Light....it was all that filled the small cell, occupied by not much else but a sink, toilet, cot, and the slender frame of a young boy that sat curled up in the corner. Ever since he had woken up in this room Kage was assaulted hour after hour, day after day, by the blinding glow of the light that broke through the glass walls of the cell, a never ending torrent that kept him from really knowing just how long he had been locked up.

The first few days Kage had yelled and cussed at thin air, not knowing if anyone could hear im, or if they even cared, but the only contact he could recieve was when the small slot at the bottom of his cell door would slid open and produce what he could only guess was his meals, soon they were the only things that allowed him to truly judge how long he had been cooped up. Sadly as time passed he no longer had the will to shout and scream...and his meals now would just remind him of the hours of blinding tourture he had to endure, feeling as if his body was becoming beaten and drained by the burning light that washed over him, as if they were feeding on his very life to sustain there wicked glow.

Through the buzzing of the bulbs Kage could almost make out footsteps from beyond the door, 'Day 5....I wish they would just ki...' but the next sound he heard was not the normal sliding of the metal sheild that heralded his meal, this time it was the loud metallic 'thumps' of locks and the screech of hinges as the door slowly opened. Weakly lifting his head from his knees Kage wondered for a second or two if his torment was finally over, that maybe he had served his time and could finally go home....but he knew better than to trust that little voice....for it had been wrong more times than he could count.

"Get up Prisoner......I said get Up!" came the harsh gruff tone from a rather burly looking guard who entered the cell, and although Kage did his best to stand, being rather weak from the lack of sleep, it wasnt fast enough for the man, who reached out and seized the boy by his arm and lifted him off the floor, drawing Kage's face towards his till he could see his own reflection in the black sunglasses the man wore. "When I give you an order you obey....got it!" the guard yelled as he turned and threw Kage behind him, causing the boy to trip and fall through the door and out of the cell, "The Warden says its time you got some exercise, thinks your getting fat just sitting on your ass all day in your room." the man said with a laugh as he watch the scrawny boy slowly pick himself up from the cold floor. "How pathetic....and they gave you our highest 'rating', your nothing but a waste of time." he sneered as he walked passed Kage and checking him hard in the chest with his elbow. "Now get to the Rec Room....and dont forget to play nice."

Kage wanted to turn and face the guard, to reach deep down inside him and show him he was messing with the wrong man, to picture in his mind a fist or club smashing him in the face and off his feet...But there was no use. Even though Kage's shadow was splayed out below him...it might as well have been a strangers. Since finding out about his abilities the young boy stuck to the shadows like they were his best friends, feeling relaxed and safe in the darkness, but ever since he awoke in that cell Kage could feel something was wrong...and it was al because of the strange bracelet on his arm, now his very shadow, once as 'connected' to him as his own legs, was now nothing more than a silhouette again.

To hungry to fight and to weak to care Kage only brushed himself off and slowly made his way through the hall, passing a few tables were other inmates sat, not making eye contact less accidentally angering without knowing, he only wanted to put distance between himself and the chuckled laughs of the guard as he bantered with the others, not wanting to guess at the topic of there discussion.

With every step he took Kage could feel eyes boring down upon him, wither from the Guards or the other inmates he cared not, for he only wanted to be alone, to sink into a dark corner and hope that he could wake up from this...nightmare, but the insomnia only allowed the boy to watch the others as they passed...listening quietly as he heard one of the other inmates do his best to play one of the crude instruments they had been given.

(OOC: Sorry for the Double Post XP)

Josh had to agree that now wasn't the time or place or talk, not with so many eyes on them. He figured he'd give it a rest for now but the thought was fresh in his mind, especially after seeing several people being taken away. "Just flip one of the checker coins, you go first if it's crown side up." he said, still looking around. The pressure this place was putting on people was getting too heavy to handle, not knowing if the guards would come for you next. Josh didn't know what they did with those people, only that they tend to disappear for a while and if and when they returned, they were shadows of their former self. He wanted to get out of here, but he couldn't do it alone. Of course he wanted to take his friends with him like Cyrus and Xerox here but that wouldn't be enough to do the job. Josh needed people with skills and teamwork, and most of all, a lot of luck.

