[IC] Shadow over the Skies of Arcadia. (Demontongue and Vash)

[Vash]

The lights from the multiple torches and candles in the steam-powered vessel blinded Sebastian as the hood he was forced to wear was removed. His eyes soon adjusted and he heard the rustling of chains and shackles around him, dozens of people have been taken it seems. Sebastian shook his head of the pain that struck his right temple, though it bit at him slightly. One of the few places left on him that felt pain. Damn high-guard know where to strike. He was silent as the guards when by removing the hoods on everybody's head one by one. The steam vessel they were in, prison ship more like it, was a large one, able to hold hundreds easily. Most likely was the primary vessel to transport prisoners to Rook Island Maximum Security penitentiary, a place smack dab in the middle of the Dead Zone. The only place on the whole of Planet Arcadia where there is no such thing as magic or electronics. Used originally as an offering to the Tenau before war was declared. Now it's discreetly used by both to offload prisoners of war.

The whole ship was powered by steam and lit by torches and oil lanterns. Crude and inneffective, but it was one of the few technologies that could work in the dead zone. He tried to stretch a bit as his bones were starting to creak from the disuse, but his hands were bound. They were made of crude iron unfortunately and he would be able to break out of them very easily, but he'd have to wait until nobody was looking. Just to try a test, he bent them slightly to make sure his body still worked. Upon nearly breaking the chain, he affirmed it. There were screams of a woman down the line as she pleaded for an answer as to why she was taken captive. It was quickly turned into begging for her life as the guard pulled a gun on her then was silenced as a bang echoed throughout the ship. "Damn" he said to nobody in particular. "Next thing you know a child will yell out for her mother-and there it is. Poor kid." Just as a guard came to smack him to be quiet, the whole ship lurched as something giant hit them. All was frozen for a minute as everybody started to look around, as if thinking the previous hit was but a dream.

Something went off in the back of his mind, a warning, premonition...something. It forced him into action and Sebastian stood up then, breaking out of his iron shackles and grabbing the nearby guard, yelling "GET DOWN" in the process. Just as he dragged the guard to the ground, the ship lurched again, but this time broke through. A torpedo of some sort blew open the side of the hull, letting the dark blue ocean pour through. The water filled up the lower deck quickly, many of the prisoners were shackled to the wall and were drowned quickly. Sebastian would have too if he didn't have a resperator built into his damn lungs. The fact that he couldn't swim made it even worse for him. He tried to save as many as he could, focusing on the women and children that were here, but he didn't save many. The guards helped as best as they could, but they were only human. From the upper decks, guards in hydro suits joined in the rescue, with respirators as well, they didn't bother helping the remaining prisoners gasping for breath as the ship started to go down. One broke free and was trying to fight to take a guards' weapon to protect himself. Sebastian tried to make his way over to the remaining prisoners as they pulled against their chains, but another explosion against the hull sent him hurling upwards and into the ceiling. He hit his head on the ceiling and went black.

The next thing he knew, he felt the sun beating down onto his body and hot sand underneath his head and neck. Opening his eyes, he was once again blinded, but this time by the unrelenting sun. He lifted up his arm to shield his eyes from the ultra-violet rays of the sun and sat up. Before he could even try and figure out where he was, he heard screaming coming from his right. He stood up quickly, nearly falling over again from losing his balance, and saw two of the prisoners on the ground. One was trying to force himself on the woman underneath him. The man he recognized as one of the more dangerous prisoners, the one that was trying to fight a guard. The woman kicked and screamed, slapping the man and punching him. Sebastian started sprinting, faster than that of a normal human. He pumped his arms and took three big leaps before reaching them and slamming his foot into the man's sternum. The shattering of bone and stream of blood signaled the man's death as he flew down the coast line a little and impacted against a large rock.

He breathed steadily, the run having taken a little out of his still recovering body. He turned toward the woman he just rescued, she was frozen, waiting for him to do something. He held out his hand and spoke. "Sebastian. Pleasure"

[DemonTongue]

Panic. The surface loomed overhead like a rippling cold light at the end of a black tunnel. Body weak. Groans of a dying, broken machine called deep and loud through the water dragging it down to its tomb. Lungs on fire. All around equipment, supplies, clothes, refuse and corpses drifted in the currents slowly rising or sinking. Too far. A survivor broke the surface with a desperate gasp, wild splashing, and ragged coughing. Alive.

She floundered, stumbled and dragged herself up the beach, collapsing just out of reach of the lapping blue waves, and closed her eyes against the blinding sun. Sand and salt were already forming an uncomfortable crust in her hair and on her skin, but she didn't care. After the swim her limbs felt like heavy, detached slabs of meat, her wrists stung where the shackles had cut them, her throat and lungs felt like they were full of needles, her heart slammed against her bones with every pulse. Cursed ancient steam technology.

Vivid images played in her mind back and forth over and over again as she lay there catching her breath. The screaching and the flooding and the screaming. She saw the guard who freed her and the other prisoners she had left behind. Chaos when they rushed to escape. Darkness when the fires went out. Cold when the black waters overtook them. Were they all dead? Was she dead? Was this real?

Birds sang somewhere in the distance. Strange foreign songs she had never heard. A breeze rustled foliage and carried the fresh scent of the sea to mingle with the sweet earthy scents of sand, over growth and decay. It was all lulling her into an exhausted sleep. She forced her eyes open a little when she heard footsteps and rolled over to see who was there with her. Intense, tearing, pain. The man had her by the scalp before she got a look at him.

"Ow! NO!" immediately she screamed out and clung to his hand struggling to stand as he drug her along.

"Get up!" he shouted, "You're coming with me."

"LET GO!" she screamed again. This time she dug her nails deeply into his flesh, clawing and wrenching her body furiously.

