Edward Vates – 8 months ago
“Please mate, we don’t want any trouble. We just need help, please!” begged the large scruffy looking man, his arms stretched out as to shield his wife and young son. They all looked terrified, and the man was lightly wounded.

Vates kept his hand up and his gauntlet charged and ready to fire. A faint humming emanated from it as well as a dim blue glow. “I saw you but a few hours ago with at least five others, where are they?” demanded Vates with gritted teeth, “What’s the plan huh? Appeal to my conscious with your family, keep me distracted whilst your friends ambush me?!”

The man shook his head frantically and cried out his response, “No sir! Please! They’re all dead! There’s a conduit after us! We’re not here to attack you or steal your stuff, we just need help!” The man resisted falling to his knees, desperately trying to protect his family.

“Liar” hissed Vates. His profession made him alert to the dangers of others, to trust no-one completely, to keep your resources to yourself unless someone could offer you something better. Since the event this ideology was exacerbated by the desperation of others and the threat of conduits. “Drop your weapons and leave. If you make a move on me, if you follow me or if I even see you again I will not be so kind.”

The man’s eyes welled up completely but he stood up straight and tried to keep a strong face as he threw his hatchet to the ground, “You’ve killed us.”

---

Edward Vates – Tuborg Heights - Present Time
Vates arose from his slumber fully clothed. He had, despite his intentions, fallen asleep early the previous day after fixing the rappel rope. He must have slept for a solid fourteen hours at least, which made up for the lack of sleep the previous night as well as the previous day’s exertion. Today was nothing special, he had no outstanding tasks to complete, had no immediate need for supplies, and wasn’t expecting company. His thoughts lazily skimmed over what he could keep himself busy with.

“We could investigate the market and see who has moved in?” suggested Janus. They had noticed signs of life in the market a few days prior, and Vate’s couldn’t help but wonder if the old tenants had moved back in.

“Not yet. If Cyrus and his group have moved back in I’ll have to drive them away again, and I’d rather be more physically prepared this time.” Vates replied. Cyrus and his group had lived in the market for months and although they knew Vates existed (and vice-versa) there existed an unspoken truce. However when they started scavenging closer to Vates there came an incident where some of the men tried to attack him. This led to Vates executing guerrilla tactics on the group, attacking their supplies, defences, and scouts in order to incapacitate them and drive them away. Eventually Cyrus and Vates agreed to a 1v1 fight for the area with no spectators or back-up. Vates narrowly won by a stroke of luck, and Cyrus true to his word moved his group more towards the city centre.

“Training then? It has been a while since you last practised on the spinning dummy.” Janus was always eager to use his abilities, and training was the only good opportunity where he could.

Vates smiled and strolled out of the bedroom and over to the desk where he picked up an unusual coin. The coin was about an inch and a half in diameter and was clearly an antique. On one side was the face of Tutarian, an fabled hero from early in the Core Crusades. On the other was the depiction of a dragon, its long body and tail beautifully curled round to the edges of the coin. “Beat the previous record and we’ll do some training” said Vates as he flicked the coin up into the air. In the seconds that it was suspended, Janus had a quick vision foreseeing it being heads. Although neither of them knew it, as the vision occurred a white streak flashed over Vate’s eyes. Vates caught the coin and revealed it to be heads.

Heads, Heads. Heads, Heads. Tails, Tails. Tails, Tails. Heads, Heads. Tails, Tails. Tails, Tails. Heads, Heads. Heads, Tails.

“I counted nine. That’s five off your record, you’re getting sloppy. I suppose we better do some training in that case” Vates mused. They had practiced this coin trick nearly daily for months, and at this point the use of Janus’ ability in this scenario had almost become muscle memory. The two of them had begun to apply this when using the spinning dummy, as the ability would be invaluable if they were able to use it in a fight (and if nothing else it provided Vates with some useful hand-to-hand training).

”Arianna…” The voice murmured.

”Arianna, wake up.” The voice said again, louder.

Arianna stirred softly, rolling onto her other side. She pulled the covers up over her head in an attempt to block the voice from speaking to her.

”Arianna, you can’t block me with your covers. I’m in your head.” The voice of Castiel said again, chuckling lightly.

Arianna took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled as she pushed the covers back down. She opened one eye a little, squinting as the sun shone through the window and cast a long streak of light across the bed. “What is it, Cas?” She asked groggily as she slowly sat up. She yawned and stretched, feeling much better after her rest in the soft bed.

”There are men nearby. You should be able to hear a little of their thoughts, once you’ve awoken.” Castiel said, alerting Arianna to the nearness of strangers.

Arianna instantly felt more alert as Castiel mentioned the men. Sure enough, after a little while of sitting quietly, Arianna could hear the muffled thoughts of men coming in at different rates and intensities. She swallowed, unnerved by how close they were. Without waiting another moment, she reluctantly slipped from the bed and sat down near the door where she had kicked off her shoes.

Arianna paused, hearing one clear word, or name, stick out from all the others.

Iktomi..

What did these men want from Iktomi? Were they friendly? Did Iktomi know them? Arianna’s mind was clouded with these questions, which made listening to the thoughts harder and harder as she lost concentration. “Cas, why his name stuck out from all the others?” She asked curiously

Castiel pursed his lips in thought. ”They must all be thinking of him. Plus, it’s something you’re familiar with. Familiar things stick out more than unfamiliar things in this stage of control you’re in.”

Arianna simply nodded in response, her uneasiness growing. She stood after she had finished tying the double knot in her boots and opened her door, stepping out into the hallway.

With a little to no trouble remembering the way, Arianna made her way through the halls. She had been a little confused at first due to her exhausted state when she first traveled through, but thankfully she ran into Alex and he helped point her in the right direction. She felt odd as she walked past men and women, wondering if they were hosts too. Certainly Iktomi wasn’t the only one with the host in his… organization. Arianna only stopped when she neared what seemed to be the kitchen area. Her dry throat seemed to shout, “Quench my thirst!” Arianna entered and asked a nearby personnel for a glass of water. She smiled and thanked her when she was handed one, then left and continued towards what Arianna amusingly dubbed Iktomi’s “throne” room.

After running her hand through her hair, Arianna knocked on the door to his room. She’d show him how she had kept her manners.

Collab Between Lost and Skai

"Another sleepless night sir?" Leo's voice resonated out of the darkness created by the shadow of the throne. Not a moment later Leo stepped into the light, his body in a low bow. "It is not healthy to stay up for as long as you do, we all need rest."

Iktomi waved his hand dismissively, his eyes shifting to glance down at Leo. "Hali is out in the field, and you are supposed to be down in the tunnels. Someone has to protect this place. My goals would be pushed back quite a bit if it fell. Speaking of which, what are you doing on the surface, Leo? I believe your orders were to stay with the men until the tunnels were complete. Care to explain yourself?" Iktomi's voice grew cold towards the end, his blank eyes focused entirely on the still bowing man.

"One of our informants in the city told me of a group of mercs. While this normally wouldn't be important enough to tell you directly, it seems that this is more than just a couple of men looking to make a living. The word on the street is that they are planning something big. They call themselves The Golden Mercenaries." Leo straightened himself, meeting Iktomi's eyes without fear.

Iktomi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Damn it. That doesn't help much. If we could get someone on the inside we could discover what it is they are planning. I can't sacrifice any of you though, and Alex's 'bugs' only work with a host. Leo you are being reassigned. You are to stay here until further notice. Dismissed." Leo slipped back into the shadows, just as Hali's voice filled his ear.

"It would appear that it is a very active week, sir. We have spotted a group approaching your location. They have approximently ten members, give or take 2. They do not seem to be hostile, but we can't be certain. What are your orders?"

'Did everyone just jump up and decide that they wanted to test my patience?' As if to answer his question, his thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Are you fucking serious?" Iktomi's mouth slammed shut as he spoke aloud, having meant to keep it in his head. With a sigh his head fell into his open hand. "Come in. Hali hold your position for now."

Arianna took a deep breath as she waited outside the door. She jumped as a loud, angry thought entered her mind. It was Iktomi's thought. She instantly felt as if she were bothering him and bit her lip. Was he busy? Did he not want company? Perhaps Hali or another one of his scouts had seen the men and he was angry about that? With a soft sigh, Arianna tentatively opened the door and stepped in. "If you're busy, Ik, I can go back to my room," she said, looking up to meet his gaze. He looked tired, as if he'd been up all night. He wasn't as happy as he had been when she first entered his home.

Iktomi lifted his head as the door opened, straightening his back at the same time. When his eyes fell upon Arianna he dropped his posture his lips pulled in a slight frown as she spoke. "There is no need for that Ari, and I am sorry for yelling. These last few hours have been a bit stressful is all. I hope you found everything alright, this place can be a bit overwhelming when you aren't used to it... Or when you spend most of your time in the main lobby."

Arianna smiled sympathetically, moving over to stand near him. "I found my way, thanks to Alex." She looked over his expression. "So, you've heard about the men outside? I heard their thoughts." She tensed lightly after speaking. She hadn't meant to tell Iktomi about one of Castiel's ability. The words just fell off of her tongue so smoothly that she didn't think twice about it. Castiel shifted uncomfortably, letting Arianna know that he was unnerved by how easily she trusted Iktomi.

Iktomi rose out of his throne, though without the grace he had possessed when she had first showed up. Taking a few steps he made his way down the stairs, collapsing in one of the chairs next to the table. His eyes danced over Ari just as she tensed. Smiling softly Iktomi shook his head, gesturing for her to sit at the same time. "You don't need to worry, your secret is safe with me. You already know one of Archania's abilities." Without thinking about it, Iktomi opened his mouth, revealing his incisors turned fang. "I can also produce a venom in my teeth, along with it's antivenom. And yes I heard about the men. I am trying to decide what I should have Hali do."

