it. Grinning to himself, he decided to leave the attic….and seek out those that dwelled below.
IceTe3a: He arched a brow as he continued to hear the female shrieks coming from the inside of the trailer. A simple sigh as he shook his head, his right eye scanning the inside of the trailer as he walked in front of Rain “He seems weak.. Sure I can’t kill him?” he smirked as he heard the door open, hearing the young kid beg Rain for his life whilst he held a homemade white flag of surrender. Pulling out his bowie knife he starts to flick it around in the palm of his hand, “ I don’t think a weakling like yourself could offer us anything useful” he glanced back at Rain as he shrugged “Maybe a little off the top..” he threw his knife as it whizzed through the air collecting tinman’s night cap it pinned the cap against the wall in the trailer with a large bang“Looks like you’ll have to fight for your life.. Tinman” he smirked as he started to stretch out his muscles as if he was getting ready to fight, all the while he had Rain close behind his back. They were both playing their parts perfectly, but now Rain would have to take control over him and show that she has fully claimed and in control over Adam, like the old times when he was nothing more than her object of use. This act would go on until they were safely at home then they could ease it back and explain the real situation between the two.
CharlotteCarrendar: – Sam near fainted when the knife whizzed past the top of his head but caught the cap and took it on a trip straight into the wall of the interior of the trailer. With eyes rimmed with the start of tears and his knees knocking frantically, he looked to Rain for help. If anyone could stop Adam it was Rain. ”Rayne?” He pleaded in a child like voice, which sounded pitiful considering. Rain stepped around Adam and barely batted an eyelid as she stared Sam down. ”Tin man has his uses, I suppose.” She then gave Adam a sideways glance and said in a monotone voice. ”Knock off the theatrics. Last thing I want is to smell the shit of his pants in that tin can of a trailer.” Just as coolly as she addressed Adam, she then took the lead. Walking towards the trailer, she pulled the door open fully and then leaned on it as she peered at the terrified Tin man. ”Sam, I’m not going to repeat myself. You are to do as I say, or…I give the borg behind me the right to shoot you between the eyes. We clear?” This statement was enough to have Sam nodding furiously, though he was still clearly terrified by Adam. He stepped back and gestured for them both to enter the trailer. Without looking back, Rain said. ”Inside, Adam.” More of an order than a request. Once inside, Rain would take a seat, while Sam still fussed. ”So…so, what do you want from me?’ At this, Rain cleared her throat, not even looking back at Adam, and said. ”You are going to help me find my father.” <3>
IceTe3a: He watches as Tinman nearly shat himself from the knife being thrown, he had to admit it was fun playing his old self again. He watched as the two started to talk eventually Rain gave the order to stop threatening Tinman, in which Adam responded his body stood straight once more as his muscles relaxed slightly. Watching as the two bartered for Tinman’s life they finally came to an agreement when Tinman agreed to help and Rain ordered him to come inside, slowly he walked through the sludge and the mud and straight into the trailer after rain. Coming to a stop he watched as Rain took a seat on a chair, he suddenly felt a bump behind him, slowly his eyes glared down to Tinman who was closing the door and had ran into his back, a slight growl as he glared the kid down, watching Tinman walk around him cautiously his hues glanced back at Rain as he arched a brow wondering what exactly she would do next with him, knowing full well what the old Rain was capable of he slightly flashed back to all those times he had run into Rain, being woken up with her sprawled ontop of him with her gun against his head was the first time they had ever met. It seemed apart from them recently falling in love with each other, she had always kept him under her boot as it were, wouldn’t be surprised if she had once or twice but he never tried to remember as it probably did happen. He scanned the room as he collected random facts of data and updates from what intel was left in the open be it files and print outs to turned on computer screens he scanned it all.
CharlotteCarrendar: – There was no mistaking it. Adam scared Sam shitless. You couldn’t really blame him either. Adam was something of a legend. The prototype that was wanted by not only the Zen Brotherhood, but now the Source as well. This was something Sam knew all too well. Nervously he took his seat after bumping into Adam, and was shocked by what Rain had come for. ”Me? Why me? Why can’t you find him yourself? You got…him.” At this Sam pointed at Adam, then realized that he might lose a finger and curled it back up before hiding his hand. ”I hate it when it does that.” Wincing at his own antics, he took a deep breath. ”If the Zen couldn’t find your father, then how the hell would I be able to?’ Sam added. At this, Rain sat back and folded her arms – pursing her lips together as she listened to his questions. ”What if I was to tell you, that I have seen his final movements before he disappeared?” What Rain meant by this, was that she saw the memories of Adam, and that it narrowed down locations to where he might be, but only with the help of a specialist like Sam, would she be able to pin point him for certain. All this time, she purposely didn’t exchange glances with Adam. She had to keep up the act that he was nothing more than an object to her, not the love of her life. Sam’s brow creased on hearing Rain speak of her father’s last known movements. ”How? You saw an old recording? What did you see exactly?” Rain looked at one of the many monitors behind Sam that had images of various parts of the city. ”I saw what looked like…a bunker.” <3>
IceTe3a: He was busy scanning the area for Intel but was fully aware and listening to the conversation the two were having. He didn’t bother to react to Tinman’s finger pointing as he didn’t need to it seemed his legacy was more than enough to keep the kid at bay. He started to walk around the trailer as he flipped through old files, scanning them and then tossing them aside. Overhearing Rain say that she saw her old fathers last known ware bouts he knew she meant she say his old memories, as he walked to the small fridge he opened it up and saw a can of beer as he took it out and cracked it open whilst reading the label“Light Beer “ he sighed as he took a swig ~ Light beer.. you have got to be kidding me.. ~ he thought to himself as he continued to look through the files and print outs before walking over to the turned on desktop screen, his right eye’s HUD turned on as it took over the network of the computer he started to open files through the computer multiples at a time and gathering all the information off the computer for later studies. Whilst that continued to go he walked back around as he kicked things out of his path, walking past his knife he ripped it out of the wall and re-sheathed it before coming to stand behind the chair Rain was sitting at, he was sipping the beer whilst staring at Tinman.
CharlotteCarrendar: – Rain’s concentration was broken when she heard the click and then fizz of a can being opened. Adam was helping himself to Sam’s stock of….light beer. She could hear Adam loud and clear in her own mind as he went off about the beverage. Rain just closed her eyes for a moment, trying to ignore the carry on going on behind Sam. This was proving to be a lot harder than she first realized. The young technopath had to keep being cool and heartless when it came to Adam, as much as she hated it. The best choice was to ignore it and keep focused on getting Sam on side. Sam couldn’t help but see what Adam was doing and making a mess of his trailer – his home. He wanted to tell the cyborg off, but knew he might wind up with a bullet to the back of the head. ”Make yourself at home…” Sam said reluctantly to Adam. Heaving more things getting kicked around, and then hearing the knife get pulled out of the wall, he swallowed heavily before looking back at Rain. ”Bunker? What, like the one the Source use?” Rain remembered that one, it was a right military bunker alright, but the one in the memories was different. ”No..the signage on the wall was…almost fifty years old…or more” This made Sam scratch his cheek. If it was not one made by the current regime, then who. The tinman then turned to his computer and started to type madly, before he turned and then he showed up a symbol that was by their standards ancient. ”Like this?” Rain leaned forward, and then recognized the symbol. ”Yes…but what is that?” That was a good question, and Sam looked pensive. ”Before….the great war..the governments of that era…built these nuclear fallout bunkers. Shelters. That symbol…is of a sect that had heavily involvement with the government of that era. God, Rayne…do you know how hard they would be to find? Even now?” <3>
IceTe3a: He glanced back as the two got into a more interesting conversation now they were getting somewhere, finally Tinman had stepped up to the plate. He watched as the kid went to his computer and started typing away finally coming up with some intel on what they thought was the bunker that had Rain’s father. He walked behind Tinman and arched a brow as he leaned in“You wouldn’t be hiding anything from us would you..” he said in his usual cold voice as he glanced over at Tinman. Glancing at Rain as he stood up he looked around as he started to scan the outside perimeter, it wouldn’t take long for someone to pick up that the credentials that they were using were hacked, they needed to get back through the checkpoint before the credentials were deleted and flagged. He looked Rain up and down and smirked “ we should go” he said out for both to hear ~“ Before the credentials are deleted and flagged” ~ He said quietly in his mind between him and Rain, if they passed through the checkpoint with flagged credentials they’d have to deal with the guards and Zen’s newly found Mech droids.
CharlotteCarrendar: – Sam near choked when Adam came up behind him and warned that he had better not be keeping anything from them. His voice had that terrible fierceness to it that would make a man cry in a blink. ”Err…no. I value my life, thank you very much.” Even Rain had to admit, that Sam wouldn’t be that stupid. Watching as Adam was now looking about, no doubt scanning the area outside the trailer – she knew that they would have to make a move. So far Sam had been helpful, in a sense but there was so much they still didn’t know. ”We go when I say.” Rain said, getting up slowly, and then taking the torn hat that Sam had been wearing and fixing it back firmly on his head. ”Sam…we will be in touch.” Rain moved for the door, and took one last look back at the Tin man, who was now grimacing that the nightmare was not over. ”I find out you double crossed us, I take the leash off him.” She then exited the trailer, her voice floating after her. ”Move out.” Walking across to the vehicle, she spoke directly to Adam’s mind. ”I give it ten minutes before this place is crawling with the night patrol.”Rain opened the door to the vehicle and then waited for Adam to get in first. As usual she would sit on his lap to drive them back out. <3>
IceTe3a: He smirked as he came to a full stand again watching Rain as she threatened to unleash him upon the kid if they found out he double crossed them. He started for the door and arched a brow as she said move out, he turned to stare at the small kid a devilish smirk appeared across his face as his eyes seemed to have a wicked glow about them, girlish screams, bumps and noises could be heard from outside the trailer with a muffled no screaming before it all became quiet again. He then walks out with Tinman beaten, bruised, tied up and thrown over Adam’s right shoulder like a dead animal. “Couldn’t risk it.. and since you won’t let me kill the kid” he smirked as he walked straight past Rain and popped open the Hummers boot, throwing Tinman into the boot he leaned down “If you make me come back here…” he glared into Tinman’s eyes before slamming to boot shut, he walked straight up to Rain and smirked as he shrugged, sitting down on the driver’s seat he waited for her to come sit on his lap’s as he braced himself for her harsh sit and wiggle that she always did even if she wasn’t acting. They would need to hurry up and hope luck is still on their side, either way they now had Tinman drafted into their crew, he would need to be filled out eventually but for now it was safer he stayed in the boot.
CharlotteCarrendar: – Rain’s jaw fell open when Adam appeared from the trailer carrying Sam like he was an old knapsack. Did he really just beat the kid up? Yes..yes he did. Watching him walk past her smirking, it took everything in her not to pop him one. Hearing him warn Sam of what would happen, and then shutting the boot, Rain shook her head knowing full well she couldn’t say what she really wanted too. Instead she watched Adam get into the driver’s seat and wait patiently for her to take her place. Rain got up and into the hummer, and made sure she sat down really firmly giving a bit of a bounce before wriggling into position. ”Gotta be comfortable.” She murmered as she started the engine and put the vehicle into reverse. Backing out of the gate, she turned the hummer out onto the road, keeping her eyes peeled for the first sign of the night patrol. The cloudy skies and lack of light made it hard to see, but she could spot the oncoming of mech droids before they became visible to the human eye. She hit the gas, and the hummer sped off, with the gates to the Tinman’s junk yard closing in behind them. They needed a place to stay and as Rain drove, she switched on the navigating system, using her mind to go through to what would be safe houses in a very dangerous city. <3>
IceTe3a: He watched as Rain climbed into the car and then she let her weight drop down on his laps as she bounced and wiggled into place stating she needed to get comfy. He smirked slightly as he arched a brow ~ “ Feel anything you like?” ~ he said in their mind and then came the act “Your ass is crushing my junk” he stated softly to her as he watched the hummer drive out of the scrap yard and onto the road. He knew this place would be crawling soon enough, and as predicted out from the night came the mechs, they scanned the hummer driving by and continued towards the scrap yard. “Close call, the credentials are still active” he said in a soft whisper, he knew she was wanting to find a safe house. Should they get to a safe house or hit the checkpoint and run back to base, either way was dangerous and both had their own issues to deal with if they went to the checkpoint and the credentials failed them, they would have an entire army on them within seconds, and if they stayed in the city over night, the credentials would surely be flagged but at least they’d have time to plan a new escape. He couldn’t decide which way they should go and of course he was relaying his thoughts to Rain as well. He had full trust in Rains decisions in this and was ready to back her up with whatever choice she made, ~ “Which option do you think is best? Either way we are taking one hell of a risk. “ ~ he sighs as he slowly wraps his arms around her waistline and softly cuddles her, only they could see this unless someone came right up to the window and peered in, even then he would move his arms before that happened but the simple touch of her skin was something he wanted once more.
CharlotteCarrendar: – Rain couldn’t help but smirk when their minds linked and Adam asked if she felt anything she liked while getting comfortable in her “seat”. ”Course.” she replied but gave an extra bounce for good measure. The humor of the situation soon fell away as soon as the mechs came into sight and..they were heading in the direction of the junkyard. ”Shit.” Rain swore as she knew that now they had to make a tough choice. Did they risk staying in the city with the chance that the codes would not work on the way out of the check point, or try to make a run for it. Rain hated the situation, and also the fact they had Tin man in the boot. Rain started to pull up check points that were nearest to them on the scanner and muttered to herself as she drove on. Driving recklessly would only cause suspicion, so she had to keep to the speed limits and watch for cars coming in the other direction. ”Can’t believe I am saying this…but let’s head for the nearest check point. It’s too dangerous.” She knew that there was so much more they could have accomplished had they stayed, but time was against them. Feeling Adam cuddle her gave her reassurance that she was making the right choice. At the end of the day, she simply didn’t want to risk losing him to the Zen again. <3>
IceTe3a: He watched as they went through the first checkpoint without issue, and finally she had come to the choice to go through the checkpoints and risk it to get out of the city by the end of the night. He nodded in agreement as he smirked slightly, loving her daring side as she bounces and wiggles more; he watched as they slowly went through checkpoint after checkpoint most being manned by one or two guards but the main one was still to come. He remained silent as they passed more mech’s it was obvious that there were a lot of them roaming the streets, these things would rip the hummer apart, as they come up to the final checkpoint he watched as the hummer came to a hault and the guards did the usual, scanning the credentials, checking their ID passes and finally allowing them through. As they drove through he sighed in relief and waited for them to be far away enough from the city before leaning in and kisses Rain’s neck “that was a close one.. Better pull off on the side and get the kid out of the boot” he watched as the city finally disappeared from view.
CharlotteCarrendar: – Each check point had acted on the intelligence that had been altered when Rain and Adam first entered the city. Now as they were leaving, the chance of being captured was a strong possibility. Passing the mechs also had Rain’s hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Although she had not encountered them before, as they were part of the Zen’s new defence attack system, she would need to study them in order to take control of one efficiently. As they passed the last main check point, Rain let out a sigh of relief. She had been maintaining the cool and hard assed persona to make sure no one clued in to the truth but it had been a hard ask. Once they had gotten well out of the city limits, Rain pulled the Hummer over to the side of the road and cut the engine. Sitting there a moment, Adam would feel the shiver of her skin as the cold bit into her skin. She’d opened the door and climbed out, ready to release Sam from the boot. Walking around the Hummer, she opened the back, and then jerked her head back to gesture him to climb out. ”Not got all day, Tinman.” <3>
IceTe3a:- He watched as she finally pulled the hummer to the side of the road, the engine was cut off as they sat there in silence for a moment. She was most likely reflecting on how they were able to pull it off without anything bad happening, he on the other hand was just enjoying her touch against him. As she got out he smirked as he waited a moment for her to open the boot and tell Tinman to come out. Taking a step out of the hummer itself, he stretched his limbs as he shouldered his rifle, taking a glance around the scenery it seemed they had gotten off scot free there was no enemies in sight. His hues flick over to Rain as he smiles, looking her over from head to toe as he walked around behind her and pulled her into a cuddle her back pressed against his chest, his chin resting on her shoulder gently as he took her scent in, they were now free to be their normal selves again. He watched as Tinman hopped out of the boot, he wondered just how Tinman would take that him and Rain were dating and in a serious relationship. He smirked as he knew she would break the news to him soon, his cuddle around her waist was tight and reassuring as his eyes kept a look out for enemies travelling towards them. “Heya Tinman” he grinned as he glanced down at the small kid “Time to waste you” he made an evil laugh, he was obviously teasing the kid and having some fun while doing so.’’
CharlotteCarrendar:- With Sam’s eyes adjusting to the light after being kept locked up in the boot for so long, the first thing he saw was Rain, who in a manner of speaking was a sight for sore eyes. The poor kid had already been roughed up by Adam and he knew that Rain was the more level headed of the two. ”Ugh…I got cramps.” Tin man whined, but his voice soon quietened as he heard the crunch of the sound of Adam’s boots approaching. He had a rifle holstered over his back, and then he did the oddest thing. He enveloped Rain in his powerful arms and then acted out of affection. ”What?…What the hell is this?” Sam wondered, only to watch as Rain turned her cheek and kissed Adam’s with a look of love in her eyes. She’d been acting, and now looked to be in a relationship with the cyborg. Before Sam could ask another question, Adam said the words that would make him piss himself. ”Time to waste you.” The computer whizz gasped and fell back slightly, his eyes bulging as he took Adam seriously every time. ”You’re going to kill me? You kidnap me, and bring me out here just to kill me?” His adam’s apple was racing up and down his throat as he looked to Rain with tearful eyes. ”I thought you were going to need me. You need me, right?” The poor kid was going out of his mind. <3>
IceTe3a: He chuckled slightly as Tinman lost the plot and started to plead for his life, pathetic really but he knew Rain knew what she was doing, if she said this kid could be useful than he would trust her. He smiled as he looked down into Rain’s eyes “That was tough, wasn’t it?” he was referring to their acting. Spinning her around so she was facing him, he cups her cheeks and kisses her with loving passion as he held it there for a moment before letting her go. “I don’t know what she sees in you, but if you betray us… You’ll regret it. Welcome aboard kid.” he smirked as his long right arm extended down and grabbed Tinman’s collar, pulling him up into a stand. His eyes got sharp as he glanced around and nodded slightly “We’ll have to explain things in the car, it’s not safe here let’s get back to base.” slapping Rains ass playfully he gave her a wink as he started to walk back to the driver’s seat, taking a seat as usual he waited for Rain to come take a seat as he placed a call “ Eve, we’re on our way back. Have you fed the deer yet, and how’s the base holding up” he smiled as he saw Rain walk up to the driver’s side door, he really was in love with her and there was nothing he wouldn’t do for her.
CharlotteCarrendar: – Sam felt the rough hand of Adam drag him up by the collar to standing. He was sure that Adam was going to pop him. Right then, right there. But instead he welcomed him to their small fold and gave him a very strict warning that if he crossed them, he’d regret it. The sudden change in Adam’s demeanour still had Sam off guard, and he whined like a puppy about to be kicked. Taking the advice to get in the car, Sam did so hastily. Jumping in the back seat and snapping on his seatbelt – all the while looking to Rain for answers. Rain on the other hand was too busy making eyes at Adam and then kissing him back happily now that she was free to be herself around him. ”I really don’t like having to act like such a bitch towards you.” Rain said of Adam before giggling as he slapped her rear to get her to get a move on, so they could head back to base. In the Hummer, a holographic image of Eve appeared on Adam’s request and she had changed from being the stalker like borg to a more human like creature. She was smiling as she acknowledged she fed the deer. ”They ate right out of my hand, Adam. Hello Rain.” Eve said to each before she went on to update them on the latest intel. ”The base is fine, there are no traces from the Zen that have managed to crack the outer defence.” She meant the computer systems, that the Zen were no doubt trying to find traces of the fugitives. ”Hey Eve.” Rain responded to the holograph, as she settled back on Adam’s lap in the front seat. She was so glad that they were heading home, and now with Tinman on board, the hunt for her father could continue. <3>
IceTe3a: – He chuckled hearing that the deer ate straight from her hand smiling as he nodded from her update it seems the Zen still couldn’t pin point their defenses, this was great news. He always knew that farm house was a great location for a hidden base, it would take years for Zen to figure out that their base was under the farm. He felt Rain as she took her seat in his lap, he smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close as he kissed her neck with a lovers welcome. Hearing Tinman sit in the back seat they were all piled in and the hummer drove off towards their home. He smirked as he looked in the review mirror knowing Tinman would have questions “Yes, we’re dating, any other questions?” he chuckled lightly as he watched for the skies for any Zen aircrafts. “We’re looking to reunite Rain with her father, we’re camped out in my personal bunker. Safe from the Zen completely. “ he chuckled knowing that bit of news would be a welcomed relief for Tinman, he knew by now that Zen would be swarming around Tinman’s bunker looking for intel. What they didn’t know is that he had done something to Tinman’s computer, he installed a virus to explode the entire scrap yard from his mind a loud explosion as fire and smoke could be seen in the review mirror “Oh.. your scrap yard.. Yeah you can never go back there again. All your data has been transferred to our networks so don’t worry” that was why he was scanning all the files and uploading everything in Tinman’s trailer, he was always one step ahead.
CharlotteCarrendar: – The hummer powered along the dirt road that was leading them far out of the city and the reach of the Zen. Rain was now relaxing as she was right where she wanted to be – as close as possible to Adam. Adam of course had made sure that they had a clean get away and that had to do with a rather nasty virus that he had installed into Tinman’s computers that acted as a detonator for what would be a spectacular explosion. Sure enough, the tell tale fire ball in the distance was of course…the junk yard being oblivorated. ”Was that?” Sam asked, his head snapping around to see the large black plume of smoke in the sky. ”Yep.” Rain answered, knowing that Adam was filling him in in the most sinister way. ”No going back.” Sam’s face crumpled as he thought of all the wonderful wrecks he had been collecting over the years. ”You can’t just come into a man’s house and blow it up!” Nice to see Sam had some balls after all. Rain cast a look in the rear vision mirror and answered. ”We did transfer your files. Stop complaining.” Sam started to blubber. ”My pokemon collection…my little pony figures.’ What a sook. <3>
IceTe3a: He arched a brow as Tinman got cocky and mouthed off, only to lose what little respect he had just gained, now complaining about his pokemon cards. “Tinman.. men don’t collect pokemon cards… Do I need to whip you into becoming a man?” he chuckled and heard Tinman start to complain about his My little pony collections… did he seriously complain about pony dolls… he grumbled and slammed his foot on the hummers breaks as it came to a fast stop, he was holding onto Rain’s stomach so she wouldn’t go flying, Tinman on the other hand… *Thud* a smirk appears on his face as he watched Tinman’s head hit the back of the car seat hard “One tear Tinman.. And I’ll beat you silly. Time you became a man” he let his foot off the breaks and allowed Rain to drive on as he smirked. “Sorry about that darling.. I hate cowards” he shrugged slightly, knowing she would understand, he may cop a slap to the back of the head though. As they drove through the countryside well out of Zen’s radar they finally came upto the driveway for their hidden base “Home sweet home “ he smirked, as he saw the Auto turrets scanning their car before deactivating, it was obvious that Eve had already put Tinman onto the security list. “Eve can give Tinman the grand tour.. we have other plans” he smirked and kissed her neck lovingly. : Standing on top of one of the larger new Mech droids as the Zen forces started to walk into the Scrap yard, was General Taol. He stood there giving orders to secure and collect intel, Before he knew it the entire place exploded in a mass fireball leaving nothing to be recovered, the mech had reacted in protecting him as it lunged back a distance. “Blast those traitors.. Get the tech team onto figuring out how they got past all the check points NOW” he sunk back into the Mech’s interior cockpit and took over manual drive on the mech as it walked towards the Zen base “Back to your stations on the double, increase security” the order was issued and he would make sure this would not happen again. The clean up crew was left behind to go through the bits of rubble to try and salvage any information, anything at all could help them find the traitors and bring back Equipment X into their ranks, he always knew that giving that thing a mind of its own was a bad idea. His mission was to retrieve the Equipment back for Zen and capture Rain the traitor that was it. His crew was specially tasked to this assignment and he had everything Zen had to offer at his disposal to complete the task, failure was not an option. Making his way back into the armory he dismounted from the Mech droid and it set back to autopilot as it walked out of the armory and started to do its rounds until it was called upon again, walking through the halls he slammed open the door to his office and closed it behind him “Blast those two… he grumbled as he took a seat on his office chair “First Equipment X.. then Rain and now Eve is gone, Zen is growing weaker each day.. its pathetic” he slammed his boots down on the table as he stretched out and lit a large cigar and started to puff away.
CharlotteCarrendar: – The screech of the tyres along the road sounded as the Hummer slid across to the other side road only to come to a sudden halt. This made even Rain jerk forward slightly, but thankfully Adam had a good hold on her. The reason for the breaking was to give Tinman a good wake up call. Nothing Adam despised more in a man than weakness, and to have Sam blubbering about some plastic ponies and children’s playing cards had him ropeable. Sam went flying forward and then back, causing him to knock his head both front and back. Bruised and a bit bloody, he looked set to cry again, but Adam warned him if he saw one tear he was going to beat him silly. It took a lot for Sam to suck it up, in the face of things. All he knew was that his livelihood and collections were now gone. Sam muttered under his breath and sniffed loudly as he wiped what stray tear may fall. Last thing he wanted was for Adam to see it. Starting off again, it was not long before they reached the gates of the farm, and the base. Rain actually smiled brightly to see it again. It certainly was home sweet home. Driving through the gates, once the vehicle had been scanned, she drove the hummer down to the farm house, where Eve was waiting outside, dressed a little differently from her usual med lab suits. She looked like a country farm girl. Feeding the deer really got her into the spirit of farm life. Watching all disembark from the Hummer, Eve welcomed Sam, who was confused to see her again. ”Eve?” The female cyborg smiled and took his arm to lead him inside so she could bring him up to speed and show him to his quarters. With the pair gone, Rain rounded on Adam and wrapped her arms around his waist. ”I missed this.” She uttered, before kissing his lips softly, and resting her cheek to his chest. :: At the remains of what was the scrap yard, crews were going over the rubble in search of clues that would help them find the Equipment X. One guard picked up a half molten my little pony and said. ”Awe.”<3>
IceTe3a: – He smiled and nodded at Eve as she greeted them a warm welcome, she had taken his advice and become more human, more like herself. He watched as Eve took Sam into their base to bring him up to date, suddenly he felt Rain tackle him as he turned to face her he was welcomed with a warm kiss, he smiled and nodded in agreement, looking around the farmland everything was peaceful and normal, nothing out of the ordinarily “I’m glad we’re back too, it’s perfect here” he smirked and fell back into the soft grass, pulling her to lay down on top of him, cuddling her in close as he sighed happily, looking up at the blue skies “ Once we find your father we can move back here with him, and live our lives out peacefully. “ After awhile of laying down and enjoying each other’s company he knew they had to get back to reality, there would be plenty of time for the two to spend countless days in each other’s arms when all this was done. “Best get back inside” he smiled as he sat up, slipping his arms under her legs and against her back he came to a stand and held her in his arms, as he carried her inside and down to their base. He smirked as he swayed her from side to side playfully, before placing her down on the ground feet fist. Giving her one last kiss, he nodded in the direction of Sam and Eve, as he grabbed her hand gently and lead her off to their location. Eventually they caught up with Sam and Eve as he smirked slightly “I Assume you’re caught up with most of it, but any questions ask Rain. a simple smile as he looked down at Rain and pulled her in to press her back against his chest, he was really enjoying her touch against his skin.