He hissed, the skin being torn from his arm, and she was dropped. Still her limbs felt numb and unwieldy, but she scrambled away from him as fast as she could. It wasn't fast enough. In an instant he was on her with a tackle that knocked the wind from her chest. She threw an elbow that collided with his head. A firm hand clenched around her neck and forced her face into the sand before her body was flipped. Sand burned in her eyes but she could see the attacker on top of her.

"Listen, bitch!" he spat, "The more you fight the worse it--"

She managed to throw a punch into his teeth before he could finish but there wasn't enough power behind it. Another was following but he held her shoulders down and it went nowhere. He pinned both her hands down above her head and slammed a knee down on her thigh. She screamed again, this time in agony. He had her wrists in one of his fists. His free hand yanked the top of her pants downward. No. She clenched her teeth, rolling and wriggling with everything she had. Not strong enough. Her breath was catching when the disgusting creature touched her skin. CRACK! It was like weight loss and stress relief via sledgehammer.

He was gone. Something hot splattered across her cheek. She wasted no time bolting upright and blindly squirmed away several feet before stopping and trying to get the rest of the sand out of her eyes. Tears streamed down her face doing their best to carry the grains away. She blinked and tried to focus on the newcomer now in front of her. Another man. She looked around and saw her attacker, a crumpled pile of flesh and bones, an impossible distance away.

Should she run? Was he going to try to hurt her too? What next? Where should she go? What should she do? The shipwreck, nearly drowning, the attack, her surroundings, it was too much. She froze up. Sebastian. He was holding a hand out to her. Her head was swimming as she stared between his hand and his face in silence. No.

With bloodshot eyes she glared up and slid away from the man. Her teeth clenched. She watched him carefully. Ungainly, confused, scared, weak, but feirce she got to her feet with shaking knees on her own.

"Don't touch me," she muttered.

She took a couple wobbling steps back until she felt like the distance between them was more in her favor. Again she looked at the dead man down the beach...

"I'm..." she faultered, "How did... Don't... Thank you," she finally managed.

[Vash]

"Don't ask how I got him off of you. You won't get an answer...and you're welcome...whomever you are...." He was distracted, obviously. He knelt down and looked down the beach away from where she was being dragged. "Trail suggests that he had a specific destination. Camp maybe. From the way he immediately tried to plow you when you resisted it suggests that he is a prisoner. Considering that he was heading towards someplace, I would bet that many prisoners survived and have banded together for survival. Wouldn't be the hardest thing in the world to do. The ship caused a lot of wreckage. Plenty of it should have washed up with us...." As he knelt the girl got a good look at him, seeing that he was in mostly blacks and grays. Dark gray pleated pants, worn from more than just sand. They were old, like something out of an old cowboy flick. Frayed at the bottom, black belt, but no holes. Black combat boots as well. He had on a blackened shirt, loose but tucked in with a single pocket on his chest. Not nearly as worn, but was dusty. He had on a trench coat, something she recognized as popular among the Illuminavit. Almost entirely leather like a duster, but instead of brown like a duster, it was dark gray and faded from time. He was well built as well, toned, but with many scars. His muscles and slender build wasn't from a personal regimen or implant however. They were from something else.

He stood up and pushed back his right sleeve, revealing a large metal band with what looked like a holographic projector on the top. He tapped it a couple times with his index finger but it didn't respond. "Damn digi-net is down. Must still be in the dead zone. Could really use the help of DT. No better scout bot on Arcadia, but oh well. Get to do this the old way. " He started to walk down the beach a bit, leaving the girl to herself. He stopped and turned towards her, yelling. "Ma'am. I'm all for helping women and stopping them from being hurt, but I can't heal stupid. If you're just going to stand there to wait for the next serial rapist to come along and ruin your life, I'm not going to help."

He turned away and continued to walk down the beach for a small ways. She finally caught up and their pace slowed so she could recover a little. He didn't try to make conversation with her, he was more concerned with finding civilization of some sort. As they turned a bend, they froze and ran for the treeline. Hiding in the pines of the island they got a look at the camp they nearly walked into.

It seemed that they were out for longer than they thought as the camp was well under way. Small tents, a dozen or so prisoners with shreds of clothing ripped off for the sake of heat Many had stolen tactical vests that they converted to holding e-cigs and food. Some even had knives. Among the camp there was also a food storage, and what looked like a prison.

From what he could see, there were several men and women of both human and elvish races in a cage guarded by prisoners with pistols taken from guards. Lead-based and non-electronic, they would be a problem. The prisoners were varied. Men and women, mostly women. A few guards that had been beaten to a pulp and what looked like a couple prisoners that were better acting than the rest. From the state of the women, they were used as cattle, and the prisoner's private parts were the brand. It was sad that these innocent people had to suffer for no reason. His self-preservative side said to just walk away and let the prisoners die on their own. But he wasn't one to use his self-preservative side. He started to count them and mark their locations. There were fifteen of them in total, several of both races, a small count considering that the ship had three hundred. They were mostly doing chores, but many were squabbling over the women, apparently anxious to take them for a test drive. Seems that they had a leader of some sorts that kept them from braining the girls. This was a good thing to Sebastian as that meant that their innocence was still somewhat intact. Then he noticed that there were women coming out of a couple tents with more prisoners joining the count. They seemed content as they wiped their mouths and giggled. Guess innocence can't be attributed to all women.

They kept hidden from view for about an hour, making full count of the prisoners. When he was sure that he had seen all the prisoners, he had counted twenty-three. A bit much for him to handle. Damn he wish he had DT. Her minigun would be fantastic right about now. He started to look around their hiding spot a little more carefully now, looking for a place for the girl he had found earlier to hide, if she wanted to hide. She could probably fight...she might die in an attempt to help the others, but oh well. Her family would probably get over it...probably.