Arianna nodded slowly, relaxing as he assured her that she was safe here. She sat down with a soft sigh, setting her glass of water down in front of her. "I don't believe they mean any harm. They would have all been thinking about how they would take this building down if they did. They know who you are, though. What they want is a mystery to me." She picked up the glass and sipped the water. It was much more pure than the water she'd been drinking before she found Iktomi. She relished every drop.

"In that case I suppose she can go find out what they want." Tilting his head, Iktomi pressed his earpiece. "Hali I want you to find out what they want. Approach them, but bring your men with you. If they turn hostile I want them eradicated." Removing his finger, he turned his attention back on Ari, his smile growing as he watched her taking a sip. "Did you sleep well?"

Arianna set her glass down, smiling softly. "I slept very well. The bed felt like a pillow." She chuckled at the silly notion, then looked him over. "Did you sleep at all last night?"

Iktomi shook his head, a very tired smile on his lips. "No, I didn't. I couldn't afford to. With Hali on perimeter duty, and Leo in the tunnels, I am the only one capable of defending my home, and you."

Arianna smiled wider, watching him. "You have no need to protect me, Ik. I'm just grateful for the food, water, and shelter. I can defend myself." She grew curious when he mentioned the tunnels. "What tunnels?"

"I am sure you can, after all you have survived for an entire year out there. But while you are here you are under my protection." Iktomi relaxed slighty, taking a sip of water before replying. "For the last few months I have been connecting my main base with the safehouses I have throughout the city. It was slow going at first, but over time we gained a few hosts whose abilities proved most useful."

Arianna nodded slowly, listening as she sipped her water, too. She bit her lips, thinking for a moment. "Where in the city are these safehouses?"

"Most of them are located in the Lower District, and a couple are in the Middle District. I had one up in the wealthy part of town, but I lost contact with them. I haven't had the time to go up there to find out if they are still alive or not." Iktomi tilted his head to the side, curiosity in his eyes. "Why?"

Arianna sipped her water, thinking. She set her glass down and sat up a little straighter in the chair. "My apartment was in the Middle District. I tried going there once, but there was a gang hanging around my neighborhood area. If there is a safehouse there, I could see if they're still there. It they are, then I can wait until they're vulnerable and slip through to look for it. As much as I like the clothes I'm wearing now, I'd like a new set. I'm just wondering if any of my suitcases survived the Void Gate opening." She sighed softly, realizing how silly she sounded. "It's a crazy idea, but there were also pictures of my parents."

Iktomi tapped his chin in thought, before nodding. "That is understandable. Currently though the tunnels do not reach my safehouses there. I will have the men devote some of their attention to those. They should be completed within a few days. For now, though, you can ask Alex to escort you to the clothing room. There should be more than enough options there."

Arianna smiled softly. "You don't have to divert your men towards helping me. I can wait, since you are kindly giving me clothing." She watched him, wondering if she should go change now, or wait and find out what these men want.

"You are a friend, Ari, I will do everything I can to help you. If you go now there shouldn't be anyone else getting clothes. You don't need to worry about anything. However, since Leo has returned, I do believe I should get some rest." Iktomi returned Arianna's smile, before rising and approaching his throne once more. As he sat down, his eyes shifted back to her. "If you need anything feel free to return. I am sure I will only be getting a little rest anyway. Those men most likely wish to speak with me."

Arianna rose as he did, picking up her glass of water. She wasn't going to waste any water she received while it was so easily found. She smiled, glad that he was going to rest. "Sleep well, while you can." She walked towards the door, but paused near Iktomi's throne. "Would you mind if I sat in here while you discussed? I'm curious. Plus, I could help figure out their intentions if they do not state it all at once."

Iktomi slowly shook his head, eyes half closed already. "I have no issue with that at all, Ari. Two conditions. Try to stay out of my mind, and close your eyes if things turn hostile. I rather you not witness my methods."

Arianna nodded slowly, although she wasn't as innocent about bloody fights as she had been a year ago. "I will." She smiled softly. "Sleep tight, don't let.. uh... yourself bite your tongue." She chuckled.

"Silly Ari, you haven't changed a bit. Please don't." With a light smile on his lips, Iktomi slowly drifted off into slumber.

Sovereign Sector A - Market District

Hector peaked around the corner of the building he was leaning against, straight into the road that created an intersection in front of him. He took a quick, but careful look around and proceeded to look to Ishigo, who returned the signal. He let out the whistle, and in a moments notice, both halves of the squad ran across the intersection and onto the next array of buildings. Kisheto and Julian were quickly getting accustomed to the procedures, and Kisheto found he had attained a level of focus he didn't know he could achieve. As the squad slowed to a brisk walk on the other side, Kisheto paced closer to Hector and whispered, "Why don't we take the alleyways if we don't wanna be seen?"

Hector raised a brow as Kisheto's voice sounded, and he gave a whistle and thrust his fist up, causing the entire squad to stop. He surveyed his surroundings, and after determining that it was clear, he looked to Kisheto while he reached for his water canteen to take a sip before speaking. "Y'see, hermano. We've already been seen." Kisheto's eyes widened and he tensed his grip on his rifle as he heard the words, taking a quick look around frantically. His actions caused a few of the mercenaries to chuckle, including Hector, who reassuringly patted Kisheto on the back. "Easy now, hermano. One thing you should know is that out here," he said as he stretched his arms to his sides and gestured around him, "we've got little chance of going stealthy. Nah, we've witnessed many hosts who can track us in ways we couldn't imagined, so stealth is out of the question." Kisheto raised his brow and reached for his own canteen, as his thirst became more apparent due to his halted state. "Then why the quiet and sneaky protocols? Why can't we go in guns blazing, y'know? Like 'LEMME AT EM'!" Kisheto chuckled at his words, and Hector smiled as he looked around once more. "We're trying to maximize our cover. Other than that, it helps our focus and coordination to stay quiet and agile. The less we talk, the less we think of replying. The less we think of replying, the more focus we have to moving. The more we focus on moving, the quicker we get the job done." Kisheto simply raised his brow and nodded, "Ah, alright."

Ishigo sighed and took a look around as Hector did before giving a whistle to his allies on the other side of the road, "Post up, we're taking 5." Hector gave the universal "ok" sign with his index finger connecting to his thumb, and as he did, both halves of the squad began reaching for their canteens. "You think we can carry anymore supplies, brothah?" Julian asked as he gulped down some of his own water, "My pack's nearly full with meds and drinks." Ishigo tied his canteen back to his belt and responded to Julian, keeping his eyes locked to the road ahead, "I think we're all carrying close to our max. At this point, we're simply looking for hosts." Julian nodded and took another sip of his water, "Well, I mean, we don't wanna go too far, now, do we?" Ishigo paused for a moment.

"They're distant," said Jin, who had been idle for quite a while. Ishigo had felt a strange tingle in his chest, a feeling he often got when a host was within a certain range, but could not be sensed via the five human sense. 'As long as they're within these walls, they aren't distant enough, Ishigo thought, before turning to Julian. "We aren't going to return to Sector Zero today, if that's what you're trying to get at. This trip may last a day or two at the least." Julian's eyes widened, but he sighed and shrugged as he leaned against the wall, soaking up what little rest he could afford.

---

Sovereign Sector A - Market District Guard Tower

Through out Sovereign, there were many guard towers stationed every few blocks, serving as both communication hubs and law enforcement bases. They were usually of the same structure - a long, tower like stem that consisted of the police barracks and briefing grounds, with a large, octagonal communications relay at the top, creating a sort of baloon shape overall. Each Market District had one built frequently, as the Market Districts were the primary locations of what little crime did exist in the old Sovereign.

In one of the lone, abandoned guard towers looming right over the Market District in Sector A, two eyes appeared upon the outermost wall of the very top of the tower. The eyes seemed to be embedded into the wall and were staring down at the streets below. Slowly, a hooded head appeared around the eyes, and before long, the entire body of Ghost seemingly walked through the wall and onto the balcony of the tower. "Why would they have guns if they're hosts?" he said in a very low and commanding tone. Ghost placed his hands on the rail of the balcony, which stretched around the octagonal base located at the top of the tower. From below him, a mischievous giggle pierced the silence, "Two of 'em don't have guns, silly goose. The one with the cool hair? Y'know, the handsome one? He's got one. I heard 'em talking about it." Ghost raised a brow, "You can hear them?" he said as he looked down. Fang was hanging upside down from the bottom of the balcony, hiding in the shadow that it cast upon the walls of the tower. "I'm a living sonar thingy machine, silly. If I can see it, I can hear it," she said giggling once more. Ghost sighed and lifted his left hand, running it across the belt of throwing knives that ran across his torso and ended at his belt, which held two large daggers. "It'd take five minutes to kill them all..." he said quietly. Fang chimed in, as jubilant as ever, "Uh-uh-uhh, no you don't, big boy. You heard Lide, and unless Nekry gives us orders on the fly, we're to obey. Got me? Good." She giggled once before swiftly shifting her weight forward and zooming up and over the railing until her arms rested upon it and Ghost's right hand, locking it in place. Her face shot forward towards Ghost's, and she whispered to him from mere inches away, "...besides, I could have dropped 'em in two, slow poke." Ghost grunted and flinched sightly as he drew back his hand, causing Fang to giggle and fall backwards, returning to the hanging position she was formerly in. "Patience, big boy, patience. We'll get 'em soon...."

Hilda or not, she was not about to stay there in the middle of the noise.

