Zachary ambled through the streets, pushing his trolley. It contained a chunk of machinery the size of an engine block with a very large polarity core in it. The trolley's wheels could barely carry the weight, and to get it over bumps Zachary had to make use of his metal manipulating powers to lift it. But he was making progress without significant effort, which was good. He was now looking for a carriage which he could adapt to his design. There was the odd carriage and shuttle here and there along the streets, but they are all in a bad state and a lot of their kinetic cores have been mostly looted, sometimes by himself. What he wanted was the confluence of the flood waters during the disaster, as that was where a lot of the debris had been washed, including carriages. In that area he would be able to find a carriage of the right size, an engine that is mostly intact and a wide assortment of spare parts all with-in a short distance of each other. And most of it is rubble-strewn trash with little shelter, so there aren't much in the way of permanent occupants to deal with.

Eventually he made it to a place with carriages and rubble jammed into a intersection and against a half-broken wall. While rubble was found in all parts of the city, it is only in places like these that there is a large amount. It towered about a storey above the street level, and looked like a scene from a wrecker's yard. Looking at the mountain before him, Zachary was reminded of the main disadvantage of scavenging in such a place- everything is a wreck. Not many things survived the turbulent flood taking it into this place, where many other pieces of large debris were smashing their way through to as well. However, Zachary had hope. A light carriage like that he was looking for could quite possibly have avoided the roughest parts of the journey by floating. It may be a long-shot, but a carriage from any other location would be a chore to repair as there was not a large pile of spare parts nearby.

Sighing at the size of the rubble heaped against the surprisingly sturdy building, Zachary parked his trolley at the edge of the rubble and began to hike around it. He started walking around the base, for walking along the rubble would be very treacherous. With his eye for scavenging, he quickly spotted something which looked like a one-man police carriage, the kind they use of patrols, near the top. So he began to climb, lifting himself over broken carriages and chunks of concrete. After an arduous climb he made it to the object of interest. It was indeed a police patrol carriage. However, from next to it he could see that the front half, sticking into the hill, was crushed.

This may be harder than you thought, Kaa'is said.

Zachary shook off his kage's pessimism. "There's still many more carriages here. We may still find one of use."

At first, Kisheto saw only black. In his mind, there was a battle between a distinct ringing sound and a steady hum, as if his body was an old computer rebooting. Then, he gained his sense of touch, slowly, and as his ability to feel solid embraced his abdomen, he was hit by a wave of nausea. Once he gained his voice, he let out a soft groan, followed by a weak cough. With a bit of effort, he then managed to crack his eyelids open, and upon being exposed to the light of his surroundings, he involuntarily shook his head and woke himself up. "Oh... Yeah, I'm back here..."

He looked to the girl who had stayed with him and smiled weakly, "Oh, you, yeah, thanks for stickin' with me, yo. Your name was.... uh.... Adriana? Right, well..." He then briefly stretched his back and arms and struggled to get up. With a grunt, he managed to rise and lean on the wall. "Hm... I feel good as new, yo," he said while chuckling. It was true, his body was completely healed, but the mysterious healing had imposed a great deal of fatigue on his mind. With a bit more effort, he pushed off the wall and stood independently, taking a few steps about to obtain his balance once more. He then looked to Arianna and sighed, "Well... I'm good to go, whenever you are."

Arianna looked up, her blood running cold as she heard a thought resonate loudly in her mind. I NEED MORE, it demanded. She gasped softly, recognizing the thought's voice immediately. "Iktomi..." She whispered, looking up at the top floor across from her. A little while later she heard his thoughts clearly in her mind again, this time directed towards her. She took a deep breath and glanced at Kisheto, who was unconscious on the floor. She couldn't just leave him there, unarmed and unconscious.

Suddenly, the once unconscious boy was waking up. Arianna smiled, amused by his words. "Arianna," she corrected. He was close enough. Taking another look around at their surroundings, she realized that it would be too hard for someone who had spent a lot of their spirit on healing to make it around the rubble and carnage. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I need to get to the third floor quickly. Im afraid you've spent your energy healing. You should find a place to hide and rest while I go. Dont worry, though. Im not leaving. My friend is up there, and he was battling the boss of this gang. He needs my help."

Arianna walked over to a dead gang member and grimaced as she pulled a pistol from the dead mans hand. She tried not to think about which screaming voice she had heard in her head was his as she returned to Kisheto. "This should still have some bullets left. Well, enough to keep you safe," she said as she held it out to him. "I'll be back soon, with my friend. He has a place to stay nearby with food, water, and medical supplies. Plus, a nice bed, or cot, to sleep in." She smiled softly.

Kisheto smiled, "Yeah, yeah, you do yah thang, freak," he said jokingly. He then took the pistol she handed him and felt its weight, which didn't rest well within his hands. He grunted, and decided that if worst came to worst, he could just use his bare hands instead. After accepting the pistol, Kisheto zoned out at the slightest, staring at the ground, and eventually, the bullets that had fallen out of his torso. "What in the name of hell...." he thought as he felt his abdomen only to feel a slightly softened scar in place of the bleeding wound that had been there moments ago. "No way... I can't... actually be...." he then sighed and decided that dwelling on it wasn't smart. He was a live, and now, he would have a place to rest. He had no idea what the status of the Golden Mercenaries was... but he knew that Hector had seen him. What if his blunder cost the lives of honorable golden mercenaries? There was no way he could face him or Julian again... But Kisheto wasn't once to dwell on negative possibilities. He simply leaned back and let his mind rest in the moment of peace he was blessed with as the girl ran off to do... what was it again?

Zachary was still climbing around the pile of wrecked carriages. It was expansive, and so far anything which looked like it might be useful actually proved damaged beyond repair upon closer inspection. He was taking a break from his climbing, sitting on an overturned carriage about half-way up the heap and drinking from a bottle of water, when he saw a small group of people walk slowly into view. This wasn't a band of thugs or even a scavenger gang. This was a family, comprised of a mother, a father, and two young children, aged 6 and 10 if he had to guess. However, something was not right. The father was carrying both of the children, and the parents both walked weakly. He couldn't tell exactly what was wrong from up where he was, but it was obvious that they are in quite some strife.

Easy pickings, huh? said Kaa'is, half-jokingly. Upon receiving a death-stare from Zachary, which is quite a feat considering that Kaa'is is inside Zachary's head, Kaa'is laughed, What're you going to do? Beat me up?

"I was actually thinking of helping them," Zachary answered quietly.

Kaa'is moaned, We've got enough on our hands helping ourselves. Do we have to help others too?

"Yes," Zachary replied sharply.

Shouldn't have asked.

Zachary got up and started climbing down to them. Perhaps it was compassion. Perhaps it was wanting to repay the world for the boy he had killed just yesterday. Whatever it was, Zachary couldn't simply let them walk off and die without trying to help. As he got near, he called out, "Do you need any help?" The family, especially the father, was surprised and afraid at their sudden visitor. "I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to help," Zachary reassured them. He made it to the street and closed the gap between them. "My name's Zachary."

The father hesitated, then finally replied. "I'm Andrew. My wife here has fallen ill, my youngest is very ill and my eldest has a broken leg. I'm struggling to find enough food or medicine to care for them."

Zachary's engineer mentality suddenly came into play as he attempted to figure out a solution. The mother looked quite weak and her forehead was soaked in sweat. The youngest son did not appear conscious and was quite pale. Zachary was no doctor, so he did not know how to effectively treat their ailments. However, he could probably do something about the broken leg. Zachary laid his hand on the older child's shoulder and peered into the boy with his mind. It took about ten seconds but he eventually managed to resolve an image of the boy. It showed his skeleton, and by looking at the skeleton he could see how the leg was broken. It wasn't fragmented or anything, it was just a matter of getting it into place.

"I'm no doctor, but I could probably set your son's leg for you," Zachary finally said, "Find me some cloth so I can make a stint."

Andrew put his two children down and said, "Thank you."

Zachary crouched down and turned to the boy with the broken leg. "Does it hurt?" The kid nodded shyly. "I'm going to fix it, but this is going to hurt. But I'm going to need you to be a good boy and not move about to much." Zachary turned and grabbed a piece of metal shrapnel that wasn't too sharp from the ground around the heap. He recalled that in days of old, before anaesthetic, doctors would generally have their patients bite something like a bullet. "Here, bite this." Zachary laid his hands around the break and retrieved the mental image of it. He focussed solely on this image has he moved and rubbed the boy's leg to set the bones back in place. On the edge of consciousness he could hear the boy's cries of pain, and his grip had to be firm to restrain the leg, but in just a few moments it was all over and the bones were in place.

Allowing reality to fill is senses again he saw that they boy's leg was now visibly straighter. He also saw tears of pain on the edges of the boy's eyes. "It's all over now. I've just got to bandage it up." Looking up, he saw Andrew with strips of cloth in hand, appearing slightly distressed, which was understandable since those few painful seconds of setting the leg would have been as painful for the father as it was for the son. Zachary stood and and rummaged around the debris for two objects which would make good rods. He soon found a long narrow L-beam which was part of a carriage's broken chassis. Retrieving his tools, be cut it out and into two appropriately sized lengths of steel, then smoothed out the rough edges as best as he could. Returning to the family, Zachary took the cloth from Andrew and then bound the boy's leg in place. "There we go. Give it a, um... few weeks and it should be as good as new," he announced. An idea struck him, and he added, "Give me a few more minutes and I could probably make a crutch for him so he can walk himself."