He turned to her, locking eyes with her. "Need you to follow me closely. Going to try and get a gun and wipe out the camp save for the captives. I really hope you're a good shot as I don't like to kill women...and a couple of them might try to either hump me or stab me...or both. Don't need to be a great shot either, just stay near me and shoot them in the face if they get too close. Okay? Okay. Glad you're going a long with this...you may die. Just saying."

He didn't waste time waiting for either her objection or her nod, he just turned and started to move through the woods again. He would try to circle the camp towards the prisoner's pen as best as he could. A bit difficult as when the two started to near it, the guards nearly saw them and they had to dive behind a couple tents. They waited for a few moments and got to the cell without being seen. Sebastian had the woman stay hidden while he waited until one of the guards walked away to take a piss. He moved up and wrapped his arm around the guard's neck and covered his mouth with his free hand. The guard tried to fight, but his neck was broken before he could do anything. Without creating any extra sound, he grabbed the pistol from the guard's hand and lifted his feet, bringing him behind the tent without leaving a trail in the sand.

He sat and waited for the other guard to come back to see his buddy was gone. He came behind the tent, looking for his friend, only to fall into Sebastian's trap. Now with two pistols in hand, he handed one to the girl and noticed that the guy had a K-Bar too. How nice for him to lend it to Sebastian for the time being. He would rip open the prison with it to help the captives to safety, but they'd just get shot. Plus, no clue how many might be to exhausted to run. He checked the magazine and found it to be full of 9mm rounds. Nineteen to be precise. More than enough.

He looked toward the woman he was with and feigned a smile. "Don't worry, if anything happens I'll try to make sure it happens to me so you can go on to die some place else. If we both make it out, maybe you can tell me your name." He stood up then and poked out, firing the pistol several times. The bangs not only alerted the whole camp to their presence but it also dropped six prisoners to the ground dead. The man was...casual about killing. He walked forward away from the prison as screams of both terror and anger sounded. The captives cheered them both on. Sebastian's destination was the center of camp. To draw them away from the prison in case a few of them had guns, which naturally they did.

Yanking them from their tactical vests and from personal tents, the prisoners started to fire in his general direction, but a simple dive behind a washed up metal table kept him alive. He wondered where the girl went, but the question quickly faded as he poked out and took out four more and wounded another with two rounds to the chest. Seven left. He leaped over the table and sprinted, keeping low to the ground. He took the knife in hand and stabbed a prisoner, ripping it through his stomach then taking aim and firing twice, downing two more. He took his knife out, flipped it, grabbed the tip of it, and threw it, impaling it into the shoulder of another man. A bullet quickly followed and he threw aside the gun, having expended all the bullets.

One of the prisoners came from out of a tent and slammed a balled up bunch of meat and bone into his face and threw him to the ground. Two of the female prisoners jumped onto him to hold him down and a third prisoner planted his foot onto Sebastian's chest. He was strong as hell, but they had him pinned down at his joints. He couldn't muster the power to move.

[DemonTongue]

After observing her savior for a minute or two the girl stood with her hands on her hips scanning the beach as he did. She wasn't actually looking for anything though. To the contrary she was simply thinking and still trying to come to terms with the events of the past couple days. At least Sebastian had been blessed with real clothes, although if those were clothes he normally wore it definitely raised questions about his sense of fashion. He even had a damn up-link to the digi-net! Not that it was functional at the moment. And here she stood feeling vastly unprepared with frizzy hair, smeared eyeliner, navy running shorts and a black long-sleeved t-shirt that was certainly too big for her. No bra, no shoes, no nothing. They had ripped her out of bed at the most ghastly hour of the morning on a Saturday. She hadn't even missed work. Despite herself, her lower lip jutted in a pout.

She didn't like his tone. Never-the-less she half listened as the man prattled on about camps and prisoners and some scout or whomever. She glared at how delicately he addressed her assault. What a gentleman. She had half a mind to just leave him here to his own devices and start working out how she was going to survive and get home. It would be easy with her smarts. Even though she had never built a fire, or been on an island or cooked anything from scratch that didn't turn out repulsive. Even though she had no idea where she was. Even though the ocean stretched on for an indeterminable number of miles that way. And that way. And also that way. Then Sebastian started off down the beach. Leaving her alone.

Fine. Let him go. This is what she wanted. The girl wrung her hands nervously and watched the ground. She bit her lip. She had no idea where to even begin. Maybe if she had some of her tools. The tools that wouldn't even work here in the dead-zone. Those tools. She jumped when Sebastian yelled at her and clenched her fists in rage when he brought up the thought of rape again. How dare he? But, there was no denying it. She needed his help. With a deep breath she stood up straight and proud and marched forward, albeit with an utter lack of grace thanks to the sand under her feet, until she caught up with him.

"I'm not stupid," she informed him, "Just because we've found ourselves in a bad situation doesn't give you the right to be rude."

He didn't respond. She fumed.

It took her completely by surprise when Sebastian suddenly bolted for the treeline not long after. She followed of course but it took her a moment to see what was going on. A camp! By some miracle the camp he was going on about earlier actually existed. They probably had food and equipment. Maybe they could get them out of here. Then she saw the men with guns, and the cages, and the people inside those cages, and the women... Maybe they should just stay as far away from this camp as possible.

"We should go," she whispered and stood up to leave but Sebastian yanked her back down.
It felt like an eternity of waiting. She grew more nervous as they watched the camp. She hated seeing those people like that. Every time she saw one of those disgusting men touch one of the women they had taken captive, every time she heard begging or screaming or laughing, she cringed. She kept a close watch on Sebastian. That look in his eye, the way he was surveying what lay before them and the way he followed the guards was familiar to her. All at once she knew exactly what he planned on doing. No. He turned to her. No, no, no. As much as she wanted to survive this island this was not okay. There had to be other options. This was simply out of her league.