CharlotteCarrendar: – Inside the farm house, Eve had taken Sam down to the second floor where the real base was, not the farm like facade. The Tinman was in awe of what Adam had created, and the sheer size of the place had him flabbergasted. ”Oh my God.” He whispered. Eve knew it all now like the back of her hand and showed him his own room, as well as the main labs and tech stations. The computer technology surpassing much of what he had seen before. He didn’t even think that Zen was this well set up. The gleaming benches and massive store house of weaponry and armor was enough for a small army. This had Sam stop and think. What was Adam’s real goal here? Was he truly after helping Rain find her father, or was this the base for a new wave of resistance? Eve was unaware of what Sam was thinking and continued to give him the guided tour, just as Adam had instructed. Adam and Rain finally caught up with the pair, after having playfully rolled around in the grass outside the farm house. Rain even still had some grass in her hair as she came down to where Sam and Eve were. Sam turned around as the two approached, still uncomfortable about being around Adam. Truth was he didn’t trust him, and more to the point, he couldn’t understand how Rain was now in a relationship with him. Didn’t she say he was a borg? He thought it was taking her love of technology a bit too far. ”I’m pretty up to speed, Adam. Eve has been very ..helpful.” This was true, and Eve beamed to be mentioned. However, Sam then turned to Rain and asked. ”Surely with all the tech you have here, you would have been able to locate your father.” It was a fair statement, the truth was however that she had only gotten a glimpse of where her father was last from Adam’s memories. ”My father didn’t want to be found. For good reason, I suppose. Which makes it all the more important that I find him…before they do.” <3>
IceTe3a: He smiled and nodded as he heard Eve had done good in bringing Sam upto date, he glanced over at Eve and smiled“Good job Eve” he held Rain in his arms closely as he sighed happily, they were one step closer to bringing Rain and her father together. He chuckled slightly as he glanced around the room, he remembered he still needed to upload Sam’s files to their network as he sighed slightly “Work never finishes, Eve can you come help me upload the files to the network?” he knew she would be more than happy to help as he leaned down and kissed Rain on the lips with a passionate love “ I’ll be done soon, once we’re done we can meet in the mess hall, and I’ll cook us up some lunch, how’s that sound?” giving Rain a hug he walked off with Eve behind him as he walked through the halls and over into her lab room, even from here she would be able to access the main network and download the Sam’s files from Adam. He took a seat on one of her operating tables and smiled as he watched her “I see you’re enjoying the farm life, abit different from the big city huh Eve” he smirked as he knew she loved it out here.
CharlotteCarrendar:- With Adam and Eve now out of the room, Sam couldn’t help himself. He approached Rain and stood with his arms folded. ’Rayne, are you out of your mind?” This was said with a voice that even Rain had not heard before. She immediately went on the defensive and cocked a brow. ”What are you talking about? I’m perfectly fine.” Sam checked over his shoulder that they were alone and then he let her have it. ”He’s a machine. You are in love…with a machine.” Talk about being blunt. At this Rain took offence. She turned to walk away from him but he grabbed her shirt and pulled on it. ”Hey!” she cried as he turned her back. ”What would you father think if he knew you were shagging the hardware?” Little did Sam understand just what Rain had discovered about Adam. From the outset, even she thought he was nothing more than a borg, but came to discover that when her father made him, he was so much more. With a clenched jaw, Rain retorted angrily. ”He is more of a man than you are.” That one was really below the belt, and not because Sam collected toys. ”Yes…I love him, and yes, I have even slept with him. Adam is real. You couldn’t possibly understand.” That much was true and Sam then hit back. ”Are you sure he loves you, or did you programme him to say and act as he does? Hmm? Answer me that Rayne. You can control technology, what is to say he is nothing more than a puppet to your sick fantasy!” ~Whack!~ Rain slapped Sam across the face in a fit of anger. ”Never…ever say that again. He has his own mind. This is not something I make him do. He loves me…for me.” <3>
IceTe3a: – He smiles as Eve started the download from Sam’s scrap yard, soon they would be added to the network and available to be accessed from anywhere in this building. It took awhile for the download to complete but it finally finished as he sighed slightly in relief, stretching out as he came to a stand “Thanks Eve, you’re a big help to me and the team, never forget that” he smiled as he gave her a nod, and arched a brow “Hey, did we feed the horses yet? “ he chuckled slightly and walked off towards the mess hall, he knew that he was going to cook for them all and perhaps a kind of welcome party for Sam. He made his way slowly to the mess hall as he started to prep food, with cooking meats on the stove, making salads and putting cold beers on to chill in a big Ice bucket, he thought they could all enjoy a good nights relax something that he thought they could all do from now on. Unless it was dire or they were on a mission he would make sure after 5:30pm that it was relax time, no work, no Zen, no stress. Just relaxing and enjoying the freedom they had found for themselves. He smiled lightly as he set the table and continued to cook the meats, he sent a message to Eve inviting her for dinner as well, he knew she was more than able to enjoy the food and drink even if her body didn’t need it, she could still enjoy the taste and getting drunk with them.
CharlotteCarrendar:- The tension now between Sam and Rain was getting worse as they faced off. Sam’s cheek was red from the slap, not to mention he still had a lot of bruises and cuts from having to deal with Adam at the scrap yard. Rain could smell that dinner had been started down in the mess hall, and she started to head that way. ”Come on, they will wonder what we are doing.” Sam followed along, but he was still annoyed with Rain, especially with what he believed to be happening between her and Adam. Entering the mess hall, Rain tried to smile and hide the fact that she and Sam had just had a massive row and she offered to help with setting up the plates and cutlery if it needed doing. Sam on the other hand felt he needed to know the truth, and boldly walked up to Adam. ”Before we go any further in me helping you guys. I want the truth.” On the other side of the room, you could see Rain looking grim as Sam went ahead and spoke his mind. ”Is Rain manipulating you Adam, to do what she wants? Cause if so…I call bullshit. She’s a talented Technopath, and you are a machine, Adam. Like it or not…it’s what you are. Same goes for Eve. I feel like I am in some sick game that she is orchestrating.” You could hear Rain drop the cutlery on the table and she was about to fly off the handle. <3>
IceTe3a: – He was happily cooking away on the hot stove as he started to flip the meats over to the other side, the aroma of the cooking food was filling the mess hall and seeping out of the room. He heard Rains footsteps, he could tell it was her from the way she walked, he smiled as she walked in and he looked at her with an arched brow. He knew something was up with her but he couldn’t tell what, he wasn’t going to pry the situation as she was probably worried about her father. He nodded as she asked if she could help out with the cutlery and plate “Thanks hun” he then heard Sam walk into the room, as he continued to cook, he glanced down as he heard Sam demand for the truth, arching a brow he wondered what he was going on about as his hues glanced over to Rain questioning her friends motives. Then it hit him, as Sam basically accused Rain of reprogramming Adam, and so so much more. He then realized why she was upset and it was the little punks fault. He growled as his left hand gripped Sam’s shirt without warning, lifting him up off the ground he brought him to eye level “ How dare you.. upset Rain like that and accuse her of such misdeeds” he brought Sam’s face over to the hot stove and lowered it so his skin could feel the heat “ Fact is, I’m not a borg. I’m fully human always have been, I’ve just had extensive military style cybernetics and Ntech installed throughout my body to create the perfect soldier. Even if she did Rewire me, I could overthrow it, and I’d know she rewired me. he threw Sam down onto the ground and glared down at him “ I had gene therapy done to me as a child that’s why I can use all Ntech at 100% unlike other humans. I love Rain, she loves me Get over it” he growled as he took the meat off the hot stove and put it into a large serving plate before he turned and glared down at Sam again “ I’ll let this slide since you don’t know much about me, but you owe Rain an apology” he kneeled down so he could whisper to Sam “You ever make her cry again, I’ll have Eve take you apart slowly. She can do that without you dying you know” his deathly stare was soul shaking as he came to a stand and smiled, looking over at Rain he gave her a reassuring nod to show everything was ok.
CharlotteCarrendar: – Rain couldn’t hide her upset. Sam was accusing her of doing the unthinkable and it was like an arrow to the heart. What had grown between her and Adam was a natural affection and had nothing to do with her abilities as a technopath. Sam had no idea he was now walking on very dangerous ground when it came to upsetting Rain, or Adam for that matter. The happiness of the mess hall was rudely interrupted and now Sam was about to see a side of Adam that no one else had been privy to. Adam blasted Sam in a verbal stoush that would leave Sam reeling. Rain wanted to interject but she knew it was not her place. The accusations were entirely false and Adam wanted Sam to understand in no uncertain terms that he considered himself to be human. What the Zen and others had done to him was merely adding to his body to create the perfect solider, something that he was more than capable of being. It was his childhood ability to use Ntech, unlike any other humans that truly set him apart. Eve stood in the background quietly, not wanting to get involved. She had not been manipulated either in her mind. Sam couldn’t understand before why Adam saw himself as human, until now. Staring up at Adam and seeing the rage behind his eyes, promising that he would have Eve take him apart like a machine if he ever made Rain cry again. Sam easily buckled. ”Okay okay. I’m sorry, alright. This is just a lot to take in, man. You come kidnap me, blow up my scrap yard, then I have to see for my own eyes that you are in love with Rain. I knew you before, and you couldn’t stand her. How was I to know?” At this point, Rain excused herself and left the room. <3>
IceTe3a: He nodded as he could understand where Sam was coming from and sighed slightly as he watched Rain walk out the room, shaking his head he looked back down at Sam “I understand where you are coming from, but you could have dealt it differently with Rain, she is female after all.” he smiled lightly and looked at Eve “Sam, man the grill, Eve help out. I’ll go settle Rain” he chuckled lightly and sighed as he walked out of the room and tracked Rain down, it wasn’t very hard to find her, as he snuck up behind and turned her around pulling her into his arms. He smiled as he looked down at her and kissed her pouting lips “We both know our love is true, besides Tinman.. just needed it all to be explained better, he’s fine now and he’s sorry for what he said. We had to expect this darling, after all we once were mortal enemies” he smiled and kneeled down as he pulled her to curl up in his lap, he kissed her forehead and chuckled lightly “I was certain you were going to kill him, we’ll head back when you’re good and ready. Ok?” he smiled as he cuddled her close.
CharlotteCarrendar: – Rain was red faced – her cheeks aflame at having to listen to the argument and be reminded of a time when Adam hated her. It wasn’t the most pleasant thing to be reminded of and when put the way that Sam said, it did make it seem that she had manipulated Adam. Hearing him come up behind her, she wrapped her arms around herself, only to have him pull her into his arms to reassure her. He was right. The love they shared was true, regardless of the terrible start they had. When they had gone into the city to fetch Tinman, they had to play it like she treated him like a machine, so it was warranted that on arriving and seeing them behaving like a couple that Sam’s curiosity would get the better of him. It was just very hard having to defend, especially with the way she felt about Adam now. Being pulled onto his lap as he knelt down and tried to reassure her that everything was fine and that now Sam understood, Rain looked up into Adam’s eyes. ”I shouldn’t have got so upset, I know.” Rain said quietly. She didn’t want to have bad feelings with those on the farm, and the fight with Sam was bound to happen as he came to realize everything that had gone on since Adam and Rain escaped the Zen. ”He just doesn’t know you like I do. Long ago I saw you as a machine…now you are more human than me.” <3>
IceTe3a: He smiled as he cuddles her in close and nods “I know, soon enough he will understand everything, remember he’s in the same shoes as we are now” he waited a while longer with her in his arms, using his fingers to wipe any stray tears away. A few minutes pass as he pulls her up to stand by his side, giving her a reassuring lovers kiss he gave her a wink and nodded over towards the Mess hall’s direction “Come on, food’s gonna be ready soon. Let’s start fresh shall we? “ he smiles and takes her by the hand leading her back to the mess hall, as he walked in and saw Eve and Sam, he walked over and looked over the food giving a nod “Done well guys, let’s eat.” he smirked as he placed the prepared salads, meats and other foods on the table with a can of beer for everyone. Taking a seat next to Rain he filled her plate up and smiled as he gave her a cheeky nudge. Glancing over to Eve he arched a brow “I expect you to enjoy the food and get drunk with us as well Eve, you too Sam, Drunk.” he laughed casually as he started to dig into the food, it was well earned and would settle nerves. Cracking open his beer he took a swig as he looked around at everyone enjoying their meals, it was almost like a little family. This place was so peaceful it was easy to forget the troubles of the real world and just escape into this private world on the farm lands. After awhile he had finished his food and was more than happy as he continued to drink beer, then he popped the question “So Sam, think we can find Rain’s father? “ he’d wait for Rain to finish eating before he took her over to sit on his lap like usual, they were so used to it by now it would be unusual for everyone to see Rain sitting anywhere else besides on top of Adam.
CharlotteCarrendar: – Rain felt a wave of relief at Adam’s words of reassurance. They were all in this together now, and needed the other in order to pull off their main objective – which was to find Rain’s father and bring him home. Adam’s fingers brushed her cheek and captured the stray tears that had fallen. She could have honestly stayed there forever, but knew that their dinner was waiting. Getting to her feet with the help of Adam, she agreed that they needed to start over. Sure, they had put Sam through a great deal to get him there, but if they were going to be a team they all had to learn to get on. Eve was already tucking in, with what looked to be a comical face since she didn’t normally dine like everyone else. A large beer was near her plate and she took that up with both hands, skulling it down like it was water. No doubt she was going to suffer for that later. Eve let out a gentile burp before giggling and going back to eating, while Sam was getting settled. His face was still a bit red from the earlier argument. He must have known that Rain was very hurt by his words, and he wanted to make up for it. ”I think we can. Might take some digging though.” Sam said in reply to Adam’s question about Rain’s father. ”Cracking government files is kinda my speciality.” He said proudly. Rain finished her meal and then moved to be on Adam’s lap, watching the others, and in particular Eve who was on her second beer. <3>
IceTe3a: He smiled as Rain joined him, wrapping his free arm around her waistline as he cuddled her in and sipping his beer with his other hand whilst he watched everyone else enjoy themselves. He arched a brow as he watched Eve drinking her second beer “Eve you better slow down, that’s heavy stuff you will get drunk” he smirked and looked down at Rain with a smile. “well we should be able to figure it out by working together, that’s for sure. You get us a location, leave the dangerous side to me and Rain” he nodded as he sipped more of his beer, they continued to chat as the night went on soon enough the plates were cleared and the kitchen cleaned as they all sat down and enjoyed each other’s company whilst drinking some beer. By now he could notice the beer was taking an effect over Eve as he laughed slightly “Such a green horn” he smirked as he winked down at Rain. Time slowly crept up on them as it was almost time to retire back to their rooms “Time to retire to our rooms I think. Get a good night in, we’ll need the energy for tomorrow” he smiled wishing the other two a good night before picking up Rain and carrying her off to their room. As they entered their room he placed her down on the floor feet first “I think we’ll all be fine” he chuckled as he stripped his black shirt off.
CharlotteCarrendar:- ”But it tastes good.” This was Eve’s reaction to the beer, and sure enough she helped herself to a third. While the rest of the table chatted away as the meal was finishing, Eve was slowly starting to sway back and forth, back and forth. Like you would see someone on a ship. Sam helped with the plates and cutlery, passing Eve who hiccupped and then let out another giggle. She really was a green horn, as Adam had said. Time was for everyone to get some sleep and Eve went to standing unsteadily, and then offered to show Sam his room again. Needless to say she was going the wrong way. Sam caught her up and spun her the right way. ”It’s over here.” Eve saluted and then staggered towards his room, before doing a strange bow like gesture to welcome him to his room. ”Need someone to cuddle?” she offered. Sam looked at her strangely. ”No thanks Eve, I think I will be alright.” Eve then pushed him in the door and closed it behind her, where you could hear his words of protest to a drunk and very cuddly cyborg. ”Rain’s father liked my cuddles.” Eve was heard to say and all you could hear from Sam was a strangled cry. You had to wonder just what she meant by cuddles. In Adam and Rain’s room, they were now finally alone. She watched him strip off his shirt when he had set her down gently. Rain always admired his physique and had a hint of a cheeky smile as she approached him – placing her hands to his chest. ”I think so too.” <3>
IceTe3a: He turned around to find Rain walking straight upto him, her hands pressing against his bare chest as he looked down and smiled, leaning down he kissed her on her lips and smirked. “ I hope Sam can handle Eve” he chuckled lightly as he walked over to his side of the bed and laid down on it watching Rain until she came over to join him. “We’ll find your father then live out our lives here peacefully” he smiles as he pulls her up to lay basically on him with her had resting against his chest he gently started to stroke her hair. “ Anyone else you can think of that we need?” he started thinking but shrugged it off as tonight was a night to relax. : A knock on the door “Enter” a Zen soldier came in with a report and something else held in his hand [/b] “ General, Sir! Unfortunately due to the explosion nothing could be salvaged, no Intel was left behind it was well planned out. The only thing that was not badly damaged was this sir!” [/b] the man walked forward and placed down a half burnt pink my little pony doll on the Generals desk. He growled as he dismissed the man, grabbing the doll he threw it in the bin“Where are you hiding…” for some reason they were always ahead of the Zen forces but with the new Mechs rolling out, things were going to change.
IceTe3a: He watches as she slowly walked forward and he arched a brow as she slowly undid his shirt buttons, he moved his shoulders about as his shirt slid off with ease falling onto the ground leaving his bare torso for her to press up against. “To do with, as you see fit. I believe those were the terms he smirked as he felt her palms pressing against his chest, he reached down wrapped his arms around her body gently, as he gave her room to move about in his arms “In that case, why don’t you use me as you see fit “ smirking as he dimmed the lights in the room, he leaned down and kisses her lips for a moment but pulled back again leaving her to want more, as he had just dared her to take him if she saw fit. His breathing was slow and paced as her palms would raise and fall with the movements of his breath, as his eyes look her up and down slowly, he rips her shirt off her back with ease as he tosses it to the side without a care. He was toying with her, but in a playful way as he wanted to see her like she was the first time she forced him. He obviously liked her the way she was as he pulled her in with a smirk “Or can’t you grab a hold of what you need and take lead? “he said with a playful smirk as his eyes met hers.
CharlotteCarrendar:- A wry smirk appeared upon Rain’s lips as she reached up to the sides of his head and then massaged gently without touching his sensors. With the ability of her mind link she started to switch on the sound system to play something sultry in the background, while the room lights started to dim giving off a more intimate effect. ”You like me to be…on top, don’t you?” she mused softly, her tongue just touching the edge of her lip – running it along as she could see that Adam’s breath was slowing – regulating. A hand moved downward to the top of Adam’s jeans and she kept her eyes trained upon him, whilst lithe fingers moved swiftly to undo the button, then slowly pull down the zip. The noise making her smile all the more. ”I think I got what I want.” She reached inside his jeans and felt around for what would be his growing hardness. ”All I have to do is…grab hold and lead.” Rain smoothed her fingers across the surface of his skin, tempting with her digits before taking a firm grip – her fingers locking around the shaft. <3>
IceTea: His skin shivered as her fingers ran against his flesh, hearing the music play on softly as he smirks from her response “I Suppose.. I’ve gotten used to the idea of you in control” a simple wink and a smirk was all he did afterwards. Feeling her hand move lower as she undid his jean’s, his lips parted slightly as her fingers took grasp of his hardening shaft. His back arches slightly as his chest presses against hers, his skin rubbing against hers, a growl of passion escapes his lips as his hues glance into hers. Rolling on top of her he took control as he ripped what little clothing she had left, determinant to make this night one for the ages. The mood was set right and there was no one to bother them as their bodies entwined for the rest of the night. Morning rise as the two had fallen asleep in each other’s arm s after a night filled of passionate love, the warm sun’s rays simulated by the lighting system in the room warmed their skin as he groaned slightly and nuzzled his head into her chest trying to escape the sunlight, the night was for fun but the light brought on a new day and the tasks ahead would prove difficult for them both with the need to establish a new crew they could trust and finding Rain’s fathers location once and for all. These were their set goals for today, but Adam wanted to stay in her arms just a while longer as he continues to nestle his head on her chest and groaning “ Just.. a little longer.. stupid light.. he sighed slightly as he peaked out from her chest to look up at her with one half open eye.
CharlotteCarrendar: – The light was sign that the night was truly at an end, and Rain didn’t want to rise either. She nestled close to Adam, her cheek to his chest as she murmured in response to his claim that he just wanted a little bit longer. Turning her face to his chest, she kissed his bare flesh before pushing herself upright and then stretching. The sheet falling back and exposing her naked torso. The filtered rays of light brought out the pink in her cheeks, and she could only smile down at Adam, who had given her a night to remember. ”Longer we stay in means the longer will be on the road.”She pushed off the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Reaching up, she ran her fingers through her hair and got up to standing. Rain walked over to the bathroom, and you could hear the sound of the shower running, as she hummed lightly to herself. In the back of her mind, her thoughts of her father weighed heavily. They needed to find him, but first they needed a crew to help with the location and dealing with the Source and the Brotherhood, who were now both sworn enemies. They were running the fine line between two powerful organisations that wanted nothing more than to wipe them both off the map. <3>
IceTe3a: He watched as she got up out of bed with a valid response, he sighed slightly and nuzzled the bed “Yeah.. time to get serious I suppose” he groaned slightly as he flipped himself off the bed and onto a stand, the sheets fell to the floor as he stood towering in his naked form, all his previous battle scars were there for the world to see. He smirked as he heard the shower running and walked in after her Don’t mind if I do” he said playfully, as he joined her in the shower. Scrubbing himself down as he helped her scrub herself down every now and then accompanied by a kiss to her flesh, eventually he hopped out and dried himself down partially. Walking to his closet he got dressed and came out wearing his black leather military boots, thick black combat pants and a black singlet which was a tight fit. Sitting on the bed he strapped his Bowie knife to his right thigh on top of his jeans and grabbed his custom built USP .45 holstering it, in its holster which he swung around and strapped so it came to rest under his right arm just on the side of his chest. His thick black hair was messy but almost looked styled which was natural for him, he arched a brow and gave a wolf whistle as he watched her strut around naked watching her get dressed “So what’s the plan of attack” he said as he came to a stand and was ready for the day.
CharlotteCarrendar:- The shower got pretty steamy and that was not just from the temperature of the water. Adam helped himself to the soap and not only washed himself, but gave Rain a good scrubbing as well. She couldn’t help but chuckle as he did this, but it was also time saving and getting them back on track. Turning off the water faucet, Rain stepped out and took her own towel, rubbing herself down thoroughly, before heading out to find her own foot locker of clothing. For a slight of a girl, she wore the whole black army kit well, and with her hair brushed back slick – with aviator sunglasses, Rain sure looked the part. You could see the good tone of her muscle in her arms as she strapped on a knife belt and then holstered her fire arms. Adam asked about the plan of attack, and to this she responded. ”Grab a quick bite, then Eve and head on out. We might be best to keep off what highways are open. That would make us a sitting duck. Perhaps go over some of the pre war maps to see what roads would be less likely to be under radar surveillance.”Tapping her military boot to the hardened floor, she headed to the door and opened it, only to see Eve standing ready and waiting. ”We go now?’ She asked. <3>
IceTe3a: He nodded in agreement as he looked smirked at her, walking up to her as she was fully dressed he undid her hair as she usually did it in a pony tail. “Keep it down and flowing, it suits you better” he smiled lightly as he heard her say they should get something to eat and grab eve, suddenly the door opens as Eve stood there asking if they were going yet. He shook his head and arched a brow “Eve.. We need to eat first, and this will be a combat mission.. Shouldn’t you stay here at the labs and conduct studies to better help our situation? Besides, who’s going to feed the deer this morning, they’ll be expecting their food upstairs in the next hour” he smiled lightly as he had always fed the deer at the front of the cabin, at about this time. He knew Eve wouldn’t be any help in a combat fight she was more suited to the Lab’s studying and researching, giving information and backup from here. He smiled as he nodded towards the door and walked towards the kitchen to grab a bite “Come on you two” as they reached the kitchen, he poured himself a glass of cereal and milk almost woofing it down as he sighed in relief a record time almost of downing a bowl of cereal in a minute flat. “Eve, I’d feel more comfortable if you would give us Intel reports while you study here. We may need help from the home base and we’ll be sending new recruits back. I’m putting you in charge with medical procedures as well, check them through and through, make sure they have no sickness or any listening bugs of any kind.. we need to be able to trust the new people. Can you handle a role like this? He smiled slightly as he looked over at Rain wondering if she would agree with what he had just said “Oh and Eve.. turn your emotional chip back on, you’re as human as me. No need to pretend to be a robot” he knew she had turned if off from the last time they met when she took him apart back at Zen, she was human like, you would never have guessed she was the doctors creation.
CharlotteCarrendar:- Eve tilted her head as Adam spoke to her. It was true that she had turned off her emotional card chip and so when she turned it back on, it was like she was a completely different individual. Rain stood in behind as Adam spoke to Eve about the need for someone to stay behind and feed the deer. Eve would just love that. Truth be told, Eve would be a liability whilst trying to out manoeuvre the rebels and the Brotherhood. It was best that she stayed behind and acted as the ears and eyes via the computer networks. ”You are right of course, Adam.” The tone in Eve’s voice changing, and she stepped back to allow Adam and Rain to leave their room and head to the kitchen for some breakfast. Cereal was the fastest food to eat and Rain took up a bowl, while Eve was making mention she was more than capable of managing things from the bunker. ”You can count on me….Good luck.” Leaving Rain and Adam to finish their breakfast, Rain had to admit that Adam sure had a way with Eve. ”You ask me she was starting to get a bit…stalker like.” Rain couldn’t help this feeling, but now seeing Eve acting normal, gave her a feeling of relief. Washing up her dishes and then putting them on the dish rack, Rain was ready to go. Taking one last look around her she knew it might be a while before they returned. She made a promise to herself that she would come home again, for this was now what she regarded that as. <3>
IceTe3a: He smiled as he looked over at Rain, waiting for her to finish eating he chuckled at her response “Indeed she was, that’s why I asked her to be normal again. She’s quite mature and intelligent once she’s fully functioning.” Once they were both finished he lead her down a path towards the armory which doubled as the vehicle bunker as well, as they walked through pieces of tech, gadgets and weaponry were neatly sorted out. He took a few extra clips for his USP and M4, picking up his M4 which was customized as well most noted with a variable scope he slung it around his shoulder and pulled out a large duffle bag, throwing in bits and pieces they may need including a few MRE’s (Meal ready-to-eat) packs. Shoving them all in the back of a black Hummer which was militarized, he walked back to the armory and pulled out the m107 with a few more clips ”Just in case.. “ he smirked as he threw it in the back. “Shall we share the drivers seat? Would be weird if we didn’t” as he waited for her to get all the gear and took his seat in the driver’s side he waited for Rain to come sit on his lap and take control of the wheel, like she usually did; it was something he was used to by now.