Deeming the ground a little too risky to traverse, she took to the roofs, moving across each one carefully, so as to not reveal herself to those on the ground. It was rather nerve racking; after killing someone, actually taking someone's life, she felt more than a little bit paranoid, certain she was going to be discovered by one of their friends and be killed or worse.

"Hush. People's voice. Make silent now."

The huge maned gorilla climbed up onto a railing, completely exposed if not for the fact she seemed to be the only one that had the ability see it. Hayami, having no such ability to be invisible, peeked out carefully from behind a metal box thing with a fan in it. A ventilator if she had to guess what it was.

"We kill them. We make strong. We survive."

She didn't like the prospect of killing people; she still had that strange taste in the back of her mouth. But there was that feeling of exhilaration she felt after she had killed those soldiers, though she would have never had admitted it. It was the feeling of being in control, powerful, alive. And these people were soldiers from what she can see. They carried weapons, and they moved like what she imagined soldiers would move like. Hayami didn't really know how they moved but those people probably did move like them. Probably.

The air around her started to fill with electricity as she pointed her hand towards those people, shaping it into a gun as a child might when playing cops or cowboys. Collecting her energy, she focused it on her hand, feeling a little bit excited at the power she held, the flow of power through her vein. Her hand was literally thrumming with all the energy she was focusing in it. Sensing that she could hold it in no longer, she let go.

With a thunderous crackle, a large bolt of lightning flashed towards them, exploding lights and other electrical objects as smaller bolts split from it.

Sector A - Market District

Kisheto shook his head and sighed, "But think about it, yo: if we were on the rooftops, we could get a huge advantage." Hector raised a brow, "We'd also be stuck there, since most of us can't survive the jump off. It's an easy way to get pinned if you don't have a kage, hermano." Kisheto shrugged and sat back down with his back leaning against the wall on the street, "Eh, I dunno. Whenever I'm on the roofs, I feel like I'm in charge, y'know? Like I got the element of surpr-"

*BOOM*

A burst of electricity shot right past Kisheto's left shoulder and tore through the glass display wall next to him, effectively crashing inside and causing a bunch of store appliances to overload and explode. Kisheto barely rolled out of the way, only to see multiple street lamps explode and fall over, managing to pin down one of the mercenaries on the other side. "SHIT WHAT THE FUCK?!" was all he could yell as he quickly stood up and drew his rifle, frantically aiming around to catch sight of the attacker. Hector and his half of the squad quickly formed up around Kisheto and he raised his arm, pointing to the sky with two fingers indicating that he was preparing to take aim. "STEADY, find 'em, find the bastard!"

Ishigo quickly ran into the middle of the street and whipped around, facing the direction the electric bolt had shot from. He then thrust his hands forward and the shadows cast by the building shot two ropes that covered his arms in a blanket of shadows. He pulled back and continued to strain the ropes before quickly letting go and being shot up and over the building. Julian was still in shock and shook his head as his ears rang, due to the violent explosions that broke off around him. When he finally came to his senses he quickly looked to the mercenaries around him, who were also rapidly shifting their rifles about to hopefully catch a glimpse of their attacker in their scope. Julian looked up as Ishigo soared over, and he instantly clenched his fists, 'Go time, brothah, he thought to himself as slowly, his feet turned to a thick black smoke, which continued to engulf his body until he had completely turned into an orb of smoke scaling up the building.

Ishigo's flight slowly began to end as his launch met the downward end of its trajectory. It was in this moment, as he passed the vertex of his maneuver, that he caught sight of the attacker. He quickly did a front flip to balance his fall as he now faced downward in a diving position. "HERE!" he called out, only seconds before diving right into the shadow of a rooftop generator and effectively disappearing. Hector heard his call and instantly dropped his raised arm and thrust it forward, now pointing his two fingers towards the rooftop, "COBRAMOS, AMIGOS!" he yelled before running to the opposite wall. Kisheto followed closely behind, wondering how he would scale up the building in the armor he wore, but his question was soon answered as each mercenary began to pull out what appeared to be a harpoon gun. Hector raised his hand once more in a "hold fire" position, "Line up, RAPIDO, hermanos, let's go, let's go!" The men quickly created a neat row of harpoon wielders, and Hector quickly joined them, kneeling beside the left-most mercenary. "Kisheto, grab my shoulders." Kisheto raised a brow but simply followed his orders, unsure of whether the idea was at all safe. Hector then dropped his arm and shouted, "3, 2, 1... FIRE!" The harpoons then simultaneously fired off, and mid-flight, they burst into a blue-ish, purple-ish light, which then created a glowing rope connecting the spears to the guns that had shot them. Hector smiled as his harpoon pierced clean into the wall of the building, and he pressed a button on his gun, which resulted in a bright flash at the location where the harpoon had lodged it self. After a quick tug, he yelled out once more, "3, 2, 1... UP!"

In a quick flash, all the mercenaries, including Hector and Kisheto, shot upward until they were a mere foot away from the edge of the roof, holding their weight by using their legs against the wall on which they hung. Kisheto took the opportunity to quickly reach up and roll over the edge, after which, all of the mercenaries followed suit and rapidly unhooked their harpoon guns. Julian's smoke form suddenly flew past the row of mercenaries and rematerialized into his body right next to Kisheto, who had drawn his rifle as the rest of the mercenaries. The mercenaries then broke forward into a healthy jog as their rifles stayed resting on their shoulders with sights in the center of their eyes.
Hector called out, "WE GOTCHA' NOW, HOST! DON'T TRYTA RUN, WE ARE MORE FORGIVING THAN THE MILITARY!"

Edward Vates – 8 Months Ago
Vates held two fingers on the woman’s neck to check for a pulse. It was pointless, she was clearly dead. Her eyes were covered in fungus and so was the inside of her mouth. There was no pool of blood despite the rips in her clothing; he cuts also being covered by the fungus. It was the wife of the man he had encountered earlier in the shop. “What happened to you?” Vates whispered, baffled by the unusual scene.

If the fungus wasn’t already enough reason for Vates to now want to get away from the corpse, he then caught a glimpse of movement in the right eye. Tiny bugs of some sort seemed to be crawling out of the fungus. “Fuck!” Vates jumped, quickly backing away from the body. He wasn’t so naive as to just stand there, instead he began jogging off a fair distance before ducking into a mostly crumbled down building. There he began to check himself and his clothing for any sign of the fungus. Where was the father and his son?

---

Edward Vates – Present Time
Vates sat crouched in the shadows of window on the second floor of an old school. Outside were five men, two of which he recognised from Cyrus’ old group. “So Cyrus has retaken the market after all. It has been months since your encounter and now he might not be so honourable.” Janus speculated, “If he has come back this way it may have even been due to desperation. If they try to kill you what will you do? I do not think driving them away would be an option.”

Vates tried to ignore Janus and focus on the men outside, but Janus’ words were more than rational and this presented Vates with quite the dilemma. “I need to know more. I think it’s time to make some friends.” two of the new faces went into the opposite building whilst the other three worked their way into the one Vates was in. Vates quickly slipped off his backpack and removed the majority of his scavenged good, hiding them in a cupboard. With only a few tins of food and some painkillers in his bag Vates took off at a quick but quiet pace over to the skywalk between his building and the opposite one. The bridge was partially collapsed with portions of floor and walls missing and one half having collapsed down a couple of metres tearing the walk in half. Vates looked around in a brief attempt to ensure no one had eyes on him. He then ran along the skywalk, hopping over gaps as he approached them and jumping onto the roof of the second half. He went into a crouch as he landed and had to grip the surface with his hand to stop himself from falling off to the side. Regaining his balance he continued along and climbed through one of the shattered windows.

“The chief said to look out for supplies and survivors Jeff, not butcher everything in our path!” moaned the scruffier of the two men, who donned a leather duster and long greasy hair.

“Oh shut it Marvin! That dude probably had a kage, and whether the Chief wants hosts or not I’m not gonna put my ass on the line!” Jeff said defensibly, continuing to keep his sword in the Ochs stance. Jeff was wearing some makeshift armour that had been scavenged from a police uniform.

The two men were taken off guard by the sudden third voice, “I’m unarmed!”

“Who the fuck?!” exclaimed Jeff as he spun round, his sword nearly catching Marvin. The two of them looked wide eyed at Vates standing in the doorway with his hands raised.

“What’s your name?” demanded Jeff.

“My name’s Monroe. I’m with a group of five others who are back at our camp. I’m not a host and I’m not hostile. Can we talk?” Vates put on the façade of a desperate survivor in the hopes the men would try to recruit him. “I have food and pills in my bag you can have too”

"Ah, here`s the welcome party boys! keep your guns holstered." Mathias watched as the small group rapidly approached. A female headed the front; her poise and focused movement were key signs that she was the groups leader. "State your business here, you shouldn't be on this land, who are you?" She spoke in a precise, straightforward manner, she was not to be trifled with.
"My apologise for the intrusion, and at such a late hour as well. My name is Mathias Winters, these are some of my men. We`ve come to see Mister Ascher. He isn't expecting us i`m afraid, but he will be interested in what i have to discuss with him..." There was a painstaking long pause, in which the female looked him up and down and did the same with his troop. She was clearly identifying their potential to cause a threat, she was assessing the situation with such great attention to detail, this woman was a pro and Mathias was jealous she wasn't part of the family.
"Mister Winters, my name is Hali, will you permit us to escort you inside?" She eventually spoke, once she did her mannerisms became much more relaxed, obviously Mathias had passed the initial vetting process. "Thank you Hali, please, lead the way." They walked for just under five minutes, traversing the rubble plane and into a maze of disused buildings before finally reaching their destination, "So this is the spiders lair" Boreas thought, he was obviously cautious as he never usually spoke when others were present, not that they could hear him. "Be careful Mathias, I think i know where this power stems, you would not like this creature!" he warned.
Over the year he and Boreas had worked on several skills, including swordsmanship. He had trained with all the other residence, to this day he hasn't been beaten in a duel, despite his physical limitations. Tonight Mathias had his rapier safely by his side, he doubted he would have to use it, but its presence comforted him nonetheless.
Climbing the stair to the front door, Mathias signaled to his men to wait outside "Hali, are my men okay to stay here?" She nodded before saying her goodbye and vanishing. "Wish me luck Boreas" Mathias muttered as he turned the handle and entered.