"Okay, but-- Alright that's-- I don't," was all she seemed to be able to get in as he explained the plan to her, "Yeah I'm a good shot, but--"

Because he wanted her to do the woman killing.

She was rendered speechless.

She was glad that he was glad that she was going along with this because she had no fucking idea she was going along with this.

May die. She gritted her teeth and looked up at him wide-eyed at the prospect of her death.

Then he was gone again. She was shaking. Either with rage or fear she couldn't be sure. Again she realized she didn't have to follow him. She could just leave him. Although with no back up going into that camp was just a fancy way of committing suicide. The girl frowned. Then followed him and stayed close. Idiot. As they neared she could feel her senses sharpening and her adrenaline pumping. Her measly eight weeks of mandatory combat training were coming back to her, however, and she was able to stay low and out of sight without much direction from Sebastian. She was doing well. Until he snapped a guard's neck and dropped the body in front of her. And then he took it a step further and killed his friend. Now she just felt sick. Sick, scared, barefoot, unprepared and armed: this was starting to sound like a recipe for disaster.

Fear gripped her and it must have been obvious because the normally rude man was trying to comfort her for a change. Trying at least. Then she realized. She'd never introduced herself. But he was gone. Damn it! How the shit could she have forgotten to tell him her name? Why the hell did he keep running off like that? What the fuck was wrong with her? What the fuck kind of gun was this? Damn everything. Why, this particular model of hand gun had been widely used by the military! About fifty fucking years ago and they stopped using the pieces of shit because they jammed if you even looked at them wrong. This sorry hunk of steel had probably been in water, it had probably been in sand, in had probably been shoved up some hussie-- No. Not going there. She stopped her mental fit of rage, sighed a long frustrated sigh and chambered a round. At least it was steel and not the stupid neo-magical-sooper-dooper-plastic-alloy garbage her colleagues kept pushing into development. Ballistics, energy, laser or plasma it didn't matter. Guns should be steel.

"Don't play any games with me you lousy piece of crap," she whispered to the gun. This would be just like target practice she told herself. Just like target practice.

Except it wasn't. She mostly stayed out of sight and let Sebastian have all the fun. Upon aiming the gun at one of the men she found herself unable to pull the trigger. Unreal amounts of pressure built upon her to do something. Action was needed here and now, but she just couldn't do it. She'd never killed anybody. During the commotion she mustered up the courage to fire a few shots off when she felt Sebastian really needed the cover. Not a single one of them hit. A good shot she had called herself.

Then shit really hit the fan. Sebastian was pinned. Two women on either side a brute on top of him. This is why she had come along she remembered. Thus far she had been useless. For fucks sake she still had sixteen rounds left. Sure this wasn't her stupid, reckless, idiotic, bull-headed... this wasn't her plan, but she still should have been more help. The girl's brow furrowed and her lips turned in a determined frown. Without him she wouldn't make it out of here alive. Without him she would be one of those prisoners. She had to survive. She had to fight to survive.

With all the chaos erupting around her she rose from her cover calmly and deliberately. Slowly she inhaled, looked down the barrel and began a long controlled exhale. Just like target practice. She relaxed and let her finger squeeze, not jerk, the trigger. One of the women was in her sights. She focused on her. It was her job to take out any enemy women after all. She aimed for her. And shot the man holding Sebastian down with his foot square in the forehead.

Fuck. "Uuhhhgg!!" she growled, rolled her eyes and glared at the gun.

Yet another man came up beside her. Fury turned his face red and left his eyes vacant and crazed as he charged her. She jumped. A scream stuck in her throat and never made it out. She turned to run but wasn't fast enough. He was already on her. She wheeled to face him. He tackled her to the ground. She couldn't breathe. He pinned her bent right arm under his chest. They were face to face. For a moment she panicked and struggled. He started to lift off of her and then she realized that the barrel of her gun had been aimed at his chin the whole time. No thought was involved. As he lifted off her arm she shoved the barrel further into the hollow under his chin. She looked him in the eye and pulled the trigger.

Before she could even think about the fact that she had just killed for the first time she was already adding a second to the count.

[Vash]

The two girls screamed as the man that had planted his foot on Sebastian's chest had his head blown half way off his shoulders. One loosened her grip on his arm joint. He pulled his arm and broke the hold. The other girl tried to straddle him to hold him down, but he gripped the collar of her shirt and threw her ot the side. He rolled back and kicked himself to his feet. The other girl grabbed a knife from a nearby body, but as she turned to slice Sebastian a new one, she nearly poked out her eye on the gun he was holding in her face. "Walk away, ma'am. I promise you, if you make any sudden movements, it will be your last mistake." She hesitated for a moment, glaring him down, but backed up and dropped the knife. He then lowered the pistol and shot out a kneecap. She fell to the ground, screaming, but he turned her out as he walked away. Her cohort had hit her head on a wooden box, so that was two birds with one stone. He normally wouldn't do that to a woman, but then again, these women had been raped so much that there was no redemption to them, just broken minds. Sad.

He took his time heading to the prison cage, making sure to check every tent for anymore prisoners. Once at the cage, he grabbed the metal bars and started to bend them. He didn't have the time to look for the key. Once he as nearly finished, the girl from before happened around the corner and saw him ripping open the cage with his bare hands. Sure, they were oldschool iron bars that weren't affected by EMP or AMP unlike many of the laser cages the Illuminavit use and magic fields that Tenau use, but still. "Oh hey. Yeah, don't mind me, just, ya know, ripping open an iron cage."

Origionally she had worn a look of absolute bewilderment and curiousity upon discovering the scene unfolding before her, but that was quickly reduced to a glare and a frown. "Yes, I can see that," she huffed, "Don't tell me you just work out a lot." His face reflected the mood that hit him, forming a deep scowl as he was reminded of his past. He finished opening the cage gate and let out his rage by ripping the door straight off and throwing it behind him. "Last of a proud people."