"Thank you, Zachary," Andrew said as Zachary returned to the scrap heap.

So you've helped one, good job. But soon the mother will get so ill that she will need to be carried around too. The father, carrying around the terminally ill child too, will be too weak to support them. Heck, he's too weak already. Just look at him! And the kid who you've just helped, because he's still dependant on his dad, will starve and die anyway. But good job, you've made their inevitable demise just that little bit less painful, Kaa'is taunted.

Zachary glanced down at the shopping trolley he had left parked. "Actually, there is something more," he responded with a little smile.

Kaa'is moaned, No, not that. We went through enough trouble to get that.

"There are plenty more, and getting another should not be as hard as last time," Zachary retorted.

After jury-rigging a crutch from lengths of metal and upholstery Zachary descended to his shopping trolley. With a great shove he tipped it over and rolled the skyway unit out. He then righted the now-empty trolley and wheeled it over to the family. He handed over the crutch to Andrew, who handed it over to his son and helped him stand up. "I'd like you to have this as well. Something to help you carry your other child, and anything else," Zachary said, offering the shopping trolley.

Andrew was quite surprised by this gesture. Before he could reply, Zachary took the bag off his back and began pulling out food and water. "You'll need these also. I know it won't go far between the four of you, but you can't expect to recover from disease without good food and plenty of water." He unpacked all the food he had in his bag, about enough dry rations for three meals, and the water bottles he had too.

Andrew was speechless at this unexpected display of generosity. After a little while he managed, "Well, you've been so generous to us already. I don't know if-"

"Just take the bloody gifts before he changes his mind," the mother interjected.

Zachary smiled warmly. "This is no place to be raising a family, but I suppose you've got to make the most of it." His statement reminded him of his own family. He didn't know how his parents were, if they were OK. They probably thought him dead. He missed them, but that was no reason to allow any other family to fall apart.

"You take care, of yourself and your family," Zachary said, closing his bag and putting it back on his back.

"You too," Andrew replied, "I can not express how grateful I am."

"Yes, thank you," the mother added.

"It is not a problem," Zachary responded, before turning away and leaving, the image of the smiling family still in his mind. Sure, most of them were ill or injured, but that did not stop the warm feeling of doing something nice from growing inside him.

When he was some distance away, out of earshot, he asked Kaa'is, "Don't you feel that? Gladness for helping someone?"

No, Kaa'is grunted.

"Maybe if you had contributed you actually would."

Kaa'is scoffed in reply. Zachary continued walking, and he felt hunger in his belly. He needed to return home and grab some more food, then head over to the shopping centre to retrieve another shopping trolley. Then he might be able to resume searching for a carriage.

Arianna nodded when Kisheto seemed comfortable with the gun. She turned and looked up at the third floor, then focused on how she would get to the top. With her rapier in hand, Arianna walked around the outskirts of the courtyard in the mall, gingerly stepping over the dead gang members and the blood puddles they were creating. The carnage made her feel sick, and she stopped to catch the breath she’d been holding as she quickly, but carefully made her way across to the other side. She leant against the wall, looking anywhere but at the bloody mess in the courtyard. She felt like she’d see those dead faces every time she closed her eyes, now.

”It’s alright, Arianna,” Castiel murmured, trying to console her. Of course, to Castiel, this was nothing. He’d seen worse in the void, and didn’t quite understand how Arianna could feel this way about dead gang members. Hadn’t they done wrong? Hadn’t they killed innocents? He did suspect Iktomi of foul play, especially since his kage was Arachnia, but the gang members did seem like awful men. Their death would probably bring more good than bad to Sovereign.

Arianna took a deep breath and nodded, standing straight again. “I’m fine,” she murmured, hoping it would help her psyche focus on something else. She stepped through an opening into the inside part of the mall. The glass door had shattered long ago, and Arianna simply stepped through the frame. There were a few dead bodies lining the hallway, their guns laying aimlessly next to them. While a gun was a better way to defend oneself, Arianna preferred the use of a sword, dagger, or rapier. She thought using a gun was cold, and didn’t make the death a right one. It didn’t give anyone a chance to defend themselves, it was impersonal, and it almost dehumanized them. Castiel had taught her to honor every life form, because even though the onikage inside of a host is evil, the host really didn’t have a choice. One could never tell if the host was just as corrupt as it’s onikage, or was corrupted by one.

Upon finding a stairwell, Arianna began to jog up it, her rapier outstretched in front of her in case anything unexpected and unwelcome popped out. As she went up the stairs, the dead bodies thinned out, but as she was almost at the top, it thickened. She was glad when she stepped into the hallway and out of the fuming stairwell. The empty hallway made her a little uncomfortable, but she just guessed that all of the others were in the only room that was on this floor. She paused at the door, taking a deep breath. With a small nod, Arianna pushed open the door and stepped inside.

"Requiescat En Pace, amigos..." Hector kneeled over the last of the fallen Golden Mercenaries, his eyes red in both sorrow and frustration. With a little grunt, he pushed himself off his knee and stood up. His armor's shock effect that had rendered his leg useless had worn off, and he was simply regaining his balance. He turned to the three remaining mercenaries and the two hosts. "We'll return for funerals, mark the dates, comprende?" he said sternly, getting three weary nods in return. He then waved off his men, and they began preparing to depart. Hector then turned to Ishigo, who seemed far beyond fatigued. "That damn kid, Ish. Where'd he go? Dead?"

Ishigo stirred at the thought of the kid's dead body and shook his head, "N-no, we can't make any assumptions." Julian turned to Ishigo and nodded with a sigh, "I should've tried to convince him to stay..." Ishigo shook his head at Julian's regretful statement and replied, "It wasn't your fault. He just wanted to help, but..."

Hector scoffed, "He cost us our mercenaries..."
Ishigo winced at Hector's bitter tone, "Hector... he was-"
Hector shook his head and began walking past the two, cutting Ishigo off. In response Ishigo looked off into the distance and sighed, 'Where are you, boy?'
Julian looked around briefly and then rubbed the back of his head, "Though I yearn t'look for the lad, I hate to stay in this wretched chamber, brothah."

Ishigo nodded slowly and then looked over to Iktomi. "We done here? Or did you have other plans in mind?"

Sam~~~

Samuel felt power surge through him as the onikage he had slain fell limp on his chest. A feint Electric charge began to build in his body, and, much akin to a static shock, released into the air around him. A burst of light followed and Samuel felt something, a new power, a power that made him all the more interested in his new found fate. He concentrated, and with some effort he was able to cause a spark of energy to travel into the body of the dead man. He smiled darkly at this, Yes Samuel, soon you will find that much more power will follow...

Samuel stepped away from the body and out into the street, for now his hunt would end, but soon, he knew, it would start again and with this next hunt would come even more power. He smiled at the thought and began whistling a tune too himself as he made his way back to the Winters' estate. The night air left him with a feeling of freshness and bliss, tonight had been a good night, and many more would follow it...

Ariela~

Ariela had slowly recovered from the surprise of her shift in form. She wondered at what Artemis could be planning, What did this evolution mean? How had she even obtained it? These and many more had filled her scattered mind with doubt. Not only that, but the ring that had previously been melded to her right index finger had been replaced by a black gauntlet that emitted an eerie red glow from within. This, along with her transformation and Artemis's sudden appearance had cast a shadow of doubt in her mind, but only a shadow. Ariela still trusted Artemis, he was her tutor after all, and her reason for living. For that reason she would continue on as his emissary, bringing his judgement to the world of mortal's. His Verdict had been death to all who lived, and she had gladly taken up the responsibility of enforcing their punishment. "Humans" She spat, "They will all pay, every last one... That is why I am here, Why I gave my freedom for power.. Yes.. Together we will watch the world burn.." Within her she felt a silent approval, as always he never spoke, his will was enough to show her the way.

Ariela stepped into the abandoned street. For once Artemus had willed her not too kill, no, for now she was to bide her time. She had been tasked with growing her power, and she would bend to her master's will.

He had saved her...

Shown her the truth..

She could not even comprehend disobedience.

Having made a stop by his base to collect lunch, Zachary walked to the supermarket he had visited yesterday. Munching on the dry yet nutritious military grade rations, he pondered what might happen there. Would the conduit he had encountered before still be there? If so, would that conduit stay away or seek revenge? Last time had been inside at evening, but this time would be outside just after noon. How much of a difference would that make? If things turn sour you could bash its skull in for good this time.

"That place has gone well beyond sour," Zachary joked. This got a laugh out of Kaa'is.

Soon they were there. Out in what had once been a plaza with some carriage parking, Zachary could faintly smell the rotten sludge that was inside the supermarket with its broken-down wall. Looking into the shadows, he caught just a flash of reflected sunlight off a pair of eyes and a hint of movement in the darkness. Zachary drew his wind cannon and held it, not as if he was going to fire it but so it was clearly visible to the beast inside the supermarket. He heard a hiss and a patch of darkness moved deeper into the building.