Arianna finished buttoning the navy blue button-up she had found, watching her thin fingers do so in the body length mirror. It was decent, despite the long crack that streaked from one corner to stop near the center. She had also found a new black tank-top, light blue skinny jeans, and some brown combat boots. The outfit was similar to her last, but she liked it because it was familiar. At the moment, she needed familiar.

Arianna raised her gaze to meet her own, staring into the blue-ish green eyes that stared back. She moved to look at her recently washed face, noting how her features had slimmed during the past year. Her cheeks looked hollow, and her collarbone stuck out a little more than it had before the Void Gate had opened. It was all due to malnutrition and a year of hard work. She held out her hands and examined them. They were a little calloused, but overall still dainty compared to most. The rest of her body had thinned as well, but wasn’t entirely skin and bone. What she had eaten had been converted to energy and muscle. The girl in the mirror reminded herself of a petite zombie apocalypse survivor. Arianna chuckled at the notion and turned away from the mirror.

As she combed her hair with a brush missing some teeth, she bit her lip in thought. The thoughts from the men were getting louder and clearer, letting her know that they were on their way. Arianna was focusing her ability on them instead of listening to the thoughts of the persons inside Iktomi’s mansion. It was a trick she had learnt from Castiel over the past year, helping her conserve her spirit. She finished brushing her hair and set the comb down, then ran her fingers through it to push it back from her face. She examined the ends, noting how she needed a haircut. It was little things like this that reminded her how much she missed the time before kages.

”You better hurry back to Iktomi’s room. I’m curious to see what these men want as well,” Castiel chimed. He didn’t know if the Void Gate opening had been a curse or a blessing for either side. He didn’t like to dwell on it.

Arianna smiled softly and walked to the door. “Alright, Cas.” She understood how he felt. She let out a soft sigh as she opened the door and walked back to Iktomi’s “throne” room.

"WE GOTCHA' NOW, HOST! DON'T TRYTA RUN, WE ARE MORE FORGIVING THAN THE MILITARY!"

"AHAHAHA~! Like I'm stupid enough to fall for that!"

By the time they, the soldiers, was on the roof, Hayami was already running towards the other edge of the building. Stopping just a step away from falling off the edge, she held up her hands to her face, arching off several bolts between them. Putting her hands together, again into a pistol shape, she held her breath and took careful aim. With another loud crack, she shot off another bolt of lightning towards them. It was not as strong as the first, but it still wasn't something to sneeze at.

So much power... How long has she been harboring this... this gift? From what she had understood, those people she had killed before, they were responsible for boosting her power this much. What if she killed five more? What if she killed a thousand? A million? She would become a god on earth, another being worthy of being called Raijin. A being worthy of-

Hayami clutched her head, suppressing her murderous thoughts.

Those... those weren't... Why was she thinking of murdering people....

"COVER!" Hector yelled as he dove out of the way of the bolt that pierced clean through the generator he was behind. The generator exploded, causing him to fly forward md-dive and crash into a vent, leaving a large dent in its structure. Kisheto had been positioned to the side of the generator and was sent flying to the side as well, followed by a few more other mercenaries. Luckily, the worst injury consisted of a sprained ankle due to a bad landing, and the mercenaries were quick to bounce back up to their feet. Hector shook off his pain and ran towards the rest, quickly drawing his rifle once more. Kisheto coughed and stumbled alongside them as well, soon to feel a hand grasp his shoulder. He turned to see Hector supporting him as he looked off for the attacker, "You good, hermano?!" he called out, as the noise of disrupted tech was still resonating in the air. Kisheto simply coughed once more and nodded.

The second the second bolt was shot, Julian had somewhat caught sight of its source, as he had seen the flash of lightning before it zoomed towards his group. In that instant, he slipped into his smoke form and flew as fast as he could towards the location, only to see Ishigo already hopping from shadow to shadow, closing in on whoever lay on the far side of the building.

Ishigo ran up the second to last generator and dove into the shadow of the last one, only to reappear on the other side of it. He prepared a fighting stance, but tilted his head to the side and relaxed as he saw the "attacker". No, Ishigo, your guard. You're above this, said Jin from within, but Ishigo brushed it off, subliminally letting Jin know that he knew what he was doing. At that moment Julian decided to try a basic tactic and flew past Ishigo, who was standing behind the girl. He came to a halt right over the edge of the building, now facing the girl. In a slow movement, his upper body arose from the orb of smoke, which slowly reformed to a large puff of smoke that seemed to resemble the vague shape of a genie's tail.

"I doubt a pretty young thing like you would be our enemy, sistah'," Julian's voice was smooth and soft, and he also raised a brow as he smiled and crossed his arms. "I assure you, we mean no harm..."

Ariela~

Power..

It coursed through her as she finished her meal, everything was tinted red, and she felt, a change. For the second time in the past year, he appeared in front of her. The strange and distant man, who Ariela had assumed to be mute. He did not need to speak however, for he had translators. The two rabbit like doll creatures floated above his shoulders, mocking her with their piercing stares.

"Ariela my dear.." the first one spoke up, its voice distorted and high pitched.

"Your progress has been slow.." Reported the other, its voice low and menacing.

"You displease us.." said them both, their voices mixing into a cacophony of sound that assaulted her ears, causing her to flinch in annoyance. "Why do you resist us?" They continued, "we only aim to grant you the power you wish to have.. all you must do is take it..." The higher pitched rabbit began to chuckle lightly.

Ariela appeared unimpressed. "You do not truly believe that this will convince me do you? I have done your bidding, killing endless conduits at your whim. They call me a cannibal for killing only Conduits, apparently only absorbing those of the same spirit. It is madness, and I refuse to continue it. Why should I listen when your promises of power have yet to come to fruition?" She looked to them both for an answer, instead of speaking however, his voice entered her head.

Your arm my dear.. look too it and you will understand.. Ariela's gaze fell to her right arm as he said this. The black ring that signified their link had been replaced. No, it had transformed, spreading like a virus up her arm and to her shoulder. The black armor had cracks all throughout it, revealing a feint red glow that shined from beneath. Ariela gasped. A million questions ran through her head. How had this happened? What did it mean? She was at a loss, and Artemus took the Que to continue. You have evolved my dear, you are now... better... Yes, the next time you perform the ritual something quite grand will happen..

Ariela was panicked, and awoke with cold sweats. She was in her room. Her most recent meal lay on the floor beside her bed. Suddenly she remembered her trap, yes it was time to go see if she had caught anything..

Samuel~~~

Sam had chosen to come with Matthias, the voice in his head had greeted him on the walk. She was Miralda, the Deceiver; and she was the one who had revealed what she called 'the strings of life' to him. Apparently these connected a person to their own soul, he could even use them to bend people and objects to his will. Sam had been quite glad to hear of this last one, he had been eager to try it, but Miralda dissuaded him. You are not yet ready to hold my true power, for now simply use them to detect and find people. For as long as you have seen the owner of a string of life, I will forever remember the string as theirs. Sam had noticed this, it seemed that he could tell which string belonged to who as long as he had seen the owner once, this would be rather helpful indeed.

On the ground, millions of black and shriveled things lay strewn about. He had asked what these were, Miralda had told him they were former strings that had belonged to now dead humans and kages. Sam had realized at this point that he could also tell who had Kages and who did not, for those who did had 2 strings instead of one. Apparently the strings were made up of 'Second/Third tier elements' that humans could not regularly see. Sam had been enlightened to these specific elements and could now bare witness to something no one else could.

Samuel had listened intently as Miralda explained to him everything about these strings and how he could affect them. He took it all in, his new found powers impressing him more and more with every word Miralda spoke.

He asked how he could get stronger and Miralda's smile widened.

Well to do that... We must simply kill.. Samuel chuckled at this response, getting several strange stairs from the group. What a fitting response he thought, what a fitting response indeed.

As the group approached the lair of Iktomi Ascher, Samuel wondered at what his future held.

Collab Between Lost, Skai, AnriuSB, and Godfather

---

"I dont like this Mathias, there`s a dark presence here...and light! The two sides working together? We have to leave!" Boreas exclaimed as Mathias hobbled into the entrance hall, sweeping away masses of cobwebs as he moved. "We're not going anywhere and thats final, you're supposed to be the `great devourer` why are you so scared?" He asked. Mathias loved to toy with his inner demon. "Im not scared you fool! Im just aware that neither you nor myself are strong enough to deal with large threats yet." Regardless of Boreas' warnings, Mathias loudly hammered his cane on the floor below, causing a loud echoing thud, announcing their arrival.

'So Iktomi we are going to devour them right? That last conduit was hardly a meal, and I am famished.' Archania's voice boomed within Iktomi's mind. 'No, they are not hostile. At the very least I wish to hear why they are here. If their reason is not satisfactory, and we can provoke them, then we will devour their souls. Not a moment sooner though. Due to his late night, which was only helped pittifully from his nap, Iktomi was in no mood to put up with his kage's antics, nor those of anyone else. As the clanging of an object striking the floor reached his ears, Iktomi manipulated the threads near the door, throwing them open. "Enter, and be quick about it. You are letting in a draft."