The captives that were inside were slow to move out, many of them had their legs broken at the knee so they couldn't run. The ones that weren't injured helped carry them out of the dark and into the sunlight. Once most were out they started to scavenge the camp and move the bodies, those that were injured were tended to, but some refused it just so they could rest and enjoy the sun. The last one out was a skinny woman, long white hair and bright blue eyes. Her clothing suggested that she was definitely tenau, and something about her reminded him of somebody. "Do not expect a thanks from me, scum." She stepped close and spat in his face. "You and your kind do not deserve life." Now he knew where she was from. She was templar. Didn't matter. She wouldn't be bugging him for long anyways.

"Well aren't you just a jar of sunshine and bumble bees," the girl grumbled as she stepped up next to Sebastian. Her voice was low. She was trembling, but doing her best to look like she was used to this sort of situation.

The templar woman pulled back her and hand back handed the girl. "Do not speak unless spoken to, wench. You are beneath me and all of society for even considering assisting this pathetic creature."

That gun was still in her hand. The weight increased as she stumbled backward after the impact and became very aware of it's presence. Her hand tightened around the grip.
Sebastian was a little faster however and he placed his hand on the templar's chest and shoved her back. "Back away, templar. Be grateful that you're not dead, bitch." He noticed that the girl was reaching for her gun, but he stopped her. "Don't bother, this templar scum. Save your bullets for something more important, like killing her friends and making her suffer." The temllar stood up, a scowl on her face. "Watch yourself, Prosthetic. You will regret your actions here." One of the other captives drew close. He had a proto-sword in hand, having found one in the arsenal of weapons that the prisoners had. "My lady Annabelle, your quarters are ready." She spat at the two again and accompanied the guard away from the area and entered into a well guarded tent.
Once she was out of sight, Sebastian turned toward the girl and motioned for her to follow him. He lead her to the area where the prisoners kept an arsenal and he found a few weapons for himself. He tossed her a shortsword and grabbed a longsword and a pistol for himself. "Find some clothing that isn't drenched in blood, tell me your name, and I'll tell you a story as we explore this place."

She wasn't ready. When he threw the sword at her she fumbled it in her left hand, it flipped over once and landed on the ground. She scooped it up quickly and brushed the hair out of her face acting as if nothing had happened. Even though her refusal to look at him showed her embarasment. She examined it carefully but only had one thought, What am I supposed to do with this?

"Right," she began sifting through the other contents of the armory, "My name is Brooklyn." "Pleasure to meet you, Brooklyn. I'm Sebastian, last surviving Prosthetic soldier...ever."

"The last..." she trailed off. Brooklyn looked through some spare clothing and rather heavy looking combat vests that all looked like they would be uncomfortable or too big. Why was that term ringing a bell. She plucked up a dark tank-top and a pair of khaki cargo pants that were admittedly in rough shape but would fit and do the job. Somewhere along the line she must have read it. Curses. What she really needed was shoes. Prosthetic... "I think I read something about that when I was in the Academy," she thought out loud, "I can't say I know anything about them though. That's where your story comes in right?" "In a nutshell, my bones, skin, and a few organs are super hardened. Still got all my original organs though, least the important ones. Heart, brain, dick, appendix. It's all there. The old prosthetic gel keeps me alive as well. If you're going to ask about why I'm the last one and what my life story is, don't. You're not going to get it. You at least deserve to know why I can break a man in half." "That's not a story that's a schematic," Brooklyn sighed feeling just a little disappointed. The one pair of combat boots she stumbled across must have belonged to a giant. She thought for a minute. One of the corpses out there must have... she shuddered at the thought... but promised herself she would check. "Don't look," she demanded and started to pull off her bloodied clothes. To her dismay much of the blood had soaked through and blotched across her skin in places. She scrambled to get changed as quickly as possible. He turned from her and stared outside the tent. "Not exactly going to say my life story to somebody a quarter my age that I met barely two hours ago." "Point taken," she conceded and finished dressing, "So what do we do next?"

Once they were finished in the armory, they made their way back out into the camp and started off for the forest. "First though, why is there a pine forest here? We're in the middle of the ocean around...two hundred miles away from Yolduga. (Yol-dug-uh) A damn tropical resort with palm trees! Well, either way, we get to explore this island. Maybe find a way out of here and back to our lives...well, back to your life. I'll be trying to get off planet."

"Where do you think you're going, Prosthetic?!" The woman, Annabelle, accompanied by a single man with blue eyes and dark blonde hair dressed in an amalgamation of heavy plate and leather with a longsword at his side. "You aren't leaving this camp, freak." "Take a good look at my ass while a walk away, will you? Take a good look at brooklyn's too as she's with me." The two started off, but the templar wouldn't have any of it and chased after them, following. "I'm not letting you out of my site. The second we're off this island, you're going straight back into the executioner's chair and I'm going to make sure that this time, I'll take off your head myself." "You can try, you'll fail horribly, but you can try."

[DemonTongue]

Full payment granted only after after a job was done to completion was something that simply did not exist. Like suddenly sprouting wings from one's ass and landing on the moon. One might as well be wishing for all the riches the world had to offer with immortality as the cherry on top. It wasn't going to happen. Never would he have fathomed entering into such an agreement, especially not with a Templar. However, there was simply no payment to be had on this gods-forsaken island and promises became one of the few currencies available to a mercenary. Even if he never saw his money, which he was sure he wouldn't, at least he had something to do other than sit around until someone figured out how to get the hell out of here.

He scratched the stubble growing on his chin while his employer and the two targets they would be following squabbled and barked insults back and forth. If she wanted this man dead so bad why shouldn't they just kill him now? Prosthetic or no if he didn't put up a challenge at least somewhat entertaining Gabe felt he could make quick work of him. What would they do with the girl he wondered. Would she be executed too just for being found in league with this guy? There was no way he was killing a lady. At least not without being paid upfront.