He won't be bothering us for a while, said Kaa'is.

"Indeed," Zachary replied, grabbing a trolley from the trolley bay and walking off with it back to the carriage heap.

Arianna looked around the chamber as she heard the door close behind her. The carnage wasn’t any worse than the carnage in the courtyard, and she immediately diverted her attention away from it. She coughed softly and raised her hand to her mouth. Aeritus, it was awful.

As Arianna scanned the room for Iktomi, she noticed two young men standing and talking with each other while a wounded man walked away. She sensed the kage’s within them and wondered what they could do. One of them turned to speak, and she heard him say Iktomi’s name. When she turned her attention towards where he was speaking, she saw Iktomi slumped against the wall. His exhausted state reminded her of when they’d play tag as children, but this had been no game of tag. All the innocence of chasing each other around had been lost to most in Sovereign. Now the only game of tag was between enemies. She removed her hand from her mouth and headed over. She was wary of Iktomi after hearing his thirst for more souls, but she pushed her thoughts aside for further questioning later.

“Are you alright?” Arianna asked as she stood beside him, looking him over quickly in case he had any wounds.

It was already afternoon when Zachary arrived back at the heap of carriages he had been at before. The family he had tended to earlier was nowhere to be seen, but the skyway unit had not moved. It was not likely to move, as it is too heavy to be carried with any degree of ease, although a looter could possibly pry out the Cores, only to later find that they didn't do much which would be of use to them. Zachary parked his trolley next to it and headed back up to the heap of crashed carriages. The noon light had faded and the afternoon shadow was setting in. After a couple more hours of looking around he had to use his torch to inspect any promising carriages. Everything he had found so far had been either too big, too damaged or too buried to be of any use to him. But he had kept up hope, as this was a very large pile-up so the odds were with him.

Eventually his patience paid off. In the approaching dusk he spotted a one-man carriage which had been pulled from the wreckage. Excited, Zachary clambered over to it and peered inside, casting his torch's light on the interior. It had been stripped of cores, including from the engine, it had some bending in the chassis and the kinetic manifold was mangled, but this carriage was perfect for his needs. He would need to move it from here to some inside location before he could start working on it, but he could achieve that with some rollers. But that could wait until tomorrow. It was getting dark and labouring outside at night is too risky in the ruins of Sovereign. What he could do is find a safe indoors location nearby, where he could stash the skyway unit for the night and put the carriage in tomorrow.

He clambered back to the ground and walked over to where he left the skyway unit and trolley. He bent his knees down and, getting a firm grip on the heavy unit, he strained both himself and his powers to lift the thing off the ground and into the trolley. He dropped it in with a satisfying clunk, causing the trolley to shudder and roll a short distance. After stretching out his shoulders Zachary pushed the trolley along the street, checking for good places to turn into a garage. He found something that might be suitable- a broken shop. However, when he approached it he heard voices and movement from with-in, so he left it alone and moved on. The next such place he came across sounded empty, so he went in to inspect it, shining his torch inside. It used to be a bakery, by the looks of the shelves, oven and stale bread. He went deeper inside, only to come across a rather terrified looking woman hiding in the back room. Zachary put his hands up to show that he wasn't going to hurt her, then walked back outside.

On his third try he found an uninhabited place. It had been a grocery, from the faded signs and trays with a several pieces of spoilt produce. The smell reminded him of the supermarket, although less intense, and had probably driven away any potential inhabitants. Checked the back room to find it devoid of people, and also large enough to fit a small carriage if he cleared away the shelves. The stench would be an inconvenience, but little more than that. Retrieved his trolley and brought it inside into the back storage room. Satisfied, he left the trolley and skyway unit there and walked back home.

Iktomi raised his head slightly to respond to the two hosts that had joined him in cutting Robert down, but he found himself too weak to respond. His vision began to fade slowly, and then all at once. The last thing Iktomi remembered was Arianna's voice before he slumped against the wall, unconscious.

Julian walked over to the man and frowned, "Ay, yulie, you a frienda' his? Brotha's over exherted himself... Looks weak." Arianna frowned lightly and knelt down next to Iktomi. She took his chin and helped prop his head up against the wall so it wasn't bent at an awkward angle. Just in case, she pressed two fingers to his neck to check his pulse. With a sigh of relief, she looked up at the host that approached them. "He's fine. He probably used a lot of spirit to kill the boss." Her eyes darted around the room, wondering which one had been the boss. "My name is Arianna," she said as she stood, eyeing the two hosts. "Yes, I'm a friend of his." At that moment, Ishigo approached the group. He, too, was beyond fatigued, but he hadn't exerted himself nearly as much as Iktomi had before he entered the boss' layer. He leaned against the wall and began to speak between pants:

"He's... ugh... experiencing Hypoanimatic Shock..." he said as he looked down at the pale man. He hit stasis pretty hard... came the voice of Jin, who shared Ishigo's fatigue. Julian raised a brow and looked up at Ishigo.

"Hypoanimatic Shock? Mind givin' me a refresher, brothah?" he said as he knelt down by Iktomi and Arianna. He had noticed that Iktomi had broken into a cold sweat, and it appeared as if his veins were emitting a distinct, dark purple glow, as they were highly visible through his skin.

Ishigo nodded, "The kage's refer to it as 'stasis'. According to my kage, Jin, it's basically... well.." he took a moment to analyze what he had just heard from his kage. Crossing his arms and squinting as he focused in on Iktomi, he continued to speak:

"It's a self-induced coma caused by an extreme over-exhertion. When a kage's bond with the host strengthens, there comes a point in which the spirit flows as if the two were actually one. At this point, the host feels a greatly reduced amount of fatigue for using his or her powers. It feels as if the hardest tasks take the most menial amounts of spirit, but that's not exactly what's going on."

Julian nodded and curled his mouth to the side as he thought about what he just heard. "So it's as if... the kage is the one in most control? Because, I mean, maybe it's like the kage wouldn't feel the same amounta' pain for using 'em powers, aye?" Ishigo nodded at his assumption, "Right. The host feels completely normal, but in reality, their body is being torn up at both the phyiscal and spiritual level. Because once the combat ends, the kage-host bond must return to normal, and that leaves the host with their own individual spirit. It's like the end of a long adrenaline rush - all the pain comes back at once. In this man's case, it was enough to trigger Stasis, in which the... spirit "debt", if I may, was too much for him to handle. At this point, he is a corpse with a trapped, receding ember of a spirit found within. If that spirit manages to survive and regenerate, he will live. But were it to go out - well, regardless of how strong the kage is, this man would die."

Julian's face grew tense and he shot a look towards Iktomi's pale, cold figure. He then looked at Arianna, "What do you suppose we do, then, yulie?"

Arianna moved her gaze from the host that explained "stasis" to Iktomi. She noted how sick he appeared and felt worried. "I need to get him home so he can rest," she said, wondering exactly how she would do that when he was unconscious and Kisheto was injured. She thought about asking the Golden Mercenaries, but she wondered if they'd even bother helping her. Ishigo knelt down slowly, reaching to get a grip on Iktomi's lifeless body, but just then, he heard his Holopad beep. With a quick press of the handsfree device on his ear, he answered the call:

"Speak."

On the other line, Hector answered: "Ishigo, where the hell are you? I told you, we're heading out NOW."
Ishigo sighed, "The web-man hit stasis. The kage-coma. We need to get him to safety, Hec-"
"NO!" Hector demanded, "That shady webslinger? We have hundreds of civillians to look after Ishigo. This man can do fine on his own, he sure talked tough."

Ishigo understood Hector's hotheadedness. He had just lost many great men. "Listen, Hector, he needs our help. He could be an ally. And what about the other kid, he-"
Hector interrupted him once again, "No means no, hermano. If you want to stay there and die, be my guest. But we are MOVING OUT. Now I trust you, you're smart. We need you, and I hope you make the right decision. That man, didn't you see the look on his face? He's obviously a conduit, we can't trust him. And you have a new host on you."

Ishigo was on the brink of losing his cool, and his slightly irritated voice showed this. "There's a young GIRL with him! You want me to leave her, too?"
Julian sighed and shook his head, realizing that they wouldn't have much choice. It was nearly night time and regardless of their manpower, the chances of getting home safely were already slim. Hector responded even sharper than before: "LET HER CARRY HIM, THEN! Damnit Ishigo, just listen!"

Ishigo turned off his comm and clenched his fist. "I..." with a quick turn of his head, he looked to Arianna with an expression that screamed "I'm sorry." He then pulled Julian up and began dashing back to the entrance, not having it in himself to look back. Julian didn't even think - he felt the pull and began running alongside Ishigo. "Pray yulie finds the light home... pray...." he said softly as he looked back with a regretful expression.

Arianna opened her mouth to say something, but the hosts had already gotten up and left her alone in the corpse-ridden room. She swallowed lightly and sighed, closing her eyes. What was she going to do? Surely they wouldn't make it back to his mansion before nightfall if two of them were injured. They were too vulnerable, and she couldn't defend them all if she was carrying Iktomi. She felt panic begin to set in and she clenched her hands into fists. They were done for. Even if she used her telekinesis to move him, she would be using too much of her spirit that she might go into this "stasis" too. The poor girl felt sick. The journey to Iktomi's mansion seemed impossible, and the corpses around her didn't help either. They couldn't stay in the mall, but they couldn't go unprotected, especially at night.