CharlotteCarrendar:- ”Course.” Rain replied when asked if they would share the driver’s seat. It was something they had been doing now since they met, so why stop now. Getting out her own duffle bag from the armory, that included some hand grenades and meal packs, as well as clips for her M4, she made sure she had enough weapons on hand in case things turned nasty – as they just well might. Dumping her gear in the back, Rain closed the back of the vehicle and then made her way around to the driver’s side where Adam was already seated. Smiling, she clamoured in and sat herself down well upon his lap. She had to admit he made a better seat than the usual car seats. Way better. Wriggling to get herself comfortable, she wound her hair back behind her ear, and then using her technopathic ability, started up the vehicle with ease. Her eyes roving across the dash as she checked that the vehicle was in top condition and ready for the hard road ahead. Pulling the door closed, she pulled across her seat belt and clipped it into place. One last look at the farm and she let out something of a sigh. ”Tell me we will return?” <3>
IceTe3a: He smiled as he saw she appeared next to him, finally ready to get a move on; as she climbed into the hummer he felt her sit down on his lap, as she wiggled around he leaned back slightly and shifted his weight, feeling her weight pressing down on top of him as she wiggled about had him set back as he was almost blushing. He watched as she examined the car before starting it, he felt the seat belt done up as she pressed against his chest and her weight came down more in all retrospect he was a chair for her. Hearing her ask if they will return he smiled playfully “Perhaps I’ll bring you back.. If you stop this torture and by that I mean wiggling your ass around” he chuckled slightly as they drove onto the road, slowly they approached his auto turret guarded gate as it opened up for them already have scanning their ID signals. As the Hummer drove through the gates it closed behind them and they hit the main road as the countryside slowly passed them they were heading for the city. “We need to be careful, people can’t be suspicious while we’re there.. if they figure out who you are with me it could be bad. So.. you have to go back to treating me like your equipment, nothing more. “ his arms wrapped around her waist gently as he smiled “We will both know the truth about our feelings, but to remain unsuspicious you can’t hold back.. at all. Think you can handle that or have you grown too soft?” he smirked playfully as the city came closer and closer to them. His right eye HUD activated as he started hacking both the Rebels and ZEN’s network systems employing data into it, it beeped while it was done “ You’re now registered in both Zen and Rebel networks with your Serial codes as a Commander and I am your combat equipment, so play the cards right. It won’t work on anyone who already knows us and what we’ve done” the roar of the engine was the only noise to be heard as he wondered if she would be able to play the role she was so good at back in the early days.
CharlotteCarrendar: The early days for Rain and Adam were difficult to say the least. Yes, she had fallen in love with the man that in her mind for the longest time was nothing more than a machine. But he became so much more. A wave of doubt crossed her mind as she drove the hummer along. Could she go back to acting like the cold hearted bitch she had been for most of her life? It surely would just be like putting on a pair of old comfortable shoes, but she had changed so much and the thought to have to go back to that pained her. She felt it within her chest and tried to hide this from Adam. The fun and playful banter of how she was torturing him with her wiggling was soon forgotten, as her facial features hardened. Adam was right. To be anything other than how she was before would betray them both. But when Adam wrapped his arms around her waist, telling her that they both knew the truth of the depth of real feelings, she wanted to never have him let her go. A stiff upper lip was going to be needed and she would need to play the role of her life in front of those she once knew and those that they would come across. ”I can be a hard ass.” she stated firmly, but that might well make him chuckle considering how she was sitting on him. The city lights were now approaching and the game was definitely on. First port of call would be Sam’s junkyard. Military vehicles were out and about scouting the roads, while the Night patrol hover cars controlled the skies. <3>
IceTe3a: He smirked as he heard she could be a bad ass, he knew it would be tough for them both but it had to be done, nodding as he agreed with her “You’re going to have to put on quite the show.. Cold, heartless.. I’m a piece of equipment, nothing more. Can’t give any excuses” he smirked and kissed her neck as they reached the city limits “The act starts as soon as we reach the city.. not when we’re in it, as soon as we cross the city border, if anyone looks in and see’s us as lovers and later like our act, we will fail. “ he smiled as he watched the borders come closer, he sighed“Remember it is a must, our lives depend on it.. I love you” a simple chuckle as he just realized the slight pun in what she had said, she was going to be a hard ass and she was sitting on him, it was a cute joke or at least it was to him. He knew exactly where she was heading first, to the junk yard where those other two men were last seen.. the two he had scared. He wondered if they would help out last time he remembered he had threatened to kill them the next time they met. A simple smirk against his face as he knew he had an act to play as well, the deadly ghost assassin, all the rumors about him that made up his name.. his legend, it had been awhile since he had to be his normal self, this loving side of him was for Rain only and no one else. He smiled and kissed her one last time just as they passed the borders of the city, the guard patrol and check station would be coming up momentarily. With his lips still pressed to her skin he wondered if she would be able to do what was asked, and how well she would be able to do it.
CharlotteCarrendar: – A piece of equipment. Adam said this over and over and Rain could only nod as the lights of the city started to illuminate her face. The moment they crossed the line, she would have to lower the mask that would be in place at all times. No one would see the truth, the extent of her feelings. ”Cold…heartless…got it.” Rain knew their lives depended on the accuracy of the portrayal. Swallowing hard, she heard his final admission of love, before kissing her. She wanted to turn the hummer around, but then she remembered the reason why she was doing this – to save her father. ”Forever yours, Adam.” The emotion in her voice would be unmistakable as they sped towards the first check point. Rain’s eyes dulled over as she knew now was the time. Slowing down the vehicle as it approached the boom gates, Rain activated the driver’s side window to lower so that the guard may approach. Stony faced she waited. The guard within the booth looked up from his desk where he had been going over the lists of the most wanted. To catch one at a check point meant a bonus year’s salary, so it made the task of stopping outlaws all the more lucrative. Stretching, he pushed himself out and away from his desk, before exiting the check point booth and then holding up a scanner which detailed the car and its occupants. It was a nervous wait. <3>
IceTe3a: As they rolled towards the checkpoint he was hoping his new serial numbers for them both would work, he knew they would but there was always that bit of uncertainty. As they rolled up to the checkpoint he watched as the window came down, he noticed a guy sitting at a desk in the booth only to come to a stand and scan the car. He eyes the Soldier off as he himself scans the Soldier for change in emotions, anything registered from the normal would find two bullets in this soldiers chest, he watched close as the soldiers scan was taking longer than expected. They checking every inch of the car, obviously they wanted both Rain and him in their grasps badly, to the point where it was basically known as marshal law around here now. He noticed as the guard started to head towards the front of the car, it felt like he had some questions to ask; a simple sigh escaped his lips “Great.. what does he want” he said softly so only Rain could hear, his eyes scanning the area for the other guards on the ground and a few on the roof top, security was tight.
CharlotteCarrendar:- Cold as ice, that was how Rain was to play it and as the window wound down with the automated sound before clicking into place, she turned her head ever slowly towards the guard who was now approaching the window. Her eyes flickered from the device he was holding in his hand to his face and slowly she turned off the ignition to the hummer. With a voice that had a tinge of an accent to it, Rain said simply ”Problem?’ The guard glanced up at Rain’s face, then took in that she was sitting on a man within the car. This in itself was unusual to say the least. As the man took a moment to pause before answering, the phone within the booth started to ring. Annoyed the Guard gestured with his finger. ”Wait..a moment.” Watching him go inside, this was when Rain pulled out the stops. She had purposely made the phone ring to buy time and had set up a recorded message on the other end of the phone line, while checking the device that the guard held loosely in his hand. Yes, it had picked up an abnormality, but then the red light beside it suddenly changed to green. Shouting to the receiver on the phone, he then slammed down the handle, before looking at the screening device to see the code change. Muttering an obscenity he came back out and banged his fist on the boom gate lever button, so it was slowly rising. Turning her head back to face forward, she started the Hummer with a loud roar of its engine, before driving through the check point. One down…many more obstacles to come. <3>
IceTe3a: – He watched as the man came from looking at Rain and back to him and then back again, he was about to ring the guards neck for even staring at him like that, he hated Zen with a passion let alone the looks he was always given, this just reminded him. As he watched Rain’s trick play out he smirked lightly and looked forward already knowing what the outcome would be, and as suspected the boom gate raised as the hummer turned on and drove through, the window going up as he sighed slightly “Close call, smart thinking on that one.” he smirked slightly and continued to scan the area for more Zen guards, “They’ve beefed up their armed forces, look robotics” as they passed a street there stood a Mech, a fully automated combat AI System, he knew Zen was diving into different style mech’s some piloted some automatic. But he never knew they were already on the production stage.
Even though these things were powerful they would prove no issue for him, he was more worried about Rain as she was really only a highly trained human through and through she could still be shot down unlike him, bullets bounced right off him literally. Only special rounds pulsing with pure electricity did any damage to him. The mech was quick to act as it scanned their car and then turned the other way continuing its patrol with a constant scan. He smirked slightly as he arched a brow “This could be fun” as he looked forward he shifted his weight under her and grumbled slightly “Mind moving back abit, you’re kinda crushing my junk” he smiled lightly waiting for a response.
CharlotteCarrendar: – The Zen brotherhood had lifted its game. They were no longer relying on the night patrols to serve its needs but now bringing out the big military hardware and by that it included massive Mechs that Rain had not seen before. Driving past one that ran its scanner systems over the hummer, Rain grit her teeth as she sensed that this was not going to be a simple walk in the park to get to Sam’s junkyard. ”Guess they really see you as a huge threat.” She was right in what she was saying, but seeing the streets under the watch of the Mechs brought it all home. Turning the corner after going through a green light at an intersection, Rain heard Adam complain that she was crushing his junk. Rain moved just enough so this was no longer a problem but she couldn’t help herself but say. ”You never complained about that last night.” She had a point. On the GPS you could see they were about a mile out from Sam’s junkyard. Still with all the beefed up military that was a long way to go. <3>
IceTe3a: He smirks as she shifts her weight, hearing her comment about last night had his lips part slightly as he arched a brow. His fingers run down the side of her leg slowly as he leans in and takes in her scent “I was just going to say, either use it or don’t, or do you enjoy crushing it as well” he chuckled playfully as they drove through the street, they were getting close to that junkyard, but anything could happen between now and then. “Those mechs, you’re going to have to leave them to me and.. is it bad that I want to rip your clothes off right now? Or is now a good time “ he smirked and looked in the review mirror to watch her reaction. He knew apart from her two friends they would need a few more people to help keep their base up and running, he had a few idea’s of people who would fit but wasn’t completely sure yet. Perhaps he could get Blake to join them, at least they’d have someone who enjoyed working with foods although he was always a hard person to handle. By the time he came back to reality he looked around and they were pretty much at the scrap yard.
CharlotteCarrendar: – ”Clothes stay on till we are alone, Adam.” Now was not the time to be teasing Rain about what Adam wanted to do to her as they approached the fortified junkyard. Odd you might think that a simple junkyard would have razor wire and an electrified fence, but it was also the home of the Tinman. A weapons and computer genius. As the hummer pulled up at the gate, the window rolled down on the hummer and Rain extended her hand out and started to type in a code on the intercom box. She worked it fast and soon the gates were rolling back to allow the Hummer entry.”Okay…show time.” Rain said, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to say anything lewd or suggestive to Adam no matter how much she wanted too. Driving slowly past hulking piles of old car bodies and trucks, the hummer finally came to a stop near the silver trailer that was Tin man’s home. A loud thud was heard inside and then the door swung open as a dishevelled looking Sam poked his head out. He was wearing a sleeping cap and was trying to put on a pair of wire rimmed glasses. When he realized who it was, he made a girly like cry and slammed the door shut. He was obviously terrified that Adam had come back to finish him off. Rain rolled her eyes and opened the car door, getting out and then looking back at Adam. ”Come on.” Her tone had changed. It was not like before the city limits. The acting began. <3>
IceTe3a: – He watched as they pulled into the junkyard passing piles of cars as they finally pulled into the shack of a house, the door opened as he saw the man’s head pull out. Arching a brow as a girlish shriek escaped the man’s mouth and the door slammed shut, he smirked with a wicked grin as Rain stepped out of the car and told him to follow “Ahh.. he remembers me” he said in a cold and dangerous tone as he cocked his pistol, stepping out of the car he looked around as he closed the door, he walked up beside Rain and looked down at her “Let me have him for one minute.. I’ll get what we need” in truth he didn’t know exactly what they were doing here, but he knew that kid must have some kind of information, this side of Adam was scary and it was his true self, apart from his love for Rain. This was how he truly was and how he acted towards other people, a killing machine the Ghost assassin you’d never see him coming was his most favorite rumor. He Pulled out his bowie knife and started playing with it in his right hand as he smirked, the coast was clear and this place seemed to have a force field of sorts around it to pry watching eyes away, so they couldn’t be scanned or listened into. He chuckled slightly as he let out a happy sigh and took a step forward past Rain, overstepping what would be his boundaries for the early days but this was how he was before they fell in love “ I told you I’d be back for you…” he said just loud enough for it to echo through the building for the kid to hear.
CharlotteCarrendar:- Within the silver trailer, you could hear yet another shriek of terror as the Tin man was freaking out at the prospect of being murdered in cold blood by the likes of Adam. His panicked footsteps could be heard going back and forth and the trailer was actually bouncing on its wheels as the poor man was like a trapped rabbit in a cage. No way out. You could see his terrified face appear from behind the blinds before disappearing in another fit of terror. Rain stood with her arms folded as she let Adam do his thing. There was no smile, no hint of emotion as she let Adam take the lead. When Sam heard Adam say that he had told him he would be back, another girly scream till finally, the door opened a touch and a pair of white fronts was held out shakily on what was a broom handle. ”Please…please…don’t kill me.” He begged in a whiney tone that was almost childlike. The surrender flag waved around a bit before he stuck his head out and then shot a look at Rain, before holding up the peace sign with his fingers. ”Rayne, please…call him off.” Rain dug the toe of her boot in the ground where she was standing and then cocked her head at Adam. ”Give me a reason why I should.” Dropping the white underwear flag, Sam stammered as he tried to think of a good reason. ”I could help you…yeah. You must need someone like me..right?” <3>
With Ame and Simone heading off for an Italian lunch, across town; Pandora heads to Jane’s flowers to catch up with her bubbly blonde friend. What a surprise is in store for our biker babe. Welcome to Lipstick Lies!
Ame got out of her car to only walk around and followed Simone into the store as she walked around to look at all of the things that there was for newborns. the one thing that she did not know was the gender of the child as she picked up a onsie, feeling the cloth and texture as she looked upon the design that a company had placed on the cotton shirt. She continued to look around then glanced up to only see the store clerks look at her and whisper to each other about how she looked. She gave a soft growl under her breath as she did not like to be judged but held her tongue from lashing out at those who judged her just by the way she looked.
With that, she looked over to only see Simone conversing with those two men she had saw previously and decided to walk towards the door, not wanting to be around judging people. All the while she had looked around and shopped, Ame was now guided towards the door by Simone with her saying, “We could look at baby things some other time. How about we go find that steam punk clothing store you were talking about.”
“I think that would be the best idea for right now. The store clerks who were working the cash register was giving me weird looks since I walked in in steam punk clothing. It was like they had never seen such attire before in their fragile lives,” With the tone of Ame’s voice, it was clear that she was annoyed that she did not approve of being judged and it pissed her off. In her mind, she thinks people need to get to know someone before judging. It is not always good to judge books by their covers.
“Then after we do shopping, do you want to come back to my mansion to have some authentic Italian cuisine?” Ame asked Simone, turned to look at her as she stopped by her car, smiling softly as she hoped that Simone would accept though she had to make sure that her dearest friend could not drink an ounce of booze.
She didn’t know how time worked where he was from but it had been almost 3 weeks since Pandora had seen Brock and she was missing him terribly. She was left worrying for his safety and praying that he was all right.
She had puttered between work and home all that time in an effort to alleviate her boredom but falling asleep at night, alone is when the ache for him became unbearable.
It was beginning to make her feel sick.
She had been sitting at breakfast, nursing a cup of tea, as that was all her stomach seemed to want to keep, when an advertisement in the newspaper caught her attention. It was for Jane’s flowershop, advertising a new shipment of summer roses that were on sale.
“I haven’t seen Jane and Jason since Hawaii.” she murmured. Nodding to herself, she cleaned up the kitchen and headed to her bedroom to dress. True to her word, she had embraced her new color scheme and had a closet full of clothing in not only her standard black and gray, but a variety of bright and airy colors as well. She chose a light pink off shoulder tank and a pair of tight fitting blue jeans before slipping into a pair of black combat boots. Tying her hair up in a messy ponytail, she headed out to the garage for her bike. She slipped on her helmet, pausing for a moment as a wave of dizziness swept over her. She hoped she wasn’t coming down sick.
She waited for the room to stop spinning and after a few moments it did so. Taking no chances, she gave herself another 15 minutes before she deemed herself well enough to go on. She wheeled the bike out of the garage before closing the doors and setting the alarm. Reving the engine, she charged down the driveway and out onto the street, unaware that she was being followed.
She parked on the curb in front of Jane’s and after securing her helmet, went inside. The bell jingled over the door as she entered and she glanced about. The store was slightly busy as both men and women were about buying items for loved ones. The smell of fresh flowers permeated the air and Pandora took a moment to inhale their lush scents.
She looked about for Jane and saw her at the checkout counter, wrapping up an order for an elderly woman. She sauntered over with a smile.
Jane’s flower shop was the place where things were blooming. Sales too. It had been a few months since that Hawaiian holiday that ended with both good and bad things happening to Jane. Finding out her so called bride was actually a hustler that conned her out of her life savings, then meeting the man that would sweep her off her feet, the charming Doctor Jason Lumbard. When they got back from the holiday, Jason, with the help of the FBI and local law enforcement set up a sting operation, which would catch Mikayla and her so called husband in a net that was not only televised on the local television stations, but also ended up on many social media outlets like facebook. With the game up, they came clean on previous charges, as well as those placed by lawyers representing Jane. In the end, she was able to recoup her missing money, as well as having her credit record cleared. Mikayla and her husband were now serving eight year sentences, with a no parole clause. This brought piece of mind to Jane, and now she could concentrate on her little flower shop once more, and of course her romance with the attractive Doctor Lumbard.
The days sales for the new shipment of roses was going to be a record breaker for sure. Jane even had to hire some help with the amount of traffic that were flooding through her doors, after a successful marketing campaign in the local press. The register was chiming merrily, and out the back, Kristina, Jane’s apprentice was making up a series of new bouquets for the outside bucket displays. Wearing a purple smock that had the logo “Jane’s flowers and gifts”, Jane was behind the counter, handing over a bunch of lilies to one of her older clients. It was only when she heard the sweet voice of Pandora, that Jane came down off her sales high.
“Panny! Oh my goodness, look at you. All…cherry cheeks!” She came running out from behind the counter and hugged her good friend with much exuberance. Letting her go for but a minute, she giggled and then flashed her left hand at Pandora. “Jason and I got engaged!” she beamed, as the diamond ring on her hand twinkled and sparkled under the flower shop lighting. “I’ve been so busy I haven’t had the chance to send out the announcements.”
It was true. After the arrests of Mikayla and her husband, Jason got down on one knee after a candle lit dinner and proposed to his sweetheart Jane. It wasn’t hard to believe, since they were a match made in heaven in the last days of the Hawaiian holiday. With more customers entering the store, Jane sang out for her mother, who happened to be bringing out more stock, if she would take over the register, so Jane could spend more time with her good friend Pandora. Jane’s mother beamed at Pandora and waved madly, before taking an order of roses from a rather tall man with long black hair.
With the shop being manned, Jane threaded her arm through Pan’s and led her over to the little coffee nook, to sit down and catch up with some gossip.
“So, how’s Brock? Ooo and how is the new house coming along? I know you wanted help with the gardens.”
Jane was happy to see her and left the shop in her mother’s capable hands so she and Pandora could play catch-up with their lives. Pandora was surprised when Jane announced that she and Jason were engaged but she was very pleased for the vibrant young woman. She had seen in the news that her ex and her so-called husband had been brought up on several Federal charges and were now spending all their free time in prison. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer couple.
“So, how’s Brock? Ooo and how is the new house coming along? I know you wanted help with the gardens.”
“The house is great actually. I finally got things where they needed to be. The gardens and yard could use some of your TLC though.” she grinned. She glanced away for a moment, a sad look in her eyes at the mention of Brock. “I…don’t really know how Brock is. He’s been gone for the past month.” She linked her fingers together before looking up at Jane. There was a look on Jane’s face that Pandora had never seen before. She looked angry. “No! It’s nothing like you’re thinking. We’re not fighting again. He’s a…soldier and he got called in for…active duty for a war from where he’s…originally from.” She mentally slapped herself. That sounded lame by even her standards but how does one tell someone like Jane about where Brock really is? No, Pandora was better off keeping that to herself for now. “I haven’t heard from him and I don’t know if he’s alive or dead. I’m worried, stressed and sick to my stomach thinking something’s happened to him.”
When Pandora turned away a second, Jane reached over and grabbed her hands, rubbing the tops with her thumbs as she listened to the latest dramas that were affecting Pandora’s relationship. Brock was off fighting a war and had left his love at home. Jane’s lips pouted as she listened, and the girl tried her darnedest to show affection for her friend in need.
“Panny…you poor thing. And here I am blabbing on about my engagement, and you are missing your man.” Jane’s voice was chirpy as always but riddled with compassion. She gave Pandora’s hand a pat with her own and then brightened considerably as she had an idea.
“Why don’t Jason and I come and stay the weekend and work on your garden, and we can have a great time. Take your mind off your worries and stress. Hmm?’
Jane truly had Pandora’s best interests at heart.
“I can get Momma to fill in for me here, and besides, Jason is dying to see you again. You know how you two got on on that holiday. He considers you to be like a sister to him.”
Taking her hands away, Jane waits to hear what Pandora thinks of the idea. All around customers are filling in the doors, and there is a great deal of background noise and babble. Jane’s flower shop is not only a wonderful place to buy flowers, it is also a bit of a social hub.
Just then, a booming voice is heard across the room, and a leather clad bikie entered the shop. Jane’s Momma squealed and ran out from behind the counter. “BERT!….You’re back!”
Bert, was Jane’s older brother. A hardened looking sort, but when he opened his mouth…..
“Momma…Momma! Just got back in from the Texas rally. Duke sends his love!” Bert lifted up his Momma and twirled her around, as he wiggled his fingers at Jane. “Janey! I love your hair. Can you get me a light Mocca milkshake with a caramel swirl…and a bagel. I miss those things.”
Jane squealed and then introduced Bert to her friend.
Pandora was never more greatful to have such a great friend as Jane. She never expected when she went to Hawaii that she would ever make another friend in her life. Jane made an offer of her and Jason coming over to spend the weekend at the house so Pandora wouldn’t feel so lonely.
“I couldn’t ask you to disrupt your lives for me, Jane. I wouldn’t feel right about it.” Pandora tried to argue.
“I can get Momma to fill in for me here, and besides, Jason is dying to see you again. You know how you two got on on that holiday. He considers you to be like a sister to him.”
“Jane…” Pandora sighed. Jane gave her the cute baby look that got her anything she wanted and not even Pandora was immune. She sighed. “Okay, fine. I’d enjoy the company.” she smiled.
Jane was about to reply when a booming voice and the excited chattering of Jane’s mother caught everyone’s attention. Pandora looked over to see a large man engulfing Jane’s mother in a hug of epic proportions. Then he spotted Jane and asked for a milkshake, striding over and pulling the perky blonde into another hug.
The two turned to look at Pandora, who had an eyebrow arched in amusement. Despite the man’s rough exterior, he had the same expression on his face that Jane was currently sporting. It was a far-gone conclusion they were related.
“Panny..meet Bert, my brother!”
“Pleasure to meet you, Bert.” Pan grinned, holding out her hand. “I heard you were at a rally? What kind of wheels you ride?”
Handed his milkshake by one of the staffers in the Flower shop, Bart beamed when asked what kind of wheels he rode and what was the rally about. Moving to the table where Jane and Pandora were sitting, he placed down the milkshake after taking a sip then politely answered Pandora’s questions.
“Harley fat boy. Had it for years and she still rides sweet. The rally was one for the Hospital up there in Texas. Ride for charity for the cancer kids. We raise thousands of dollars on the ride across the states, and then have a big picnic fun day for the kids and staff at the hospital.”
His harley was parked out side, and it was a beaut. Bert’s pride and joy. Taking a sip of his milkshake, he asked. “So you’re a friend of Jane’s?’ It was a reasonable question, as he had not met Pandora before. Jane got up and reached for his bagel and then placed it before her brother.
“We met on my doomed Haiwaiin holiday. She’s a bike enthusiast too!” Jane said with a lot of pride.
“Oh? That bike out the front was yours?’ Now it seemed Pandora had made a new like minded friend, when it came to machines. “She’s a beaut.”
When Bert stated what kind of wheels he had, Pandora had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from drooling. Harley Fat Boys were simply gorgeous pieces of art. The horsepower alone was enough to make her want to cream her jeans. He explained about the rally and how the money raised was used for the hospital children’s cancer ward. She comended him on doing such a worthy cause.
He wanted to know how Pandora knew his sister and Jane explained how they met in Hawaii and the fact that Pandora was a bike lover herself. Bert looked intrigued.
“Oh? That bike out the front was yours?”
“Yep!” Pandora grinned. “A 1998 MV Agusta F4CC. Built her engine myself. She’s my pride and joy.”
“She’s a beaut.” Bert agreed.
“Had a bit of a bad moment some months ago. Bad crash, had to rebuild her frame and exhaust system. Scared the hell out of me. Only one man I trust to touch my baby and it’s a sad thing there’s only one motorcycle repair shop in this whole damn town. Looking to open my own shop soon. Just haven’t found the right place for it.”
Bert was very interested to hear Pandora’s tale about how she had a bad crash on the bike outside. To look at it, you wouldn’t have ever believed that it had fallen over, let alone been nearly written off. A complete rebuild of the frame and exhaust would have been a great deal of painstaking work. A true mechanic took care of Pandora’s baby and Bert nodded in agreement that there was only one decent repair shop in town. When she said that she was looking to open her own shop, and that she had yet to find the right place, Bert suddenly brightened.
“I happen to own a large industrial complex that has a vacant section, ideal for your needs. The guy that had it before ended up having to move his business out of state due to family issues. A divorce or something. Anyways, the rent is pretty fair, and it has enough power to meet the needs of a bike shop. Plus…I happen to know that you would get a flood of customers, since…well, I could use someone talented to take care of my Fat Boy. What do you say?”
Jane was practically bouncing in her seat at the idea.
“Panny….that sounds like a great idea. Bert is a great landlord, and his biker group would be your first customers. Think about all that leather and chrome.” Jane was more enthusiastic than Bert. Bert stared at his sister oddly.
“Since when did you have a leather fetish?’
“Err…..I hung out with your pals…it…happens.”
Bert chortled at the idea of his sister being a biker babe. “You just stick to the Doctor. By the way, how is Jason?”