Serenity wanted to ask if that meant live objects would be affected too but she was pretty sure the answer was yes. Note to self never touch her. She moved her hands slightly closer to herself. “Sure Schnapsen sounds good.” It is a card game everything is just luck. Right?” Serenity had not finished high school so she was not as smart as she could have been. Street smart yes, not so much with book smarts. Serenity snapped out of her thought when she was asked about her own power. “Ah well I can disassemble things.” She smiled slightly and looked at the bracelet on her wrist. “I know it’s no father time power but if I could use my power I be able to take off at least four bracelets or maybe even some doors.” She scratched around the bracelet scratching at a little itch she had. Pretty Ironic.

Serenity looked back at Josh’s group when a laugh echoed lightly across the room. “Well they are clearly up to no good.” She whispered it only wanting Aeris to hear. Looking closer she seen they were going to play a game of checkers. God that is worse than cards. As Serenity’s eyes moved around the room she spotted two things. One; guards were everywhere in the room. Serenity knew it was because all the high leveled prisoners that was in the rec room. It did little for Serenity’s nerves. The second was of a girl, young just like Aeris, Serenity herself almost did not even notice her. She was very quiet, elegant; Serenity could not help but stare at the girl. Weird. Serenity blinked her eyes then looked back toward Aeris.

"Alright" Xerox replied, flipping the checker's piece. It was odd, since these pieces had crowns on them, normally to crown a king, a captured piece would be placed on top. It did not matter though. Although she had whispered, Xerox barely caught wind of Serenity's words. Ah ... That's no good. She's suspicious of us. It's not going to be easy to get her on board I guess. He thought to himself. Xerox wanted Serenity on his plan, he didn't know of her ability, but she was one of the smallest inmates. Her size would be vital in cases where they needed someone to squeeze in places, like the vents.

Xerox caught the coin and put it on his other hand. It revealed crown side up. He was the black side of the checkers. Turning the board, so that the black side faced him, he noticed there was a third girl, near the card game being played. Xerox turned his head, seeing it was the new inmate from before. If possible, he wanted information. Although, he didn't want to approach, otherwise Serenity's guard would come up, which could be troublesome. He decided he would just listen in, and get some information. Placing his first piece forward, leaned in, close enough for only Josh to hear his whisper.
"Is it true, you're a terrakinetic, and Cyrus is a hacker?"
He wanted to confirm the details, to help consolidate the plans of a team. Rumors only get you so far. There were some rumors about Xerox being a healer, due to him telling some people about his infamy as the Psyche Doc. But these weren't true. Even the guards had the information wrong it seemed. Of course, it was because he altered all of their memories before his capture, when he realized there were too many of them for him to get away. His basic idea was with Josh's terrakinesis, some earthen walls would be good if there was a blunder, and Cyrus's hacking would help get information.

The lot of them seemed up to no good. Voices she could not hear, backs arched, and thrown around gazes from one to another were visible signs of…something in the making—or not. Each little movement the two groups made were so discernible it was a surprise the guards were not already breaking them up due to pure suspicion. Perhaps the heavy artillery simply did not know what to look for but it was easy to see from the perspective of someone almost invisible and inconsequential. Tempest took this moment to inch her small feet toward group two, the same guys as before. The others had briefly glanced at the onyx haired “mute” before except for the one with intensely fierce eyes. He seemed particularly interested in what he was discussing with the other male, which made her interested too.

Quietly she made her way beside the man who looked like he had been in some sort of brawl earlier, and reached over to place her small palm gingerly on the side of his face without hesitation. Like the wind—the very element she had semi-control over--she felt ethereal and unseen, and almost forgot that people could react to the things she did. Interrupting their conversation was not intentional however, and she had expected them to continue talking without paying her any mind actually. Her social awkwardness and the rules regarding personal space did not apply; rather, she just did not understand the way to interact quite yet. The man’s injury though, it looked like it would hurt to receive some sort of impact to the face…probably like those missionaries who found her that day in the jungle felt. An unexpected blast of air forcing their body’s backward so violently causing whiplash and one death—how horrible.

Aeris nodded as Serenity explained her power. Once the bracelets were removed it would be fantastic to have, but right now not so much. Aeris hated the bracelets and every day since her capture she tried to use her power to destroy them, but to no success. It felt to her like it was there, but not doing anything. She knew though that she had no need of her power to be a danger to the guards. She had even managed to kill one before her capture without the use of her power, and the only trouble there was finding a weak point in his armor to pierce through.