"THEY LEFT ME? WHAT?!" Kisheto's voice pierced the silence that was slowly beginning to fill the once war-torn air. He appeared out of the rubble on the side of the room, having discovered a second entry to the lair from outside. His body had healed remarkably and he ran up to the carnage as if he had never been hurt. "YO! That's not fucking cool! THEY LEFT ME TO DIE!" he cried out as he paced back and forth near Arianna.

Arianna jumped lightly when Kisheto's voice filled her ears to the brim. She looked up, noticing how he acted as if he'd never been hurt. Maybe there was hope for them, after all. She stood, her hands still shaking from the fear she'd felt a few seconds ago. "They thought you were a goner. The leader, Hector, I think, sounded upset about how many of his men had died." She glanced at Iktomi, hoping he would be alright. "They were too busy to help Iktomi and I."

Kisheto's distraught quickly receded as he looked at the near-dead man who lay on the ground near Arianna. "Oh.... damn, what happened to him? And whoa whoa whoa, they just LEFT you? What the fuck? They're supposed to be heroes! Saviors! THE GOLDEN MERCENARIES, YO!" as he spoke, using energetic gestures, his voice grew more and more excited. "Alright, alright, hmm... let's think..."

Just then, his eyes lit up and a bright smile crossed his face. Despite the turmoil he had just faced, he remained as pumped up as ever, as if nothing had ever happened. 'Yo... this is my chance to finally be a hero! he thought as he smirked. "Alright, Arianna, I gotcha! I'll help you and Ikcytome or whatever."

Arianna looked around as he spoke of the Golden Mercenaries. She, too, thought that they were at least more compassionate and caring than the leader of the Golden Mercenaries was. She wasn't completely upset about their reaction, though. The leader had been right about how Iktomi could be a dangerous person, and as she looked at him now, she thought of his thoughts during his battle. He was thirsty for more power, and it worried her. What if he one day thought that she was in the way of his power? What would he do? Did he really care about her, or was she just another pawn in his game of chess?

She was suddenly wrenched from her thoughts as Kisheto volunteered to help her. "Can you carry him? You were shot multiple times," she murmured. "If you think you can handle it, I can keep guard. It'll be even more dangerous since it's almost night time." Her gut wrenched at the thought of being out in the dark streets of Sovereign again, though.

Kisheto chuckled, "Psh! Hell yeah I can handle it!" He then walked over to Iktomi and placed a hand on him in preparation, but raised a brow instead. "Whoa... dude's a mixture of hot and cold... what happened to him? And why is he all... veiny and shiny?" With a grunt, he heaved Iktomi's body over his shoulders anyway and sighed as he stabilized his weight. He then looked to Arianna, still curious as to why he was in this state.

Arianna pushed her hair back from her face and sighed. "Apparently he's in a stasis. It's when hosts use too much spirit and go into a comatose state." She sighed softly. "He needs to rest and hydrate, but we need to get to his mansion first."

Kisheto chuckled, "No prollem, yo. Just lead the way. I'll carry yah freakshow friend here, heheh."

Samuel~

A single man approached the quiet estate. The man seemed strangely chipper, it would seem that he was unaffected by the weight of an apocalypse, and the thought of something as dreadful as the end of all things. Even stranger yet, the man was dressed to go out, he held an air of authority, and wore a style of clothing that did everything but fit in the current setting. His well tailored, and neatly kept, black suit made him stand out more than if he had been completely naked. Luckily however, no one was present to jeer.

As the man grew closer to the ominous mansion, a light breeze strolled in from the west. The crisp night air and been multiplied by this, causing goosebumps to crawl up the man's arms. Even this did not phase him, in fact, a smile crept up the man's lips as though he enjoyed the discomfort it brought him. "It seemed we have arrived" He spoke, speaking to apparently no one at all.

Indeed we have.. A feminine voice resounded within his mind, it held a seductive and dark tone. One that would entice a man's curiosity, and make him fear for his safety all at once.

The building loomed above him, dwarfing him with its grandeur. The man stepped forward with and arrogant confidence despite this, flinging both front doors open as he made his grand entrance. Sadly, there was no one to greet him and the man felt a tad put off by this, clicking his tongue in annoyance, before making his way to his quarters.

No longer than five minutes later his eyes had closed, and Samuel found himself lost in a sea of nightmares...

Arriving home, Zachary ate dinner, had a shower, finished reading a small book on the Church of Aeros, then went to bed. After he drifted off to sleep, he began dreaming. But he felt too aware for it to be a dream. In the dream he looked down on a body and could see all its inner workings. The background was black, so the body appeared to be floating there. It was as if he was using his powers of machine reading, but he'd never seen a human body with this much clarity before. The body was sleeping, breathing in and out slowly, the heart pumping at a relaxed pace. Then realisation hit him like a wave- the body was himself.

Don't think too hard. We can only get this resolution when you're sleeping. Conscious thought gets in the way, came the disembodied voice of Kaa'is, which sounded closer than usual.

So Zachary remained quiet yet riveted as he looked on his own body. The view then gently swept down to inspect parts closer. First he saw the heart, pumping along, right side before left, pushing blood towards the lungs and then towards the rest of the body. He looked closer at the blood and was able to see the individual cells. Red blood cells, platelets and various white blood cells, all being washed through the vessels. The view then shifted to his digestive tracts, watching the ground-up military rations he had eaten for dinner be digested in the stomach and passed through to the intestines, where a concoction of enzymes from the pancreas and bile from the gall bladder further digested the food so the nutrients could be absorbed through the wall of the small intestine. Then the view looked to the spine, still ablaze with nerve impulses despite being asleep, and followed the very long axons up to the brain. Looking at the brain as a whole, noting the nerve impulses, was not too dissimilar to an MRI, although Zachary had no qualification to interpret what activity in particular locations means. The view swooped in through the web on nerves, interestingly aligned mostly in a grid, and settled around the centre of the brain, where the hypothalamus was. Looking up close, Zachary could see individual nerve cells, watching ions and electricity rush through the axons, trigger the release of bubbles of neurotransmitter which is received by the dendrites which carry on the signal. In the hypothalamus he could also see nerves which instead of transmitting electrical impulses secreted chemicals into the blood and a gland. This incredible and awe-inspiring look into his own body was a bit of a biology refresher course for him, as he tried remembering all he had learnt in biology back in high school.

It's a shame we don't know more about those hormones, Kaa'is said. Zachary mentally agreed. Such knowledge may come in handy. We should pick up a book on it. Zachary didn't argue.

Finished, the splendid picture turned to black and thought faded away as Zachary fell into a deeper sleep.

Collab Between Skai and Kish

---

Exiting the mall had gone fairly smoothly, aside from stepping over the dead bodies and blood puddles that littered the halls. Arianna had hidden her discomfort throughout the horrid trek through it, and was glad when they finally reached the door to leave it. After a quick look outside, Arianna led them out into the streets, sticking to what shadows remained as the sky darkened. She couldn't help but pause whenever she heard a cling or a scuffle ring through the silent streets. Her grip on her rapier was sturdy, but she was collected enough to keep from holding onto it for dear life. Castiel had helped her learn to control her worry and fear throughout the hellish year in Sovereign, and she was grateful of it. To be honest, she knew that she wouldn't have survived without him. Slowly, Arianna made sure to get as far away from the mall as possible. Only one question was clear in her mind.

Where were they going?

Itkomi had ordered Leo and Hali to move his base, but to where? He hadn't told Arianna, and she guessed that he was relying on being conscious when they left the mall. Unfortunately things had not gone to plan. They couldn't stay still for long, though. In order to survive, they had to keep moving. She figured that she would head towards the mansion that they had left to take shelter in until Iktomi awoke, but she wondered if it was even safe now that the guards and his workers had left.

Kisheto, on the other hand, was focused on the road ahead of him with a big grin on his face. He felt little to no strain carrying the man upon his shoulders. His thoughts wandered from the road, to the emminent danger around him, to the mysterious man he carried, to the strangely out-of-place girl treading alongside him, and last but not least, the destination, whatever it was. There was no doubt that they were being watched with every inch they traveled, but still, it wasn't unnerving to Kisheto, who seemed to oblivious to it all.

"So, Arianna, where exactly is yah base? You guys got some good food, I bet, with the way you dress so... comfortably, heh," he said with a smirk.

Arianna glanced at him, then down at her clothes. She turned her gaze back on their surroundings with a soft sigh. "Would you like me to be honest with you, or lie and make up the plan as we go?" She asked, wondering if he'd even continue to help her after he learned that she had no idea where to go.