Jason and Bert had become good friends since he hooked up with Bert’s sister Jane. “He’s overworked, as usual. But I am going to twist his arm so that we can spend the weekend at Pandora’s.” She gave Pandora a wink cause she knew this had been discussed.
Bert finished off his bagel, then stood up with his milkshake in hand. “I’m going to talk to Momma before I head back home to do some cleaning.” He then offered his hand to Pandora. “Nice meeting you, Miss Pan.” He left one of his business cards with Pandora, so she could contact him later about the shop space in his lot.
“I happen to own a large industrial complex that has a vacant section, ideal for your needs. The guy that had it before ended up having to move his business out of state due to family issues. A divorce or something. Anyways, the rent is pretty fair, and it has enough power to meet the needs of a bike shop. Plus…I happen to know that you would get a flood of customers, since…well, I could use someone talented to take care of my Fat Boy. What do you say?” Bert stated. Pandora stared at him in surprise as he handed her his business card.
“Thank you!” she told him. “I’ll definitely think about it.” She slipped his card into her jeans pocket as he went off to speak to his mother. She looked at Jane with a grin on her face. “Your brother is something else.” she complimented her.
——
Once Upon A Time Baby Store
And just like that, the conversation was over. Simone and her friend left the store, Simone holding the business card Jim had given her. Once they were gone, Jim looked at Tom, who was looking a bit sad at the way the talk had ended.
“I got carried away again, didn’t I?” Thomas stated in a morose tone. It broke Jim’s heart.
“I’m sorry, babe. I was just trying to be realistic. We know absolutely nothing personal about her and she doesn’t know us. I know you want a baby badly. I do as well. But we have to do this right. I do not want repeat of last time. It nearly killed us.” Jim explained, wrapping his lover in his arms for a comforting hug. “I didn’t mean to upset you.” Jim sighed, pressing a kiss to Tom’s lips, letting him know he was not angry with his lover.
“You …wanna go get a bite?…A coffee?” Tom sighed. Jim hated seeing him so down in the dumps and he took his hand, giving it a squeeze.
“Tell you what…I’ll take you to that French restaurant you like so much and you can have anything off the menu you want. Even those expensive oysters you keep drooling over.” Jim stepped close, wrapping an arm around Thomas’s waist. “Then we can go home and…” He whispered something down and dirty into Thomas’s ear, hoping to put a grin on his partner’s face.
Jane couldn’t help but agree. Her brother Bert was a real original. All rough looking but beneath it all he was a cuddly teddy bear, who would help anyone he could. Watching Pandora pocket the business card, she smiled. “He’ll give you a good deal. I know it.”The bubbly blonde smirked as she heard her mother whoop at being picked up in a bear hug by her son. He was much like his father in a lot of ways, and keen on showing affection any way he could. Jane’s family were like that. Close knit and incredibly loving.
The register continued to chime, as more patrons entered the doors. The newest batch of roses was a huge hit and Jane was selling them at a reasonable price per bunch.
Jane took out her cell and asked Pandora for her address, so that Jason and her would be able to find it easily without getting lost.
“I’m so excited to see your new home, Panny. We are going to have a wonderful time this weekend, with me in your garden, and Jason cooking in your kitchen.”
Once Upon a Time Baby Store
How could Tom possibly stay pouty when his lover kindly offered to take him to his favorite French restaurant. His eyes lit up at the thought of devouring a dozen oysters in the ambiance of a classic french setting with classical music being played in the background. Thomas was something of a hopeless romantic at times.
Feeling Jim wrap his arms around him, and then kiss his lips softly, there was no way he could remain in a dour mood.
Not only that, Jim was happy to take him home afterwards for some afternoon delight.
“Race you to the car!” Thomas said in a voice loud enough to be heard by the sales people in the baby store. Who would have known that the way to a man’s heart was…well…you guess the rest.
Outside Once upon a Time
Simone watched as the gay couple went out of the store and then headed off to the car park where they had their car. She was concerned about how keen Thomas was over wanting to adopt her baby. The idea to adopt the child out had just come to her, then and there. It all felt a bit overwhelming when Thomas looked like he was going to jump at her and shake the baby out of her body.
Rubbing her hand over her small swollen belly, she went to get in Ame’s car. Ame had been really kind to Simone, considering everything that had happened, and letting her stay at her home for the duration of the pregnancy. Time would tell of course just how that would go. Could Simone ever behave?
Getting in the passenger side door, she closed it with a click and threaded the seat belt over herself.
“Lunch then?” Simone asked, ready to enjoy some Italian fare.
Welcome to the home of The Marulos, one of the richest families to ever come out of Europe. The estate covers a very large area as not only Count Virgo Marulo and his wife, Elvira and their 4 children live here, but they also house Virgo’s entire werewolf pack. There is also a smaller house on the grounds of the estate where their only son, Damion lives with his Alpha mate, Sam Malone (who built both the mansion for The Marulos and the smaller house for himself and Damion).
Clan Name:
Lupus Sarcina
Alpha:
Virgo Marulo
Beta:
Elvira Marulo
(A succubus demon, but the acknowledged Beta of the pack)
Next in Line:
Dominique Marulo (their eldest daughter)
Clan Motto:
“Integer ante omnes” (Translation: “Family Before All Others”)
The day was a truly warm one, as the summer sun beat down on the pool area that was at the back of the newly built Marulo estate. Doing laps for the past hour, Virgo was freestyling back and forth, much like an Olympic swimmer, with precision as he went through the tumble turns and back again. The water glistened as it lapped the sides of the pool where Gerald stood faithfully – towel at the ready. Finally Virgo made the last sweeping turn and came back to touch the other end, pleased to having had a good work out. He flipped back his hair, as he swam to the side of the pool and clamboured out. Dripping onto the granite tiled flooring, Gerald was at the ready and handed Virgo his towel. Wearing only small speedos, he was typical of his race – packing those speedos like no one’s business.
“Thanks Gerald. Elvira up yet?” He quizzed, wondering if his wife was enjoying her lie in. With the kids now grown they had more time for each other, but Virgo still had his morning rituals and in summer, the day started with a swim.
“No Sir, I believe Sally is checking in on her now.” Gerald had been with the family as long as could be remembered. A proud and valued member of the Pack, he served his Master and Lord faithfully and flawlessly all this time. Virgo gave Gerald a wolfish grin, as he contemplated going up to their master suite and shaking down the excess water on her while she slept. Gerald knew that wicked glimmer and chuckled. “I know that look Sir. Sally would have your hide tanned, regardless of her place.”
Virgo let out a roar of laughter and slapped Gerald’s back. “A man can dream…can’t he?”
Together the two walked towards the patio entrance, where another staffer was ready with yet another towel. Virgo took it with a wink and wrapped it around himself. He had a tight schedule that day and already was famished for breakfast. No doubt Cookie would need to have her wits about her.
“I could eat a horse.” Virgo stated, rubbing the towel on his head.
“Which one, Sir?” Gerald asked with a bemused expression.
“Yours if you’re not careful.”
Again the two men laughed, but Virgo then looked serious. He really was hungry.
As Virgo was going for his morning swim, his long-time wife and mate, Elvira was in fact sitting at the dining room table, enjoying a cup of coffee and a bagel with cream cheese. Some would be shocked by this as Elvira was a born and bred English woman who lived and died by a great cup of tea. But after a business trip to the Americas with her husband, she had discovered the joy that is Starbucks and had become a convert.
She was also a woman who had become enamored of the current styles of American dress. Her old Victorian-style dresses made way for more modern lines, such as knee-length figure-hugging skirts and tight tops that exposed a nice amount of cleavage. Even her husband loved those types of clothes on her and he did everything possible to try and get her out of them, much to her everlasting amusement.
Sally wandered in from the kitchen, a coffee pot cradled carefully in her hands. She leaned in to refill Elvira’s cup as the latter was reading the newspaper. Elvira glanced up briefly with a smile.
“Thank you, Sally.”
“Mhm.” Sally stated, sounding distracted. Elvira looked at her long-time servant over the top of the paper, one eyebrow arched in question.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Sally muttered.
“Sally, how long have you been my servant?”
“Hmm…a couple of centuries now.”
“I can tell when something is bothering you. Spill.” Elvira pointed to a chair, indicating Sally should sit.
“I miss the girls.” Sally stated after a lengthy silence.
“Athena and Dominique?”
“Yes.”
“I miss them, too.” Elvira sighed.
“Have you heard from them?”
“Athena is with her troupe in Russia and Dominique is in Japan. From what she told me when she called the other night, her latest single has gone Platinum.”
“Did you ever imagine she would be so popular with her music?”
“She was a singer in a burlesque club, for Hell’s sake!” Elvira chuckled. “I never thought her voice would get her this far.”
“Neither did I. And Athena…she’s amazing.” Sally sighed.
“All my girls are amazing. It’s hard to play favorites with them.”
“And you shouldn’t have to.” Sally smiled, getting to her feet. There was the sound of male voices coming nearer and both women turned toward the open doors to see Gerald and Virgo talking animatedly between them. Elvira felt her mouth go dry as she looked over her husband’s well-toned physique. The centuries had been VERY kind to her mate. There wasn’t an anounce of fat on him and he looked very enticing in his choice of swimwear. Even her succubus sat up and took notice. The man never failed to make her melt like butter, no matter what he did or wore.
Sally must have noticed the look on Elvira’s face for she swiftly jabbed her mistress in the shoulder with her elbow. Elvira whipped her head around to glare at her, wondering why she did that.
“You’ve got a bit of drool on your chin.” Sally chuckled before she headed back into the kitchen. Embarassed, Elvira grabbed a napkin to wipe her face before she dived behind the newspaper. It would only server her right if her husband had heard Sally’s remarks.
The sound of voices coming from the dining room, along with the subtle smells of a good morning breakfast had Virgo turn sharply towards the Dining room. He could see Sally and his adored wife Elvira deep in conversation. Course, he was still fresh out of the pool, with just a towel around his waist and one in his hand that he used to dry his hair. Virgo was actually surprised that his beautiful wife was out of bed. Tossing the wet towel over his shoulder to one of the staffers, he sauntered in, bare chested and still glistening in places.
“Good morning, Ladies.”
Virgo made a bee line for the delicious spread, while Cookie came in with a tray covered plate of bacon. She gasped as she saw the near naked Count hovering over the danishes. “Sir!” Cookie said abrubtly, the tray in her hand shaking. Virgo looked up, slightly amused and then took the tray from her trembling hands. Had the woman not seen a man fresh out of the pool before. “I’ll take that off your hands, Cookie.” Gerald couldn’t hide his smile if he tried as the poor woman huffed and then didn’t know where to look. “Oh my!” Cookie blustered, while Gerald coughed loud enough with his curled fist near covering his mouth. Virgo glanced over at him and raised a brow. “Shouldn’t you get dressed, Sir?’ Gerald asked, as a flushed faced Cookie went back to the kitchen empty handed. Virgo looked down at his wet towel around his waist, and then tore it off, leaving only the speedos on. He tossed the second towel to the nearest staffer and then looked back at Gerald and asked; “Better?”
Gerald rolled his eyes, as Virgo took a piece of bacon, and took a bite. He then wandered over to his wife, who was sitting so daintly in her chair at the table. Grinning at Sally, he then rubbed his bulge against the back of the chair that Elvira was sitting in, and chortled. “Elvira loves it.” He bent down and nipped at her neck, his breath ripe with the scent of cooked bacon. Knowing that this was likely to cause a scandal he then grabbed the nearest paper, and went upstairs to get dressed for the day, leaving the rest of those in the room to discuss the morning’s news. From the stairs Virgo sung out;
“Love you, hunny!”
All these years, and Virgo was still as cheeky as when they first met.
Coming back down a good ten minutes later, Virgo was dressed in a day suit in black, with matching shoes and a white shirt, with black tie. He had a business meeting that morning, and having showered and looking presentable, he was ready to join Elvira for breakfast. Taking a seat beside her, he reached for the coffee pot and poured himself a cup. Blowing on the steaming brew, he asked his beloved;
Cookie came in with the tray of bacon she’d been dishing up when she stopped dead in her tracks upon seeing Virgo. The woman, after centuries of being their cook had never gotten used to Virgo’s overt displays of sexuality and today was no exception. The woman was simply scandalized and didn’t know where to turn her gaze.
Virgo, as was his usual, took no notice, even going so far as to take off the towel around his waist and tossing it to Gerald. Elvira nearly swallowed her tongue.
“That is definitely NOT better!” she sent to him through their thoughts.
With a grin, he sauntered up behind her, rubbing his lower body against her back and she had to clamp down tight on the urge to turn in her seat and take him into her mouth then and there. Succubus by nature, it was a struggle not to try and shock the watching staff, although they had done that on more then one occasion over the years.
“Tease!” She snarled as he turned and headed to their room to dress for the day.
He laughed as he left the room, calling out to her as he did. “Love you, hunny!”
“Love you, too.” she giggled.
“He will never change.” Gerald chuckled, shaking his head as bent to kiss Sally on the cheek.
“Do you really expect him to?” Elvira wondered.
“Our lives would be boring if he did.”
“Exactly.”
Virgo came back down ten minutes later, dressed immaculately in a three-piece business suit. He had taken to the current men’s fashions like a child in a candy store and had a whole closet in their room with just these types of suits.
He sat beside her, pouring himself a cup of coffee. He made it to his own specifications before looking at his wife beside him.
“Heard from the kids?”
“Mhm. Dominique called me last night. She’s in Japan at the moment. She tells me the tour is doing really well but she’s feeling a bit homesick. According to her schedule, she has one more date in Italy then she’ll be coming home for the US leg of her tour. After I ended the call with her, I got a text message from Athena. She’s really enjoying Russia.” She sighed, thinking about her two girls. She missed them when they weren’t home with her. Elvira was definitely feeling Empty Nest Syndrome. With Damion and Sam living in their own home (even if it was on the estate) and Artemis working daily at the factory…She sighed again. She needed to find something to do before she went stir-crazy.
As always, Virgo was delighted to get news about the children. Long time grown, they had made names for themselves, in entertainment and business which made Virgo a very proud man. The only down side to this, was that they were so far from home. The Alpha knew that his wife pined for the children, as they were the true light in her life. While having two of them close, such as Damion and Artemis; they had some social interaction. Virgo nodded and showed a wide smile on hearing how well the girls were doing. The years had made the world smaller, what with planes and the newest social technology which Virgo was still trying to embrace. It was one thing to look the part in a modern world, but a whole nother thing to understand the changes. He had long ago accepted his son’s choice to be with a man, and this had led to many happy years for the family. Why, his son in law as he liked to call him, Sam Malone had designed the wonderful mansion that they called home. A credit to his talent and skill.
“Dominique is heading back here? Wonderful. Soon as she touches down, we have to have her come stay. Gerald, make sure her old room is ready for her. I want everything just perfect.”
As Dominique was the next head of the family, Virgo always wanted her to know where her true home was. He reached under the table and ran his hand across his wife’s thigh, smirking as he did so, and a light throaty growl could be heard. He was always touchy feely when it came to Elvira. He knew he teased her terribly when he had come in from the pool, but that was something he just couldn’t help. He was just like that around her. Hell, if he could, he would have gone starkers.
Only a text message from Athena? Virgo took out his cell and checked. Sadly, the girl only seemed to text her mother. He stabbed at the device a few times, then grunted. “Can never understand these things.” Virgo tossed the cell on the table with a dull thud, before looking back at his wife. He could tell she was unsettled. He thought for a moment.
“Did you want to come to the office with me today? Get out of the house? I could suggest we go and…make more babies if that would give you something to do.”
Did he really just suggest that? Gerald coughed. “Remember how sick Elvira got last time she had the twins?”
Virgo suddenly remembered and then frowned. He had totally forgotten about that. He then thought some more. Beaming, he asked her; “How about we get involved with the local horse club? I love seeing you ride…” Again with the innuendo.
Sam Malone was now heralded as a man of vision when it came to the types of buildings and houses that he created with his astute mind for detail and passion for the enviroment. Having created the sprawling Marulo house, he went on to make one for his lover and mate Damion, but one that would fit in perfectly with the charm and serenity of the New Hampshire area. Set within the same grounds as Damion’s parents abode, this charming lake side condo had everything a man could ever dream of. With a spacious floor plan, mutiple levels and walls of glass that allowed the outside to come in, it was a jewel in the estate. No expense was spared in it’s creation, and Sam made sure to put his own special touch on the design, but allowed Damion free reign on the interior design and furnishings. Needless to say the result was simply magnificent.
The modern day Sam Malone, had adjusted to the changes that time brought since the heady days of the roaring twenties, when he first met his lover, Damion Marulo. Their love and courtship was sorely tested by the fact that his father; Virgo had a great deal of trouble accepting the pairing. He had hoped that Damion would be the next great Alpha to lead the family pack. That role would fall instead to his sister, Dominique; who was travelling the world in the modern day. A singer with extroidnary talent, she also had the strong will and determination to one day lead the clan to greatness as her father Virgo had done.
This day had Sam in the kitchen, going over some emails on his notepad while he waited for his coffee to brew. Dressed impeccably in a smart business suit, he had to go into town to visit with a new client, who had come all the way from upstate New York to put forward ideas for a new housing developement. The subtle scent of the coffee brewing would be sure to wake his lover Damion from his slumber.
Finishing his emails, he decided to wander down the hall and see if Damion was awake. He opened the door to their master suite and stepped in with a warm smile.
“Dominique is heading back here? Wonderful. Soon as she touches down, we have to have her come stay. Gerald, make sure her old room is ready for her. I want everything just perfect.”
Elvira felt her husband’s hand caressing her thigh, a light teasing growl rumbling past his lips as he did so. She smirked slightly, feeling her skin heat up a few degrees beneath his hand.
“Don’t start something you can’t finish, darling.” she grinned.
As she had mentioned Athena’s text, he yanked out his phone, pressing random buttons. Annoyed, he tossed it across the table, much to Elvira’s amusement. She patted his arm. “Even the best of us cannot understand technology, my love.” she smiled.
“Did you want to come to the office with me today? Get out of the house? I could suggest we go and…make more babies if that would give you something to do.”
“Remember how sick Elvira got last time she had the twins?” Gerald reminded him. Elvira had to agree. Being sick at the levels she had been when pregnant both times was not something she enjoyed. She loved her children, she hated being sick. And she didn’t think she was ready to breed again. The timing was all wrong.
“Virgo, I know how much you’d like a large family, but I’m not ready just yet.” she told him, hoping he wouldn’t be too disappointed.
“How about we get involved with the local horse club? I love seeing you ride…”
She chuckled darkly and squeezed in closer to him, running her fingers slowly along his inner thigh.
“You just love seeing me in tight pants.” she whispered into his ear, her warm breath sending shivers down his spine.
Sally rolled her eyes at the two of them. After centuries and 4 children together, they were still a couple very much in love.
She shared a look with Gerald, the two of them quietly leaving the Marulos to their breakfast.
——
Sam and Damion’s Bedroom
Sam had been awake for much longer then Damion. Damion had worked late at the plant the night before, crawling into bed just after 2 am that morning. He was still asleep when Sam went to check on him.
Laying in bed, Damion was oblivious to his mate’s presence, still deeply asleep. The sunlight from the wide windows blanketed his skin in its bright hues, turning Damion’s skin nearly bronze. He wore no shirt, choosing to sleep in a pair of loose sleeping pants that rode low on his hips. He had an arm thrown over his eyes, instinctively blocking out the light of the new day as his body caught up on the sleep he had been missing.
His father had delegated more and more work to his only son, and Damion, in typical Marulo fashion, had brought the company from the bottom to the top, making it one the most successful companies in the world. But it was taking its toll on him and it was beginning to show. But Damion hated to disappoint his father and was glad that his sister had decided to help him.
As he swam up from sleep, feeling a bit warm beneath the rays of the morning sun, a muffled sound caught his attention, that of a door opening.
“Early bird gets the coffee.” a familiar voice murmured near his ear. With a sleepy smile, he came to full wakefulness, removing his arm from his eyes to stare groggily at his husband/mate. He wrapped an arm around Sam’s neck and pulled him in for a deep and loving kiss before drawing back with a small smile.
“Mmm. Good morning.” Damion murmured, his eyes sliding closed as his body wanted to go back to sleep. “What time is it?” he wondered, running his fingers through his hair.
Out of the corner of Virgo’s eye he could see Gerald and Sally take their leave, so that the couple could speak more freely without being judged. Virgo as always loved to be touching his wife, and his wandering hand had moved further up her thigh till it slipped to the space within them. Teasing lightly with his fingers, he held a bemused expression when Elvira stated that he loved to see her in tight pants. “Pants or not, it doesn’t matter to me. Watching you ride always has given me a thrill. Why, is that not how I first met you? Riding like a wild woman across that open park?” His voice had a lusty edge – a deep sounding tone that was unmistakable, especially to Elvira. But as much as he wanted to tease her about the happy memories of another era, he knew that something was troubling her and had been for some time. He himself was starting to feel like he was behind the times with his own company. Damion in his mind was doing such a fine job as the new CEO, that Virgo was wondering if he too should start looking at a new venture to keep him busy. With those dark hues, he stared into his wife’s eyes.
“I think we both need to explore our options on how to spend our days. Gerald was right about you and being pregnant, as much as I enjoy making our young. Heh.”
Virgo had not aged in centuries, but time was starting to make things difficult. Not having the children on hand also meant that he was longing for something more. Easing back in his chair, though his hand still firmly placed between her thighs, Virgo mused.
“Do you think I have pushed Damion a bit too far with the business? I mean, its such a success, but I wonder if maybe its time I let go and allow the children to shine.” Virgo obviously was feeling a little bit more like Elvira than he had come to realize.
A buzzing came from Virgo’s cell phone as it was just out of reach. The caller name was….”Roxburg.”
Sam and Damion’s Bedroom.
Damion kissed his husband with such love and passion, that Sam couldn’t hold back but return it with his own ignited desire. A minute or two of heavy petting, and Sam finally came up for air. He could see that Damion was still tired after his late night and a tad groggy to boot. Hence the need for coffee. Asking Sam what time it was, Sam answered; “Just before 8am. I am pretty sure your first meeting is at….9am.” Sam it seemed knew Damion’s schedule better than he did. Pulling back, he looked at the clock. “Mhm…you have about an hour to get ready. Want me to go make you some breakfast?” Sam was usually the one to rise and get things ready for them in the morning, as he knew of his lover’s need for sleep. He had been working hard to keep up with his father’s wishes, and Sam worried that Damion may suffer from burnout if he wasn’t careful. Sam went into Damion’s closet and started to hunt for one of Damion’s better suits, leaving his lover to try and wake up some more.
The thunderclap had been heard, and sent a shockwave throughout the command structure at the front. Garbled reports came in and various comms had died in the shockwave. Constantine would merely have to look over to his command staff to know that they had lost a good portion of the five miles. When energy readings had been picked up, the unlucky souls that where within the blast radius had become nothing but ash and sub-molecular matter. A quick death, sufficed his need to understand that the enemy made a very, grave mistake. They would pay, for each Krieger lost, or cooked within the armor of the tanks and siege weapons. He had a plan, however. Turning calmly, without a single shred of remorse, regret, or compassion for their attack, merely seeing it as an attempt to undermine the Guard, he calmly asked “Do We have a comms link to the fleet?”
“Yes, Sir. The EMP wasnt large enough to reach us down here enough to affect all communications inside the command bunker. Your orders?”
“I need you to send a mesage to Xith. The Order will State. ‘Establish Contact with the Captain aboard the Spear of Vraks. Send targetting coordinates to the Skycastle, and the Govermental districts. Long Range Orbital Bombardment, Initiate Operation Hell-storm. Phase 3 of our plan is coming together . Eliminate the Resistance. Send our Nixagris Auxilaries to replace the front lines. Any tank not melted by that blast, I want rearmed and remanned for Combat operations. You have no more than six hours.’ Relay these orders to Viper squad as well. I need a Recon team behind the walls. ” he paused a moment to consider an option that he had not thought of these many weeks. He then said “Send in an attachment of Death Riders to eliminate stragglers. Anyone who crawls outside of that floating fortress. I want their heads on spikes. Dismissed. For the Emperor and for Krieg.”
Charred ash flew to the wind, nothing ever salvageable from it. Tanks melted to slag, were salvaged to be repurposed for ammunition, armor, and battlement fortifications. The Nixagris civilians that had joined the Krieg in the first weeks of its arrival, were ordered to man the front line. A Rather grim visaged Commissar watched over them all, his hand always on the bolt-pistol, just waiting, like that of a hawk, to pick off each and every one of them at the first sign of retreat. Chief amongst these, went not by serial number or a birth name, but only one, which, he was called SturmFeurer. A rather deathly individual, who would rather meet the enemy up close with blades in their throats and grenades strapped to his chest, then to waste his time in a long war of attrition. A very rare circumstance for a Krieger such as himself. He was made, to inspire fear and terror, to make the enemy piss themselves in fear if they ever heard the cackling laughter that would resonate in the air over vox-casted cacophonies of hatred and malice. His baleful watch, with his glowing red lenses that stared demonically from the respirator he wore, stared into the very souls of the men and women who volunteered for this. He waited, patiently, for the enemy to come.
–
-Meanwhile in Loch Trollsbane-
Xith had become hunched over the spent munitions platforms that had carried the missiles to the desired targets, annointing the blessed machines with ungents and oils, blessed in the name of the Omnissiah. Xith meticulouslly pondered his orders as they were recieved via his own aural network, much like that of a highly advanced configuration of data-feeds that, quite literally, almost extended his reality on an information-based level thrice-fold. With a wave of his hand, his augmented brain scanned the orders, halting at the specific part on what he needed to do and send it where. Without hesistation, he finished his prayer on platform 7, before moving swiftly with his retinue of servitors, to descend into the depths of what was once the lochs lake. Upon arrival, he blurted out in a long screech of machine cant, an order, more or less, that the machines willing obeyed. He set out his servitors to adjust the cogitators, the thinking machines of the Imperium, whilst his mechandrites flushed from his robes in their vast droves to the main strategum table. Hololithic images of the battlefield, based upon current Imperial estimations, set forth in a fresco of multi-colored designs to elbaorately give, in almost precise detail, every inch of the field and the precise locations of enemy and friendly positions. He zoomed in on the vid-picts that showed the skycastle floating once more, barely. Xith would begin a long sequence of calculating a ships algorithmic sequences as well as the coordinates to where the skycastles defensive batteries were located, alongside its main reactors. On a secondary objective, he also produced coordinates for the estimated governmental sectors of which were detailed on the emphasis on their destruction.
-Defensive Astroid Belt, shortly after the departure of the Scourge Eagles Chapter-
The Captain of the Spear of Vraks turned his wisened features towards the communications technician of which she had brought on screen the order as well as the issued coordinates. His hooded eyes would stare softly before looking directly ahead through the reinforced glass that made up the bridge. His wrinkled hand came up to his lean features to stroke his white and gray beard.
