[b][center]Ishigo[/center][/b]

"I got a four carriage pile up on 75, pedestrians trapped beneath a freighter that went haywire, and multiple reports of caged fires." 

Ishigo remained focused and calm as he listened to the reports via an ear piece he was wearing, as he would need his hands to help him maneuver the rooftops of Soveriegn, upon which he was swiftly dashing to help those hurt by the second tremor. 

"14 Civies trapped in -" *static*
"Shuttle traffic is fucking goin cr-" *static*
"THE WHOLE BUILDIN FELL! SERIOUSLY, THE-" *static*
"And it looks like 100 wounded with 40 dead-" *static*

Every emergency channel was filled with disastrous news, and Ishigo was already fatigued from toiling to get civilians out of trapped cars, off of stranded heights, and into safety. Before he was able to pinpoint one channel to focus on, the third tremor shook the building in which he was free running, causing him to loose his balance and slip over the railing and towards the street below. 

"Damn!" He landed with a hard thud, managing to cushion a bit of the impact with a roll and sweep. He forced himself to stand, his eyes widening at the horrid sight before him. He stood a mere fifty feet from the Capitol building, and watched as a huge pillar of light speared through it, forcing it to crumble into the giant trench that appeared in the ground. The force of the impact caused him to fly back, moments after he witnessed at least a hundred civilians perish in whatever flew their way. Ishigo got up and froze at the titanic sight of the Void Gate - so close, he could hear the eerie hum of whatever lay on the other side. He took a step towards it, entranced by its ominous beauty, but hook his head as the ground began to crack, and a huge crevice began forming in the land towards his body. He turned and began sprinting the other way, unable to turn to the buildings on his side as they had already began to churn under the weakened ground below. He strained as hard as possible, but in futility as he felt the crevice approach him faster than he could run. However, before he fell into the seemingly endless depth below, he felt an unbelievable amount of force drive into his back, as if a train had hit him at full speed. Except the force that impaled his back shot him upwards and continued to fly at a blinding speed. Ishigo grit his teeth in pain, a dark purple aura forming around him as he soared through the sky like a rag doll. He felt his body lose all cohesion, as if every atom in his body simply fell apart, and then quickly rejoined. He wanted to scream but couldn't - he had no throat. He wanted to flail, but couldn't - he had no limbs. Finally, he slammed down onto the ventilation systems of one of the few surviving buildings, rolling until he hit a wall. He groaned in pain, realizing he wouldn't be conscious for long. 

[i]Damnit... What in the name of Sin is happening...[/i]

---

[center][b]Julian Drake[/center][/b]

"Whoa... You felt that, right, Jules?" Eddy said to his friend who stood still, gazing at the empty road in front of him. "Aye, I thought it was tha' herb settlin' in, yeh know?" he said softly. Eddy chuckled and continued to walk. "Never ever experienced a quake in Sovereign, really. First time for everything, I gue-"

The second tremor caused Eddy to lose his footing and slam into the carriage he was about to unlock and enter. It was the only one on the quiet, suburban road located in the outskirts of Sector B. The carriage toppled over and the shattering of its windows caused Eddy to wince and cuss under his breathe.

Julian raised a brow and looked around, "Nah, this isn't normal, brothah'. I don' like the vibe, really." Eddy held his head in his hands cussing as he stopped attempting to turn his carriage right side up. The third tremor caused the carriage to flip the other way and slam into Eddy, the two entities flying towards a wall and crashing through it. Julian was flung in the same direction, but hit the wall without penetrating it.

"By Sin, brothah', you good?!" he yelled out as he got to his feet, ducking into the hole made by the carriage. Eddy was trapped underneath the vehicle, bleeding quite profusely from his arm, which had been crushed under the weight of the vehicle. His entire right side was pinned by the carriage and Eddy was in the verge of death. Julian froze for a second - partly in fear and partly in hopelessness. Eddy was much stronger than him, and if he couldn't get the carriage to budge, then Julian might as well have called his death. But out of instinct, he tried anyway. The building around them began screeching as walls began cracking and the story above began threatening to collapse.

Suddenly, a storm of lightning de estates the entire street, sending metal and debris everywhere. Julian flinched as he was blinded by the violent strikes of lightning, and opened his eyes to realize the building he was in had caught fire, which began spreading at frightening speeds. Eddy coughed and began drifting away, which made Julian cry out as he put all his effort into lifting the carriage. 

"HANG ON THEA' BROTHAH'! I SAY HANG ON!!!" He strained and yelled as he pushed with all his might, but the carriage refused to give an inch. The fire began burning the room that the two were in, and Julian began coughing violently, feeling the heat burn into his eyes. The story finally collapsed, causing a huge steel wiring to impale Julian from the back of his chest, cutting clean through and into the ground. Julian cried out, his hands falling limp and his body growing weak. Eddy screamed in pain as the fire's heat began to sear through the flesh in his left arm. Julian yelled once more, and pushed off the ground with his remaining strength. He managed to remove the debris from his body, or rather, remove himself from the debris that had lodged into the ground. Julian fell towards the carriage, and again, attempted to push it off.

The fire finally reached the engine of the carriage and the whole thing exploded in a burst of kinetic energy and scorching hot flames. Julian flew out of the building and into the near-flooded street outside. He coughed up blood and shivered as his body went into shock, but, using the last ounce of strength he had, he got up and ran. He ran as far as he could from the street, past collapsing houses and falling streetlights. He eventually found the man made park that had been used to compliment the suburban lifestyle of the neighborhood that had just been decimated. Fortunately for Julian, the park remained minimally damaged, as it was on an incline, preventing it from flooding. The quakes had shaken up most trees, but Julian found once to rest against as the tremors died out. He then caught sight of the Void Gate, and gasped as the meteor shower erupted from its depths. The city before him was crumbling, and he simply sat there, watching, in pain and shame. 

Eddy was dead. 

Julian began sobbing, his head face down and his right resting upon a knee as he say with the other leg stretched before him. His ears rang sharply, muffling the screams of the architecture and humans that continue to perish in the depths of Sovereign. 

Julian knew he was going to die. There was no doubt about it, so he did the one thing he could think of. He reached into his belt pouch and pulled out his lighter and a joint. As his shivering began to fade, he propped the joint in between his lips, lit it up, and took a nice, deep inhale. 

He was going to smoke his life away - in peace, comfort, and detachment. As his eyes began to flicker and his vision began to darken, an orb of black smoke flew right past him. He stirred in his relaxation, dropping his joint and shuffling to see what had nearly collided with him. Suddenly, the orb zipped to Julian's side and Julian froze. He sat there frightened as he observed the orb slowly contort and twist until it took the shape of a young boy, with no features as the figure was made entirely of a black and red smoke. The figure sat next to Julian and picked up the joint he had dropped, fiddling with it in his hands before raising it to his mouth. Julian was now confused and frightened at once.

"Y-y-you.... You're smoke..... Smoke... Sm-smoke is smoking..."

The figure let out a puff of smoke and then slowly turned it's head to Julian, a gesture which creeped him out. It then handed the joint back to Julian, who simply took it and placed it in his mouth, choosing to ignore the anomaly before him. However, as he inhaled, the smoke figure slipped into his mouth and invaded his lungs, causing Julian to clutch his throat and gag. He fell onto his back and seized, his eyes rolling back into his head. The pain began as unbearable, but eventually slipped into nothingness as he became completely numb. 

[i]"Well... It's nice and comfy in here...[/i]" came a young voice, from inside Julian. Julian simply shivered before passing out, his last sight being the joint rolling down the hill upon which he lay.

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