Her eyes followed where Serenity looked to where there were others playing checkers. There was a visible increase to the number of guards, not that surprising considering she was walking around finally. She wondered just how well known she was in this prison. She had been incapable of leaving her cell until she calmed down and then she was given a month of solitude to ensure she was calm, but who knows what the guards spoke about near the others. She would prefer to be unknown, after all anonymity was her preferred state. She looked back to Serenity and whispered. "Perhaps them being up to no good is just what we need. If they're planning on escape perhaps we could get out of this hell. I certainly can't be here any longer before I lose it again."

For as observant and cautious as Josh was, he was somehow blind to the dark haired girl approaching him. Her baggy clothing was oddly quiet, her face wasn't exactly blank but didn't leave room for much emotion. She seemed concerned, her touch was gentle but took him by surprise none the less. He quickly pulled away and surveyed her and everyone else in the immediate area. It didn't appear that she meant any harm, but instead, genuinely worried. Her lack of social skills made this awkward for him but he figured he should give her a chance.. "Why don't you take a seat?" he said with a somewhat questioning tone, unsure if she would want to at all. He tapped the seat next to him. He then looked at Xerox and shrugged, not sure what to do but unwilling to turn her away.

"Maybe we should put our conversation on hold, for now. So many ears around ya know." he said to Xerox while pointing his index finger to the railing above with 6 guards all staring down at the inmates like we were animals. Those were just the ones above them, the other sides of the room had men walking back and forth. It was to be expected with all the high value inmates in one area. Purgatory's security was insane, the fact that they hadn't dropped a hornet's nest into the room yet was surprising. A grenade of sorts that exploded and launched marble size rubber balls at high velocity. Not life threatening but they hurt like hell. Everyone talking in such close proximity like this, it was enough of an excuse for them to break it up so perhaps this girl just unknowingly saved them from getting painfully interrupted.

Through the rotating fan of the Brobdingnagian ventilation port above, ominous red light streamed downwards and bathed a dark figure walking down a lengthy, suspended catwalk into looking rather malevolent. Gerald, having personally taken Rilyn and Ami away to their obscure fate, now strolled through one of the deepest parts of Purgatory. Steam dissipated from great big plumes unseen through the darkness of the abyss below into a showery mist at the sergeant’s altitude, materializing into droplets of clinging water on the meshed floor that he walked on. The surrounding architecture was industrial and archaic, almost reeking of fantasy, for the platform Gerald walked on was a centerpiece to a massive void of utterly nothing but humid air that stretched between great walls of rusting metal, serving as a bridge between two grim-looking, wheel-operated doors that towered over the height of the average man.

The incessant rumble of whatever arcane technomancy was conducted how many dozens of stories below him vibrated even through the railing of the platform. Every ten seconds or so, there was a distant, high-pitched, mechanical whine. Gerald’s appearance shifted from dark thief to crimson demon as the ventilation fan’s blades blocked light at an interval. Breathing with the help of a gas mask and insulated from the hot environment by his armored suit, his assault rifle was slung over his breast, ready for his right hand to take the grip, angle the weapon, and fire at anything deadly right in front of him. But of course, he knew, that there was no danger here. After all, this was, perhaps, the area just before the most secure part of Purgatory.

This routine patrol, he thought, was a mere formality.

With lightly clanging steps, he reached the door opposite of where he had come from. The mechanism strained against him and he found himself putting actual effort into opening the thing. Politely closing it, he walked ten steps and happened upon a lift. His eyes glanced down at the controls and their panel whose yellow paint was almost all but gone, and he concluded that they would be at home more in a 1960’s Soviet gulag than in the modern world people lived in today.

He found some amusement in the observation. The juxtaposition of something so ugly-looking and crude to the technological sophistication that occurred almost anywhere else in this whole place was something to ponder about.

Quickly, he pulled one knobbed lever downwards. For three seconds, there was nothing, but then a roar shook from the floor to his feet. Then, with the motor growling, he, in a way, began his descent into Hell.

“This is Blue Actual reporting no hostile contact at level Zeta Zero; beginning descent to level Zeta Minus One, over,” he transmitted.

“Copy, Blue Actual,” came the reply of a feminine voice.

They kept a few vending machines near the engineer’s quarters at Z -1. As he was brought down from the steamy fog to an underground citadel of conical mountains of cement, tubes, radioactive material and wiring, Gerald wondered if they had some coffee.