“You heard the General. Lock targeting matrix’s onto the issued coordinates, keep a distance, be sure we do not break cover. Adjust cogitators to allow for estimated approach on projectiles, be sure the warheads are small enough to not take out civilian locations. Target their governmental districts, be sure I see black craters from here, otherwise you all aren’t fit for service on my ship.” A loud chorus of Aye’s and Yes Sir’s resounded throughout the metallic chamber built within the ship. The fleets ships began to turn sideways, allowing their guns to take aim. Within the bowels of the ship, slaver gangs pushed their workers to load the larger than life shells into their chambers. The defeaning thrum of the plasma cores within the ship shot out energy pulses, large enough to power an entire continent for several hours. The rounds thundered with a cacaphony of death that of which bellowed forth hatred and righteous judgement on thrusters hell-bent on destroying the Skycastle and the entire government sector of Lorewall. These munitions, from an orbital view, were black, looming masses, encased with fortified plasteel and ceramite to send screaming into the heart of the districts. It took only twelve minutes for the rounds to reach the lower atmosphere, by this time, the populace would see what appeared to be astoroids, burning up in the atmosphere. Little stars of light, glistening against the darkened sky of war. if the five munitions were to hit skycastle, it would cease to exist as a pyroclastic cloud of fire would consume the entire land mass, and envelope half of the sky with such concussive force, it would send tremors throughout the land surrounding Lorewall. If the other five mass-reactive rounds would hit the governmental district, the buildings would be consumed in a white light, and a loud cataclysmic boom would send a shockwave, breaking everything glass within a twenty five mile radius.
The Fleet, as soon as the shells were fired, would begin to rotate back to defensive positions, leaving a tight, inter-locked formation, much like a layered shield, behind the asteroid belt. The Captain watched the screen carefully, watching the orbital feed of where the rounds would hit and how far the explosions would decimate Lorewall. It was considered close to the friendly lines, simply for the fact that these munitions were made for the exact purpose of ship to ship, anything else, left holes miles wide and deep in the crust of the planet.
Constantine, only few seconds before the order was given to send a salvo of munitions into the Skycastle and the Government districts of Lorewall, would move to address his command staff. “They have not learned, exactly how far I am willing to go, to give them Salvation. It is my duty, and my honor, to grant them either the Emperors Grace, or His Mercy. This Planet will be the Imperiums, for the sake of all Humanity, Chaos will die here before it sprouts forth its taint. We are dealing with rebels who our initial estimation of their technological advances were under-estimated. We will not make the same mistake twice. Bombard their lines. I want gore sprayed fifty feet high, and if that doesnt work, put them to the torch. Send the Valkyries in, if they do not budge with our cannon-fire, to drop promethium tanks over their lines, then ignite them. If that occurs, I want you to shut down every other interfering transmission, and broadcast their folly.” He turned a moment as one of the screens kept flashing. It was a transmission, sent to him, and to everyone this side of the planet.
“In this time of war and death, you look into my eyes and see, not a man who is afraid, but a man who is prepared. I am prepared to release our people from the clutches of this menace who treads on our land, who treads on our lives, and who is responsible for the deaths of millions of souls. It is in this selfish endeavour that your fight is futile. What do you fight for? Money? God? Power? None of these is as powerful as the reason why I still stand before you. I fight because of Love, because of Hope, because of responsibility. I stand here before you now, truly, unafraid. Why? I stand here without fear because, I remember. I remeber that I am here, not because of the path that lies before me, but because of the path that lays behind me. I remember that for thousands of years, we have fought to preserve alive our people in the face of certain destruction. I remember that for thousands of years, armies have been sent to anihillate us. But after over these thousands of years, I remember that which matters most. WE ARE STILL HERE! We will shake the foundations of your core, from snowy mountain, to desolate valley. This is our message to you…WE ARE NOT AFRAID!”
He stared into the very eyes of the being that showed its face through the comnet. His icy blue hues, rumored to be the very eyes of death itself, took in the image of this particular person. He then stated calmly, almost humored by the bravado. “We now have our secondary objective. Make sure, his head is brought to me.”
“Sir?” Asked one of the adjacent lieutenants.
“This young soul, thinks he can shake the Krieg. Let us show him, what it means to be shaken to death. He says he doesnt fear, but in fact he does. He fears, losing, fears losing everything he holds dear to him. This shows his weakness. We will rend from his fingers everything he holds dear. We will keep him alive long enough to see it burn, and only then, does he have my permission do die.”
The Command staff would move to their respective posts, however Constantine would turn only slightly, his head turning to regard them a moment before he said “One other thing.”
They all stopped in their tracks turning to him again “Yes Sir?” said one.
“Our tech-priests have been picking up Xenos life forms over the surface of this planet ever since we landed. Gather a report and send it.”
“To Whom, Sir?”
“His Holy Inquistion.”
With that they were dismissed. He would move to make way to his quarters. He would begin the long process of removing his armor plating, setting each set upon the armor rack that he had made certain to bring with him. After a while, he would stare at himself in the mirror. Memories flooded his mind, his scars began to have the tug of long pain and suffering he had endured. He would stare long and hard into the glass that had shown him his reflection.His eyes could not stare into his own, choosing to gaze down into the sink. Would move to sit at a chair that had long since been empty, choosing to kick his feet upon the oak finished table, mindlessly toying with a data-slate he held in his hands. His Journal. He would move the stylus to select a voice-recognition sequence, by which he would state his name, allowing it to unlock. As it did so, he moved the stylus to record Audio-to Text, before setting down the data-slate. He would lean back in his chair, placing his hands behind his head, to stare up at the rockrete ceiling.
“Jounral Entry Number 57291-9. It has been two months since landing here on this planet. Seven months since departure from Base. And, seven years without…Incident…” he paused a moment before clearing his throat “In the time I have been here, I have done exactly, as I would have imagined my men doing. I have walked, marched, battled, and lay Siege to the people of this planet. They have proven to me formidible, rivaling almost our own methods. Its, almost disturbing, to see that we are fighting our own ignorant kin…A planet, a long way from Terra..A Planet where, it is as though they are our opposite…As if they cling so needily to their ideals of safety and love and freedom, but yet have no actual experience with what is out there. They are not like that of the Tau, nor as souless as the Necron..But, they are, Human..Genuine Human…Some times I wonder, exactly, how much we have changed since our origins on Terra..Sometimes I wonder, when we will achieve our final Victory to our birthright..I dream of it, I dream of standing on that final battlefield…And facing our last foe…I dream of one day, walking alongside the Emperor…A Human being, worthy of fighting alongside him, where millenia ago I could not..And though sometimes even then, I wonder..I wonder what he would do were it he walked from the Palace..Were he to, lead his armies again…” he paused a moment, he felt a tug at his heart, this, strange emotion. One could call it sadness, others, acceptance, but never desparity “Maybe though.. One Day…One day I will go and be by his side..And when that day comes…Well, I wish the best of my men, and for them to have the glory they justly deserve. And by then, I hope to be graced with the honor, of Leading them once more. From the ashes of my cowardice kin, rose the pheonix…The 901st…A Siege Regiment that shall reclaim its lost glory, with bloodied hands and beaten faces, to triumph over the fallen enemy…With this, I will make one last remark..”
“I pray to Him on Earth, that there will be an end to this war, where their ignorance is no longer there, and that they, will surrender peacefully, so that we may no longer slay our brothers and sisters…And that they, may become children of the Emperor..In both War, and Peace.”
With this, he would make the statement of End Script. The Data-slate clicking to confirm its memory saved the entry into the long line of logs. Constantine, for the faintest moments in his entire life, felt that he was Human, and not just another statistic waiting for the munitoriums charts of troops.
Location : Scene opens – Below the Ruins of the Meeting hall – Lorewall.
Billy led the way down the shaft that was alongside the original nesting site for the baby bebilths to the JACK’s Hanger. This was specially constructed by King Carrendar who was Izu and Sora’s older brother. Few knew much about King. He was the son of Ergo and Lore in the early days long before recording. It was King that had altered the JACKs from the original steam punk workings that was used for the first ever JACK back in the days of Lacardis. The project was abandoned after King had decided to explore the stars, leaving the JACK army to sit idle while the years passed. Little did anyone know, that Billy had discovered the JACK hanger quite by accident and in the years of his youth, he came to learn a great deal about robotics and the JACK’s construction thanks to the many recordings that King had left behind. It was one of Billy’s favorite places in Lisega. One where he could be undisturbed amongst a massive steel spider army that had not been called into use, since the Meeting halls destruction. Now, the time had come for the JACK’s of old to rise once more. To defend Lorewall as it was designed too. The only thing was that many would be operated by Lore’s grandchildren.
Seven had seen the hanger before. When he and Luna were with Conan on their way to find Charlotte who had been on the trek to the Summit. So when he entered the massive hanger, a bright smile appeared on his boyish features. They were just the way he remembered them. Row upon row of gleaming steel. As far as the eye could see. Billy had ran into the hanger door first, and his first port of call was the observation deck and control panels. This overlooked the Hanger and gave a birds eye view of the entire JACK army. There were thousands of them. With only fourteen of Charlotte’s children, Billy knew he would need more pilots. It was a big ask, but he did it anyways. Turning to Seven, he asked.“Contact the spire. Get ALL the children here. I doubt the Spire is going to be able to withstand the Imperials for long, and if they find a hive of demon kind…it won’t be pretty.” Seven knew that Billy was right, and pulled up his sleeve where he was wearing a comms watch. Tapping in a sequence, one of his brothers came up on the screen.
“Seven…what’s happening? There are incoming reports from the Skycastle…it’s about Uncle Izu….and there is also warnings from the Imperials.” You could hear the urgency and fear in his voice, as the chatter of many children was heard in behind him. Seven knew there wasn’t much time. “Lance, inform all the kids that its time to evacuate from the Spire. Follow the monorail tunnel to the Meeting hall, then take the south passage and meet us at the JACK’s hanger. We are going to need everyone for this. All the kids. Bring the Ettercaps with you for protection. Seven out.” Seven took a deep breath as he could hear a cheer coming from his watch. Clearly the kids didn’t want to be left out, or left behind. Billy was already running through codes, as many of the terminals were coming to life. He ran from desk to desk, ripping off the protection sheaths to reveal an array of highly sophisticated technological equipment. As all the systems were becoming active, you could see row after row of lights coming on down in the main hanger. It was truly an amazing sight to behold. Seven came up alongside Billy, while the other children were taking places at each of the terminals, to learn as much as they could about the JACK’s through tutorials. “Close to four hundred kids are going to be here soon. This place is going to become something of a mad house.” Billy couldn’t agree more. “Then we need to select squad leaders and organize them into sections, to take on various parts of Lorewall.” His tone then lowered as he placed a hand on Seven’s shoulder. “You realize that the Imperials are not going to hold back. Many of us could die.” This was something that Seven knew. Fighting in the JACKs was not a game, it was a real war out there. “I’d rather die fighting for something I believed in, than being massacred in that Spire.” The older Carrendar patted his shoulder, and then went back to work on the terminals.
Within the spire there was a roar of noise as the children of Taru and Charlotte began to move on mass to the monorail tunnels. The fabled Spire would fall silent and be left to those that either conquered Lorewall, or liberated it. As the last of the lights faded the statue of Lorelei glowed in a strange hue that one could not describe. Was her presence still being felt within the bowels of the Spire?
Location : Carrendar Island off the Eastern Coast line.
Appearing out of a black haze was the first of the elder Carrendar sons of Izu. Orson being the first to arrive found himself standing in the kitchen of the expansive home. He immediately started to look for Lady Bunton; who had been with the family since their mother died. A long time friend of Izu’s she made her home on the Island so there was always someone to return home too.
“Janice?!” Orson cried out, as he ran through the house. Lady Bunton appeared from the communication room with tears running down her face. She had intercepted the messages that Izu had sent out to his loved ones – his sons. With all that was going on, it was clear the war had taken a turn for the worse. “Orson?!” Her voice was shrill as she heard him racing through the house. Right on cue, this was when Brock materialized – looking frazzled to say the least. Orson almost ran into him. He grabbed his brother by the arm. “Where’s the others?” He must have thought his brothers – Nigel and Billy would be there. At this point, Lady Bunton reached the pair. “Boys…your father…” Both Billy and Orson turned to face Janice, who looked stricken. “What about him? Where is he?” The words she was about to say, would leave each in a state of shock. “Skycastle.” Brock was the first to cry out. “NO!” He had been led to believe that his father was not on it. Racing off to the communications lab, he left Orson behind with a sobbing Lady Bunton. Orson brought her into his arms, and cradled her as she cried.
In the communications lab, Brock ran to one of the terminals and started to type in a code to access all messages and found the symbol for Sky castle. A new one was just being aired and Orson along with Lady Bunton came in behind Brock as it played.
“In this time of war and death, you look into my eyes and see, not a man who is afraid, but a man who is prepared. I am prepared to release our people from the clutches of this menace who treads on our land, who treads on our lives, and who is responsible for the deaths of millions of souls. It is in this selfish endeavour that your fight is futile. What do you fight for? Money? God? Power? None of these is as powerful as the reason why I still stand before you. I fight because of Love, because of Hope, because of responsibility. I stand here before you now, truly, unafraid. Why? I stand here without fear because, I remember. I remember that I am here, not because of the path that lies before me, but because of the path that lays behind me. I remember that for thousands of years, we have fought to preserve alive our people in the face of certain destruction. I remember that for thousands of years, armies have been sent to anihillate us. But after over these thousands of years, I remember that which matters most. WE ARE STILL HERE! We will shake the foundations of your core, from snowy mountain, to desolate valley. This is our message to you…WE ARE NOT AFRAID!”
“DAD!” Orson cried as Lady Bunton brought her hands up to her chest. The last she had heard he had gone down with the Skycastle. “How is that possible? I heard him give a farewell message to you boys. He’s alive?” She was stunned and then let out a laugh like a woman about to lose her mind. There was no mistaking that she had loved Izu for many years, and treated the boys as her own. Though not a bebilith like her charges, she was the next best thing. Brock turned to his brother and Lady Bunton. “Dad’s right, we are still here, and by Mazmezz we are going to fight. We are not going to be afraid. Time to suit up and join this war.” Orson didn’t need to be told twice, he was already getting ready to go pilot Arachnea Two. This left Janice behind with Brock. It was then she noticed the heavy scaring on his face and she looked confused. “Brock, what happened to your face?” She reached out to touch it, only to have him try to brush her hand away.“It’s nothing..please we don’t have time for this.” Janice wouldn’t budge on it. “You can heal, regenerate. These scars look old. Why? Something happen on that planet? What of Pandora?” At the mention of Pandora, Brock took Lady Bunton’s hands in hers. “I made a huge mistake, and this is the price for that. Pandora will be fine. I just hope I get to see her one last time…” You could hear the pain in his voice, as he hated having to leave her behind the way he did. Lady Bunton squeezed his hands tightly with her own. “You will, Son. You have too.” Brock bent forward and kissed the top of Janice’s head, before he himself ran for his own ship – Arachnea One. All the Carrendar children regardless of age and distance were joining the cause. All were to fight for the freedom of their world, to save it from annihilation.
Janice was left behind in the communications lab. She would be the eyes and ears of the Carrendar as the two elder boys prepared their ships for take off. Would this be their last ever mission? As Brock entered Arachnea one, he took out of his pocket a picture of Pandora and brought it to his lips. “I will come home to you, Pan.I promise.” he said softly, before putting on his flight suit. In Arachnea two, Orson was smiling. It had been a long time since he flew the ship created by his father all those years ago. “I’m home, baby. Let’s show Lorewall what you can do.” The intercom buzzed as Lady Bunton’s face appeared. “Good Luck boys….make your father proud. In Nemeaus, we trust.”
Location : Lorewall City streets above the Spire.
A black hooded being pushed off the sewer lid and tossed it across the road before emerging from beneath. The face would be obscured by the cloth but her voice was unmistakable. In the time from when she and Sora had left the Spire to go out in search of the Tarantula promised by the War factory, she would be unaware that her and Charlotte’s children had abandoned the Spire to join the JACKs army with Seven and the others. Not even looking back, Taru sung out. “Come on, Brother. We don’t have time to waste.’ The streets were already deserted, and there was a heavy stench of smoke and ash in the air from the downing of the Skycastle. Raising her head, she could see the Skycastle was once again airborne.“Well I’ll be.” she said, with something of an amused expession. “And here I was thinking that ship was toast. Seems our brother and his crew weren’t about to give up and die.” Once her brother made his way up and out of the sewer tunnel, they would make tracks for the last location of the War factory. “Larry better have that Tarantula ready or we are already the walking dead.”
Location : Skies above the battle field of Lorewall – North
A loud humming sound would be heard followed by the errie noise of gears and pistons before the outline of a massive air ship would come into view over the Imperialist held land of the Lorewall borders. Captain Fairweather’s timing couldn’t have been worse. Coming up and onto the deck, she could see the devastation below, and in the distance, the fires of Lorewall where the city had already come under attack from a ground assault. Glancing up at the sky, she could see the tear. Why to God could no one else see it? Holding onto her feather plumed hat as she righted herself after the ship was jolted by the sonic boom of yet another missle exploding; Amelia checked her row of clocks on the front of the deck. All the clocks showed that this was the point in time that she aimed for. Her only hope was that the Master had not gotten here first. One of her clockwork machinations chimed as it buzzed about her, speaking in a dialect only she could understand. She nodded as another set of droids lowered the rope ladder into no man’s land. “I know what I am doing, crazy as this sounds. I have to find Constantine…before it’s too late.” Giving her droids a send off, with the tip of her hat, she jumped over the side of her ship, as it soon became cloaked with an invisibility shield cover. The last thing she needed was for her TARDIS to become a target. Slowly, she climbed down into Imperial territory.
KingFalthosHellbore: The battle raged with an unbridled fury. The very earth trembled beneath the guns of the Krieg. Behind miles of razor-wire and mine laden expanses of no-mans land, stood gun-nests that stared out across the fog that rolled across the battle-field. Infantry, armed with either their las-rifles or trench-shotguns, moved almost casually amongst the lines. Hydra flak-cannons scanned the air, seeking targets to shoot down with such fury that it would pepper the sky in darkness. Constantine stood to the open air, the skulled visage of the Krieg General glared almost ominously across his lines. He had made sure to errect rockrete fortifications, almost maze-like in their design, to confuse the enemy and to discourage a land assault, for fear of great casualties that would most certainly give them the advantage. He stared out a moment, before his rasping voice thrummed from the vox-unit in his mask “Its quiet. Almost too quiet. It appears we have the advantage, they have allowed us to dig in and fortify. A mistake, that will cost them dearly. What do our squadrons report?”
The box officer next to him chimed in almost in sync “No movement. Seemingly an evacuation from Lorewall. Civilian’s mostly.”
Constantine raised his head a moment as if in sudden realization, only to be replaced in deep thought “Evacuation. Why…What do they have…They are abandoning their entire city…For what purpose? Is their fear so great they would rather flee? No…No…Something is amiss. I smell treachery…”
-Frontlines-
The Sturmfeuer would skulk across the ranks of conscripts, like a stalking vulture awaiting for the moment that they decide to retreat or die, to go and do his duties. His crimson colored lenses stared out through the mist, his tattered robes fluttered to the wind, a silent statue, a guardian of war and death. He, alone, executed thirteen conscripts, on charges of cowardice and means to desert ones post. He took the rigged explosives from them, handing the burden equally to the rest.
-Command Center-
Officers scurried about, moving between panel to panel of communication screens, arrays, scans, stratagem feeds, stellar pict-feeds from the fleet, and above all, perimeter defense arrays. A siren began to ring out, blaring red lenses flared angrily as a drone resonated across the rockrete bunker. Many of the officers stopped, staring up at the screen. A lieutenant came into view, his grim scarred features gnarled into a permanent feature of anger and hatred, disgust and revulsion. His voice growled out “On screen.” What came into view was the face of a pilots feed, snapping a shot of what appeared to be a rather primitive craft, floating towards the Kriegers lines.
“Are our cannons in range?”
“Yes, Sir!”
“Any known ordinance carried upon the vessel?”
“No Sir!”
“Life signs?”
“One, Sir!”
“Only one?!” at the mention of this he turned to regard with cold steel eyes towards the officer that spoke to him.
“Yes Sir! One confirmed life form, origin, unknown. The Auspex is unable to detect Human or Xenos.”
“Are you sure? Be damned sure. Because if not, I will sprawl your innards across the command bunker and have the tech-priests make sure you are alive, writhing in pain for one standard terran year. Now, Are you sure?”
“I would stake my life on it in the name and service of the Emperor of Mankind.”
With a grim nod he would speak once more “Alert the General. Tell him he may have a visitor.”
-Topside, near the Bunker-
“This is Constantine.”
“Sir, we have sightings of a primitive vessel, one confirmed life-sign, origin unknown, auspex readings are off the charts. Hydra cannons are on Stand-by. Awaiting your orders, General.”
He stared upward, instinctively moving his hand to adjust his power claws a moment before he said “Brave, or Foolish. We will find out soon enough. Give the being permission to land, on my location.”
“As you command, so shall it be, General.”
“Constantine out.”
His communications officer turned towards him, almost questioningly. He did not even have to look towards him as he answered the unasked question.
“I do not know. However I doubt the enemy is stupid enough to try this petty suicide. They are smarter than that. This, is merely a delegation. The least I can do is hear the words spoken. And maybe then, I will be entertained.”
A communication was sent in the direction of the craft. “Unidentified Craft, you have clearance to land at these coordinates. Be warned, you were dead when you entered our sights. Make the best of your life.”
<E>
No mans land – North Lorewall
CharlotteCarrendar: – Captain Amelia’s boots hit the broken earth with a dull thud as she released the rope ladder that she had used to alight from her vessel. The clockwork droids up on the main deck reeled in the ladder and it soon vanished from sight. Adjusting her hat so it sat on a jaunty angle, Amelia surveyed her surrounds. It was far worse than she had imagined. Black earth, tumbling clouds of smoke and ash. The air was ripe with the scent of death. Charred and disfigured bodies littered the ground along with that of many a horse. Tanks that were blazing wrecks and towers that were nothing more than broken and bent shards of metal. Amelia’s face crumpled at what she saw. Was she too late?
It was clear that the war had taken many lives on both sides. Starting to walk northward, her boots would crunch down over the bones of the deceased. Some had been blown beyond recognition, fire having eaten away at their flesh. After walking a few more paces, she spotted a burnt cloth that was still fluttering from the ground. Crouching slightly she tried to pick it up. It was a Neumauen flag, half of it having been burnt. She smoothed the fabric with her hand and then raised it in the air, before letting the wind catch it. As though an unseen hand took it, the remnant simply floated off into the air. A symbol perhaps.
A buzzing sound came from Amelia’s wrist, and she flicked on the comms. “Incoming…”
“Unidentified Craft, you have clearance to land at these coordinates. Be warned, you were dead when you entered our sights. Make the best of your life.”
Amelia’s head was bowed as she heard the communication. The voice was unmistakable. Lifting her chin ever slightly, Amelia responded.
“What is life? What is death? All I know is that time is eternal. I wish only a brief few moments of your time, Constantine.” Yes, she said his name. Her voice had a certain British sound to it. She kept walking as she lowered her arm, and no doubt she believed he could still hear her.
“You think the enemy is on the ground. I hate to say this, but what you are about to face is far greater than anything the Emperor has come up against before. Not Xenos, nor demon. I come with a warning, one I hope you will heed.”
She then stopped in the middle of the field of death. Dressed like that of a Fifteenth century pirate maiden. Tall knee high boots, and a fancy frilly bustier and petticoat, covered by a crushed velvet coat. Curly red hair sat upon her shoulders. She wore twin steam punk styled revolvers, and in her hand…a simple looking metallic screw driver.
<3>
KingFalthosHellbore: – As the craft came to land, his eyes had stared hard and long at the primitive vessel that he had allowed to live. His boots crunched beneath the earth, indiscriminately stepping onto the bones of the dead. He halted short. His six foot, broad muscled features were seen beneath the armor he wore, as well as the gothic regalia he wore. What she would find lacking, would be medals, perhaps a laurel to distinguish rank and office, but no commendations, nor medals, awards, nothing. Stripped as if almost bare of anything more than rank. His hands remained at his sides, the metal gauntlets thrummed with power, as if waiting to unleash the power-wreathed talons that remained dormant in their casings. His voice resonated first with a click, signalling that he was to speak.
“You are brave, to come here. Life is in the service to the Emperor, and only in Death, does Duty End. We have seen the enemy, and we remain vigilant. I will hear you out, merely for humor of your brave decision. You clearly have not come to fight me, therefore I have the right to not execute you were you stand.” he turned his head, with a nod, letting his retinue know to withdraw a respective distance. As they withdrew silently, their eyes never leaving the stranger, they vanished into the fog. He turned his head back to regard the woman.
“What, Great enemy, seeks its Death this day? And being as you seem to know quite a lot about what we have faced, then prey tell, What exactly is more fearsome, then the Demonic, or the Xenos that corrupt this soil?”
<E>
CharlotteCarrendar: – Watching with eyes the purest shade of green, the man she had traveled across the spanses of time appeared before her, his own boots breaking the very bones of the dead just as she had done. This was no man’s land. It was a place where the leaders of sides could discuss the battle plans, but this was not about the battle for a nation, but rather….for the very universe itself. Of course, Captain Amelia bore no medals, or ribbons of honor. She had not ever taken anything from the worlds she had visited but knowledge. She regarded the oncoming figure of Constantine with a somewhat gentle expression. While he was intimidating, with both size and the ever present hum of his metal gauntlets, Amelia kept her own feeling buried, for this was not about her.
“Be it bravery or sheer stupidity, it is my duty as a time lord to warn the unsuspecting when danger has reached a point that is obviously beyond their level of understanding.” She was not trying to belittle the Commander, but more or less exercise her point of standing in such a precarious position. Listening to the man speak of what possible great enemy could be far greater than the demonic or Xenos, the Captain merely raised her arm and pointed with her finger to a large black halo image in the sky.
“I understand that you have a war to win, Constantine, but what if I were to tell you, the war was lost far before you had even begun.” If he had seen the tear for himself, be that this may have been the first time he took notice, he might take the Captain more seriously.
“I have been to this same planet many hundreds of times, Constantine. This planet or what you are experiencing now, is actually not at all what it seems. The very same planet exists on another plane of existence that is not suffering war…or the threat of invasion. A tear in time, my friend. There is a man…or rather one that seeks to destroy…all of time. That tear…is the beginning of the end of your universe.”
Amelia stared at the Commander, and waited for his reaction. Would he believe her?
<3>
KingFalthosHellbore: – He heard her speach. Granted, his stoic expression that lingered behind his mask, unamused and unimpressed would simply stare, as if a machine to the same monotonous task repeated time and time again. He would move to remove his mask, the skulled visage falling from his pale features, as duel-scarred and yet as stoney as they appeared, his features were hardly a grim expression. His blue-ish grey eyes, almost as mirthless as the surface of the planet he hailed from, stared to her. He would begin to walk closer, almost coming within arms reach with her. His voice uttered out in, what a primal, unbridled force would speak as, like that as if the very elements themselves communicated through his voice “Look around you. War, is Everywhere. You speak of separate planes, alternate universes. Madness. However. I am not in a position to not believe ones madness. I have fought, and killed both enemy and kin. Do you know, the debt we all carry from birth? We owe the Emperor a blood debt. You dare come to me, to tell me there is a greater enemy than those that betrayed us millenia ago? You come to my doorstep, proclaiming apocalyptic madness, and expect me to believe it?”