Kisheto chuckled, "Be honest, yo. I'm one of you guys now, remember?" he stated boldly, without giving so much as to a thought of how she had received him. Arianna paused when she thought she heard something move in the city. She scanned their surroundings, then looked at Kisheto. "I have no clue where we're going. The old mansion Iktomi was staying at has been abandoned by his.. possy, or whatever it is, and they moved to a new one. Without Iktomi awake, we're just walking around aimlessly." She turned and began walking again, hoping that he would continue to help. "Oh, and he has sufficient supplies of food and water. I even was given a comfortable bed to sleep in."

Kisheto was confused at first, but then sighed in relief at the thought of having a bed to sleep in. He had barely managed to step foot in Sector Zero before being able to enjoy the luxuries it had for survivors. "Don't worry, we just need to survive then. But more importantly, we gotta keep this man alive," he said with a chuckle as he bumped his shoulder up to emphasize Iktomi's presence. "Whenever he wakes up, we'll head over to his place, right?" Kisheto said with an innocent smile. Arianna paused to look at Kisheto, his innocence bringing a half-hearted smile to her face. "I'm not sure he'll wake up at all if we don't find him food and water." Her smile faded, and she turned to continue walking as worry shone through her eyes. There had to be something she could do for him. She wasn't useless, and she knew it.

"Arianna, Iktomi's mind is weakened now that he is unconscious," Castiel murmured in her mind. A thought suddenly popped into Arianna's mind, subtly placed there by her kage. "I know what we can do," she said as she quickly searched the nearest open building and ducked inside.

---

In the distance, atop a mounaineous heap of rubble, a lone, hooded man stood with his left arm stretched to his side. He held a long, deadly looking scythe. He looked on at the two roaming on below in the desolate streets of Sovereign, and right as they ducked out of their sight, a flash of light broke from his right side.

"How long?" The woman who spoke was dressed in an intricate, black leather dress that was adorned with various light armors. Her voice was gentle and feminine, but at the same time it surged with a hidden anger that could only be felt.

"..." The hooded man raised his right hand slightly before letting it fall back to his side.

"Nekros, use your words, damnit. Who are you trying to scare? I know you, remember?" The woman's voice became a bit more irritated as she spoke. In response, the man named Nekros turned his concealed head to the right before turning back. After a minute or so, he replied in a deep, dark tone.

"Be patient, Leona."

"Call me Flash, damnit," she spat softly before sighing. "The girl can sense us, right? Can she read our thoughts?"

Nekros merely shook his head, to which the woman nodded. "And the lad? Just a regenerator?" To this, Nekros shrugged, causing the woman to cock her head back and raise a brow, "You shrug? I didn't know you knew how to shrug."

Nekros sighed and then turned around, "They live today. Let us depart."

The woman nodded and instantly warped into a flash of light, leaving nothing behind. With one final look over his shoulder, Nekros slammed his scythe into the ground, causing a swarm of crows to drown his body in a sea of black. As it faded, it left nothing in it's wake, as if nothing had been there in the first place.

Collab Between Skai and Kish

"Idea? Whatcha' plannin?" Kisheto asked, almost involuntarily. He wasn't really paying attention, her words only came into the peripherals of his distorted focus. Instead, he squeezed in through the same opening that she did, taking it slow as to avoid hurting the man he carried.

Arianna rested her rapier against the wall, then turned to face him. "It's hard for me to read minds when people are awake." She gestured for him to set Iktomi down. "Since Iktomi is in a comatose-like state, his mind is weakened enough that I could go into it and see if I can find out where we're going."

Kisheto simply continued to nod, "Yeah, uh, ok." It was quite obvious he wasn't that much concerned for how she would solve the problem at hand, he just trusted that she would. "I'll uh..." he looked around with a raised eyebrow as he gently laid Iktomi down next to Arianna. As he rose, he continued, "I guess I'll try to find some supplies in this... what is this, anyway? A bank?"

Arianna looked around, noting the different counters and desks. "It seems like it. Will you keep guard, too? I might be vulnerable while concentrating on this." She knelt down next to Iktomi, putting his head in her lap. Kisheto nodded and looked around. Damn... what can I find in a bank? he thought as he walked forward, toward the entrance. From the looks of it, there was no other entrance to the worn building. After searching through a few cupboards, desks, and cracked safes, Kisheto returned to Arianna, setting a bag down next to her. "Three bottles of water, box of crackers, keys, a knife, a small backpack, and some oranges. I don't know how old any of this shit is... so... yeah," he said before turning towards the entrance and walking towards it.

Arianna furrowed her brows slightly. How had he found so much in this bank? It must have been something left here by other passerby, or the owner had gone out for a minute and died before ever returning again. She took out the water bottle and tested some of it, then took a few sips. She hadn't realized how parched she was. After setting the bottle down, Arianna turned her attention to Iktomi. She placed two fingers against his temples, a weak spot she'd found in the mind's defenses. "I'm going in. You may use my rapier, if trouble comes," she told Kisheto before closing her eyes and focusing.

Inside of her own mind, she heard a few blips of thoughts from Kisheto, then the small buzz of Iktomi's slowed brain waves as he was in deep sleep. She focused her spirit on those waves and let her mind slip inside. Her body relaxed as she was absorbed in their minds, feeling her own brain waves slow down to match Iktomi's. It took a while of searching, and she wasn't exactly proud of what she had learned while exploring his inner conscience. Some of the things were disturbing and uncomfortable, and she wondered what he had done to have these kinds of images. She moved on, quickly moving past the ones that seemed private. Her mind seemed to hit a mental barrier, causing her to wince lightly on the outside. What caused this barrier? His kage? Or was it put up by himself? She didn't have much time to think about it before she found the address. Slowly, she began to pull her mind out of his until she was completely unconnected besides the normal one she felt. It was like waking up from a deep sleep, and it took her a little while before she could focus on the world around her. She took a deep breath and removed her fingers from his temples, the tips of them tingling.

"Whoaaa...." Kisheto looked on with wide, childish eyes, admiring the mysterious ways in which Arianna's powers worked. He couldn't see what she was seeing, but the outward effects of her powers intrigued him. It was trance-like, as if she was controlling something beyond the normal scope of a human's astral plane. While lost in his curiosity, he had completely forgotten about the fact that he was to be keeping guard.

Arianna blinked, her eyes adjusting to the growing darkness as she looked up at Kisheto. "I think I know where we're going," she said, still feeling a little out of it. She cleared her throat and picked up the water bottle again, sipping some of the refreshing water. The little stunt had probably drained some of her spirit, but she was confident that she'd be able to fight someone off if they attempted to attack. Kisheto nodded, "Sounds good, we headin' out now? I'm followin you, yo," he said as he reached for Iktomi.

Arianna took a deep breath and nodded, standing after he took Iktomi. "We should move on." She took the bag and shouldered it after putting the water bottle back into it. After picking up her rapier again, she shook off the strange feeling of using her ability and paused by the entrance. As she surveyed the street outside, there wasn't a sound but a soft breeze blowing through the city. She nodded and stepped out, heading towards the middle district.

---

After about an hour of quietly walking through the streets, Arianna thought she was near the address she'd heard in Iktomi's head. It was completely dark, now. The only light that shown through the electric forcefield above them was that of the moon and stars, casting ominous shadows along the streets. The rubble didn't help, either. A loose metallic siding was flapping in the breeze that rolled through the streets, sendings shivers up Arianna's back. It was an odd sound compared to the quiet, desolate streets of the city. We should be close, she told Kisheto, not wanting to speak aloud at night. "Finally!" Kisheto blurted out loud without thinking. The waiting had been getting to him, having walked a whole hour with even talking to the person he was walking alongsidge. On top of that, he had started to feel a bit of strain in carrying the unconcious man; he found himself changing shoulders much more frequently.

Arianna flinched, cringing as she halted in the shadows of a building. She was about to scold him for foolishly talking so loud, but she suddenly sensed a host nearby. Her body tensed, gripping the rapier tighter. Her senses went on hyper-alert as she looked around the empty street. Stay here and be quiet. We have company, she told him, hoping that this host would pass them by.

---

The conduit licked his lips, scanning his surroundings with calm and collected eyes. He had heard something, and now that he concentrated, he smelt something, too. The breeze provided a marvelous advantage over the prey he smelt lurking in the shadows. Quietly, he stepped down the street, his dark hair and clothing blending in well with the shadows casted by the moon. He was hungry, and his stomach rumbled slightly at the thought of being fed. His kage growled within his mind, eager to know if his prey were hosts. "There is no need to hide," he purred into the night. His eyes watched every shadow for a hint of movement. Although he appeared empty handed, he hid a long blade up his sleeve.

Arianna was completely still, watching the dark silhouette as it neared them. Shit shit shit, she hissed in her mind. The man was at least 6' 2", towering six inches taller than her, but he also appeared to be in his late thirties. Perhaps the age made him slower, and the height would slow him down. Kisheto, stay here. Keep Iktomi safe no matter what happens to me. She set down the bag with their newly found water and slowly stepped out of the shadows, letting her fear take control of her so she could appear weak and defenseless to the host. "P-please don't hurt me," she stuttered, holding the rapier unskillfully in front of her. The conduit grinned, exposing his yellowed and slightly sharpened teeth. She would be easy prey. "I'm afraid I need to. You see, the society of Sovereign has changed drastically since the wall trapped us inside. It's just like the primitive world of animals in South Valira. The food chain has labeled me as a lion," he said as he pulled the blade from his sleeve and let it shine in the moonlight, "and it has labeled you as the poor gazelle."