"Not gonna just kill 'im now?" Gabe asked quietly, his boredom showing.

"Let me be frank with you, Gabriel. He will break you."

He snorted and sneered, "If you say so, lady... And it's just Gabe."

Brooklyn's eyes lit up as she listened to the conversation of the Tanau behind them. She leaned in close to Sebastian and said in a hushed tone, "The hulk over there has a point. Why don't we just kill them now?"

Not that she was hungering for more violence. In fact she was still feeling a bit ill from the encounters earlier, but maybe this time she wouldn't have to be involved. Casually she tapped the toe of one of the worn work boots she had pulled from a comatose woman at the camp trying to pretend they weren't talking about anything important.

"I'm not one to kill a templar, especially a woman templar. Plus, don't need more violence in a survival situation. Besides, I'm sure that she'll be useful...somehow"

"Hm," she frowned narrowed her eyes and looked back at them over her shoulder, "I guess you're right, we could always eat her." The cheek where that wretched woman had slapped her still throbbed.

"Please don't tell me you're into getting it on with bodies and eating them."

"No! I wasn't-- I was-- I was kidding!" she stammered aghast.

"Darn. I was hoping to convince you I was a zombie that was brought back by the Tenau to hunt down people like that and pleasure to no end. Shame." He looked back to her, and eyebrow cocked and a smirk sneaking onto his face.

Her mouth hung open in shock.

"What? I'm kidding! Don't look at me like that! Simply trying to lighten the mood!"

"Th-that was just... gross," she shook her head and smiled a little. Though it had been quite some time for her since washing ashore her body still ached from lack of rest, not to mention the near constant excitement. Every rock she had to step over became a chore. A stinging started on the back of one elbow where she hadn't realized until now she'd been scraped.

"Shouldn't we be finding a place to rest? Or look for water? Or food?" She asked.

"Not used to traveling with people that need to eat more than once every couple days. Hold on." He stopped the group and looked around a little, not seeing much other than several tall trees. He came up to one and held out his hand. It took a couple seconds but the finger tips stretched out and formed into dozens of small fingers. "Great for hacking, but also has practical uses" He placed it onto the bark of the tree and began climbing up to the top to get a better lay of the land.

He saw several things on top of the tree, namely, he was able to see a river a few miles away that would serve them nicely. There was a mountain as well, decently tall, near the middle of the island. He didn't get long to look around though as a roar caused the hairs on the back of his head to stand on end. He turned in the tree just in time to see something big fly right at his face and make him fall out of the tree. He screamed as he plummeted towards the earth and landed with a thud next to Brooklyn. "Well." He coughed and stood up. "I may be going insane, but I think I saw a dragon."

"Excuse me?" Annabelle spoke up as she and Gabe drew closer. "Dragon?" They have been extinct for years. The sin that holds you together must be making you see hallucinations." "No thanks to you and your people you scum!"

"How DARE yo-" He came closer to her and put a finger on her chest. "Shut the fuck up. You have no right to speak about the race you Tenau fuckers murdered."

His reaction was quick. One step, one quick shove to get the man away from Annabelle and he was inbetween them. "Hands off," Gabe said slowly and deliberately glaring at the Prosthetic.

Brooklyn had giggled at first thinking this another joke but her hands flew to her mouth when the situation became far more heated. This was obviously not a joke. Her distaste for the woman tailing them only grew with her uncalled for comments and her knack for bringing out the worst in Sebastian.

"Okay, stop!" she yelled, "Wait, so you're searious? A dragon? Really?"

"Yes." He spoke plainly. "They used to be all over the world. At the beginning of the war between Tenau and Illuminavit the Tenau used them to reach the space elevator in New Gnisis. (New Nee-sis). There were not many who could fly using magic and protect themselves while also attacking, so they used the Dragon-kind to raid. The problem was that Dragons are notably immune to all forms of magic and thus could not be protected by said magic. But they didn't care, they used them anyways and the Illuminavit had no choice but to defend themselves and shot them down. The Tenau continued to use them in battle until they were thought to be extinct. Not TWO WEEKS LATER, born out of a necessity to continue to raid the space elevator, you found the right spell to be able to fly and protect yourselves."

"And so you blame me for the death of your precious dragons?!" Annabelle stepped past Gabe and spoke. "I blame your entire faction for being so careless and ignorant. Especially the chantry as I know you bastards were the ones who refused to research the magic needed as you deemed the dragons as abominations of ancient madmen." "And so they were and still are. I plan to see this entire place razed to the ground after I get out of h-" Sebastian was on her in a second, wrapping his hand around her neck and raising her off the ground.

"I have been witholding my temper, Bitch, as I do not want to spill anymore blood. Do not press it." He noticed gabe start to make a move, but Sebastian's gun was faster and he had it pointing at gabe's face. "Make the move. I dare you."

He threw Annabelle to the side and spit at her. "Scum." And stepped away. She started to cough and sputter as she started to rise from the ground. "Brook, there is a stream a few miles away from here. We can rest there for the evening."

He didn't wait for her to catch up, he had the place in his mind, and he hoped that one of the Dragons were there as well, or the next. Or somewhere near."

Rest was a near irresistable carrot dangled in front of her, but of course, she would have to work for it. At first she kept up with her pissed off comerade rather well but soon
lost him in the foliage that spread over the island and seemed to thicken as the creek grew near. Brooklyn stumbled and lost her footing more than once in the overgrowth and started to grow frustrated.

"Sebastian!" she called out. No response. She sighed and kicked a dead branch aside. As she thought and stood still, alone in the forest, the sound of running water became more audible. The creek. Immediately she headed in the direction of the sound and listened carefully to make sure she was really headed in the right direction. Long reaching fingers of especially fierce plant life grabbed her clothing and clawed at her skin as she progressed. One particularly violent branch caught her right in the eye turning her frustration into rage.