Serenity smiled, laughing lightly, however upon seeing Aeris statement was not a joke her face dropped. “What?” Serenity shook her head. “You can’t believe that right?” She looked around at the guards before speaking again. “First off what if their escape plan goes wrong? We would be the next ones suddenly disappearing.” She crossed her arms, leaning back, looking up toward the darkened ceiling. “Second they have eyes on them all the time. How can one escape with another if they are always in the spotlight?” Serenity sighed looking back at Aeris. “It would have to be one damn good plan before I agree to touch it.” Her eyes drifted lazily at Josh again. Serenity was a little taken aback when she seen the strange girl that was in the corner moments ago touching Josh’s face. “I don’t know what to say to that.” She frowned. “These are the people you want to run away with?”

Time seemed to pass by rather slowly as he looked out at the other inmates that wandered around the Rec Room, watching as more came...and even more seemed to have been 'taken away', to where Kage had no urge to know.

Others gathered in small groups, discussing whatever it was people locked up in this concrete 'pin' would talk about, one group even had the 'pleasure' of catching the eye of a guard ,that just by the look of him and they way he carried himself seemed to have alot of pull around the place.

But as he looked up and watched them from the shadowy corner of the Rec Room Kage couldnt help but notice the eyes that drifted around the room, that of the rather dense group of guards that patrolled the room, and they probably would have been easy enough to ignore if it hadnt been for the handful or so that the young boy noticed were trained on him, including the delightful guard that had greeted him in his cell awhile ago.

'Maybe setting alone isnt the best thing...but what to do...' he thought for a moment. Looking around the room again Kage caught sight of a couple of women playing cards, and although he had no real clue what to talk about, he felt it better to blend into the crowed...since now he wasn't able to disappear all togeather.

Walking easily Kage made his way through the Rec Room, slowly avoiding the guard from before who had been talking to the other inmates, noticing the rather 'ticked' look on his face. It was easy to slip by him when the boy noticed that the man had someone else on his mind, watching for a quick sec as yet another inmate was haled away, for reasons that were obviously not clear.

As he neared the girls Kage found the nerve to speak up as he adjusted his eyepatch, even if he would rather just sink away and run, but he cleared his throat and thought of something. "Umm...excuse me but..I was wondering if.." he started slowly, always having been nervous around new people even without the added 'scenery', "...well...do either of you know whats going on here...Its only been five days and...well heck you two are the only people ive been able to actually talk to..." he said shyly, trying not to fidgid with his patch like he did when he was uncomfortable.

Aeris leaned back and spoke softly so only Serenity could hear. Her tone dead serious as she crossed her arms over her chest. "If they have half a brain they'll wait until the perfect opportunity to take action, they do have their own lives to worry about. I doubt they take a risk like escape without having a hope of actually getting out."

She leaned forward to begin playing the game and glanced over at the strange girl who was interacting with them in quite the awkward fashion. "I would never trust my life to any of them, no that's for me and me only. However, if we work together it wouldn't be too hard given the right time and opportunity." She gave every single person a calculating look as if she was trying to size them up. "I'm certain they have their talents outside of their abilities. I know I don't need mine to be successful."

This whole situation was nothing more than a complicated chess game in her head. She just needed to figure out the pieces and their weaknesses. She had received training on how to deal with situations where she was captured. Sacrifices would be needed of course, but she was already trying to work to the end game. She was tired of her act. The only way she'd get out of here was with her other practical skills. She hated the thought of actually working with people, but she understood the necessity of it all for survival. Now that she was allowed to move around she would take every chance she had to figure out the layout of the rooms she was allowed in and potential escape routes.

Six guards above and about a dozen in the room at the edges patrolling. They were certainly trained men, but from what she could tell their training was mostly for suppression, but ultimately she'd have to test them out to figure it out. She had a hard time remembering the specifics of how they deal with her in her feral period considering her focus was mostly on resisting them with every ounce of energy she had. Now that she was very much calm and centered she wondered what would happen if she caused a ruckus now. She knew very well that she had no chance against all of them at once especially considering how well armed they were, but she was confident she could handle two of them and possibly three on a good day with a surprise advantage.