Arianna swallowed, watching him. The blade was intimidating, but her rapier was much longer. She hoped she would be able to keep him at a distance. "Gazelle's get away sometime," she said, hoping to wipe some of that smug grin off of his face. The conduit only laughed, walking ever so closer to her. She wouldn't budge, though. He wasn't getting anywhere closer to Itkomi or Kisheto.

"Let's see how fast the gazelle can run, then," the conduit hissed as he raised his blade to his side.

Another morning, another day ahead, and Zachary had prepared a bag full of supplies and tools to move over to his temporary workshop. However, he had another stop to make first, to do with last night's dream. He packed the book about the Church of Aeros he had just finished into the bag too and set out into the streets, under the cover of the morning shade. Lugging his backpack, he soon arrived at the ruin of the university, where he had been at the time of the cataclysm. The massive bolt of lightning which had struck it along with many other tall buildings left the upper floors as burnt out husks, but some of the lower floors miraculously survived relatively intact. He had avoided taking residence there as many people often passed through the building, but there was one place he did visit often.

Climbing up a few flights of stairs Zachary was in front of a double-door which had been crudely repaired so as to be functional. Faded letters on a sign above the door spelled out 'LIBRARY'. Zachary walked through the doors and entered a very large and dark room. Dark, that is, save for the glow of a single light behind some shelves on the far side of the room. Suddenly, the silhouette of a man moved out from behind the shelf.

"Who goes there?" the figure called out.

"It's Zachary, Leo," Zachary replied.

"Ah, Zachary! If this were a business you'd be my favourite customer. Come in, come in, just let me find the light switch," the man named Leo replied amicably. He returned behind the shelf and a few moments later light cores in the ceiling flickered to life and illuminated the room.

The room indeed was a library. Rows of shelves with books neatly stacked in them filled the room. Smooth metal shelves, rounded painted tables, foam-padded chairs, desktop holopads (albeit without power) and a grey-blue carpet gave a modern feel to it. The room was meticulously clean, save for a large hole in the roof which had been another room until its floor collapsed into the library. You could almost believe the world outside hadn't gone to hell when inside this library.

"I see my lighting still works," Zachary commented. To help Leo out Zachary had fixed up the lighting in the room, allowing the entire place to be illuminated at the flick of a switch. Before that Leo had to make do with a flash-light and lamp. To keep the cores from wearing out he only turns on the lights when needed, but when the lights are on it completes the ambience.

"It sure does. It makes this place so much livelier," Leo said. He emerged from around the corner, and Zachary could see him clearly. He was an aging man, in his late 50s, with a bald patch and greying hair. A decent beard, matching the colouring of the hair on the top of his head, was present on his face. He wore a tweed suit which had remarkably remained intact all this time. Zachary had learned that Leo used to be the Librarian of this place long before the Apocalypse, and still is. The library had been fortunate enough to escape the fire, so as soon as he could Leo had picked up all the fallen books and shelves, sorted them, restored the library and kept it running. He didn't get many visitors, but he liked it that way. Any visitors which come to make trouble face the barrel of Leo's shotgun, but otherwise the man known as the Librarian was quite open to guests.

"As much as I know you like to chat, I also know that you don't come here unless you want a book," Leo said.

Zachary laughed. "Indeed. I've finished this book here." He took off his bag and removed the book from it. "I found it quite intriguing. The parts on kages and ancient cores were particularly relevant."

Leo took the book from him. "I told you that you'd find it interesting." When it came to borrowing books, Leo is quite lax about returning them. He figures that since he has such a high supply and small demand that he can afford to give away a few books, such as engineering reference books to Zachary. He does ask for a donation of food for the service, though, so in accordance with that Zachary also handed over a few serves of rations.

"What do you want now? A couple of back-copies of some engineering magazines? Maybe a nice novel?" Leo asked.

Zachary paused for a moment, trying to find the right word. "Actually, this time I want something on endocrinology."

"That's a strange request coming from you. What sparked you interest in that?"

"Last night I had a dream, sort of. Kaa'is was analysing my body, taking me on a grand tour of all the incredible details. Hormones were a hole in my knowledge, so we decided to do some research."

Concern crept into Leo's face. "You be careful with what your kage tells you, Zachary. I don't know what he's planning in there, but you'd do well not to trust him. But if you insist, you can find such books down there in biology and physiology." He pointed towards a particular aisle of shelves.

"Thank you, Leo. It'll be fine," Zachary replied. He went down the shelves and foraged through the books. After 15 minutes of looking at and flicking through a few textbooks Zachary settled on one and put it in his bag. It weighed as much as a brick, but he had grown accustomed to carrying a heavy pack. With the book in his bag, Zachary headed for the door. "Goodbye Leo," he called out, waving.

"See you later, Zachary," Leo replied, looking up from a book he was reading and giving a quick wave in return.

Collab Between Skai and Kish

---

Arianna took a step back before swinging her rapier at the conduit, gripping the hilt tighter so it wouldn't slip from her fingers. The conduit's blade clashed with her rapier and she could feel the two blades scraping against each other. He kept her sword at bay with the blade as he stepped forward, kicking his foot up and at her chest. Arianna noticed the movement and spun away, releasing her sword out from under his blade. She swung it again, but this time stepped forward, causing him to back off so he wouldn't get cut by it.

"So the gazelle has some fight in her," he remarked, his voice barely labored by the physical activity. He growed slightly, switching his blade into his other hand. "I do enjoy a little resistance. It makes the kill much more worth it." The conduit's eerie grin turned into a snarl as he lunged towards her. He used his blade to push her sword aside again and spun around until he felt his elbow connect with her ribcage. Arianna grimaced, feeling the pain radiate throughout her body. She stumbled to the side, getting a safe distance away from him as she felt her ribcage. Nothing was broken. "Watch out, you might bruise the meat," she hissed, some of her fear being replaced by her natural instinct to live. The conduit only laughed, watching her. "There probably isn't enough meat on your ribs to have one bite." He stepped towards her, but was stopped as Arianna gripped her blade with both hands and swung again. "You'll starve today," she growled. Even though her side hurt, she wasn't going to give up so easily.

In response to her hostility, the conduit felt his bloodlust rise. "Your death would be quicker if you gave up now, girl," he hissed. "If you fight, you will feel more pain." He stepped forward and blocked her swing with his blade, then forcefully brought his arm down on her wrists. He grinned as her reflexes made her drop the rapier. Arianna winced, gasping as she lost her only means of keeping his blade at bay. She immediately backed away, looking around for anything she could use without giving away one of her abilities. Surely this host would want to kill her more if he knew she was a host as well. She grabbed a nearby pipe from a pile of rubble and held it up, watching as the conduit turned to grin at her. He lunged at her again and grabbed the pipe as she swung it at him. With her hands disctracted with holding the pipe, he drug his blade ever so slightly against her ribcage. His ears rejoiced at the sound of skin tearing. Arianna cried out and released the pipe, backing away from the conduit. She watched him closely, her heart pounding in her chest. With a wince she gingerly felt the cut. A wave of relief washed over her. It wasn't deep, and didn't seem to be bleeding too much. Unfortunately it stung everytime she moved her arm. Damnit, she cursed in her mind. I can't afford any more blows like that.

At this point, Kisheto had to hold himself back. It was a mixture of fear of failure, death, and disappointing his new ally - all of which would most likely occur simultaneously. He was told to safe guard Iktomi, so would charging in after her be smart? But the second he saw her take the slice to the torso, he rushed forward, leaving Iktomi resting upon the sidewalk, alone and vulnerable.

"YO! You good?!" he called out as he began to run towards the fight.

Arianna's attention was dragged from the conduit to the sound of Kisheto's voice. She was instantly filled with worry for his life, and for Iktomi's. At the moment, she only needed her rapier, and the only way she'd get it now was either to risk running past the conduit, or using her telekinesis to get it back. "Go back to Iktomi," she said, glancing back at the conduit. "I think it's time to break out the real guns."

The conduit cackled, eyeing the young man that ran towards them. "I'll deal with him and your friend after I kill you." He was about to pounce again when he felt a soft breeze blow past his ear. The next thing he knew, the girl had her rapier in her hands once more. His kage snarled in response. "This girl is a host! Kill her!" A small chuckle escaped the conduit's lips. "You are foolish for revealing your abilities, girl," he said with a cold tone, "You have just doomed the kage within you, for my kage is hungry for spirit."

Arianna gripped the rapier tightly, standing defensively with her rapier ready to strike. Without another word, she lunged towards him at the same time he pounced. The pain from her side rippled throughout her as they both clashed. The conduit's blade tried to block her rapier, but Arianna's rapier grinded down the blade until the tip cut the side of his neck. The cannibal hissed from the pain and cried out as he took a step back and kicked out. His foot collided with her knee and Arianna buckled, stumbling. She linked her mind with his blade and ripped it from his hands, throwing it onto the ground away from them, but her body wasn't fast enough to get away from him as he grabbed her wrist and twisted it. As hard as she tried to hold onto her rapier, the pain in her wrist was too much. Her face contorted in pain as her rapier fell to the ground with a loud clang. She reached out, trying to pull it back to her, but the conduit grabbed her other wrist and shoved her against a nearby building.