He stared long and hard into her eyes, as if a predator seeking its prey. He then would say “Who are you? And what Enemy do you speak of. What man, is capable of such power and why hasn’t he been destroyed?”
<E>
CharlotteCarrendar: – The Captain approached the Commander, with her head held high. She had lived a long time, met with all manners of men, leaders, Gods, or those who proclaimed to be…and had even met the Emperor himself. Amelia listened to the Commander speak at her as though she was being disrespectful, even though she truly wasn’t. When he had asked her the question she knew was coming, she then stopped bare inches from his face.
“I am Captain Amelia Fairweather. I am…a Time lord. I existed long before you, and will so, long after you are gone. Even the Emperor knows my name, as I do yours.” She stared him down, no trace of humor or even emotion on her face. He would see her for exactly what she was; a guardian of time.
“The man I speak of is known simply as the Master. He has been to the other planet that carries this name, and he seeks to bring about its end. Why? Because he is the corrupt. He has no leader, nor does he care for the whims of any people or government. He seeks to watch worlds burn, regardless of who is responsible.”
Pointing up at the tear, which in behind had nothing but a sheer black discolouration, the Captain then looked back at Constantine. “That is what he has been waiting for. The rift has been opened, and it is getting bigger. While you wage war in the Emperor’s name, the Master is waging war on you all!” The last part was said with an almost impassioned plea. Amelia’s face became grim. “I came simply to make you open your eyes, Constantine.”
<3>
KingFalthosHellbore: – With her last words he turned on heel and began to walk away. He had heard enough of her prattle to last him a life-time. However, he stopped. Almost as if ordered to a halt. He turned his head slightly back to regard her “You met with the Emperor…” he said, his voice, for a moment, softened. His head bowed slightly, however, not so much as to regard reservation. “Tell me then, Amelia. Do you think, that he could forgive my kin, for their misdeeds, during the Heresy?…Do you think, that were he here, standing with us, to lead us into battle..Do you think, he would smile upon us?” His question was personal, however, He turned more to regard her “We have fought. Endured for thousands of years, by Faith alone. The only thing we seek, is to die in his name. To repay the blood debt we owe, to use our lives in Service to Him Enthroned on Earth. You came here, to open my eyes. Tell me then, Captain..Why do you call upon his Sons?” He would stare at her, as if they were the only to people here on this planet. His stature still stood strong, but rather, he felt humbled, almost touched by the mere thought of this being, this woman, whether her words proven blasphemous or truth, told him of the Emperor.
“We came to liberate this planet. Called upon by the Scourge Eagles to serve in glorious battle, to free this planet from its Demonic taint and to restore balance and order. This, Master you speak of. He is a threat if what you say is true. If a power like this is to be taken down, then through unity it will have to be brought. As much as I loathe this, and as much as my very blood seems to revolt against what my very soul tells me to do, I will stand down and unite against this Master. And I will be ready, with his death in my hands.”
<E>
For this piece:
CharlotteCarrendar: – At first Amelia was dissapointed to see Constatine turn away from her. Had her words all been for naught? But as she was about to just let him walk back to his units, he stopped. Her brow creased as he looked over his shoulder. A second thought perhaps. “You met the Emperor..” Amelia nodded twice, and her face remained unmoved. Was he now beginning to understand that she was far older than she looked. Few are granted audience with someone like the Emperor. Constantine then had a series of question, his curiosity had been heightened now. This was a moment in his life he may well not forget. She listened. Like a child, he opened up to her in the way that was almost endearing. Genuine about what she knew, what she felt the Emperor would feel about his Krieg, his children. In effect that is exactly what they were. They lived their lives to die for him, to fufill the blood oath, and to be of service to see the Emperor’s right to rule live on through the ages.
“You ask me why I call upon you, Constantine. It is simple. You are a son of the Emperor. If there is anyone on this earth that can fight against a true evil than it is you all. While the Xenos would easily be tricked by the Master’s games and offers to appease to their core values; debauchery and corruption, the Krieg would see through such attempts.”
At this point, Amelia approached Constantine in a totally different light. He wanted to know what the Emperor would think, what his reaction would be to the countless battles they had fought in his name.
“It would be wrong of me, to say what the Emperor would think. However, knowing him as I did he would smile upon you. You have lived and died in his name for thousands of years.. The ultimate gift to the Emperor, without question. You honor him. You and your brothers.” She said simply.
<3>
KingFalthosHellbore : – Constantine stood for a long period of time in silence, whilst the guns thundered and roared in the background, the dull hum of such power, was only a whisper to his ears. Her words, struck in him a soft point, perhaps the only soft point he ever had known. Though he never saw the Emperor in person, but perhaps in dreams, in thoughts and in prayers, he had longed to fight by his side. To show him, that the 901st had been worthy enough to fight by him, that they, in the end times, would stand with him, and loyally battle the forces of Chaos that sought to consume all known existence. He looked up, and the years seemed to not look so kind upon him. He said, in a voice that was more menacing then when he would shout. He spoke, his voice calm, almost father-like.
“We have Endured. For ten-thousand years, besieged on all sides, from within and outside the Imperium. From Heretics to Xenos, to the Daemons of the Warp. The Imperium of Mankind has endured. From the men I have led, to the lives I have taken. I am reminded of exactly why we fight, and what we fight for…Amelia. My men and I will stand by your side, not for your sake…But for the Emperor. I have faith, that were he here now, He would think of the lives of many, over the selfishness of the few…” he paused a moment, clenching his jaw a few times, almost as if collecting his thoughts. “We will. Take this world. Peacefully, or Forcibly. But we will give it a brighter future, than to fall to the darkness we endured, millenia ago. We will give it a fighting chance, to be a candle light in the darkness, to make way for a future, that the Emperor gave his own life to achieve. We will march to the very end, and achieve the dream the Emperor forsaw. A United Galaxy, Free of the corruption of Chaos and of the Barbaric Xenos.. And I promise, by my hands, and my successors…We will keep, these people safe, from the dangers, Within, And Without…” he would turn his back to her, moving to seal his mask over his face once more, the very same grinning skull visage he wore to battle countless times before. His voice, amplified through the vox-speaker of such a mask, roared into life with his next words.
“Stand down! Reconsolidate within the Command Bunker!” The fog that had surrounded them, came to move way to the massed bodies that all held their las-rifles at the stranger. Hundreds of Kriegers, their very skulled masks glinting in the light with a dull hue that could have only come from fighting as hard as they did. The dark lenses that made for their eyes, peered like that of statues towards the figure, only at the command of the General, did they move to stand down, becoming at ease before shuffling back into the fog of war. Constantine had marched no further, than six feet before he said “If we are to make war with the Emperor’s enemies, You might want to tell our neighbors that they should likewise, understand the importance of this cause. Otherwise, We may very well repay our blood debt earlier than anticipated.”
<E>
CharlotteCarrendar:- From a field on which many a dead man lay with the pounding sounds of artillery and rocket fire, there stood two souls. Both had seen and lived many a life though really it was just one. Amelia could understand without a doubt that the Commander spoke with honest truth to what he had endured and seen over the many years, no..the ten thousand years that the Imperium of Man had fought and won. All in the Emperor’s name. The strong held belief that they paid their blood oath on the rise and fall of ever sun. They did so without regret or ounce of thought for self. It was actually quite profound to hear the Commander speak so openly. Had this been a different time a different place.
She watched him with a touch of melancholy as he turned away and replaced what was his own scarred face with that of the grinning skull mask. All trace of humanity vanishing within the blink of an eye. That was the face his foe would see before they took their last breathe. To be haunted till reaching their maker or cast into the void from which they came.
The Captain had achieved a small win for now. The Imperium would fight along side her when it came to the threat of the Master and the rift in time. Now she had a bigger job ahead. Informing those that were bunkered down in the city and foothills of Lorewall. No doubt they would be harder to talk to. She knew that Xenos existed beyond the trenches, and she also knew that they would be reluctant to just lay down arms after all they had lost so far. Tugging at her hat, which had fallen back slightly due to the gusts of wind and debris that swirled in from the north, she heard the parting words of the Commander as he returned to his post.
“If we are to make war with the Emperor’s enemies, You might want to tell our neighbors that they should likewise, understand the importance of this cause. Otherwise, We may very well repay our blood debt earlier than anticipated.”
“Understood, Constantine. I only hope they are wise in counsel as you have been. In the Emperor’s name.”
She had respect now for him, and for his cause. Hearing the loud whir of her TARDIS as it flew overhead, she reached up and caught the lower rungs of the rope ladder that had been lowered. With a bounce of step she lifted off the ground, and started her climb back up to the massive air ship with large Chinese like sails. On reaching the sides, she swung a leg over and her steam powered droids brought up the rope ladder from below. Taking a deep breath, she put in the order.
With Brock off fighting a war on his home world, his girl Pandora has gone back to work at the Poisoned Tongue Bar. Little does she know that Erica has just found out that Brock’s brother Orson has gone to fight alongside his brother to save their world. Let us join the girls at the Tongue where the city is celebrating the 4th of July. Welcome to Lipstick Lies!
The Poisoned Tongue is the seediest, rowdiest dive bar on the western seaboard. Located in downtown Seattle, the local SPD don’t even bother waiting for a call to come in as they patrol by the place pretty much every night. It’s owned and operated by Cecil Martin, the sleeziest man on the face of the planet. He has a penchant for groping his female employees whenever they are within arms reach. Pandora LaRue is employeed here as a waitress and has had several battles with Cecil about his “ass-grabbing hands”.
Hours of Operation are from 8 am to 4 am, every day.
Please state where your character is located in the bar when you post (i.e. bathroom, bar, table, outside on the sidewalk, etc.)
When Pandora walked into the bar the evening of America’s birthday, she felt as if she’d never left. The sights, the sounds, the smells…it made her feel welcome, and this was the change of pace needed to take her mind off Brock.
She had spent the week since his disappearance working on their house and getting it decorated to her specifications. As he had promised, she had gone to the furniture store with the promised line of credit and had decorated different rooms in the house, making it into a home they both would love. She had even turned the basement into Brock’s “Man Cave”, a showpiece where he could entertain his friends without wrecking the rest of the house. But it was the garage that allowed her to shine.
It was her personal domain and she had enjoyed decorating every corner of it.
“So…you’re back.” a very familiar and smarmy voice spoke from near her elbow. She turned her head and saw Cecil standing at her side.
“Yep.” she nodded.
“You actually here to work or are you taking in the scenery?” he growled.
“Work.”
“You know where the bar is.” he snorted, stomping away. She watched him go with a frown on her face. He hadn’t even tried to grab her tits. She made her way to the bar, Mark spotting her with a smile.
“Well, look at you looking fit, tan and happy! How was Hawaii?”
“Hawaii was fantastic.” Pandora smiled, stepping around the bar to give Mark a hug.
“Well, who put that smile on your face?” Denise stated, wandering over to collect some orders.
“Brock.” Pandora stated, wrapping an apron around her waist.
“What?” Mark gaped.
“Brock came to me while I was in Hawaii and we had a long and overdue talk.”
“So…you and he are back on?” Denise wondered.
“Mhm.” Pandora grinned.
“Well, fuck! I wish a guy would come running after me like that.” Denise grinned, taking up her tray and heading back to the floor. Mark was still staring at Pandora.
“Pan…are you sure about this? I mean the guy did sleep with your best friend.” Mark reminded her.
“I’m sure. There are things about he and I that you don’t know and I can’t discuss them with you.” she added when he looked ready to demand answers. “But his heart is genuine and he loves me. He proved that to me and I trust his word.”
“Well…if you’re sure about this, and I can see that you are, then I’m all for it. But if he breaks your heart again, I’ll rip his balls off and shove them down his throat!” he growled. Laughing, Pandora kissed his cheek and headed down to the tables to work. She was lucky to have Mark in her life.
A few hours into her shift, the DJ came over the PA and announced that the fireworks show the city was putting on was about to start and that anyone who wished to view them should make their way to the parking lot. Even the most die-hard bikers and the most patriotic of the bunch grabbed up their drinks and headed outside. The stars were mere dots in the night sky as everyone, patrons and staff waited for the show to commence.
The first pop sounded and the sky began to light up with fire. The cheers were deafening.
Pandora, Mark and Denise were standing at the door, watching the night sky. Mark wrapped his arms around both women and hugged them close.
“Happy 4th, ladies.” he murmured as someone began to sing “America the Beautiful”.
“Oh beautiful…for spacious skies…for amber waves of grain…from purple mountain majesty…above the fruited plain…”
“Happy 4th, Mark.” they replied in unison as more and more bar patrons began to take up the refrain.
“America…America…God shed His grace on thee…and crown thy good….with Brotherhood…from sea to shining sea!”
“Happy 4th, Brock!” Pandora whispered, staring at the color explosions of lights overhead. “Be safe and come back to me soon.”
The Poisoned Tongue, July 4th celebration Party – After Party
The city may have been celebrating it’s fourth of July, but to a disheveled looking Erica who had finally found her way through the bustling crowd, there was very little to celebrate. After going back to her apartment, to gleefully pack Simone’s belongings, she discovered a note that had been hastily stuffed under the door. The crumpled looking envelope had chicken scratch like writing on it, and the paper was soiled. Erica had gone to read it before she even tackled Simone’s room, and what she read brought her to her knees.
Dearest Erica,
I wish I could explain to you what is happening right now, but that would mean the possibility of losing you completely. I haven’t been entirely honest, about myself, or my brothers for that fact. I got word that I am required to go home. Home…is nowhere near Seattle…or anything remotely close.
I don’t know how long I will be gone…I don’t know…if I will return.
I’m sorry…
Orson.
Erica did pack Simone’s things. Mind you, it took a lot longer than three hours. Half the time she was sniffing and trying to hold back the tears. What kind of man gives a dear John letter with no real reason as to why they up and left? It didn’t make sense. She kept thinking; was this all a game to him? Was their relationship meaningless that he had to lie about who he was? After arranging for Simone’s boxes to be collected by Ame’s staff, she then took the crumpled letter and headed down to the Poison Tongue. For one thing, she wanted to drink her sorrows away, the other – she simply didn’t want to be alone. There were hundreds – thousands out on the streets celebrating. Sharing with their loved ones. That was what Erica wished to be doing, instead she was sitting at the bar in the Tongue, about to order the first of what would be many drinks that night.
Drinking used to be something of a game to Erica and Simone. Tonight, the only drink she would have would be called loneliness.
Glancing around, she could see everyone enjoying themselves. Laughing and singing – being all patriotic. Erica reached into her bag and pulled out her cellphone. On the wall paper was a silly picture of her and Orson in happier times. This just made her all the more sad. She had so many questions. The biggest one, was where was he?
After the fireworks celebration, it was back to work as the patrons made their way back inside. It seemed like the bar was much more packed then usual, but it was simply the vibe of celebrating America’s birthday that had the customers rowdier then usual. It was just what Pandora needed to keep her thoughts off of her missing lover.
The music was jamming, the drinks were flowing and the cash till was pinging like mad as the bar stayed busy. Pandora had just served a group of bikers passing through on their way to the Sturgis Bike Rally in South Dakota, when she turned to see Erica making her way through the crowd. Pandora was stunned at the woman’s appearance. Usually so put together, being a fashion editor and model like she was. Her hair was disheveled and she looked pale and miserable. Was there something wrong with Simone and the baby? Pandora made her way back to the bar, picking up empty bottles and glasses and collecting tips from her customers as she did so. She set her tray at the waitress station, watching as Erica sat at the other end of the bar and ordered a drink.
“Hey, Mark!” she called out over the music. Mark looked up from topping off a Guinness. “I’m taking a break. Let Denise know, will ya?” Mark nodded and went back to his customers. Stripping off her apron and placing it on her tray, Pandora made her way around the bar to Erica. She and the woman weren’t all that close, but she was Simone’s friend and Pandora felt like she owed it to Simone to try and be a friend to Erica.
“You look like you lost your most expensive purse or something.” Pandora stated, sliding into the empty seat at Erica’s side. When the woman didn’t respond, staring morosely into her glass, Pandora nudged her with her elbow. “Want to talk about it? I’m a good listener.”
One of the barmaids had just given Erica a cosmopolitan when she heard someone taking the seat beside her and asking if she had lost an expensive purse. A dark chuckle escaped her lips at the idea of calling Orson a man bag, or expensive purse seemed to hit her funny bone. Reaching for her glass, she took a sip before casually looking side ways and seeing it was none other than Pandora. Brock’s girlfriend, and Simone’s ex bestie. Setting down the glass carefully, she swiveled on the barstool to face Pandora and then said with a sigh.
“I got a Dear John letter from my boyfriend.”
She held up the crumpled envelope, before letting it fall from her fingers onto the bar top.
“Turns out…he was hiding some big secret and had to go home.” Rolling her eyes, she added. “He’s probably married, with a dozen kids on some farm in the middle of Ohio or…somewhere stupid.” Her acid like tongue was going into overdrive, as she was now possibly the “other” woman in Orson’s life.
“I seriously think Simone and I are cursed. First, she gets with Hairy Rock Star turned cheater who knocks up Simmy, then…my own boyfriend is some….alien. I don’t know, none of it makes sense to me.”
More people came to the bar, shouting their orders while Erica just looked frazzled. “To top it off, Ame is back in town and she asked Simone to go live with her, while she sees out the pregnancy. So now I got no boyfriend…no best friend, no flat mate. No one to dump my shit on.”
Toying with the stem of her cocktail glass, she tilts her head and then asks Pandora “You must be peachy keen. Got the man, and he loves you. Probably about to pick you up to go home and make love and….stuff.” Little did she know that Pandora was in a similar boat.
“I got a Dear John letter from my boyfriend.” was Erica’s opening salvo, dropping a crumpled envelope onto the bar top. Pandora blinked in stunned surprise for a moment. That was the last thing she was expecting to hear.
“Orson? Orson broke it off with you?” Pandora’s tone was one of shock. The way Orson had been carrying on with Erica, Pandora had been under the assumption that this was the longest relationship either one of them had been in.
“Turns out…he was hiding some big secret and had to go home. He’s probably married, with a dozen kids on some farm in the middle of Ohio or…somewhere stupid.”
“May I?” Pandora asked, pointing to the letter. Erica gave a shrug and Pandora opened it to read.
…Ah!
Pandora now understood what was going on. Orson must have gotten the call back to his home like Brock had. But how could she explain this to Erica?
Erica continued her pitiful rant as Pandora listened with a sympathetic ear. “I seriously think Simone and I are cursed. First, she gets with Hairy Rock Star turned cheater who knocks up Simmy, then…my own boyfriend is some….alien. I don’t know, none of it makes sense to me.”
Pandora had to swallow a laugh at the mention of the word ‘alien’. Erica didn’t know the half of it and it looked as if Pandora would have to be the one to explain.
“To top it off, Ame is back in town and she asked Simone to go live with her, while she sees out the pregnancy. So now I got no boyfriend…no best friend, no flat mate. No one to dump my shit on.”
And that explained Erica’s disheveled state. The woman was feeling a mite bit lonely. Pandora definitely could sympathize. Erica looked at Pandora, hurt and humiliation plain to see in her eyes.
“You must be peachy keen. Got the man, and he loves you. Probably about to pick you up to go home and make love and….stuff.” Erica snorted.
Pandora chuckled and looked around the bar, spotting her prey.
“Cecil!”
The smarmy bar owner, who was feeling up a new waitress, the naive girl giggling like she was in high school, glanced up at the shouting of his name.
“What?” When he saw Pandora was the one who’d called him, he was pissed. “Dammit, woman! Can’t you see I’m fucking busy?”
“More like busy trying to fuck.” Pandora snorted under her breath, unsure if Erica heard her words or not. “Can it, smart ass! I’m going to borrow your office for a bit!”
“You on the clock?” he scowled.
“I’m on break, you fucker!”
“Don’t take all fucking night!” Pandora flipped him the bird before looking at Erica. “Come on. I think you and I need to have a girl chat. Bring your drink, you might need it.” Pandora slid off the stool and started toward Cecil’s office. It was quiet there and they wouldn’t be overheard with the door closed and the music going.
Cecil’s Office
“Please, sit.” Pandora stated, snatching up an old t-shirt that was haphazardly tossed over the computer monitor and wiping down both chairs. God only knew what Cecil did back here and Pandora wasn’t taking any chances of catching something.
“Erica…About Orson…um…” Pandora began, raking her fingers through her hair. This was going to be harder then she thought. How could she word this without sounding like a complete twat?
“Have you ever…seen, or heard something…that couldn’t be explained as normal?” she started. “Things that on the whole, don’t seem possible?” she wondered, thinking about her own fire abilities. She didn’t know that Ame had revealed her own secret to both Erica and Simone.
Entering Cecils’ office, Erica instantly picked up the scent of foul body odour, old spice cologne and another smell she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Needless to say, it made Erica wrinkle up her nose and purse her lips. Watching Pandora try to clean the seats with an old T’shirt, Erica was actually tempted to just stand. What was it that Pandora wanted to discuss with her that couldn’t be said out at the bar? Maybe she and Brock were having problems again. Course, it couldn’t have anything to do with Simone. Simone was pregnant to Mister Rock God.
“Erica…About Orson…um…”
This was starting to sound ominous. Was Pandora privy to information about Orson that she herself didn’t know? Tenattively taking a seat that had just been cleaned, Erica thought it was safe to put her drink down on the computer desk next to a stack of files. She then crossed her right leg over her left elegantly, and listened to what Pandora had to say.
“Have you ever…seen, or heard something…that couldn’t be explained as normal?”
“Are you kidding? I lived with Simone for five years. I have seen….and heard stuff that would curl your lashes tighter than a lap dancer from Reno.” It was true to say that Simone had provided Erica with years of entertainment, and some heartache. That was probably why she was missing her so much right now. Erica let out something of a fake laugh as she placed her hand upon her chest, as if to swear allegiance.
“Oh…right, things that don’t seem possible. THAT was this morning when Ame decided to go full Wolverine on us with these great big claw things at the Coffee house in the district. I swear that Simone was about to fall off her chair from shock.. Ain’t nothing you could tell me could be any more crazy weird than that, Pan.”
Temperment : Fiery – blood elves are fierce jingoists, believing that the only people they can truly trust are their own. They are perceived as reckless and haughty, exhibiting none of the serenity or calm judgment of their ancestral peoples, and jumping at opportunity and quick solutions with little regard for the consequences. They believe power is not something to be earned — it is to be taken. Power is something to be manipulated for yourself and the greater good of all blood elves.
Physical Characteristics: Female Blood Elves have slender, muscular, and athletic bodies – yet slim by design. Like all elves, blood elves are considered highly attractive by the standards of most mortal races.
Ears: They also possess long pointy ears, acute senses and keen sight in the darkness. Night elves have long, slanted ears while blood elves’ ears are shorter and tend to point upwards..
Hair: Light in colour – blonde, grey to white. Worn straight down or tied in a ponytail.
Tattoos: Red facial tattoos as well as on the arms.
Eyes : Although in lore, their eyes are said to be green, they have been shown to be different in some sources: from white to even blue if their magic is depleted.
Robes : Crimson coloured to suggest their fiery affiliation and the blood of the fallen elves.
Studies : Arcane and fire magic.
Addictions : Since the destruction of the Sunwell at the hands of Arthas and the Scourge, the blood elves have been forced to deal with the sudden relapse of their addiction to arcane energy. A constant curse since the original Well of Eternity was destroyed, the addiction has become more powerful than ever. Blood elves spend their waking days struggling with their weakness, seeking either to sate it by siphoning magical energy from their surroundings or to resist the urge to feed.
Due to their addiction, a blood elf must spend one hour each morning in meditation, resisting any distractions from their withdrawal. Blood elves have learned to slake their thirst through the absorption of fel energies. If the blood elf partakes of demon’s blood, the magic addiction abates for a number of days.
Traits : Fiercely dedicated, valiant, honourable and noble
Allies : The blood elves consider the naga their allies and friends. The other neutral races that interest them are the goblins and some of dark trolls. The goblins are the only merchants who will sell to the blood elves without prejudice; if an Alliance or Horde merchant would even allow a blood elf to look at her goods, she would most certainly raise the prices astronomically. The troll tribes often have items or information of use to the blood elves, and they hate the night elves with almost the same passion. The blood elves have few opinions on the other independent races — those that worship a divine power are weaklings, and those that remain neutral are of little consequence.
Enemies : Demons.
Currently following : Rommath has made great progress in teaching the blood elves advanced techniques to manipulate arcane energies. With renewed purpose, the blood elves have now rebuilt the city of Silvermoon, though it is powered by volatile magics. Emboldened by the promise of Kael’thas’ return, the weary citizens of Quel’Thalas now focus on regaining their strength, even as they forge a new path into an uncertain future. While they despise most other races, they have come to accept that the Forsaken are different, or at least share the same goals as the blood elves.
A soft digital tone sounded in the tight elevator, signaling that he had arrived on the bridge. There was numerous governmental air force officers and naval personnel working holograms, scribbling on papers, talking over comms, and arguing amongst themselves. Razuken had a mission, and that was to get to Silver, the one who summoned him. He stepped out of the elevator onto the grated platform. Because of his heavy ExoSuit, it made a small vibration, and a loud *clank*. This caught the attention of almost everyone in the room. He made careful not to look direcly at anyone in particular, but kept his step light. He simply spoke one word in a digitized bass tone, “Silver”. A nearby officer stepped forward and handed him a note, with crested designs of the governemental seal. Razuken flipped it open to find a short and sweet description, “Izu is in control, but your smarts are needed upstairs. Find Azamar.” The officer spoke low in tone as the SkyCastle Commander and Izu walked by, “Silver was a good friend to us all. You can find Azamar up in the battery banks and weapon’s division of the engineering quarter. Surely he is still messing with his solar cannon designs.” Razuken looked up to find Commander Viet being chewed out massively by a lady on the holo-screen. Surely the Commander was not aware of his arrival, and it seemed that Izu was now the Captain. Looking up, he began to download the internal structure of the SkyCastle into his HUD. Blueprints, x-ray designs, and engineering documents labeled with ‘Confidential’ flooded his eyes. He stood for a second, taking it all in. “This is surely beyond any mechanic work I have ever done…” Every little detail of the SkyCastle was before him. The entire structure was designed by a long-dead group of engineers and scientists. Such a floating structure had numerous fail-safe protocols to insure its safety and the safety of the crew. In the event of a thruster failure.