Suddenly she realized that this place was only slightly easier to deal with than school, and that was because there wasn't a regular physical training exercise that would leave most people so tired they couldn't think. She chuckled a little bit at this thought as she continued to play the card game with Serenity.

Right then they were approached by a young man with an eye patch, she glanced at him, but his presence seemed so small that conversation with him seemed pointless. He seemed to have no idea what was going on. She shook her head disbelievingly. "Do you really not know? Isn't it obvious from your surroundings that this is a prison?" She didn't like him right away. Stupid questions were a waste of time, and shy people were a waste of space.

The new girl that had suddenly appeared, was right next to Josh, before Xerox realized it. She seemed concerned over Josh's wound. Upon Josh saying that they should wait for another time, Xerox started to lean back, and moved a piece.
"Right, got a bit ahead of myself."
He turned to the girl, "Do you mind if I ask what your name is?"
Xerox was curious about the girl, she seemed to lack social skills and didn't seem to speak. Another thing he was curious about were the two girls. They were discussing something, but this time he couldn't make out what it was. Possibly a follow up on their own conversation, maybe it was an escape plan of sorts. But nothing could be done at the moment. The best thing to do would be to get information, a map plan for one, and any other information, like what they are trying to do here and guard shifts. Looking curiously over to the front of the Rec room, another person came in. A man that Xerox didn't know. He went over to the girls and seemed to try to talk to them.

Xerox turned back to Josh. "Man, it would be nice to have some paper and a pencil or something. I really want to draw things." He complained a little, making some small talk. To be honest, he had noticed some things about Purgatory, and it's ducts. He couldn't confirm where all of them went, but he did catch word about their surveillance footage through one of them, while he was seeing if they connected anywhere. It wasn't possible to track where it was from the little information he had, but he wanted to try and guess, from distance, the sound volume, and the positions of everything. Taking over the surveillance footage would probably help out in the escape. A thought crossed his mind, Serenity doesn't seem to trust anyone, but, if I could approach her for business with T.K. for things like a notebook and pen, maybe I could get acquainted with her, and she will trust me a little. Xerox started to look over to Serenity for a moment as he thought about this. He pondered about asking.

"Give me a sec" Xerox said to Josh. He got up from his seat, and walked over to Serenity, with a sincere smile. He didn't want to arouse suspicion, but no matter what he did, he probably would anyway.
"Excuse me, may I ask you something?" He asked her.
If she would allow it, he would lean in and ask about any possibility of getting a notebook/notepad and a pen or pencil, on the other hand, if not, he will smile and turn back to sit with Josh and the new girl.

Serenity looked at Aeris curiously. She felt that Aeris was not as innocent as she seemed to be at first. This worried Serenity a little. “I don’t think anyone would intentionally risk their own lives but despite people get stupid.” Serenity’s mind was filled with thoughts about her father. She tried hard not to bring up those memories. She hated him for leaving her all alone. His cowardice and desperation was the reason Serenity had to live on the streets. She mentally shook her thoughts. Serenity hated feeling sorry for herself. She felt it was idiotic for one to be pulled down by the past. “Talents outside their own abilities? I am sure a few might and what would your talent be Aeris?” Serenity arched her eyebrow. Her new ‘friend’ was becoming very interesting to say the least. She had stopped paying attention to their little game, she was sure she was losing anyways, not even knowing if she was playing it right.

Serenity followed Aeris gaze. Watching and listening to the one eyed young man. He seemed shy however this could be just an act. Serenity was not curtain and she did not feel like figuring it out just yet. Aeris answer to the man was a tad bit sour. “Might want to get comfortable you are going to be here for a while.” She looked at Aeris tilting her head slightly, shrugging her shoulders. “Maybe?” Serenity turned her attention back at the young man. “What happen to your eye?”

("Excuse me, may I ask you something?")

Serenity looked back; the question came from the guy that was playing checkers with Josh. She was not sure when he walked up toward them as her focus was on patch. Maybe I should of asked his name. Once Serenity realized he was talking to her she looked at him with a puzzled face. “Sure.” She shifted in her seat. When did I become so popular? She asked herself feeling nauseated by the amount of new people around her.