The man grinned darkly, believing that he had caught his prey. Arianna twisted and thrashed, looking for anything she could use against him. A loose balcony overhead caught her attention. She stopped thrashing and focused on the balcony, giving it a hard push with her mind. The brick balcony broke apart and collapsed, falling onto both of them and burying them in a cloud of smoke and brick.

Out of the cloud of smoke movement could be heard as bricks rustled and fell aside. Arianna arose from the pile, coughing slightly from the musky dust that filled the air. She held her side as she stumbled away from the brick pile. "Ugh," she groaned softly, rubbing her head with her free arm. She turned to watch the brick pile, unsure if she had neutralized the threat or not. The conduit's hand , top of the head, and foot stuck out of the pile of bricks, unmoving.

Kisheto had been looking on with a frown locked upon his face. His eyes had followed the two throughout the match, as every movement of their muscles only served to heighten his anxiety. He knew that the slightest twitch could result in this girl's death - the girl, who at the moment, was the only one keeping him from descending into the realm of loneliness that he had been in before. Were she to die, he'd not only be lost, but responsible for the life of a man he did not know. The second the balcony collapsed, he blinked and shook his head free of the near-trance-like state he was in. His anxiety died down, but adrenaline kicked in as he bounced to his feet and began running forward once more, concerned about the results of the hasty attack. However, as Arianna climbed out of the rubble, he skidded to a stop and let his head fall back with a sigh.

"Wow. You actually didn't need my help. I mean, call me fucked up, but for a moment, I was hoping he'd get the upper hand so I could come in and, y'know, be cool and shit," he chuckled and looked back at Iktomi, who he had succeeded in guarding from nothing really. At least he didn't fail on that note.

Arianna turned to look at him, weary from fighting the conduit. She chuckled softly at his remarks, which turned into a round of coughing. "At least you didn't breathe in a years worth of dust and debri." Kisheto laughed and patted her on the back gently before returning and lifting up the man who continued to lay unconcious. "After what I just saw, I think you'll be fine, heh. You good to go? I've still gotcha back, yo. Actually, I'm just really eager to get to this place you're taking me, too."

Arianna picked up the small backpack and winced. She pulled out the water bottle and sipped from it, then shouldered the bag. The cut stung as she moved, but she ignored it. "Yeah, let's go," she said, drinking more of the water. She held out the bottle and wiped excess water from her lips. "Here, have a drink. You probably need it, too." She said as she began to walk towards the address again. Kisheto smiled and nodded, "Appreciate it," he said as he took the bottle and took a few small sips.

Arianna smiled faintly and brushed her hair back from her face, wincing as she took a deep breath. Just as she was thinking about pouring some water on the cut to prevent infection, she heard the click of a gun. A low, female voice was heard from a nearby shadow. "Who goes there?" Arianna blinked, holding up her hands. She recognized the voice. "Hali?" She asked quietly, squinting as she peered into the darkness. A soft sigh was heard, then the gun clicked again as Hali disarmed it and put it away. "Arianna? What happened? Who is this?" Hali asked as she moved towards them.

"This is Kisheto. He helped me bring Iktomi here. He needs help," Arianna managed to explain before Hali nodded in understanding. She gestured for them to follow her. "The new base isn't too far. Hurry. The fight caused a lot of noise." Without any more words, Hali began to move towards the base. Arianna glanced at Iktomi's unconscious body on Kisheto, then hurried and followed Hali to the base.

Collab Event 1: The Treasure in the Sky

Part 1:

~From the ravaged streets below, the obstruction seemed to be a large chunk of building-debris that had coincidentally landed on the parking lot that jutted from the side of the skymall. However, if one were to view the shadow-casting mass from a distance, they may have noticed that it resembled a carriage or tank, almost. The Skymall was worn, and the top six floors has pancaked down upon themselves, eventually turning to the side and sliding down the rest of the building. What was left was a damaged, treacherous spike-of-a-building jutting from the destroyed ground on which it one stood tall. Most windows were shattered and the entrance itself seemed dangerous, as the building often cracked and groaned with threats of collapsing at any second. If one were to look inside the deathtrap, they would noticed ruined ceilings, exposing dangerous electrical wiring, downed escalators and elevators, and plenty of cave ins. Of course, climbing the side of the building was a bit more plausible due to various chunks of debris having created makeshift stepping stones that provided a risky, but quick path to the parking lot.~

"I really wanna get outta here, Johnny, I don't like it one bit..." the voice came from a young woman in her mid twenties. She held a baseball bat and wore cheap, salvaged garbs. She looked around frantically, the attachments to her backpack jingling metallically as she shuddered every so often when the building whined. Johnny, who had been inspecting the cave ins in order to determine whether they could be used as crude staircases, turned around from his position atop a fallen ceiling.

"Just relax. The building was built to last. It's still standing isn't it? Besides, this may be the only chance we get - everyone and their mother has been wandering these streets in order to get at that carriage... or anyone trying to get it as well."

~~

At the foot of the crumbling structure was another curiosity of this broken city. A single woman, appearing to be in her late teens, watched over what seemed to be an insignificant spot. A nook at the foot of the building, just large enough to hold a small child. In this nook was a single rose, black and withered, placed ages ago by the child who had once occupyied this very spot.

A certain, inexplicable emotion rose within the woman, something she had not felt in a long time. This feeling rose, becoming stronger and stronger, slowly encompassing the womans' entire being. Yet still she could not grasp it, for it had been so long since the woman had felt anything other than hatred and torment that this once precious feeling had become alien to her.

The womans' hand slowly grazed her cheek, as she pulled her fingers away she was astounded to see a wetness there. A glistening shine, a shine that had been absent for far too long, a shine that could only have come from,

tears

strange... the woman thought. She had thought that such things were no longer present in her body, that all of her tears had flowed from her, leaving only a bittered and shrivelled excuse for a heart within her. She blinked once, twice, looking back to the rose that marked the place she once called home, she found that more tears came. She did not weep, yet tears streamed from her eyes. The emotion that had once encompassed her now strangely absent, and in its place a river formed from a dead heart.
The woman felt strange, for she knew that it was proper for her to feel somthing in this moment, the moment she would say goodbye to her old self. Yet she felt nothing, only a mockery for what was sadness and loneliness poored from her.

and then she smiled..

and the tears stopped.

~~

"Aha! Got it, there's the path, Joanna, we can climb up here, I fixed it right up!" Johnny exlcaimed from inside. Joanna smiled, "What? Really? Oh man, the guys back at camp are gonna be so happy!"

Joanna quickly walked up the fallen ceiling that had been altered by Johnny using shelves and desks. Now on the fourth floor, she took a look around and smiled, "We're almost there!" Johnny chuckled, "Yup. Help me push this down there, we need it out of the way," he said as he grunted and began pushing a desk that blocked entry to the next cave in. Joanna grabbed the other side and helped push it over into the cave in they had just emerged from. With multiple loud crashes that nearly shook the building, the desk fell from floor to floor until it crashed into multiple pieces at the bottom.

It was then that the womans' focused was torn from her own petty thoughts by a clear and powerful crashing. For a moment, she considered her options. If she was to investigate the sound, what would she uncover? Would it be hostile? A trap perhaps, meant to lure her to death? Humans were skilled with traps...
Despite her second thoughts however, curiosity managed to get the better of her and she quietly made her way into the crumbling structure.

Within its' cavernous maw, the woman saw many dangers. Even though this structure had survived the many quakes of the apocalypse, it had been pushed to its limits, and now held onto life by a single thread. Debris littered that ground, half of the main floor was innaccessible, blocked by debris and chittering electrical wires.

At her feet lay a crumbled mess, feintly resembling a shattered wooden desk. The woman then glanced up, the roof above her had somehow been removed, and she could see the goings on of the floors above her. In the distance, quite a few floors up, she saw the flickering of a light as it danced across the walls, giving away the culprits behind the sound she had heard earlier.

The woman smiled as she noticed the makeshift path to the floors above her, she had found a prey, and it had been so kind as too fashion a road for her too hunt it along...
Joanna chuckled, "Jeeze, Johnny, can yah be any louder?" She then playfully nudged him in the arm, and he smiled back at her.

"Think of it, Joanna... We'll be like heroes bringing in the most notorious shuttle in the city! Who knows what they got in there! It was huge, too!" Johnny spoke with utter excitement, and continued to pry away at the next cave in, hoping to quickly ascend to the next floor.

The woman began her ascent, her hospital gown proving difficult to manage on the treacherous ascent. This was compounded by the fact that she was still learning her new body, and the climb proved difficult at best. When she reached the second floor, her already smudged attire was in absolute tatters.

It was then that she realized she would not be capable of completing the ascent in her current state. The woman let out a soft sigh, only to be interrupted by the sounds of voices above her. "..heroes.. shuttle... what they got in there..." The womans' interest piqued, although she could not fully determine what it was they were speaking of, she could sense the excitement on their voices'.