"Dammit!" she hissed and pulled the shortsword from her belt in retaliation. These branches would pay. With some difficulty but getting the hang of it after a few minutes she carved a path for herself to the rocky bank. Exhausted but acomplished she sank to her knees by the water and drank deeply before looking around to see if the others had wound up somewhere near by.

A poke on her shoulder would make her perk up and nearly take a swipe at Sebastian behind her. "Careful, you'll put your eye out with that thing. I scouted ahead, seems there is a cave near the mouth of the river. Ominous. Here" He handed her a small bag with a couple sheets he had picked up and stuffed into a bag. "There are tent materials in there for your own tent. Storm is coming and we don't want to be out in the open. I have my own, but I'll get it ready in a bit. How are you doing?"

She slid the shortsword back into her belt. He was right. Up against anything more sentient than the local plant life the only one suffering the blade's wrath would be herself and she knew it.

"Thanks," she said with a weak smile and accepted the bag, "I-- ... I really just want to be home." The smile was gone and she turned her eyes to the ground.

"Well, you're not going to get home. Not for a while." He crossed his arms and sat down next to her, taking a handfull of water and downing it. "Might as well get used to it."

She scowled at him and recoiled. She should have known he would say something like that.

"Tch. Yeah I guess I shouldn't expect sympathy from you," Brooklyn grumbled, "It's just so easy for you to be out here stomping around in the dirt and killing people like an animal," She stood up with the bag tucked under one arm and looked down on him, "Some of us are just normal people with normal lives so excuse me if I'm not thrilled about having impromptu wilderness rampage funtime."

"It's sad that you're resorting to judging me off of me being able to kill somebody. You're well on your way to being just like that annabelle bitch. I've been on the run from the templars since before you were born. It's easy for me to kill and survive, yes. But unless I missed it, you killed and survived as well."

Emotions whirled up in her chest, all of them tainted with rage and fear. Her body stiffened and her teeth were bared, "I am NOT the one who decided to start murdering everybody in that camp! That was all you buddy. We would have been completely fine out here on our own but no! We had to make your bloody little pit-stop first!" she was shouting now, "And don't you EVER compare me to you people! I didn't WANT to--..." she trailed off. Vaccancy overcame her face and her shoulders sunk. Her voice quieted to nearly a whisper, "I didn't want to kill them."

"If they weren't put down, they would have done unspeakable horrors to the captives. Would you rather that we let that happen? The other two women that were there had their mines broken by the prisoners. Would you have prefered that happen to the rest so you could trail off and be a coward? Killing shouldn't ever come easily. Killing is something that I never enjoy nor want to do, but when I have to help somebody, I do. Simple as that."

"That's terrible, I get it," she sighed, "But it wasn't our problem! We could have been killed."

He crossed his legs and placed his hands on his knees, breathing slowly. "That's the risk when you work to help people. No getting around that." The other two came out of the foliage, joining them, but keeping their distance at the treeline. They talked among themselves. "I can promise you this. I don't murder innocent souls in the name of some crackpot wisp of air that doesn't exist."

Brooklyn let out a tiny noise of disgust and covered her face with one hand. They were back and once again Sebastian was intent on starting something.

"Relax. Not in the mood."

"Good. I don't know how much more fighting I can take in one lifetime." The girl pressed her lips together and watched the pair in the trees. Being watched like this was giving her the creeps. "What is her problem?" she spoke absently.

"She's been hunting me for the last few years. Paid a group of bandits to kill a few kids to lure me into a trap. Was effective as hell."

"Obsessed is a word for her. Psychotic is another one."

"She's also the one that put half the scars on my body. By herself."

"Don't let the small body fool you. She's insane with a sword."

Now Brooklyn was outright glaring in their direction. It was a lot to process. As harshly as she had judged the woman up until now it was clear that her judgements had not been near harsh enough. Killing children... Scars... She wondered just how bad they were. "That... that..." she stammered. He would kill a dozen men to save a few prisoners but he wouldn't end this bitch even after all that? It didn't make sense. It wasn't fair. Never-the-less if that's how the Tenau really were then she was quickly becoming conviced that she was working for the right side and losing interest in those who sympathized with them. Without warning Brooklyn snatched up the first good sized rock she saw and hurled it with all her strength in Annabelle's direction.

He stopped her before she could hurl it and lowered the rock to the ground. "Not worth it. You'll be fighting on your own. I don't kill women. Take a few breaths and relax. There are plenty in the world that have done worse. Like Andrew Mccloud. You should know that name well. General of the Illuminavit armed forces."

She fought him for a moment trying to tear her arm away and finish what she had started but quickly gave up and resorted to simply fuming. "Worse?" she sneered, "He's a war hero."

"He's also the man that ordered the destruction of blackgate, formerly known as Valshoth, the city of the one. A city that was located in the arctic content of Tussia. You know of it, there were millions of Tenau there and it was protected by a powerful magic shield. He needed to send a message that the Tenau attempting to attack the illuminavit were not to be tolerated, so he launched a nuke, planning to just lock the citizens in until they gave up on their gods and sided with the IVT. Turns out Magic can't block the power of a nuclear warhead. The entire thing was swept under the rug, the blame was shoved onto another general whom was on Centari-five at the time, and the hero of the IVT was absolved."

Silence followed while all the information being forced on her processed. It was too much. She didn't know what to think and her head was spinning. All the politics and conspiracy and horrors of war were exactly the reason she favored her position as grunt among the military scientists who would rarely be involved in government and who would never see battle. Her mouth contorted into a deeply pensive look.

"I'm gonna go set up the tent," she said and walked away from Sebastian.