As he pulled away Tempest’s doll like eyes widened in surprise and she blinked long lashes a few times toward his words, studying his mouth intently. “Take a seat.” Repeating those familiar words with a cutesy soft tone but it was the man’s gesture of patting the bench next to him that confirmed what he meant. Her slender body plopped down and arms released the trove of food onto the table messily, including the floor toast from before. With no intentions of eating it she looked to the food proudly and then to both men, her straight back and gaze encouraging them to dig in. She expected the man across from her to eat especially since his size was a wee bit smaller compared to the other. These men needed their protein to remain strong and unfortunately there were no beasts to hunt here...animal wise.

Legs crossed in the shape of a pretzel as a fascinated gaze was kept on the man next to her but it was the other who asked of her name. Her button nose crinkled while pondering for a minuet on what best to respond with. “Tempest.” Finally saying with a nod. After offering this piece of information it would seem her presence did not quell the other’s interest enough, and he took off toward the first group to approach the table. It was no matter--though she did wonder for a moment if her strange approach drove the prisoner away. The man beside her had been the target from the start, nevertheless, for reasons still unknown to her. Eyes watched the strangers descent for a minute as silence soon followed. Shyly her gaze cast down at the floor until she quickly decided to try and continue the conversation.

“Yeyecoatl.” The strange girl then replied while pointing to her chest tattoo. It was neither her true name nor the nickname the guards had given to her but rather what the tribe referred to her as. The intricate ink of a ītztōpīlli surrounded by swirling smoke represented being a serpent or weapon of wind. Disclosing this information of her ability freely yet it soon came to mind that he may not understand. Teeth gently bit down upon her pouty lips while trying to think up the word. Soon however, her crystal eyes lit up as she raised a finger to suggest she had found the solution. Her lips rounded into an o as if to whistle but she exhaled, swiftly blowing air into the man’s face. “Wind.” Her words exclaimed while she smiled warmly, and for a moment she looked invigorated. “Maybe it helpful for you...or not.” She slyly shrugged her shoulders hinting at what she suspected his previous conversation had been of.

The womans answer was noticeably sharp, and it made Kage twitch inside as if he had been mentally stabbed by her words, maybe a remnant of something from his past. He knew his question had been a rather stupid one, but it was the only thing that seemed to come to mind, and although he knew he had done a few bad things, mostly theft, Kage never thought it would lead him to a place like this, mostly since he would never had been caught...except this time.

He was about to come up with his own sharp remark until the other woman at the table added on to the girls anwser with a much more easy tone to her voice. "...It looks that way.." he said softly, almost to himself. It was the second girls question that brought him back to the group, instead of drifting off in his thoughts over the actual 'time' he would have to stay here....stay in that 'room'.

"It was....taken from me..." Kage said as he unconsciously reached up to his patch, " About a year ago I decided to steal from the wrong man and he caught me." but instead of being sad Kage chuckled nervously, "And to think it also became the last time I was ever caught...well except now."

The boy almost jumped when another man joined them, noticing that he was just with the other group, the one who had earlier been visited by a rather upset guard, which they obviously got out of it okay. 'Maybe some of the guards around here are just full of hot air.' he thought, even if it was from a simple observation made moments ago.

OOC: Firstly, sorry my delay. Secondly, thought I'd introduce some chaos to the calm situation. This is Purgatory after all.

Josh was intrigued by this girl, her name seemed to be Tempest as her words were short and brief. She reminded him of his sister, though her communication was poor, she was kind of adorable in her own way. His instinct to watch out for women who may not be able to help themselves kicked in and he instantly took a liking to her. Even when she decided to blow in his face. It seemed that her ability was to control wind, that or it was just one of the few words she actually knew. He assumed it was the latter. The guards were starting to get more suspicious of them, all this movement in the room, seemingly private conversations. This was unsettling to them. "Hey, break it up. All of you. Now." yelled one of them, the other men spacing out to form a more complete 360 degree set of security. The guard that spoke was holding his left hand over something concealed in a pouch.

To a new comer, this may seem harmless but Josh and the more senior inmates knew that he was preparing to drop a hornet's nest. "Shit." he muttered. Really not wanting to deal with that. "Disperse immediately." the man said again. The other guards started switching their magazine from live rounds to rubber bullets. Their side arm already equipped with tranquilizer darts. This was something the inmates knew nothing about unless they studied their protocols during events like this over days or weeks so hardly anyone would have caught this fact.