There were layers of hydraulic shock absorbers littered throughout the structure, and reinforced with springs and bumpers. Of course, if the structure were to fail, there would be intense damage throughout. Razuken simply was in awe of the massive ingenuity that was brought right into his headset. His attention was caught by Commander Viet storming through a door, and clusmily catching his jacket on the door. Razuken walked foward steadily, approaching Izu at the command holo-screen. (Raz) “Captain Izu. Its been a while…” Izu turned in his chair, holding another cup of coffee. When he saw Raz, he nearly spit it out. After swallowing, he looked up and laughed. (Izu) “Ho-ly shit… Raz? S’been a long time, man, for sure. Still driving the Ghost 4?” (Raz) “Naturally.. I modded it here and there at my days at the airway. Still doing stunt shows, ya’know…” Izu and Raz were both of the Ghost Command Air Squadron, and were both in the Alpha class. Izu retained a Division 1 subclass, whereas Raz continued in combat. Since that day in the graduation, Izu and Raz have not spoken much. (Izu) “Well hot stuff, man.. I see you perfected your ExoSuit design.” Just as Raz was going to reply, the holo-screen turned red and an alarm blared. A digital voice rang out clear. “Approaching enemy vessel in orbit”. Izu took another swig of the coffee and then tapped a few buttons on the holo-screen to bring up the report. (Izu) “Looks like one of the probes found something out of the ordinary.. Probe 7 scanned an unidentified spacecraft well out of range, but approaching.. looks like reinforcements. We need to prepare for an air battle. No doubt the Scourge Eagle is going to take air superiority. Computer: Initiate Defense protocol. Battlestations.” The whole room lit up blue, and the holo-screens brought up numerous amounts of data. Izu pointed at Yok. “Get me sector scans in a 2-mile radius. I want realtime updates on our position.”
(Raz) “I’ll be heading up to the engineering department. I heard that there is some interesting weaponry up there. Toodles.” Izu waved off Raz, and returned to his screen. Raz slipped a small wireless broadcaster onto the control panel. This would allow him to communicate with the computer network if he needed to. Turning smoothly, he walked past the door that Viet stumbled through and back to the elevator. *ding* “Engineering” *ding* He was whisked away to the engineering deck. Hundreds of battery banks all meticulously interconnected was the first thing that Raz saw when he stepped out of the elevator. There was nobody there. Not a peep. Raz walked into the office near the elevator, a nearby wall sconce flickering weakly. When he opened up the unlocked door, the hall flooded with stacks of paper. Aparrently there was no janitors on this floor at all. He sifted his way through some papers on top of the desk until he came across an interesting looking blueprint. This one was not on his list of blueprints that he downloaded. “Interesting looking gun…” Of course, this was Azamar’s Plasma Ejecting Solar Cannon. It was written in a short section of the paper, a description of what the Cannon would operate like.
“The Plasma-Ejecting Solar Cannon, in theory, and when operated correctly will be the equivalent to a mini solar flare, complete with magnetic disturbance, UV radiation, and heat source. Essentially, the weapon fires with the thrust from an isolated magnetic force, initiated by capacitors. Once this magnetic force reaches the diodes at the end of the weapon, a particulate effect is created in the space between the diodes. This is the ‘pre-arc’ phase. Once the magnetic disturbance flows between the diodes, the arc will catch on the ‘magnetic wind’, and essentially travel in a straight beam with a thickness of about 800mm. The beam, with the help of mechanical means, can be manipulated by the direction of the gun. We have incorporated a means to move the gun vertically up and down, but not left and right. This beam was designed to have a magnetic influx equivalent to a large EMP. Of course, this is where we designed our magnetic diffusers, so we would not incur a power loss. It was intended as a planetary defense weapon, reaching from the sea level, to orbit level in less than a second. Due to the level of heat coming off of the diodes, we built large coolers into the diode machinery, and coupled it with an energy-absorbing re-allocation device to absorb residual power for maximum efficiency. Our source of energy would be from solar amplification panels that are scattered across the Castle itself, and along the hex-shield defense system. The charge time for a single shot is a full 8 hours. We were able to boost this from 3 days by coupling the solar chargers with a form of fission that is classified at this time. We con…” The rest was smeared in coffee and pizza sauce. Suddenly from above, near a set of ladders, Raz heard some commotion, and a banging sound. He went to investigate.
The Solar Cannon (In a visual idea)
Way up in the top of the old tower ruins of the castle, since modified with reinforced steel and alloy, was the lone engineer, tinkering with his prototype, the Solar Cannon, or as some have called it.. the ‘Sun Gun’. Azamar Flint had designed a specialized weapon that absorbs the sun’s energy in a magnified way, coupled with a form of fission. Hundreds of battery banks were on a single level of this developed gun, to help supply the power neccessary to fire the beast. Most of the power was charged into concentrated capacitors, with layers upon layers of fine dielectric material. Everything was meticulous. He had been working on it for a long time, designing, building, refining.. but he had a problem. He couldnt get the magnetic diffuser to work correctly. If the weapon were to fire, it would tear the ship apart magnetically and disable everything in the wave of the electro-magnetic pulse. Azamar knew what this gun was capable of. It was roughly half the length of the Castle’s height, and extended at an angle, just within the radius of the hex-shield defense system. It was designed with cooling in mind. Hundreds of mini magneto-pulsar cannons were at the base of the gun, supplying the thrust of the particles that would extrude from the diodes at the end of the gun. Amplifiers and diffusers were along the barrel, to ensure direct and accurate fire. “Curse this confounded thing…” Azamar tinkered with a handheld prototype of the solar cannon. It would fire when hooked up to the nearby battery bank, but make the nearby holograms flicker from its magnetic influence. Small welds and cuts were carved to and fro across the ceilng and walls of the hall. Hours had passed by, and he still could not get it right. He had no idea what was going on in the background. He had accidentally disabled the comms, and was unaware of the whole SkyCastle going into battle mode. He tweaked the magnetic diffuser, with a screwdriver, and then soldered a resistor to it, hoping that the change in frequency would allow him to get the correct voltage in the magnetic diffuser. He fired it again, this time with complete success. The beam put a hole right through the hull of the SkyCastle, the size of a pen. Azamar leapt up and hooted with joy. He had finally done it. Raz walked in at just the right moment. The hex shield was activated with its red panels, but the minature beam cut right through the red energy field. A warning icon appeared on Razuken’s HUD, signalling some sort of disruption in the energy field. A holo-screen appeared and showed the panel that was struck. A bar showed the power returning to the sheild. Izu came over the comms. “What the actual fuck was that? It took out one of our panels. It came from the inside.” Azamar whipped around and had a very concerned look on his face, but then complete shock as he saw Razuken standing there in his ExoSuit, looking foreign and fearsome. “I… I… was j-just working on my gun…” Looking up at the pen-hole in the ceiling, Razuken commed back to Izu. “Its alright Izu.. just one of our engineers making something pretty interesting.” (Izu) “Well stow that. We have incoming in a few hours.” Razuken kneeled down and looked at the weapon that Azamar was holding in his hand. “What is it?”[b/] Azamar’s eyes lit up as he loved to talk about his beloved weapon.
[b]”It’s a miniature version of the solar cannon…” Azamar pointed up at the large base that was the solar cannon, wires running every which way, and hydraulic shock absorbers lining the outside. “It is almost ready, but I have to alter some changes to the magnetic diffusers. I do not have enough time to do it. And… what is that.. is this an ExoSuit?” Azamar tapped on the metal, feeling its weight and vibrative whirring. “Interesting…” Razuken remarked rather frankly, “We do not have the luxury of sharing our affinity for technology. We need to get this gun up and working.. what do you need, Azamar?” Azamar looked around and started to gather his thoughts. Milly busted into the room, rear first, with a tray of coffee and biscuits. (Milly) “Hey Azamar, I do not think Viet will be bothering you anymo..” As she turned around, expecting to see Azamar, she was surprised to see Razuken standing there in his ExoSuit, so different from short Azamar.“Who is the tall guy?” Razuken stepped forward and spoke as level as he could, “My name is Razuken, Ghost Command, Alpha Class. And you are?” Milly was just about to open her mouth when Azamar screamed happily, saying [/b]”I have it! The drones.. the JACKv2 drones.. W-we can retrofit them for repairs, at l-least 6 of them. That way we can r-remotely program them to do the construction for us. That is how we built this s-s-sucker, but we do not have the luxury of the special construction drones s-since we had to drop dead weight before t-t-t-takeoff.” (Raz) “Then lets get started…”[\b] There was a lot to be done to ready the gun. It was charged and ready to fire, but would they be able to make the upgrade in time?
RazukenCarrendar:
In the Country outside of Lorewall
(Playing as Fortuno Todd)
Fortuno was lost… again. He was good at getting lost. He grew up in Lorewall and had not been too far away from Lorewall ever before. The night skyline was afire with a sea of red embers dancing among thick black smoke. Trees burned in the distance, and the Northern portion of Lorewall was unrecognizable. Fortuno, with a sullen expression, dropped his tote upon the dusty ash ground near the edge of a small cliff, overlooking the city. He was miles away. Things had gone from bad to worse in a matter of a few hours. Planetary invasion was something he soon came to hate. He flopped himself down on the edge, his feet dangling over sharp rocks at the bottom. He sighed sorrowfully, twiddling his fingers and thinking profoundly to himself. “Oh Charlotte… I lost you again… I had hoped that we would stay together in our adventure, but I failed you. I am nothing but a bumbling fool.” He felt sorry for himself. He took out his razor and looked at himself in the reflection, just enough light from the flames far in the distance to show his features. His hair was mussed, and blood was dried and spattered across his face and clothes. He stopped for a moment to think again. This was, in fact, the first time in a very long time that he had feelings of true sorrow. “I did not even get to sing you the song I made for you…” With that, tears streaming down his face, he began to sing the song in the tongue that only few would understand, but Charlotte would especially understand. The bard raised his head slightly to allow for the passage of the words in a clear and sweet voice. The words fell from his lips like petals picked from a fresh red rose. His eyes glowed as the power of another world overtook him. His words were intermingled with a spirit that was beyond this world, to ring out in a paranormal way across the expanse of the planet. Anyone who would be feeling this same sorrow deep in their hearts would hear these words singing in their head.
“Ifpylsoefsu, yjed, xdaak, hoef.
Yjyf ifsa uai, uail zaid qedd kloef.
Xis swy zif zsedd patyz ih os kouderwsz xlyon
Qwedy swy xodofpy ab swy qaldk ez os zsony.
Daan sa swy afyz swos podd uai taswyl.
Qedd uai qospw swyt odd zsols boddefr ifkyl?
Fa, bal uail zslyfrsw ez ef uail xdaak,
Uai qaidk lezy, yjyf qwyf swlaqf sa swy tik
Deby hozzyz oqou deny swy rlyos qefk’z zerw
Uail zaid uai balzony, mizs deny taswyl wok keyk.
Es ez o zok zsalu, swy yfk swos tou paty
Xis bal faq uai zsofk belt, ef swy bopy ab swy zif
Zsofk ofk zsou belt, plu ais ef swy berws,
Deny o lou ab swy zif swos heylpyz swy ferws.
Eb uai wojy jepsalu, ra xopn qwyly uai xydafr,
Sa uai, uail hyahdy qesw swlafr.
Swyly ez fa patbals deny swos ab swy waty,
Tytaleyz ab xyssyl setyz, swyzy jezeafz wojy zwaqf.
Daan efsa swy yuyz ab swy afyz swos uai dajy,
Ofk lytytxyl swy effapyfpy ab swyt, deny o kajy.”
Translation:
“Uncertainty, evil, blood, pain.
Even unto you, your soul will drain.
But the sun still comes up at daylights break
While the balance of the world is at stake.
Look to the ones that call you mother.
Will you watch them all start falling under?
No, for your strength is in your blood,
You would rise, even when thrown to the mud
Life passes away like the great wind’s sigh
Your soul you forsake, just like mother had died.
It is a sad story, the end that may come
But for now you stand firm, in the face of the sun
Stand and stay firm, cry out in the fight,
Like a ray of the sun that pierces the night.
If you have victory, go back where you belong,
To you, your people will readily throng.
There is no comfort like that of your home,
Memories of better times, these visions have shown.
Look into the eyes of the ones that you love,
And remember the innocence of them, like a dove.”
It came naturally… a magical kind of feeling came over him, amplified by the sheer anxiety and sorrow that he felt. It was heart-wrenching. He doubled over in pain, his head throbbing from the ache of his heart. All he wanted was to be an adventurer.. to help, to make pleasant. That song trailed on the air and hung heavy across the entirety of the planet, reverberating off of every cavern, alley, and tunnel. His eyes turned to their normal, dim color. The tears on his face shimmered off of the distant flames and provoked him to wipe his face clean. He looked around, feeling useless, picking up a handful of dust in his hand. He let it go into the wind, and saw it fly off into the direction of Lorewall. Another feeling welled up within him. Hope. Something was telling him that though the path before everyone in Lisega was one full of death and uncertainty… there was a ray of hope. His eyes glowed again, and this time he stood and shouted whole-heartedly. His voice thundered across the expanse with the power of the unknown spirit.
“Ef Fyitoyiz qy slizs, ofk sa wyl qy woed,
Ail xossdy qalf wyolsz poffas yjyl boed.
Ef swy bopy ab kyosw, qy zsoly xopn qesw rlyos pafzyviyfpy,
Bal qy zwossyl swy jylu baifkoseafz ab swy Zpailry Yordy’z pafbekyfpy.
Daan sa swy sety qwyf swy xossdy ez ajyl,
Wafal swy jodeofs kyok, xilu swyt ‘fyosw swy pdajyl.
Ef swy patbals ab Dalyqodd, qy zwodd lysilf,
Obsyl swy yfytu, ail balpyz qedd zhilf.
Swlairw zallaq ofk sloryku, qy qedd dejy af,
Deny swy tytalu ab swy wylayz, waqyjyl dafr rafy.
Dys iz roswyl sa pydyxlosy, afpy ail yfytu woz dybs,
Ef swy pathofu ab swyzy wylayz, ail zallaq xylybs.”
Translation:
“In Neumaeus we trust, and to her we hail,
Our battle worn hearts cannot ever fail.
In the face of death, we stare back with great consequence,
For we shatter the very foundations of the Scourge Eagle’s confidence.
Look to the time when the battle is over,
Honor the valiant dead, bury them ‘neath the clover.
In the comfort of Lorewall, we shall return,
After the enemy, our forces will spurn.
Through sorrow and tragedy, we will live on,
Like the memory of the heroes, however long gone.
Let us gather to celebrate, once our enemy has left,
In the company of these heroes, our sorrow bereft.”
Fortuno returned to his normal self, finding a newfound sense of joy and hope. It was different. He was different. He cried out aloud, closing his eyes and embracing the moment, “WE SHALL SURVIVE!” With that he picked up his tote and made for the end of the countryside that would bring him into the courtyard outside of Lorewall, back where he originally came from. “We have not won yet, but I will be damned if we do not have a full-fledged party if we do. Time to cook up a celebratory feast.”
His figure melted into the darkness, the dense forest shading the flickering lights of fire.
RazukenCarrendar: (Playing as Razuken Nekuzar, Izu Carrendar, Navigator Yok Private Milly, and Azamar Flint)
Skycastle- A couple hours after retrofitting the JACKv2’s
Azamar was back to tinkering with the miniature Solar Cannon. “How does it work?” Razuken said, sitting on a cargo box next to Azamar. “The battery bank supplies the capacitor, and then the capacitor boosts the magneto pulsar cannon, making it fire. The resistor just helps harmonize the diffuser so that it works properly.” Razuken leaned back and thought for a moment, then got up and spoke a command, “Initiate ExoSuit exit sequence.” The suit came alive, little pneumatic hisses and warbles were heard here and there. Mechanical disks rotated amongst rods and hydraulics. The suit unsealed itself after depressurizing, and the panels lifted to allow Razuken to step out. Azamar looked on in interest of this new technology that was presented before him. (Azamar) “What does your ExoSuit do?” (Raz) “It is a Multi-role, All Environment Powered Exoskeleton. It is about two meteres high, and comes equipped with a multi-purpose pneumatic claw, a 20 barrel revolving cannon, a power gauntlet and manipulator, mini pulse doppler radar, a passive radar, battleLINK software with realtime battlefield updates, Infrared and thermal sensor arrays, a limited jamming capability, a fire tracking software to track incoming projectiles, onboard AI with learning software, minimum 4 cm NEOsteel plating, which is a special alloy that is meant for ballistic and explosive resistance, reinforced joints, augmented strength, and a fully loaded 48 hour life support system compatible with Nuclear, Bio-chemical, and vaccuum environments. Not to mention that it can fly… kinda like a fighter. Jet propulsion is integrated into the legs and back. That took years to modify…” Azamar was astounded at this expensive-looking piece of equipment. “So… what happens if you break it? What will you do then?” Razuken turned to the side, sporting his Sig Sauer attached to the black belt along his power suit. “I use this baby. Its all I trust nowadays.”
Razuken walked toward Azamar, his headset lifted out of his way so that he could see him well. “Let me see that little thing right quick…” Azamar handed over the cannon almost reluctantly. When Razuken took it into his hands, the sheer weight of it was almost soothing. It felt powerful. He disconnected the mini cannon from the battery bank and picked up a few tools and stuffed them into his pockets. He then dragged a welding machine over to his ExoSuit and started to work. As Raz began the process, Azamar shuffled up while poking his fingers together. “Uhm.. what are you doing?” Raz lifted his visor up from welding the cannon onto the arm of his ExoSuit, “Im fitting it onto the suit… I think I may be able to power this thing with the power pack on my suit. It may take a bit to use though. We will see what happens.” Razuken continued welding the cannon onto the arm of the Suit as Milly walked up with more coffee. “Here, this is my special brew. It is going to be a long night with all the fighting outside. Izu says that they are preparing to land small ships on the surface right now, and that the enemy is mobilizing air superiority.” Azamar took a cup gratefully and shook his head, sighing. “It seems that things have gotten worse, Milly. I.. I never wanted to see this thing used. But in the same token… I felt that it was needed.” “Get yer gut in gear, Azamar. We are at war. Face it. They are coming to kill us.” The truth was that Milly herself was in fear of the unknown, but she could not just watch Azamar sulk like that. “There! It’s done..” Razuken lifted the visor and wiped off his palms proudly. The cannon was wired up directly to the power pack, switchlegged through a part of the onboard computer module. It looked almost as if it were meant to be there.
“Report in, Razuken” Izu’s voice came over the comms. “I want a status report on that prototype.” Razuken flipped down his headset and checked the status of the JACKv2’s. “Looks like units 1, and 3-6 are complete, but unit 2 is still finishing up. The prototype should be fully functional in about an hour or so.” (Izu) “Good. Because we are running out of time. The enemy is moving forward and we are in their sights. Captain is about to be activated. We have the advantage at the moment, at least as long as I do not let Viet on the comms. -laughs- But we will see what happens. Keep your battleLINK on you for updates.” Razuken saluted smartly and chuckled. “You got it, Izu.”
(Moments before the downfall of SkyCastle)
The sky was red. The ground, like ash. A thunder of bombshells, and gunfire hung upon the air and reverberated across sand, snow, and grass. The Imperium of Man had landed. Dozens upon dozens of siege weapons in lines, protected by numerous means. Krieg moving and advancing on the capital of Lorewall. The SkyCastle moved into position by the order of the Command.
(Izu) “I need all available hands to get on the ballistics deck, we need to keep the SAM’s and AA batteries fed. Give me a report on the hex-shield defense network. Yok, what is the status of our thrusters?” (Yok) “Thrusters are at 60% and holding steady, Captain.” Izu tapped on the holo-screen watching the incoming waves of aircraft that threatened the SkyCastle. (Izu) “Keep at it, mates! We are holding up!” One of the enemy aircraft, shot down by a SAM missile veered hard into the SkyCastle, landing into one of the airdocks, causing an explosion and fire. (Izu) “Rescue team, deploy to section 12, Dock 4A. Fire and explosion.” Izu was trying to keep everyone connected and organized. His attention was fully upon the screen before him, showing realtime status of the SkyCastle, and the multiple enemy machines that lined the field. It was on the Western side of Lorwall when they made the advance. (Izu) “Razuken, we need that cannon up and working. We have no way to provide support to our forces on the ground!” Razuken was in his ExoSuit, programming the executable for the cannon fire. Patching it in right to the command screen, Izu saw the option to use the cannon. (Raz) “Just patched her in, Izu. Should be ready to fire. The computer uses the trajectory map and overthrows pilot control for steady fire.” An alarm wailed and a zoomed-in projection came onto the screen. Deathstrike missiles.(Izu) “Scramble all fighters! We have incoming! SAM turrets aquisition Deathstrike missiles priority one!” Razuken lept into action, screaming down the hallway, leaving Azamar and Milly dumbfounded at his speed. Azamar turned to Milly with a chuckle. “Well… lets hang out here and make sure this equipment stays stable.” Razuken was on his way to the dock where his ship was located when he got an update on his HUD, complete with the urgency of Izu’s voice. (Izu) They are preparing for launch! The rails are too low to be attacking us directly. *Gasps* The thrusters!”
(SAM operator) “Captain! We cannot lock onto the missiles! They are too low in range! We CFZZZZZZ~~~” The SkyCastle shook as a nearby aircraft tore apart a row of SAM’s. (Izu) “Raz, the trajectory predictions are indicating that they aim to take out our thrusters.. You have to do something. The fighters may not be able to get to them. They are going down like flies!” (Raz) “I have an idea, Izu… but if I do not make it out alive.. -pauses- Its been a good run, chap..” (Izu) “Raz, you never change do you…? Always doing something crazy.” (Raz) “Some things do change… but some things will never change.. Raz out.” Everyone on the bridge was holding their breath. For those few moments in the elevator, leading to the courtyard, it seemed like peace and quiet. Was this his end? The elevator sounded its soft electronic *ding*, and out stepped Raz into the open courtyard. Some hex shields partially destroyed, flames amidst green grass and majestic ruins proved to be a sobering sight. The HUD lit up as the passive and pulse doppler radar became active. There were 5 aircraft in the vicinity, picking off what defenses were lefts were left. Razuken started to break into a run, his legs whirring and hissing with a hydraulic noise. It was time to get into the zone. (Raz) “Play my battle track, if this be the end, I will make it such an end to suit my death. Juno Reactor, Navras.”
The song began playing in his headset, making his pulse run deep, and course hard through his veins. The bloodwrath was growing within, the arcane powers starting to spark around his ExoSuit. The beast within was growing. (HUD) “Target acquired.” Razuken was at the edge of the SkyCastle, passing through an open shield. He lept into the air, toward a passerby enemy aircraft. *pop! WHIIIIIRRRRRR* So launched his multi-purpose pneumatic claw, a strong cord reaching out and attaching itself to the hull of the enemy aircraft.
Reeling in, and with much to surprise of the pilot, Razuken firmly planted his feet on the hull of the aircraft, like a cowboy riding a mustang, yet needing to be broken. And broke he did, for Razuken aimed his 20 revolver cannon at the cockpit and open fired, point blank killing the pilot, spattering blood all over the glass. It was time to take this pony for a ride. Using his weight, he steered it toward the direction of the incoming Deathstrike missiles, letting it freefall and glide until it grew too slow. He retracted his claw and brought his hands up, closing his eyes and falling backwards off of the aircraft, saying to himself amidst the song. “I live for this.” At that key moment between too long and not long enough, the jet propulsion engaged and he was off at the speed of 320 kph. (HUD) “Target aquired, multiple targets. Predicting trajectory.” The battleLINK forwarded the footage directly to Izu and the bridge. It was nerve-racking. (Raz) “Izu, now would be a good time to release the JACKv2 drones. Get me some cover out here.” Izu tapped the screen before him. (Izu) “All bays cleared for launch. Give the man some help!” Dozens of trained officers ran into a virtual reality bay and buckled in, ready to program the functions into the drones. (Izu) “Priority one. Take out those Deathstrike missiles, and cover Razuken.”The JACKv2 drones launched within moments from the right wing of the SkyCastle, maneuvering up, below, and around to meet Razuken at the end of the thrusters, but it was nearly too late. (Raz) “Take the missiles in the rear, ive got this one. We only have seconds!” He locked on, the song growing into its peaceful state, feeling the calmness flow over him. It was getting too close.
The JACKv2’s were already taking down others in mid-air, but this one was just too close, too fast. Razuken came to land on the side of a platform, several hundred meters away. “Time to use this baby, Charge the solar arm cannon.” All the power that was in the suit was diverted to the cannon on his arm. He immediately fired at the incoming missile… but nothing. “Shit! Not enough power!” With his urgent feelings, he rushed a powerful energy from within his soul into the suit and to the cannon. It finally fired, but too little to late. The missile was already at the main thrusters. The beam hit the missile, causing it to make an immense explosion, just before impacting the thrusters. The shockwave reverberated throughout the SkyCastle, and the thrusters… stopped. It was like the feeling you get when you travel up stairs at night, and your foot falls through the air, expecting that last step at the top of the stairs… The suprise in the darkness. That same gut-wrenching feeling was in everyone’s stomach. Razuken flew up into the air, hitting debris along the way, trying to regain control of his suit.
(Yok) “We lost the thrusters! They arent responding!” Izu, amidst the screaming of officers and crewmen starting to float into the air picked up the comms, hoping that anyone was hearing. His voice was grave, and it was deep. (Izu) “This is Izu Carrendar of the SkyCastle.. we are going down. Boys… if you hear this message, I love you very much. Charlotte, take care of them, please. I’ll say hello to mum for you..” Izu placed the comm on the holo-platform before him and simply sat back in the chair, crossing his legs and popping up another coffee, and sipping away, though it was splashing into the air from the increasing velocity of the fall.
Azamar and Milly were screaming as they floated a few feet into the air, with terror across their faces. The SkyCastle, a mass of floating land, was falling straight into the city. The impact was like a bandaid being ripped off, sudden, and painful. Razuken was clinging onto the courtyard grass with his claw when the land mass connected with the ground below, crushing buildings, and killing thousands upon millions of souls below. Razuken’s heart broke. He could hear their souls screaming out in injustice. The blood was like a nightmare in his eyes, the gallons upon gallons of blood that were simply spilled like a careless child spilling a pitcher of water. The universe was becoming imbalanced, and he felt it deep within his heart. He cried out loud as the impact finally reached him, his tears streaming with the pain of those lost below. Dozens of airdocks imploded, completely destroyed. Hex sheilds started to come apart, and the old ruins crumbled atop the land mass. The hydraulic impact-absorbtion system activated, and supressed the damage to most of the major portions of the SkyCastle. Hundreds of the lower thrusters were lost, but the main thrusters remained, but were damaged because of the missile strike. The railguns were solid in place, but there was no hope for many lost in the docks. Only a few remained. Thousands inside the SkyCastle were either instantly killed, or severely injured.
On the bridge, Izu was waking up covered in a pile of rubble and wires. *coughs violently* (Izu) “Shit…” Izu was pinned in the rubble. Cries rang out through the halls and rooms. Wails of men in their death throes. His left leg was in an immense amount of pain, pinned down by a large chunk of concrete that fell from above. Crewmen ran up to Izu and began to remove the rubble from him, careful to see to his leg. (Crewmen) “Are you alright sir? Let’s take him to the infirmiry, he has a broken leg. What about the others? Leave them.. there is nothing we can do.”
Izu drifted into darkness, passing into deep unconsciousness from the immense pain.
Next segment is played by CharlotteCarrendar as Lore and Izu:
~Dream sequence~
In the light fog that rolled across the wind swept mountain crest, stood a woman. Her robes were like that of gossamer, the very breeze from the sea lifted and filled the fabric to fullness, like the very sails of a majestic ship. Hair the colour of blood, flowed about her face and framed it in a haunting manner. Almost fluid like that of water that swirled and rose like a mist over the rocks below. In this setting, the grown man that was Izu Carrendar would find himself. As his own time was racked by wars brought by Chaos, so to did his Mother once stand to defend against a similar foe. Was she aware of his presence? Did he know that what he was witnessing was but a moment in time, that mirrored his own? A voice spoke from the silouhette that stood upon the cliff edge. In the distance, the fires of war did rage, and with darkened jade coloured eyes, Lorelei would give her son words, that he knew were meant just for him.