She steeled her resolve, determined to discover the treasure her prey had braved this tower for, and began her ascent to the third level...
"Alright, help me clear this fallen pile of junk, hm?" Johnny asked, as he motioned for Joanna to help him. She smiled and began assisting him, "Alright, Johnny, tell me this: why hasn't anybody thought of this before? That carriage has been there a while..."

Johnny scoffed, "Don't try to act like my genius was something any mediocre person would be capable of creating..."
After a brief pause, the two laughed at his statement and continued to clear out the debris preventing them from ascending to the fifth floor.

Miraculously, the woman found herself on the third floor of the crumbling structure without incident. She could now blatantly hear the oblivious joviality of the pair above her. The excitement and carefree nature of their conversing hinted to them being close to the treasure. The woman smiled, it pleased her too know her prey was unaware of their fate. It made her end of things much easier...

It was then that she decided to wait, so far these two had proved useful in making accessways to each of the floors for her. Once they had ascended to the fourth floor she would follow into the fifth, and so on..

until they reached this 'treasure' of theirs...

Collab Event 1: Treasure in The Sky

Part 2:

"FINALLY! WOOO!!" Johnny cried out as he stepped out of the window onto the parking lot deck that still stood strong. Joanna clambered out from the same window and smiled at the sight. There it was, the shadow-casting mystery of the district. The second the couple set eyes on it, their faces went blank.

"Johnny... holy shit..." Joanna's mouth fell, and Johnny simply stared at it.

It wasn't a carriage, or as others speculated, a tipped vendor's stand. It wasn't debris, or thrown bookshelves, no...

It was a shuttle.

And if the sight of one of the only remaning flying machines wasn't enough, the beeping noise was. Johnny shuddered, his hairs standing up as each beep (which came from some internal communications system) further picked an idea out from the back of his mind. It had been a year since anyone had thoughts on the subject of... escape. They had settled and cast themselves upon the path of survival. Death was normal, because death was their life now. THIS was their life. But the site of the shuttle completely shattered what changes had been made over the gruesome year for but a second. In that second, the walls vanished and Johnny and Joanna were looking out at the open fields that once welcomed those traveling to the city from afar. For that second, they smelled the aroma of the food from back home in Valira. For that second, they were free. But that second didn't last long enough.

~~

As the pair was torn from reality by their amazing discovery, death made its slow crawl toward them. The woman was now on the fourth floor, and was pleased to see that the ascent to the fifth would be much easier than the others.

As she peeked her head into the fifth level, she saw the two, starstruck by whatever it was that they had uncovered.
Ariela smiled, a dark and menacing grin, as she lifted herself onto their level..

"Interesting..." A voice suddenly announced, it was low and scratchy, warped by the transformation to sound almost inhuman. "...what a lovely treat you two have uncovered..."
Johnny quickly whipped around and Joanna followed suit. At the sight of her strange, deformed figure, he flinched and instinctly stepped in front of Joanna. "Shit! Okay, this is ours lady, we found it first," he called out. His hope was quickly fleeting, as he realized more and more that there was no way she could NOT be a host. Her eyes spelled death and she was barely human. Joanna gasped and whispered, "She's one of those possessed ones... the conduits... Johnny..."

"I... Can... Hear... You.." She bit of each word, hatred seethed from her tongue growing in heat with every second. The womans' focus had shifted entirely to Joanna. "Possessed? Oh no... I assure you... I have full control over my self..." She sneered as she stepped closer. Her left arm turning completely black as her rage took over. The black skin cracked, and a red glow radiated from beneath it. "You cannot judge me!" She roared. "What have you done!? What did you do!? I was alone and where were you!?" The woman cried in fury as she put her left fist through the wall and the building trembled.. "NOWHERE! You were enjoying yourselves weren't you!? ENJOYING YOUR PEACEFUL LIVES WHILE I ROTTED AWAY! FORGOTTEN BY SOCIETY!"

As the womans' rage grew, her spirit swelled, until she began laughing uncontrollably, and tears streamed from her right eye. "You created this, the both of you! and every other miserable human that skitters through this laughable excuse for a paradise!" As she piqued in power, a small child materialized before her. It took the form of her younger self, huddled, cold and helpless, surviving despite the weight of the odds that had stacked against her favor.

"Do you feel guilt yet? Do you understand my pain? Of course not..." Her voice faded off as she fell back into her state of melancholy depression. "you weren't there... no one was.."

Johnny and Joanna were struck speechless as they stood there in fright. As her tone died down, Johnny swallowed and slowly looked to Joanna. Without a word her pulled her towards him and yelled, "RUN!" In an instant, the two broke out into a full speed sprint in an attempt to run around the demonic woman.

The womans' rage grew once more as the two ran from her. She lost herself to the moment and Artemus stepped in. She could feel his hunger grow as he took the helm and began the pursuit. "What will running do you?" the womans' voice echoe'd throughout the building from seemingly everywhere. "Nothing can escape from my gaze.. No sound passes by these ears unnoticed.. I. Will. Find you..." The womans' possessed form gave chase, slowly becoming encompassed by voidal energy.

Johnny didn't dare look back. He ran as fast as he could, his adrenaline nearly blinding him as he felt near weightless. Joanna, on the other hand, was drowning in her fright. She looked over her shoulder only to widen her eyes and gasp as she slowed her pace. "JOHNNY!" she yelled.

Joanna's eyes' met with the demon womans' in that instant, and the dark abbyss that greeted her left her speechless. everything else dissappeared as The woman closed the distance between them. The black arm reached forward and grasbed Joannas' face. Her breath came in short, difficult gasps as she tried to grasp the the situation.

"You... you will live... For now..." The black arm grasped the woman by the hair and dragged her along the ground. tossing her on the ground infront of the shuttle. A blade, made entirely of a unknown, black metal, materialized in the Woman's palm. She jabbed it into Joanna's calf and into the rubble below.

Joanna screamed in pain at her actions before passing out from the pain and blood loss. Johnny froze at the sound of his wife's scream and simply stood there, half in anger and half in fear and despair. After his state of shock was replaced by an inner rage, he turned around and cried out. "JOANNA! YOU MONSTER, THAT'S THE WOMAN I LOVE!" he yelled as he charged forward with his fists drawn.

"You love her do you?" The woman questioned as she caught the first fist with her human arm, and punched the man in the face with her black one. "Then, pray tell, why would you bring her into such a deadly place?" She swept the mans' feet from under him and cackled as he fell to the ground. "why.." She slid down and laid atop him.. "would you not bring some sort of protection?" She rubbed her body against his as she whispered in his ear, her breath hot and steamy. "did you think your fists capable of defending her from this city? Or were you foolish enough to believe that it was safe here..?" The woman bit the mans' ear playfully "No... you do not love her... you are selfish... Caring only about the treasure you so desperately sought out in this dangerous place.." The woman took in the mans' scent. "I can smell the sin on you.. the lies... the.. Bravado..."

Johnny struggled on the ground after having been rocked by her punch. It had knocked the sight out of one his eyes and everything else began to spin. But his rage-driven state kept him going, and he reached up to shove off the woman who attacked his wife. "You don't KNOW ANYTHING! You're just a weakling who gave into the corruption of the onikages! And I WON'T LET YOU HURT MY WIFE!" he yelled as he dashed forward in an attempt to punch her just as she did to him.

The woman took the hit, falling backwards as she did. Behind the man, a small child emerged from the rubble, and the woman who had fallen became envelopped in a black nothingness. Her voice came from the child, who laughed darkly. "Have you truly become so blind? I have done what must be done.. Whether or not you view that as weak is irrelivent..."

The child jumped at the man, digging its' teeth into his neck. as it pulled back blood poured from the mark, and a chunk of flesh tore from the mans' body. Johnny screamed in pain, but before he could finish his bloodcurdling death cry, a piercing sound tore through it. As blood continued to spurt from his neck, a splash of the red liquid flew out of the right side of his skull, circling a hole that cut through the ground next to Johnny. Both the hole in the ground and the fresh circular wound upon Johnny's temples sizzled as smoke emit from the bloody penetrations. Johnny's body fell limp and slumped over to the right, away from the location of the rifle that had dealt the damage.

About two buildings away, two stories below the combat, a sniper knelt near his long range plasma rifle. It was built like a turret - a huge, and long frame that was implanted into the ground. After a moment of charging up, it had fired a single plasma round that traveled at immense speed. From behind the rifle, a military squadron erupted into cheers.

"DAMN! YOU SEE THAT SHIT?!"
"HOLY FUCK!"
"AEROS UPON 'EM, WHAT THE BLOOD SIN WAS THAT?!"
"DAYUUUUMMM!!!"

About twelve men stood upon the roof, and two military grade carriages progressed from the street adjacent to the building. Soon, footsteps were heard coming from the makeshift stair cases that the couple had been forming. Not long after, a voice also sounded from the floors below.

"Confirmed kill, tango down. We got a Code S on six, honing in. Check your fire, we'll be there t-15, primary objective the shuttle. If we let these damn hosts find anymore of the remaining shuttles, they'll fly outta here and the seniors will have our heads. Destroy it if you can," as the voice grew nearer and nearer, the sound of the humming carriages also grew louder.