All had stopped for Samuel Baxter. His eyes were unmoving, focused only on the ground directly infront of the entranceway to Iktomi's lair. On the ground were strewn hundreds of black strings, more so than anywhere he had seen so far. This is a place of death.. His kage mused, I believe we will have fun here.

Samuel adjusted his collar and stepped forward. 'Indeed,' he thought to himself briefly, 'I believe we shall.'

Samuel entered behind Mathias, closing the door lightly behind him.

"Mister Ascher I presume? My apologies for such an unexpected intrusion. Thank you for seeing us at such short notice. My name is Mathias Winters, and this is my associate. I've heard a great deal about you Mr Ascher. Do you know some call you an Emperor? As much of an honor as it is to meet you, I haven't come to bow to a new leader. I need information sir, I think you know the location of a very hard to find man. Are you aware of the location of Edward Vates?"

Arianna paused as she stepped into the room, looking up at the newcomers. She had managed to hear the name "Edward Vates" as she entered and furrowed her brows curiously. She lightly cleared her throat and shut the door behind her, looking the newcomers over. Neither of them seemed too threatening, but one could never tell. She didn't know if they had kages or not. Without interrupting too loudly, Arianna slowly moved to stand next to Iktomi's webby throne.

Sam tipped his hat to Iktomi as Mathias gestured to him, his eyes then wandered around the room, taking in the true nature of Iktomi's layer. To most it would have appeared as a simply web, but Sam saw much more. Each and every web in the building was attached to Iktomi's life string and whenever he manipulated one of them his life string and the web itself would merge. It was a complex puzzle that Sam could only begin to unwind. This is extremely coincidental indeed. Sam's kage chuckled softly before continuing. That unfortunate young lad has stumbled across a very good friend of mine.. So tragic this Iktomi had to throw his life away like that..

Samuel shot a confused gaze at his kage, who simply remaind silent and shrugged in his direction. Samuel shook his head of the thought and raised his eyes, only to have them fall upon Arianna. For a moment he was taken aback. The sudden appearance of his hallucination almost caused him to faint. It was then that true surprise hit him. This woman was real. Samuel swallowed nervously; the resemblance was uncanny. This woman was almost an exact replica of his deceased sister.

"I am well aware of the titles that have been bestowed upon me by those who either fear or respect my authority. They are meaningless. I am simply a man protecting those that look to him for leadership. Much like yourself Mr. Winters, if my intel is to be trusted." Iktomi forced his aggression down, since his guests managed to not only prove they had a valid reason for coming, they also peaked his interest. "As a fellow business man I am sure you understand that information does not come without a price. I am aware of the location of Mr. Vates, what are you able to offer in return?"

"The real question, Mr. Ascher, is what do you want?" Mathias said with a smile. After a whole year of searching Vates was finally close at hand. "I can offer you many things. I can see an alliance between you and I. As your intel may tell you, I have a strong supply of tech and weaponry at my disposal. Now I can't tell you where I get them from, but I can supply you with reasonable armament in return for a simple location. Would that interest you?"

Rather than answer immediately, Iktomi lifted his hand from the arm of his throne, causing three groups of webbing to rise in the air. With a twitch of his fingers the threads spun together to form three spears, which hovered idly in the air. "Weapons are of little concern to me, in my home I am more than adequetly armed. Those who follow me are equally equipped, however one can never have too much technology at their disposal. In exchange for Vates' location I want a shipment of the best you can offer, as well as an alliance. How does that sound Mr. Winters?" Iktomi's head tilted to the side, his dead eyes locked onto those of Mathias.

Samuel shook his head slowly, his focus had shifted to the conversation and he was not pleased with the spider's counter offer. He looked up to him and twirled his hat forward, performing a sort of bow in order to announce himself. "Do you preffer Emperor, or Iktomi?" He asked cheerfully.

Iktomi's eyes never shifted from Mathias as he responded. "I prefer neither from those who I do not know. If you are to address me it will be as Mr. Ascher, and only at the consent of Mr. Winters. He is the one that my business is with."

"Aah, my esteemed Mr. Ascher.. I do not believe you understand." Samuel's gaze darkened for a moment as he bit off the next part of his sentence, "any business with Mr. Winters, is also a business with myself." He straightened himself as he stepped forward twice. "Two things Mr. Ascher, two things; one, how much will you be losing when you give away this information? My associate seems to be getting the short end of this bargain, do you not agree?"

Arianna had been listening intently the whole time, her gaze switching between the three men as they spoke. When she felt the second man's gaze on her, she shifted uncomfortably. She caught a glimpse of what he was thinking as he looked shocked. Sister.. Is that..? No, it can't be..' He thought. Arianna narrowed her eyes for a millisecond, wondering what he meant. It was a little awkward to resemble the sibling of a stranger. Especially when she heard it, while otherwise she wouldn't have.

As they continued to talk, Arianna became more interested. Why did he want to find Vates? Had Vates done something to him, or was he an old friend of this Mathias? She blinked in surprise as the second man, Baxter, seemed to try and take control of the situation. Curiously, Arianna looked up at Iktomi to see his reaction to Baxter's words.

Iktomi finally teared his eyes away from Mathias, locking them now upon the eyes of the man who dared to speak as if he knew what he was talking about. "You come onto my property without invitation seeking a favor, and you expect to get an even bargain? This is the very reason that this discussion is between Mr. Winters and myself. You do not have the knowledge to comprehend what is proper in a situation such as this. I stand to lose absolutely nothing from giving Mr. Winters the location of Edward Vates, however he clearly needs the information badly enough to approach me unnanounced. Therefore, I am the one in control of bargaining what its worth is. Further more with the second part of the agreement, that being the alliance between Mr. Winter and I, I am more than willing to aid him with whatever he needs, be it within my power to do so. From my perspective I am taking a great risk at trusting a man that I only know through intelligence operations, and from that I stand to lose quite a bit. Now why don't you silence yourself before I ask Mr. Winters to remove you from my presence." Throughout his little monologe Iktomi's voice never shifted from it's dead tone.

"Well put Mr. Ascher," continued Samuel. Even though the man showed no sign of it, the threat was clear. What will you do now Mr. Baxter, you have been looked down upon. Is that not unacceptable? Samuel agreed entirely. This Iktomi had made a grave error in the eyes of Samuel Baxter. He would know what happened to those who direspected him. he would know..

Samuel chose instead to simply quiet himself. He smiled and nodded respectfully. "Thank you for the clarification."

"Gentlemen, we are amidst an apocalypse yes, but lets be civilised. Mr. Ascher, neither myself nor Mr. Baxter are to be underestimated. So you've got webs, nice, I'm sure that comes in handy when you want to knit something made from silk." He chuckled at his own joke, the sound reverberated into a loud bellow. "I respect you sir not for your clear power, but for your mind and leadership. I propose this; You get your tech, I get my intel, and, we set up a nice little trade route between our two estates, what do you say? Believe it or not there's still money to be made out here and power to be grabbed." He waited a while for a response, Mathias was not concerned however, an offer like the one he had just given very rarely presented itself. Turning to Sam, a look of disappointment crossed his face, he wondered if the man had any ability to shake the thoughts of rage and violence from his mind. He was trying to cover it up, but Mathias had known him for far to long, he knew when he was losing it.

Arianna blinked, listening to the two men completely ignore the fact that they were trapped within Iktomi's lair unless Iktomi let them go. She gave them some brownie points for standing up to Iktomi (she would do it, too, if the opportunity arrived), but thought them foolish. Even though it was a business arrangement, they clearly needed Iktomi's cooperation in order to gain anything. Pissing him off was a bad thing to do if you weren't as close to Iktomi as she was. Arianna glanced between Iktomi and the two men, wondering how he would react to their demands. She was definitely trying hard not to hear Iktomi's thoughts; she desperately wanted to, but respected him enough not to pry.

As his gaze landed upon Mathias once again, Iktomi's face remained a straight line for a moment before finally cracking into a sly grin. "I like you Mr. Winters, but make no mistake. I never underestimate anyone. That is the quickest way to an early grave. These webs are for more than decoration; ask any of the individuals who attempted to kill me. That is not a threat, mind you, it is a simple fact. The arrangement you propose is adequate enough, and having another comrade is always beneficial in the world we live in. You will find the information you seek with the woman that escorted you here. She is waiting for you outside." With the grin remaining upon his lips, Iktomi turned his head back to Mr. Baxter. "I will not apologize for the words that I said, for they hold true. Your head is in the right place, looking out for Mr. Winters' interests, however the manner in which you did so was flawed."

Samuel smiled softly, all evidence of anger had now vanished from him. Beneath his mask of content was a pool of hatred however, luckily for him, Samuel had mastered the art of 'coming off as pleased'. "No need Mr. Ascher. I was out of line. My memory is not at its best these days, so please find it in your heart to excuse any... discrepancies that may present themselves." As he did this he tipped his hat in respect to the man. Iktomi was quite skilled in many areas, but Samuel did not plan on letting his preparedness prevent him from exacting vengeance.

Samuel then turned to Mathias. "I believe it best if we left my dear friend. I will meet you outside. First I have some personal business with Mr. Ascher." Samuel was kindly hinting at him to leave them alone. His eyes said 'sorry, I will tell you later'.

"Yes I think you're right Samuel. Mr. Ascher, thank you so much for your time. I hope you manage to get some rest tonight at least." He nodded to his friend and started to turn, as he did so he noticed the girl once more. "Young lady, would you escort an old man out, my leg is a bit weak."