“No matter how great or prideful we are, there comes a time when we must make a choice in this life, Son. Grasp onto it tightly with both hands. Stare into death and then laugh, for the folley to even consider that we would surrender under distress is a grave miscalculation on their part.”
Turning slowly, Izu would come to see the burning light that blazed within the eyes and heart of his mother, while the background was a scene of devastation and war.
“As in my time, and in yours, we face a common enemy. Those that seek to destroy all, not in the name of Chaos, but rather they simply want to watch the world burn.”
Slowly she walked towards him, closing the distance between them. She reached out, her hand like that of a ghost – transparent. The way she gestured with her hand, the expression on her face, was one he would remember. Love – absolute.
“I have always been at your side, my Son. Through the years after my death, I walked the planes, and though while I could not speak to you as a physical presence, I did so project my undying love to you and your children.”
Lorelei paused, and then continued. “You have not yet fufilled your purpose, and until that day, your father and I await you with open arms.”
As the scene started to dissolve into that of a swirling mist, her voice would say the words, he would have wished for all his life.
“I’m proud of you.”
~End Dream Sequence~
(Meanwhile upstairs on the engineering deck)
Azamar and Milly, to be surprised, were just fine. The paper and junk that littered the floor broke the fall from both. (Milly) “Azamar…” (Azamar) “Milly? You are ok?” (M) “No… I… *gasp* I am NOT ok.” (A) “What is it Milly? Where are you? Its so dark..” (M) *gasps* “Gerroff-a-me you big oaf!” (A) “Sorry! I didn’t know I was on top of you!” Azamar removed himself from on top of Milly, and took her hand to drag her to her feet. After they both dusted off, the lights started to flicker back on. Azamar looked around, and saw the cannon and battery banks. “Wow, Milly, Look! The Cannon is still undamaged! The battery banks are ok too!” (M) “Report that to the Captain!” (A) “I cant.. the comms are down. Hmm…” Azamar went to a nearby panel and accessed the mainframe for the JACKv2 drones that were used to construct part of the cannon. He programmed a detail to repair the comnet and get a status on sheild repair and thrusters. Azamar turned to Milly. “We will find out what the damage is when we get the report here in a few minutes.”
Outside, the JACKv2 attack drones were still in defense mode, constantly roaming around the SkyCastle and covering the repair drones. To anyone on the outside, it would have seemed like this was the end of the SkyCastle. Yet, this was not the case. The SkyCastle was down, but certainly not out. Razuken stood up, his feelings still reverberating around him in the form of an arcane spark. The demon inside was growing, and he had to control it. His angelic side had to balance out. Everything that had happened up to this point was leading him to a path of destruction. It was time to shift gears. “So many lives.. simply snuffed out… so many potential lives.. all the happy memories… all of the future potential… gone. Children, Women, Men, animals, plants, insects, all destroyed in a mere few seconds. All that life… all this death…”Razuken felt that his power reserve was diminished from the single use of the cannon. “I need to recharge.. Computer. Do a scan of the hull and give me status of living crewmembers, starting with Izu.” The HUD brought up a hull update. It was worse than he had thought. Then Izu Carrendar’s file came up. (HUD) “Izu Carrendar currently in the infirmary with a broken bone, and hemorrhaging in his abdomen, currently comatose and in critical condition. Admitted 4 minutes ago.”(Raz) “Oh no.. Izu..” Razuken ran to the elevator that he used to get onto the deck, which was now covered in debris and rubble from the surrounding ruins. The elevator was partially crushed and inoperable. He scanned it for a second and then placed his hands on the doorway. Using his augmented strength, he quickly ripped them apart and jumped down the elevator shaft. He harpooned his claw to the side of the wall and reeled himself down to the infirmary level.
(On the infirmary level)
Nurses and a single doctor surrounded Izu, unaware of his comatose state being influenced by a visit from the other side of the planes of existance. There was no method they could use to fix his condition. Most of the medical equipment had been destroyed. Screams of surprise rang out in the hallway as the elevator doors ripped off, and made way to the figure of Razuken. A strong presence was felt here. Razuken felt that Izu was nearby, and went to him, stopping just before his room and un-suiting. He moved quickly to his side, pushing away the doctors and nurses. Razuken looked at them with sharp, red eyes, his face showing veins of black. In a two-tone bass voice he spoke urgently, “Leave him to me. Go.”Without a word, the Doctors and nurses made scarce. Razuken needed to empty his arcane magic upon Izu, in effect to heal him. It was a mutual balance. But the presence grew stronger. Izu’s head moved from side to side, as if he were having a nightmare. Razuken hovered his hands over Izu’s body, feeling the blood flooding in his abdomen, and the broken bones in his leg. Chanting in the demonic tongue, Razuken let the magic flow from his fingertips, small tendrils of red and black, mixed with a touch of white moved to and fro across Izu, and seemed to absorb into him. The bones and flesh cracked and moved as they formed back together. The blood in his abdomen scattering into other parts to be recycled made way for a healing of the wound. Yet he was still comatose. Razuken felt the presence very strongly now, the room beginning to warp around him, his vision becoming strained. His power was now balancing, but there was something else there. He closed his eyes, and there, for a flash, the face of a woman, hair of blood, and eyes of jade, dressed in the linen of pure white. At this point, the presence disappeared from him and Izu came to.
Izu awoke, slowly coming out of a dense fog and blurry vision. He looked up and saw a figure. Without thinking he spoke,“Mom?” When his vision cleared up, he only saw his friend Razuken, standing aside. “What did I just say? Wait.. my leg.. its better…” Izu looked at Razuken, who was still panting. “You are not too far from our kind, are you?” Razuken smiled and scoffed. “Now who would want to be a bloody spider? I am demon-kind and angel-kind… But enough of this… You need to take a look at this..” Razuken handed over the headset to Izu. What he would see is the SkyCastle from an outside view, crushing part of the city of Lorewall. Izu’s face grew to that of anger, and disgust. “I won’t let them defile this land… I will show them what fear is…” Izu looked up with a clenched fist. “I will bring honor to our name… Mom..”
(Hours later)
(Yok) “Captain… the thrusters are back online, but we can only utilize 40%. We will be flying low. The JACKv2 drones were undetectable during the repair. The Solar Cannon is at 100% charge.” (Izu)”Good. Azamar, is the status of the Solar Cannon 100%?” (Az) “100% and fully calibrated, sir.” Izu was sitting in the Commanding chair once again, the SkyCastle at his fingertips. Razuken had charged his suit, and the bodies of the fallen were honorably placed in the morgue. It was time to make a comeback. (Izu) “Yok, ready the comms after our next attack. Wide broadcast. Amplify it through our filters and have our largest dish focused on the ships in space. I want everyone to hear this.. Alright everyone.. battlestations.. For Neumaeus… For Lorewall…” The ship lit up blue where there was not broken pieces, and the hex shield came to life again. The thrusters fired up slowly and were giving the SkyCastle a massive heave to regain being level. (Yok) “Captain, we are floating. Turning the ship toward the front lines of the enemy.” Izu entered in the trajectory of the cannon fire, swiping his hand left and right, marking targets. Tanks, Cannons, seige weapons, infantry. Everything was there, and Izu wanted it all. A growl emanated from deep within his gut as he shouted in a lusty battlecry,“FIRE!” The angle was correct, the gun positioned low. The computers adjusted the trajectory, and the thrusters responded. Razuken stood behind the command monitor, his arms crossed, waiting to see the sheer beautiful precision of death itself. A sound of a train passing by is what it sounded like, coupled with an approaching storm. The thrusters began turning as the diodes reached arc capacity. The magneto-cannons launched. In this very moment, every living thing outside would hear the charge, sounding like a buzzing electical sweep, echoing in a hallway, eerie and fear-inducing. It was followed with exactly two seconds of complete silence. Not a single sound could be heard.
Then, just as quickly, a constant flash, like looking directly into the sun, followed by the warped sound of a behemoth thunderclap, constantly rolling. For 45 seconds, the beam streaked across the lines, from a distance of several kilometers. It moved from one side to the other. It was in hopes of destroying most of the ground forces that threatened. To buy time. To demoralize. The EMP resulting from the beam would effectively fry any electronic equipment within a waning diameter from the center of the beam.
Izu let it sink in. No doubt the enemy was watching all this unfold. He tapped a button on the side of his headset and linked him to the comms, then activated the camera with a gentle touch. He had the look of anger and madness in his eyes and face, smiling hellishly. (Izu over the comnet) “In this time of war and death, you look into my eyes and see, not a man who is afraid, but a man who is prepared. I am prepared to release our people from the clutches of this menace who treads on our land, who treads on our lives, and who is responsible for the deaths of millions of souls. It is in this selfish endeavour that your fight is futile. What do you fight for? Money? God? Power? None of these is as powerful as the reason why I still stand before you. I fight because of Love, because of Hope, because of responsibility. I stand here before you now, truly, unafraid. Why? I stand here without fear because, I remember. I remeber that I am here, not because of the path that lies before me, but because of the path that lays behind me. I remember that for thousands of years, we have fought to preserve alive our people in the face of certain destruction. I remember that for thousands of years, armies have been sent to anihillate us. But after over these thousands of years, I remember that which matters most. WE ARE STILL HERE! We will shake the foundations of your core, from snowy mountain, to desolate valley. This is our message to you…” Izu’s voice lept down an octave to a deep roar, “WE ARE NOT AFRIAD!”Cheering sounded in the background, millions of forces felt revived and motivated, to keep fighting until the end without fail.
CharlotteCarrendar: – As dawn was fast approaching, it was not that hard to make out the farm house that was centred close to the gates of the sprawling 50 acre property. The vehicle drove along the gravel road before finally coming to rest not far from the veranda of the weathered farm house. For Rain, it was a sight for sore eyes. For Eve, it was a world to which she had never explored – knowing nothing but the insides of the Zen laboratories. Rain shut down the engine then clamoured out of the vehicle, landing with both feet firmly on the gravel drive. She left the door open for Adam as she sauntered up towards the veranda steps. Eve was not so quick to get out. More or less waiting for Adam to say it was okay. She was nowhere near as bold or cocky as Rain, but they were two different women entirely. The small techno puppy on Eve’s lap wagged its tail, as it too waited for Adam to say they could get out of the truck. Rain turned around on the first step and looked at the pair in the truck. ”Are you two coming, or not?” She wasn’t one for pleasantries that was for sure. <3>
IceTe3a: – It didn’t take long for them to arrive at his farm house, the armoured jeep kicking up a dust trail while it sped along the beaten down old dirt road. The 50 acres of farmland was thriving, without human touch, the grass was a luscious green that could be seen through the high beams of the jeeps lights. The farm animals of course kept the grass at a low height so everything worked perfectly together to keep the place alive and rich. Moments later the wooden farm cabin showed up in front of them, the jeep came to a slow roll as Rain cut the engine. He sat there waiting as Rain stepped out of the car and walked off, he smiled lightly as he leaned towards Eve “Don’t mind her… She doesn’t know any better.” he of course was making an excuse for Rain’s behaviour towards him. Stepping out of the jeep he turned to face the inside of the jeep and leaned in to look at eve with a smile “Come on, it’s fine here. No one is ever out this far”He knew Eve would come out of the jeep now and follow him, as he closed the driver’s side door with a solid thud. “Yeah.. Yeah.. “ he glanced over to Rain who was waiting impatiently. Walking up in front of her, he opened the door and walked inside, it had a low glow to it from the lights as he looked around everything seemed in place. A rather old sofa sat in front of the fire place, a rather large deer head hung over the fireplace with a rug in front. A small kitchenette and a single bedroom, he turned around and looked at Rain with a smirk knowing she wouldn’t be impressed with the “Safehouse”.
CharlotteCarrendar: – Eve was quick to follow along behind Adam after he had assured her that everything would be okay. Still wearing her lab gear and sensible shoes, she did look totally out of place with her surrounds. Rain on the other hand was dressed for it. She entered the wooden cabin, which was sparsely decorated. Her first thought when she saw the deer head, sticking out of the wall. ~He decorated this~ It had a man’s touch. A hunter. Certainly nothing girly about it in the slightest. From the worn couch or sofa that was located near the fire place, to the small kitchenette. Wandering further in, she found that there was only one single bedroom. Rain turned around and counted herself, Eve and Adam. ”There’s only one bed. Where are we all meant to sleep?” Rain asked, looking slightly miffed. She didn’t want to spend another night on the floor, not after the last sleep near the filing cabinet. Eve on the other hand, marvelled at the insides of the cabin. Going as far to place down the techno puppy and explore. Even reaching out to touch the deer’s head and try to look inside its mouth. She wasn’t worried about where to sleep. Eve normally shut down in a chair. Rain looked at Eve oddly, as she found her behaviour to be strange. <3>
IceTe3a: -He arched a brow as he heard Rain complain, he knew this was going to happen as he shook his head. Walking to the centre of the room he was about to do something but stopped as his eyes caught Eve, she was curious of the deer head, she had never seen anything outside of the labs before and he smirked slightly. “It’s a deer, plenty of them on the property I have quite a few animals on here actually, you’re welcome to see them tomorrow” glancing back at Rain who still looked un impressed he smirked “You’re going to sleep where I tell you to “ That was a bold statement coming from him, when she could simply shut him down with a touch of her fingers. Pressing his heel of his right foot down, it hits a pressure pad that you would never be able to see as a hissing sound started to echo the room a rather large hidden door popped out of the floor and slid forward, fully mechanized as it showed a hidden staircase “We all have our tricks, mine are just better, come on you two. It’s getting late, we need to get some rest anyway I’ll give you the full tour tomorrow. For now, we’ll need sleep with that he walked down the staircase, disappearing into the floor; as he came down the stairs and finally hit the end of the staircase a rather solid large door stood in front of him, a red beam shot across the room as it scanned everyone. Now that Rain had forced her way into his systems her and Eve were now on the security listing as well, the door gave the green light as it opened up with a hiss. Stepping inside it was like another world, the underground bunker stretched on for ages; to be exact it was a football field and half long and wide. “ Fully equipped science and research labs that make Zen’s look like a kids toy.. a kitchen and mess hall, armory and training room, Central operations room, a garage with a exit drive.. hidden of course. he was walking down the hall and pointing in the direction of each location, this place was really big he had enlisted the help of some black market people to gather what he needed down here and hired people to build it all. It took quite awhile for it to be set up but once it was done, he killed everyone that helped.. no sense having a secret safe house if people knew the location, anyone that knew about it was now dead this entire place was that off the grid Zen and the rebels could not find it if they pulled their resources together to look for it. Opening a door close to the Science labs he looked at Eve as the door swung open and showed a fully furnished large room, with a walk in bathroom and closet, it had its own personal coms system and computers all hooked up to the network “ Eve, this is your room from now on, it’s close to the science labs, which I think you’ll claim as your own. We’ll see you in the morning, feel free to explore the labs before you turn in for the night, they are that way” he smiled lightly and pointed in the direction of the labs knowing she would go check them out, leaving Eve behind he continued to walk around for awhile knowing Rain was behind him as he came to a stop in front of another door. Opening the door up it showed a rather larger room, with a large bathroom, walk in closet and fully furnished with a bed. Turning to look at Rain he smirked as he nodded behind him [/b] this is my room, your room.. is across the hall [/b] he pointed across the hall at a door opposite to his, knowing full well it was a broom closet he turned around and walked into his room closing the door behind him. Oh she was going to be pissed off, he knew that much but it was worth it, chuckling quietly to himself he tore his shirt off and lit a cigarette as he took in a deep drag.
CharlotteCarrendar: – ”Deer…here?” Eve asked, her eyes widening as she had been touching the trophy like head of the one above the fire place. She thought it was beautiful and so clever how it was sticking out of the wall as it was. Adam promised that he would take her to see them the next day, and this brought a big smile from Eve, who moved her finger up to her glasses and pushed them up the bridge of her nose. Adam was ever so polite to Eve, but the same could not be said for Rain, who was told in no uncertain terms that she would sleep where he told her too. You could hear the audible growl come from her, but in the face of company, she didn’t act on her anger. Rather, she followed Adam along when he decided to show the real hide out. The wooden cabin at the top was nothing more than a cover for what lay beneath. When the opening appeared in the floor with the stair well, Rain was quick to follow Adam down. Eve took a moment longer. Snatching up the techno pup and then giving the deer head a pat, before making her way down the stairs. What met them both was simply astonishing. An underground bunker, the likes that would have the Zen salivating. One man could not have built all this on their own, that was for sure. ”Woah.” Rain uttered, clearly gobsmacked by the sheer size of it. Eve just smiled and fell in behind Adam as he gave something of a small tour. What grabbed Eve’s attention was the science lab. It was just like being home. She walked slowly around it, taking it all in – till Adam opened a door that was to be her room. Running right off the science lab, it had its own bathroom and a large spacious bedroom with computers and a networking station. Happily, Eve entered the room, and then wished Adam and Rain a good night, closing the door behind her. With her out of the way, Rain wanted to know where she was to sleep. Everyone had a room but her. What she got…was a door on the other side of Adam’s room. All he did was gesture to it, and then left her to her own devices. Rain wandered over and opened the door, only to find it was a broom closet. From within Adam’s room, he was sure to hear the enraged scream of Rain. Clearly frustrated at being treated so poorly. But really, she kind of deserved it. In Eve’s room, she set down the techno pup on the computer desk and then wandered about the room, looking in every cupboard and drawer. She was so new to all this, but she felt oddly secure. Maybe it was because she was close to her charge. Either way, she was a lot happier than Rain. Moving for the bed, she took off her lab coat, and draped it on the edge, before crawling up on the bed. This…was a first. She had seen others sleep properly but she never had a bed. So she laid her head down and smiled as she said. ”Systems..shut down.” and closed her eyes. <3>
IceTe3a: – Standing there in the middle of the room, he heard Rain’s abuse and screams as he arched a brow knowing full well of the hell he just unleashed “I’m going to need a bigger gun.. he said softly to himself. Walking over to his bed side table he opened the draw and pulled out a fresh bottle of whiskey opening the cap he let it roll onto the floor as he took a swig “Well over deserved this is” So he was finally here, in his safe house it hadn’t been used for quite some time, but now it was busy with people. His room of course was the largest room; it was dead centre in the building allowing him easy access to all areas but really close to the command centre. Turning as he sat on the bed, he laid down on his back, cigarette in his mouth and a bottle of whiskey in the other as he switched between the two, taking a drag of smoke and a swig of whiskey. A calm sigh escaped his lips he knew they needed to make plans, but for tonight and tomorrow everyone could settle in and relax for awhile, it was a well earned break everyone needed; something he thought everyone needed to do from time to time. Glancing at the door, Rain was still out there chucking a fit, he knew he was in for it as he took one last gulp of whiskey setting the bottle down on the bed side table as he took in a large drag of cigarette. First he called her a dead root and refused to help her than he did this he was really testing his limits with her “I should lock that door.. he said trying to reassure himself.
CharlotteCarrendar: – After marching back and forth, with a broom in her hand that she had taken out of the broom closet, or what was assigned as her room, Rain was showing a foul temper. How dare Eve get her own room, with all the mod cons, while Rain got a broom closet. No, this was not going to do. She turned to face Adam’s door and then tossed the broom to the side, letting it clatter to the floor. Marching over she put her hand on the door handle and oddly enough, it wasn’t locked. She pushed the door open and saw the wonderful bedroom that was more than enough for two people at least. Seeing Adam enjoying a bottle of whiskey and his cigarettes – clearly relaxing, Rain started. ”You really think I am going to sleep in a broom closet? Listen, I’m not the one that can sleep standing up. Maybe you…or Eve can, but I can’t.” She pushed up her sleeves and then went around to his side of the bed. She took the bottle of whiskey and knocked it back, drinking a good few mouthfuls, before letting out a gasp since it burnt her throat. The buzz from that gave her the courage to do…what she had been planning to do for some time. She reached out for his pressure pad on the side of his head and let her fingers dance as she leaned in and whispered. ”Remember that cutting comment you made, that I was a dead root. Well, now…its payback time.” Rain coded for him to lay on the bed, as she started to take off her shirt, doing something off a strip tease, till she was down to just her bra and panties. Yep, you guessed it, she went and mounted Adam, straddling him as he lay there, defenceless. ”Now, let’s see what kind of a root you are.” From the outside of Adam’s room, you could hear the sounds of Rain well and truly getting her rocks off with Adam. She used him…and she used him well. The poor guy. Even the techno pup in the next room pricked its ears up at Rain’s loud cries of passion. <3>
IceTea: He heard more yelling and shouting coming from outside, it was getting worse as suddenly he heard something slam against the floor “Ahh.. shit he was about to get up as the door swung open, and Rain came screaming in about how it was unfair Eve got a room and she didn’t Rain almost came off jealous, was she jealous he treated Eve better than her? ” Are you jealous of Eve?! he said out to her as she came over stealing his whiskey, he sighed as he took one last drag before she started on him again, this time her hands went for the side of his heads “Hey don’t you even tr.. her fingertips reached his pressure pads before he could finish his dispute of her doing this, it rendered him unable to talk or move, as he felt her briefly inside of his systems, she let go and started to strip as he watched her helplessly. Noticing he was unable to move, he realized she had turned off his ability to move around freely. She stood before him in her bra and panties as she whispered about pay back for the dead root comment, and then stating how she was going to find out what kind of root he was. She wouldn’t.. he thought to himself, straddling him rather quickly as she took him into her, she started to ride him hard as she used him to pleasure herself. He could feel her weight crashing down on him as she screamed out and moaned in pleasure, oh she was going to get it for this one as he watched her helplessly unable to move away from her he was forced to lay there and wait until she was done pleasuring herself, this was going to be a long night.. her skin rubbing up against him, he had warned her not to touch him and this time she went way too far, her hips swaying as she went up and down not bothering to check on him, or care if he was in any sort of discomfort or pain, she was in her own world and hardly registered him as she continued to use him.
CharlotteCarrendar: – Rain let out a loud cowgirl like whooping sound when she was finished, and then smirked as she tapped the pressure pads on his head and this would allow him to move and respond, if he so dared. She rolled off him and then decided to lay down beside him. A happy look on her face. It felt good, not so much from the sexual side of things, but that she got her own back, for all the nasty things he had done and said to her. ”Night Adam.” she whispered before closing her eyes, and trying to drift off to sleep. What a bitch. <3>
IceTea: Finally she had finished as she let him loose and rolled off of him, a happy look on her face as she said good night, shaking his head he came to a stand as he headed for the shower. “That much of a dead root you need to force yourself on guys huh” she may have felt happy about what she did, but he was about to give it back to her. Not one to back down from confrontation and that’s what this was, a power struggle to show who was lead, who was alpha out of the two of them, and it was a constant battle. He walked into the bathroom as he turned on the shower and stripped what clothing he had left on, simple name calling wasn’t going to be enough, not this time as he was going to teach her a valuable lesson. As he was in the shower his hues HUD flashed up as he connected to the network in his room, activating his room speakers he smirked. She forgot he still had recording of the large storm in him, as he played it loudly through the rooms speakers, it’s a good thing each room is sound proofed, as he started to wash himself he chuckled as the storm played through the speakers and thundered through the room “Night Rain he chuckled.
CharlotteCarrendar: – Fear. Something that was Rain’s biggest problem and her weakness was storms. Adam knew this and he remembered exactly how she reacted the last time. Laying in the bed, smug in what she had done, she patted the pillow and tried to go to sleep not thinking that Adam would pull that dastardly trick again. But, in the comfort of the shower, he decided that now was the time for payback. Yes, this was a constant game of tit for tat, and a power struggle that continued to go on between them. With the first sound of thunder rolling through the room’s speakers, Rain sat up like a shot. How could that sound possibly reach them from above? Surely it was sound proofed. But then the full force of the storm noise hit. This sent Rain into meltdown. She grabbed the pillow and lay down with it over her head, trying to muffle out the sounds. Her body went into foetal position as she started to cry from the fear of the storm. Now..who was the bastard? Adam was going to love this. <3>
IceTea: He walked out of the shower fully naked and dripping wet, walking into the room he stood near the bed as he looked down at her smirking, he knew her weakness it shut her down as fast as she could turn him off, they were evenly matched as he watched her fear for her life under the pillow. He almost felt sorry for her as she shivered out of fear, sighing he pulled a pair of pants on and laid down on his side of the bed. Turning the storm recording off he pulled her up to lay pressed to his chest, comforting her. This was a first for them both but he wasn’t going to go so low and exploit her fears, even if he was only equipment to her he didn’t mind as he had grown use to it. “I’m sorry, that was a low blow on my behalf “ he sighed and reached over and grabbed the whiskey bottle as he wrapped an arm under her and over her side keeping her close to him. Taking a sip he sighed as he offered her the bottle, staring up at the ceiling he smirked“You were a interesting root, I’ll give you that, thought you’d last longer though.” a slight chuckle escapes his lips as he looked down to her.
CharlotteCarrendar: – For once it seemed that they had gone against each other and pushed each other’s limits. But now, with Rain genuinely showing her real fear and being unable to control her reaction, she did look pretty sad, when Adam came out of the bathroom. The biggest shock for Rain, was when Adam took it upon himself to actually comfort her as she shivered from the fear of the storm. He turned off the storm recording and the room fell into silence, aside from her soft whimpering. His arm curled around her and with her head to his chest, she reacted as someone frightened would. Rain clung to him, barely hearing that he said he was sorry. She desperately needed comfort, something she had not had in a very long time. As he took another swig from the whiskey bottle, he then paid her a compliment, though it was done so with a bit of cheek. Thought she could stay in the saddle a bit longer. This had her bring her head up from his chest. The look she gave him was different from all the other times. Before, she looked upon him as an object – a machine. This time, there was relief. His chuckle was actually endearing. Finding humor in the situation at last, she then came back with.”There’s always next time.” This was said quietly, and she continued to snuggle into Adam. Her fingers strummed lightly across his stomach. A truce of sorts? Perhaps. They did work better together, than when they were not trying to tear each other apart. <3>
IceTea: He smirked hearing the only thing she was willing to say, “There sure is” he looked down at her and smiled as he took another drag of his cigarette. His right hand slowly strokes her hair as she clung to his chest, she needed the touch of another human to calm her down, this was obvious and since he took it this far it was up to him to comfort her back to her normal bitchy self. Tomorrow would see them both acting like normal no doubt as he put the cigarette out on the ashtray on the bedside table, he had to wonder what was going through her head right now; knowing full well the thing she thought as her equipment she was now clinging to for comfort, he shifted his weight as he pulled her up closer. Her head and part of her upper torso was now resting on his chest as he closed his eyes “Sleep now, I’ll be here the entire night “ he said in a low tone to reassure her that everything was fine. It was irony that now he had two girls he had to protect, one was a bad assed rough bitch and the other was a sheltered doctor who was sweeter than honey itself. Rain and himself did just take a big step in their friendship but even though there may be times of peace she would always see him for what he was, equipment; but slowly he was growing use to how she treated and acted around him.