Some people started moving away right away, others a little more slowly. The slow movers were either moving slow due to injury or due to lack of caring anymore, mentally broken by this hell hole. Josh stood up but didn't move away from Tempest. He assumed she wouldn't understand what they were saying so leaving her alone like this would be terrible. "That means you too Stone." another guard spoke. Josh sighed, always a center of attention. "This girl doesn't under-" The guard cut him off. "I said now!" he yelled, pulling out the hornets nest from his pouch. Most people had dispersed at this point but Josh wasn't about to let this girl who doesn't know any better be caught up in this.

The guard gave him another 5 seconds before he lost his temper completely and pulled the pin from the grenade and tossed it over the rail, saying "You asked for it." as he let it go. Josh wasted no time, he jumped with one foot on the bench seat, the next on the table top and leaped into the air. As he jumped, he did a bicycle kick to punt the grenade right back up at the guards. He played a little soccer in high school and it paid off for once. He fell on the table hard but managed to glance up and see the guards with their panicked faces as the grenade flew back up at them. It deployed the rubber pellets with tremendous force and put at least 4 of the guards on their backs. The other guards were shocked by this, having never seen something like that.

The senior guard present however wasn't distracted like the others, he zeroed in on Josh with his pistol and pulled the trigger. A trank dart flew and caught Josh in shoulder as he was now sitting up. Josh looked up at the guard who shot him and before he could speak something angrily, he fell off the table and landed on the ground, fast asleep. "Everyone out of the way, take Stone to the box." said the senior man. Just then 6 guards burst from one of the doors normally locked and surrounded Josh's body, everyone stepping back against the walls. They picked him up and carried him off, the doors locking behind them.

Xerox heard the new girl call herself Tempest, however, since he was busy trying to get a notepad and a pencil/pen, he had forgotten to mention his own and greet her properly. I should do that later he thought. With Serenity shifting in her seat, looking puzzled, and replying "Sure" to Xerox's question about if he could ask her something, he leaned in a bit closer. "You're Serenity right? Heard you work with T.K. Think you can get me a notepad and a pencil or pen?" He asked her. But before he could get a reply.

The guards were starting to get more suspicious of them, all this movement in the room, seemingly private conversations. This was unsettling to them. "Hey, break it up. All of you. Now." yelled one of them, the other men spacing out to form a more complete 360 degree set of security. The guard that spoke was holding his left hand over something concealed in a pouch.

Shit! A Hornet's nest? Damn it. he thought as he backed off slowly. He wasn't exactly a senior inmate, but he got enough information about how they ran things. Xerox backed from Serenity and started to slowly move back. Keeping an eye out for anything that could happen. He then saw Josh and Tempest. He did kill two men by accident to protect a woman. It was obvious Josh had knowledge of the hornet's nest. Hell, most of the information about the hornet's nest involved him. Xerox wanted to see the next move. He looked over to Serenity and the group she was with. He was sure Serenity knew about it, but he wasn't sure about the other two. Aeria was known, she had been in here for quite a while, but she never was out of her cell, did she even know what was happening?

Turning back to Josh, he could see him defending for Tempest, who didn't seem to understand what was happening. Then the guard threw the hornet's nest. Almost everyone cowered away, Josh went to kick it with a bicycle kick by jumping off the table. Xerox saw that some of the guards were only paying attention to what was happening. He was able to fall back a little behind one of the guards, without them noticing. This was something he learnt while tracking. You had to know when to move, and how to move, know exactly what you are doing. He saw some keys on one guard, but taking them wouldn't work, they were on his belt. Looking at another, he saw keys loose in the guard's pocket. Lucky, must be a new guy or someone lazy he thought, swiping them. They didn't notice. None of the guards noticed. He doesn't think even the inmates noticed. As when he swiped them, the hornet's nest blew up and put at least 4 guards on their backs. None of the guards were looking properly at the other inmates. All eyes were on Josh. Most in shock, others with their tranquilizers ready. Some inmates were cheering, others dead silent, most were just as shocked. Xerox resumed to his place, before the Hornet's nest was thrown. The keys were in the prison shoes he wore. Thanks Josh he thought to himself. Of course keeping the keys hidden was going to be hard, but this was opportunistic. Josh did something completely bewildering, catching all the guards off guard. Luckily there was no-one like Gerald around. He would have to thank him properly later.