Arianna opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated. She glanced at Iktomi for encouragement, but noticed his expression. She swallowed lightly and nodded, smiling politely. "If it'll help," she said, moving towards him. For what she knew, this man seemed to have no other means than harming someone besides his words and his cane. She reached out, gently taking ahold of the arm opposite the side of the cane.

As they stepped through the door, out of sight and far enough to not be heard, Mathias looked Arianna in the eye. "Be careful young lady. I know you have a strong connection with Mr. Ascher. I dont know how you know him or why you are here, but please be careful. I think you know how dangerous he is...I think you know a lot of things...I think you even know what I think, what everyone thinks. Keep that in mind when Mr. Ascher thinks of me as an old man who has forgotten how to play the game...Take care Miss."

As he finished, Hali came around the corner, envelope in hand. Mathias said his goodbyes; one to the stone-cold killer, one to the dazed young lady. Walking away, he grasped the envelop tightly, Vates truely was within reach now.

Arianna had been about to defend Iktomi, but suddenly tensed and felt her heart stop when he hinted about her telepathy. She could feel Castiel shift uncomfortably within her. How did he know? Was it that easy to tell? As he walked away, Arianna watched him for a few moments, still trying to grasp what he had said. Had he threatened Iktomi in the last sentence he said? She could only feel a little claustrophobic from all of the confusion. There was one thing she knew, though. Iktomi was a dangerous man to mess with. Even though he had promised that he wouldn't hurt her, she wondered how long it would take until he would stop being so courteous. She hated to doubt him, but hadn't she known what she was going to be dealing with the moment she decided to stay with Iktomi? Arianna swallowed down her uncertainties and looked down at the ground, taking a deep breath. Perhaps she should go to the Golden Mercenaries after all...

Collab Between Lost and AnriuSB
After the other two had left Samuel looked to Mr. Ascher. " I am sure you are aware That I was, a broker of sorts, in the time before this travesty. You may also be aware that I had invested a significant amount of time in learning things bout you. You seemed to be the type of man that people wanted to know about Mr. Asher, and it seems that hasn't changed. I have a friend who would like to know about you at this very moment infact." Samuel took a moment before continueing, making sure he understood everything his kage had told him.

"Your kage, Mr. Asher, does its name happen to be Archania?" He asked calmly.
"I am well aware of all of the information that you have stated Mr. Baxter, and I have been for quite some time. I will admit that I was not aware it was you that was digging up information on me, but I knew that someone was. As I am sure you realized not too long into your investigation, most of the information you found was false. Not because of your lack of skill, for you are quite adept at your trade, but because I am very skilled at erasing and replacing myself." The mirth that had been momentairly displayed no longer existed, replaced with a dead expression.

Iktomi nodded a bit at the only question that Mr. Baxter had actually presented. "That is in fact correct. I presume that means your Kage knew her before they entered our world."

Sam chuckled a bit, it was true that his search had proven fruitless at first, but Sam had uncovered a few things about ik that he was sure were truthful. Something about a girl looking for him in the city, a past friend or some other acquantence. Either way he was thinking off topic. He sniffed the air before proceeding. " Hmm, do you also have a hankering for a good cup of tea? It seems I have an urge coming on." Samuel then took a seat, he happened to be standing infront of one at the time. "Yes I do believe that we should be comfortable for this meeting, don't you Archania?" Samuel's voice had changed pitch slightly, his eyes were tinted purple aswell. Miralda had merged her conciousness with his for a moment, apparently she wanted to do this in person.

'Let me out of here Iktomi! Her head is mine. She thinks just because she can control pathetic strings that she is on my level! Archania's mandibles clashed together furiously, as she butted against the mental barrier of Iktomi. 'You are well aware that that is not possible. You will just have to speak through me.' A light grumble is all Iktomi intially received, until she finally relented. 'Ask that bitch Miralda what she thinks she is doing here.' Iktomi chuckled a bit, his eyes focused upon the now purple tinted eyes of Sam. "Archania would like to know what you are doing here Miralda, she does not seem all too happy to see you."

"Oh, she isn't?" His eyebrows raised as Miralda feigned concern. " My dear insect, I did not think you so petty, still sore about the last chunk I took out of you? " He chuckled lightly before Miralda continued. " You may be displeased, but Samuel still has yet to see any tea, if you wish me to be gone, then help me speeden things up a bit. You see my host's throat is quite parched..." Samuel smirked inside of his head, Miralda was quite right, this would not be going any where until he could wetten his throat.

"Your host has someone waiting for him outside Mrs. Miralda, I do not believe it would be beneficial to lengthen this discussion any more than needed. Otherwise Mr. Winters may begin to worry about Mr. Baxter's well being. I would like it if you would answer Archania's question, as that is the surest way to hasten this meeting." Iktomi's head tilted to the side, a light smile on his lips. Mr. Baxters presence may leave a bitter taste in his mouth, but anyone that could cause Archania as much distress as he could, was alright in his mind.

"Tsk, tsk, This just won't do.. Well, I guess I could continue without." Sam's body leaned forward in it's chair, had it been a female form it would have been extremely sexualized, but Sam's male body made it difficult to duplicate the effect. [b]" I do believe that we should make an arrangment Iktomi Ascher. It seems we have a coinciding interests. You see, I wish to sate this vast hunger within me, and you happen to have many spare bodies with which I can sate it with. What do you say Mr. Ascher? You give me the souls of those people who had to be, 'pushed aside', and I give you every secret Mathias could ever want to keep from you?" Miralda smiled as she finished. She enjoyed this man, she would like keep him around for a while..

Iktomi's head tilted to the side in thought, much to the displeasure of Archania. After a moment he slowly lifted his head, nodding in the same motion. "I believe that I can agree to that arrangement Mrs. Miralda, however I must add an additional clause. If you are going to hunt within my land, you have to be the one in control. You are interesting, and you cause Archania much grief. Mr. Baxter on the other hand only causes me to experience a bitterness in my mouth."

"Mr. Ascher... do not misunderstand, I only offer out of courtesy, if you wish to see me that badly, then I will simply come to your lair from time to time. However, when I hunt, I hunt on my terms. Please do not take offense when I say that I simply do not care." The entire time she spoke, Sam's voice was pleasant and relaxed. Miralda always showed this state of general contentedness, much akin to Iktomi's state of permanent neutrality.

"It is not that I wish to see you, although like I said the displeasure of my own kage amuses me, it is that I wish to not see him. Your terms are acceptable in the event that you do not come within these walls while he is in control." Despite his intense dislike of giving in to anothers terms, having the potential to hear additional information on his ally was too good of an offer to pass up. For even if Mathias and Iktomi were on good terms currently, that may not always hold true.

"Wonderful to hear Mr. Ascher, now, before I take to my hunting I have one parting gesture." She moved her hand and caused silk Spears that still hung above them to collapse into piles on the floor. "You forgot to clean up your mess." She winked at him as Sam left the building.

With a smile of surrender on his face, Weston Meyer looked down at his soiled military uniform. The once dark green and blue colors of the Arcarus military branch were now a stained brown and red mess. The proud formal attire of a soldier had become rags with a few pins and badges. The washed-up officer chuckled again despite his condition, coughing up another splash of blood.

As the near-blinding light at the colorless alley's opening grew brighter and brighter, Weston began to accept the mortality he was so suddenly forced to confront--or maybe it was his acceptance that fed the light's brightness. Either way, death came closer and closer, and with it a myriad of questions. "Say," he spoke to the disembodied voice of his kage, "what happens? I mean when you die. You died, right? Will I go to the void like you, or do I just stop existing? I'm not really the religious type, so I wouldn't know much about it."

"I wouldn't know actually," the kage admitted in an unusually solemn tone. "None of us went to the void as an afterlife, but were forced there as punishment. Then, having not learned our lesson, we ripped even that realm in two." The kage fell silent for a moment, as if in contemplation, then continued, "I'd like to say our fate has been worse than death, but I'd be lying if I said I knew."

After a moment, Weston smirked and replied, "Wow, you have other emotions besides 'snarky' and 'manipulative'. Now I can throw in 'bitter' and I'll almost be able to consider you the equivalent of a human woman."

"Shouldn't you be dying by now?"

"Ah, there's snarky again. And here I thought we were getting somewhere."

"You stay right there, don't you dare move!" A younger, noticeably male voice suddenly threatened from the other side of the light. All at once, the light faded and the world's monochrome regained its color, revealing a boy, no older than sixteen pointing a pistol directly at the bleeding man on the ground. The way he held it in his obviously non-dominant right hand told Weston that he'd never had to use it before or hadn't had it very long. In the boy's other hand was a worn backpack, probably full of important supplies judging by how tightly he clenched his fist around the strap. "Whaddya got on you?" the boy inquired, hesitantly stepping forward. "Food, medicine, bullets? Huh, military man?"

Weston glanced back down at his destroyed uniform, then laughed. It was a genuine laugh, and probably the first one he'd had in years. He could tell it was the last thing he needed, but the shock kept the pain at bay. Another cough of blood served as a reminder to keep the laughing to a minimum. "I dunno kid, I was gonna ask you the same thing. Got any food or meds in your little pack there? 'Cuz I could use 'em."

Instinctively, the teen gripped the pack in his right hand tighter, while pointing the pistol more aggressively but still not with the intent to kill. "Even if I had what you need, you think I'd give it to some military asshole? Who the hell do you think I am?"

Smirking once again, Weston mocked, "Even if I had what you need, you think I'd give it to some kid pointing a gun at my face when I'm dying anyway?" He pulled his hand from the bleeding hole in his side to properly display the wound. "If you were smart, you'd wait for me to bleed out, then loot my body in case I had a kage or something. You get my stuff, and there's one less asshole for you to deal with."