With Josh then being shot by a tranquilizer, the room quietened down. Then a loud noise was heard, as one of the doors normally locked had 6 guards burst through. Everyone went up against the walls. Xerox just followed suit, continuing to analyze the situation. He had mimicked other people's reactions, to a suitable degree of how he should react. With Josh taken away, the door locked, and the guards started to let people resume their business. Some of the guards went to the aid of those that were on their backs, including the guard Xerox stole from. That guard was completely in shock before. He would of had no idea what was going on around him, like most of the guards. Although Xerox had some keys, he couldn't just waltz somewhere to use it. But it was a good item to have.

With the atmosphere returning to how it was before. Xerox went to approach Tempest. For Josh's sake, he would make sure she was alright, and wasn't blaming herself. He believed Josh would probably want that. Though he wasn't certain. He would tell Josh things later anyway, when he had a chance.
"You okay?" he asked. "Oh, don't worry about Josh, he can handle himself, his been in the box before. He will be fine." he tried to assure her.
"Do you understand?" he asked. Trying to see if she knew what he meant. If she tried to chase after Josh, he would hold her, and tell her that she shouldn't. And try to reassure her again. Josh wouldn't want a woman to get into trouble and would defend her. Xerox wanted to do that for him, because he felt similar about such things.

Aeris scowled up at the guards above as they yelled down at them to break it up. It wasn't surprising to her that they would separate everyone due to the suspicious nature of how they were conversing, but she was enjoying her relaxed time too. If it weren't for the helmets they wore she probably would have seen at least on of the guards that noticed her to respond with an expression akin to "don't you dare look at me like that", and that thought alone made her satisfied. She didn't see any point in causing trouble with them, and rose from the table. "We'll have to continue this game later it seems." Her voice was level and calm, and most of the guards were too busy with the racket Josh was making.

It didn't take long for them to pull out something that resembled a grenade. Something non-lethal for sure. These men were trained for suppression clearly. All prison guards were supposed to be. Of course it didn't mean they were unable to kill, it just meant they were recommended highly not to. Her immediate reaction was to drop to the ground and she ended up completely missing Josh's spectacular jump to kick the hornet's nest back to the guards. She heard it go off and it was followed by several thumps as several of the guards above her were taken down by the returned weapon.

She stood up slowly, surprised at the fact that the hornet's nest didn't go off where she thought it would, and she looked around to see bewildered guards and even some inmates were surprised. Before a lot of movement happened and a lot of guards came to take Josh away, she noticed one of the prisoners swiping something from one of the bewildered guards. She lowered her head and thought that could possibly be good news for her, especially if it was a way out for her. Things were tense for a short while, but eventually resumed to a calm atmosphere like before.

She sat down at a bench near the edge of the room to think for a while, so she could piece together what she missed. She was pretty sure it was something crazy and stupid if it put the guards in a daze.

Serenity cringed upon hearing Patch’s words. She thought that he was just blind it never crossed her mind that it would be gone completely. Serenity was thankful she never had gotten caught. However she had never stole from a person who would take a body part if she ever did. Serenity could not think any bad of this one eyed young man. In a way Patch and Serenity were very much alike. Again her memories started to seep back clouding her thoughts of old unwanted images. She welcomed Xerox’s voice as it had snapped her back into focus. Serenity once again sighed for the hundredth time that day. All he wanted was simple request from T.K.

Yet she had no time to answer as the guards had gotten to uncomfortable with the prisoners being so close. Fuck. Serenity swore as she seen the hornet’s nest. She had never personally had the pleasure of seeing one in action. It was one of the things T.K had taught her about first. After hearing Aeris words Serenity just nodded. She lifted out of her seat ready to leave the rec room not wanting to be anywhere near when it went off. However she stopped looked at Patch and spoke quickly. “It is best if we leave now.” Serenity did not wait any longer for an answer. She started walking toward the doors.

("That means you too Stone.")

She had made it half way but her curiosity arouse when the guard talked to Josh directly. Idiot just keep moving. At first Serenity thought Josh was just being pig headed, but after another look over the scene, she understood what he was doing. Serenity’s eyes widen a little when the hornet was dropped. She had no time to think and it seemed she did not have to. Josh had done something that she had only seen in movies. Serenity was freaked as she knew this just enraged the guards more. Nothing good would come of it. Serenity tried to look small it was not a big feat as all eyes were on Josh. Once he had been taken away Serenity slipped out of the Rec room to search for T.K