The boy stayed silent, still pointing the gun a few feet from Weston's chest. The dying man had made him feel a little stupid, but it was a little late to back away now. For all he knew, this guys could be some Conduit that looted a military guy and would attack him as soon as he let his guard down.

Enjoying this last conversation, Weston broke the silence with an inquiry: "So who's the bag for?" The last word was a little weak, as he was becoming even more lightheaded from blood loss.

The boy stepped back, bringing the bag behind him as if to guard it from the bleeding man's advance. "What's it to you?" he replied curtly, avoiding the question.

"Just curiousity," Weston answered. "I was busy dying before you showed up. Now I have something to keep myself bu--s--y." The world suddenly faded to monchrome again, then white, then black.

Mathias lit a cigar whilst waiting for Samuel, intently he listened to Boreas whom, like a wise and ancient sage advised him "We need to be stronger Mathias, we need more power." A confused expression entered the mans weathered face. "We are powerful Boreas, we control a large estate, control the makings of a small army, we have just this second struck a major trading contract! Our power on the streets is rivaled only by those we have made our allies." This did little to convince the devourer who sighed "True power Mathias, power from inside oneself. Mr. Ascher knows of such power, as does our friend Mr. Baxter. You have yet to learn the many bountiful skills I can offer." He was right, the kage was right. Mathias had started this year a crippled wreck, he had evolved little since the rapture whilst others had thrived and become virtually god-like. The realization had hit him hard, so much so that it required a second cigar immediately after the first. Mathias had to leave behind his old ways and become something more, something stronger; for his family, for his people, for survival.

Rounding up his men, he tasked two with escorting Samuel safely back to the estate, at this time it was unlikely that they would meet with any undesirables and thus was sure of his friends safety. As Samuel walked out of the lair, Mathias explained that he must run some errands around the city before morning came. "You can go straight to the estate if you like, or deal with any business on your way, whatever you do just make sure these men get home to see their kids ya hear? oh and when i get back i might have a surprise for you." With that he was gone.

The remaining seven men followed Mathias several miles to the West,"Were going to the factory Mathias, your going to make some excellent choices this morning. We cant wait any longer, these people reached out to you for help, those who are worthy will be granted asylum within your walls, the others will take a different path." The ancient ones words held a grim presidence in his mind. "A different path? Boreas what is that, what are you doing?" Mathias struggled for a moment, trying to turn around but it was to no avail. By now Boreas had sneakily gained control of his host. Only then did Mathias realized that for the last twenty minutes Boreas had been the one controlling his movements, he was the one marching to the factory dwellers, Mathias could do nothing but wait and watch. "Boreas stop this, we had an agreement!" He exclaimed, calling upon the pact they had made shortly after the rapture. "We agreed that I would emerge when we were in danger, well the longer we wait to get stronger, the more danger we are likely to face. Remember that I am on your side Mathias, I have grown fond of your family, i want to help keep them safe, let me protect us." With that, Mathias stopped resisting. Boreas was right. Within minutes they were infront of the factory, it was time.

OOC-Id like to keep this arc to be solely about Mathias if I can please, no jumping in :P

Ariela~

She was anxious, something had compelled her to stay at the hospital for the last 3 hours, yet every part of her was fighting to go out. She needed air, she needed thrill, she needed to hunt. The dull and crowded hospital room was uninviting to her, she could not believe she had chosen this place as her home. Everything about it was garbage, but then again, so was the rest of the city. From the people that walk within it to the rubble that litter the streets, all were equal in her eyes. All were trash, unworthy of existence, deserving nothing but the fire of her hatred, and the cold steel of her machete.

Ariela had much hate within her, and she was rather close too losing her cool on her very self. She gritted her teeth and screamed at the empty walls of her hideaway. "Whatever ungodly force compels me to stay in this place I order you! Seize it immediately. You have no right over me! And I will leave my home upon my own orders!" As if on Que, her body froze, tense and cold as it were glaring at her with the same eyes a parent would glare upon an impudent child with. Ariela became frightened, unable to understand why she could not bring herself to move. Mentally she fought the urge at every corner, but despite her best efforts it always prevailed at the end. The feeling relaxed, as if to sigh and say 'this is not worth my time.' Ariela almost became enraged once more, until she thought at the insanity of the matter.

She was fighting an urge her own subconsciousness had, and was translating signals from her body into plain English. She shook her head of the madness of it all and stood up. She would simply leave, walk out of the small crack behind the wall in the western wing, and retrieve the game that had most likely fallen to her trap by now.

It all seemed to be going well, she had packed her things and attempted to dress herself. Ariela frowned quizzically, as her clothing would not fit on her form. She quickly went to one of the old nurse's closets to retrieve some wears. She looked up at her reflection and gasped.

She had aged, and she was unable to draw any conclusions as too how.

Samuel~

As he regained control of his body and mind, Samuel faced the men Mathias had trusted to him. He shook his head and pointed to the mansion. "Go. Trust me when I say you will not want to take part in this." The men began to protest, but the look Samuel shot them immediately shut them up. He seemed to peer into their very souls, and after a few moments they were more than willing to leave him be. He shot a thought of disgust in their direction as they fled back to the mansion. Samuel had business to attend too.

Miralda had met a man named Leo on her way out, apparently he had provided her with the locations of a large amount of desperate individuals. Samuel smiled, tonight would be long indeed. He strolled through the market district, partially lost in thought, and mostly taking in the beauty of the sun set. He suddenly had a memory of the day of the apocalypse, a sort of Deja vu that would not leave him. He decided he would visit his favorite tea shop, it was rather likely they were no longer in business, but a man could hope.

It did not take long before he arrived, the small shop had caved in and the only window had been smashed in by some unknown object. Samuel shimmied over the frame and found himself inside. He was not entirely sure what he was doing here, but he was rather pleased to see a life string disappear behind the half destroyed counter. He giggled to himself. "Why Miralda my dear, it does seem that our first meal is upon us." Samuel announced, adding a bit of flare to his voice. His aim was to frighten, and he got results. He heard a soft whimpering from behind the counter as he stepped closer. "Now, now my dear; there is no need to be frightened. You should consider it an honor. You will be able to contribute to me and Miralda's future, just small spot of spirit is all I need. Now if you would just come out..." He peered around the bar as he laid eyes on the woman, she was barely alive. Famished beyond belief, and out of breath. She pathetically brandished a knife against him.

Samuel reached out and grabbed the chord of life, jerking it towards himself. She woman was sent into shock as she flew forward, smacking her face on the floor. Samuel grabbed her by the hair and brought her face to his. Bloodied snot ran down from her now broken nose. "Quite rude of you to show up to an evening meal in this state milady, it almost makes me cringe away from partaking." Samuel smiled as he opened his mouth and sucked inwards. He was inches away from the woman's own mouth, and he felt power seep into him as she went limp. 'Thank you for the meal Miralda' He thought, and was quickly replied to with a cheerful. The pleasure is all mine.

Samuel then left the shop, in search of the next soul that would be unlucky enough to cross his path.

"Well here we are, I'm giving you control again, get us inside." With that Mathias was free, he motioned to his men to set up a parameter around the factory and with a projected voice he made his announcement "To those residing inside! My name is Mathias Winters, I heard you wanted to see me!". After a painfully yet short silence the main factory door opened, revealing disheveled, worn-out refugees. There were so many of them, at least fifty, each one looked weaker than the last. One man in particular stepped forward, he was middle-aged and seemed to be on of the strongest in the group. "Winters you say, I'm Crowley, welcome to the factory, please come in."

Edward Vates – 8 Months Ago
Where was he? Why had he been walking here? How long had he been walking for? Vates’ mind was dazed and it was only due to Janus that he began to regain conscious. “Edward! Edward! Listen to me! You need to focus! You’re leading us into a trap!” pleaded Janus from within Vates mind, his voice barely piercing the dull hum that clouded Vates hearing. The voice shocked Vates, causing his eyes to open wider and his blood to pump faster. Suddenly he began to become aware of his surroundings and the voice from inside his head for once was not the biggest issue. He stood in the centre of a courtyard boxed in by derelict buildings, their walls barely visible underneath a coat of flora. As he took a step he felt an unpleasant damp and squidgy sensation and realised he was standing on a patch of mold. Quickly he stumbled onto a clear section of stone floor and continued to look about his surroundings as his mind came back to him.

“What’s happening?” Vates asked his kage out loud. He had been doing his best to ignore Janus – to pretend he didn’t exist – but now he had no option.
“A conduit is nearby. There is something about this fungus. The scent it is giving off lured you here. As it did many others…” As those last words were spoken Vates involuntarily turned (at Janus’ will) to see odd pieces of bones among a patch of mold. As Vates looked upon the bones his vision distorted, for a moment it was like heat distortion, but then a flash and a vision:

The courtyard was dull and bare save for a few puddles. The buildings were in disrepair but there was no flora, no mold. All was quiet for a moment save the small echo of running feet. A young girl no older than twenty emerged from one of the buildings in a hurry, but tripped as she ran through a puddle, slipping on the wet mud beneath. Her landing was made worse by her upper body slamming onto the stone path. She winced in pain and rolled over to see her pursuer emerge from the same door. A tall slim man, made heavy from the draping of moss that hung off of him. His pale face was free of obstruction and housed yellow eyes and a sharp toothed smile. The young girl fumbled desperately at her holster for her pistol but it was in vain. The conduit before her lunged forward into a crouch, placing both his hands palm down into the puddle. As he did so the water turned dark and corrupted, and quickly was engulfed in mold, sweeping towards and over the girl like a wave. She struggled as the mold spread onto her skin, her body beginning to thrash around in short bursts until eventually going limp. Her eyes and mouth slowly filled with fungus as the corruption continued. The conduit laughed uncontrollably at the devouring of the soul.

As Vates re-entered his own present he shook his head and took a moment to allow his eyes to readjust. By this point Vates and Janus had only experienced a few visions, and ones like this they called a tear; it was not forced, but rather found, and witnessed involuntarily. “What do I do?” asked Vates inwardly, suddenly more aware that someone may be watching or listening.

“Run.”

---

Edward Vates – Present Time
Vates was in an old school with two men, Marvin and Jeff, whom he believed were part of the group from the Market. “My name’s Monroe. I’m with a group of five others who are back at our camp. I’m not a host and I’m not hostile. Can we talk?” Vates put on the façade of a desperate survivor in the hopes the men would try to recruit him. “I have food and pills in my bag you can have too”

Jeff and Marvin shared a glanced before nodding at one and other. “Let’s see what you’ve got,” said Marvin cautiously, “just erm… take it off slowly, place it down and slide it over.”

Vates did as he was told. Jeff tilted his head in disbelief, “Most people are smart enough not to give away their food. What’s to say we won’t just kill you?”

Vates shrugged, “There’s not much I could do to stop you. I thought you’d eventually find me lurking around anyway. To be honest I’m just glad to see some more human faces – you don’t look like conduits.” In reality Vates knew that there was no ‘look’ to a conduit, and he knew that neither of the men before him were conduits anyway. This was a risky strategy for him to play but he needed information. Many would have attacked the men, threatened them or even tortured them for information, but Vates knew better; not only were such measures immoral, but were ineffective and thus unnecessary. Better to build rapport and trust.

Jeff nodded in response, his own fear of conduits reflected in his eyes. Marvin stopped his search of the bag and looked up at Vates “So Monroe? You said you were with a group of people. There’s no one waiting around is there?”

“No. As I said, they’re all back at our camp. We’ve taken up in a sewer a few blocks over; it’s a closed one so we don’t have to worry about other sewer dwellers stumbling across us.” Vates tailed off providing as much false detail as he could, knowing that it made the lie all the more believable. He had never been one to struggle with remembering such things. “What about yourselves?”

“What about us?” Jeff retorted.

“How are you guys surviving?” asked Vates, doing his best to use an open ended question – such questions yielded more answers than yes/no questions.
Marvin looked over to Jeff and made a motion with his hand, signalling Jeff to lower his weapon. “I think we can trust him; if he wanted to get a jump on us he wouldn’t have announced himself. There’s a whole gang of us, we’re held up at the Market down the road. We’re out looking for gear and survivors.” said Marvin with a smile.

Vates did his best to look surprised and hopeful, “You’re looking for survivors? To help them?”

“Yeah. Chief (our leader) wants us to bring to him what survivors we find” replied Jeff. There was a pause for a moment, then Jeff cleared his throat and continued “You don’t happen to have come across a man named Vates have you?”

Vates couldn’t help but find the question amusing and he struggled to fight off a smile, rubbing his face to hide it just in case. “Name rings a bell actually. Why do you ask?”
Marvin struggled to read the man before him, his response was surprising. “He’s a dangerous guy, got a conduit. Chief has given us ordered to kill the bastard at any costs. If you know where he is you’d be helping us out.”

Vates mind rushed with possible replies before settling on Janus’ least favourite “I think you’re after the guy living over in the Heights District.” It was a risky move, but then again the associated risks were more manageable. If nothing else the information brought him trust. More importantly it meant what forces ‘Chief’ had would be focused in one area that Vates knew well, rather than scuttling around all over the place.

"I had to pick you. The one who tells the bad guys where we live. The one who likes to jump out of a 18th floor windows."

Jeff laughed in excitement, “Well then mate! I think you’ve more than earned yourself and your friends a place with us!”

“No.” came Marvin quickly, “He’s helped us out Jeff, we could at least do the same for him. You don’t want to cross us Monroe. Chiefs a nasty guy and a conduit, anyone we bring him he kills to make himself stronger or whatever it is they do. Do yourself a favour: take your friends and get away from here.”

Sage and Greengoat Collab post

---

She had taken but a moment to clutch her head, trying to suppress the murderous feeling she felt flooding her head. A mere moment, and already they were upon her

Except the man had no feet..

"I doubt a pretty young thing like you would be our enemy, sistah'," Julian's voice was smooth and soft, and he also raised a brow as he smiled and crossed his arms. "I assure you, we mean no harm..."

"Ah..."The color drained from her face as soon as she realized what she was looking at, as soon as she realized the man's body was tapering into smoke like some genie from an old arabian story. Hayami's knees would have given out right then and there, if not for the voice screaming in her ear.

"FIGHT! FIGHT OR WE DIE!"

WIth a scream she simply released electricity around her, which caused Julian to flinch and fly backwards a bit, dissolving into his full smoke form. The electricity didn't reach him, but was emitted at a level in which he was kept at bay. However, despite his form, his voice still rang clear, seemingly emitting from the orb of smoke that floated around in front of the panicing girl. It echoed, just as smooth if not smoother than Julian's voice in his natural form, except with a more youthful touch to it. "Calm down, yulie, why the panic?"

Jules, she's probably possessed! Let's end this one, please? Julian's smoke form inched forward, ignoring his kage's plea, "Don't tell me... you're afraid, now, are yah, yulie?"

It doesn't... it didn't work... Her mind was too clouded with fear to really think clearly. She took a step backwards, and promptly toppled over the ledge. There was a feeling of weightlessness for a moment, a moment that felt like an eternity as she realized she was falling down the building. Julian instictly reached out to prevent the girl from falling, but his smoke form refused to dissipate fast enough, and before his very eyes, he watched the girl plummet. "OH GOD!" he cried out as he quickly burst into a futile attempt to fly downwards towards her.

The screams in her ear seemed distant, inconsequential as her life flashed before her eyes. Was she to die here? Alone, her body left crumpled like trash in the rubble of what was? She closed her eyes, hoping her maid at least, will survive...

"...Hilda...".

With all the strength she could muster, she sparked out as much electricity she could. At first, it seemed like a lost cause, but just short of hitting the ground, her rapid descent slowed, and then changed direction upwards.

"Ugh!"

She hit the wall with great force, but not as much as she would hitting the ground at terminal velocity.

"..mag...magnetism?"

Electromagnetism... and the steel supports in the walls. With her body charged up like magnet, it managed to slow her down enough to not be fatal. But now she was stuck to a wall with no real idea on how to get unstuck. As the girl lay stuck to the wall, with sparks of electricity going off in the immediate vicinity, the shadows that were cast on the building began to slowly swirl into shape. Gradually, the dark shade that covered the lower ends of the building stretched upwards towards the girl, and spiraled outwards, only to reveal the torso of a young man extending from what seemed like nothingness. Hayami gave one last effort to try and free herself, barely managing to get her hand out before it was pulled back to the wall. With all her energy spent to break her fall, she can barely manage to even generate a small spark. Raijin had become silent; Hayami could no longer hear him or even see his image.

As the man slowly looked up, his calm, authoritative voice cut through the commotion caused by the girl's decent. "Y'know... you were smart to not trust us. But at the same time... I promise you, you'll have no other choice. If you want freedom, that is..."

At that very moment, Julian's smokeform braked to a halt right infront of the girl, and he once again took on the 'genie pose' he was so comfortable with. "Damnit, you alright, yulie?" His voice exposed a genuine concern that Julian tended to exhibit for almost anyone around him, especially those who were noticably younger than him.

"...you tried to kill me..." she whispered.

Ishigo shook his head and crossed his arms as he looked forward, past the girl and into the streets beyond. "No. We tried to save you. The fact that we're talking right now indicates that either you still have control... Or I'm making a very big mistake." Ishigo's voice remained stern, but reassuring in a very strange way. He looked to Julian and nodded before disappearing back into the shadows. Julian chuckled softly and looked at the girl, his eyes expressing a very unique warmth about them. He reached forward and extended a hand, as if preparing to help her get free. "Trust me, yulie, we're the good guys. I promise you now, yah hear?"

Hayami looked at the hand offered, and gave an incredulous look towards the man in front of her. "...I... I'm kinda stuck..." Julian chuckled and reached forward, grabbing a hold of the girl's hand and attempting to pull her off. He added to his force by aiming his smoke trail towards the wall, propelling himself away from the wall on which the girl was trapped.

Pushing hard against the wall, she struggled a bit before popping free, sending her tumbling a few feet away. Now that she was free, Hayami pulled her hand away from Julian. "I don't trust you... But I'll accept that you don't mean me any harm." She turned away for a moment, but stopped. "I... apologize f..for shooting at you just before. I'm just... searching... for someone..."

With that, she considered all formalities had been dealt with, and walked away.Hilda was out there somewhere after all, and Hilda might be searching for her this very moment.

Julian had simply watched the young girl walk off, unsure of whether he was authorized to ask her to join up with them or not. Before he could decide whether or not to offer assistance, he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around only to see Hector and the rest of the squad gathering around them. Hector's expression looked worried and he took a quick look around before speaking to Julian, "Just got word from the Zero, hermano. Shits going down. We need to get back there A.S.A.P." Just then Kisheto looked out from the side of the group to notice the girl walking away, "What the hell?! She's just a lone girl! That ain't cool, how can we just let her go solo like that?" This time, it was Ishigo's voice that introduced itself into the rendezvoused squad: "She seems capable, and we can't force her to join us. Besides, we're too close to freedom to let it slip." Julian raised a brow at his words, "Whatdya mean let it slip? What's happenin brothah?" Hector shook his head and looked back from the way the squad had came, "On me, let's move."