[Vash]

Sitting up in the middle of the night, Sebastian looked around, a cold sweat overtaking him. He looked to his side and saw Brooklyn fast asleep. Their sheets ended up not being large enough to make an adequate tenting, so they combined. A storm was raging outside of the tent. They had set it up betwixt two trees to provide a sort of wind break. It did it's job well. He crawled out of the tent and into the awaiting storm. He would have grabbed his coat, but Brooklyn seemed to be too tightly attached to it. He'd make a mental note to clean it later.

The storm was difficult to see in, but his eyes adjusted quickly to the flashes of light and thunder. The pistol from earlier was firmly in hand as he took a look around. Something put him into a cold sweat. He looked over to the camp where dumb and dumber were and they seemed to still be sleeping in their separate tents. A twig snap from behind made him turn to look, seeing a large shadow move in and out of view. It was difficult to track and at one point he lost it. He stepped around Brook's tent and deeper into the forest, not staying far but trying to find what was causing him such trouble.

He looked around for little under a half hour before getting fed up and heading back. Just as he turned around he froze as he stared directly into the amethyst eyes of a Dragon. It...she, as a quick glance of the eye revealed, was sitting directly in front of him, like she had been watching him for hours. They stood, inches away from each other, for what seemed like ages. He tried to shuffle to the right to go around, but she would just stand and follow him. He moved to the left, and she did the same. "What...like me or something?" The dragon gave a shrug. A friggan shrug. She understood him. "Happen to have a reason to be here?" She gave a nod. "And that reason would be...?" The dragon stood, it's eyes not leaving Sebastian's, and stepped next to him and wrapped her tail around his waist. Even though she was small, she was strong enough to lift him up off the ground and away from the camp. "You are going to bring me back, right? I don't exactly fancy having to search for this place again...wait, are you going to eat me? Eat the white haired one first! She doesn't have tough skin!" The growl that she gave off told him to just shut up before he was cooked alive.

As the Dragon carried him, he was lifted up and placed onto her back. Oddly more comfortable than he imagined. He recognized the landscape they were passing by. He was here earlier when he scouted ahead. The cave that he had found earlier came into view quickly as they came under the shadow of the mountain. The rain still pounded hard and he had to admit, he was starting to miss the warmth that Brooklyn gave off. They came close to the cave and the dragon let out a small huff that said "Okay, off me now." He did as he commanded and dismounted the great beast. "Have to admit. Taking a ride on a beautiful creature that hasn't been seen in the world for nearly a century and a half was awesome." She looked at him and bowed her head. In response, he placed his hand on her snout gently and stepped into the cave. She followed behind him. "I may be able to adjust my eyes to the storm outside where there is little light, but I can't see in pitch darkness. Mind if we get some light up in here, please?"

It took a couple seconds, but the Dragon did as she was asked and took in a deep breath, a scorching plume of dark blue ice-fire erupted forth soon after, lighting old torches on the wall ablaze and giving them a good source of light. What greeted them at the end of the hall was a large stone door.

The dragon walked him to the end of the tunnel and in front of the door. A stone pedestal sat on a raised emblem of what seemed to be a carving of Arcadia. The door that was behind the pedestal was almost...ominous. Something about it made him uneasy. The stone that formed it was darker than he thought, nearly black. On the right side halfway down, surrounded by stars, was what seemed to be the moon at half wax. Across from it on the left door was what seemed to be the sun with heat waves surrounding it along with etchings of rays of light. Above them both in the middle several white stars decorated the top.

"Very beautiful, why did you bring me here?" The dragon drew close to the pedestal and used her large claw to gesture towards the book that was on the pedestal. Shrugging, he opened it. Immediately after doing so, a map fell from it and to his feet. He ignored it for the second and turned the page. "Before man and elf were one and when stone was undone, there was a time of darkness. One of starkness and sadness. The world was lawless and filled with hardships. There was none to rule, none that bothered. But in one day, there rose one without honor. Using powerful magic, he slew and flew his way across the great blue. A force to be reckoned with, on a scaly horse with wings, he slaughtered every being. "

He turned the page as the dragon curled up to wait for him to finish. Apparently this is the type of story that put her to sleep. "But one day, there was an uprising. There rose a knight whom capsized in losses, a witch whom mired with the colossus, and an archer whom desired peace. Together these four gathered the four gems of Moon, sun, and star red and blue and brought them to the island of gloom. Though with their lives they payed, they sealed away the one without honor that day." There was one more page left in the book. He turned it but he found it blank save for one note. "Should the stones be taken, you will not have long to reclaim them. They hold the spell in place and keep the monster at bay. Take the map post haste and return them before it is too late. Should he break loose, the world will have hell to pay. Our homes fell in seconds as he unleashed his magic, our friends turned on one another and none of our own magics could stand a chance." With that he closed the book and picked up the map at his feet. He looked up to the door again and saw that the emblems from before had slots in them. Guess the stones were taken." The map he had was old and tattered, yet was not as fragile as he thought it would be. When he opened it he was greeted by a map of the world, all eight continents being there and even showing modern cities. "Map is magical isn't it?" He asked the dragon, whom had started to stir. She nodded and he rolled his eyes. "Hooray...." There was a single light glowed on the map in the shape of a red star that pointed towards a Modern city. "Isn't that...aurora? Well great, bet the IVT would just be thrilled with having me in their capital."

"Have to tell the others. Even the templar bitch has to know about this. She can't deny the fact that the world could be in danger because of this. So wait...how did you know about all this?" She looked at him, giving him a puzzled look and shaking her head. She cocked her head as if she had never seen him before. She started to growl before Sebastian put up his hands and approached. "Relax, relax, lady blue. I'm a friend. Not an enemy." She seemed to be calmed down by his words, still fully understanding him. He placed his hand on her snout again and rubbed it. "Come on, lets go find the others and get out of here." He grabbed the book and started to lead the dragon out of the cave. "Fricken weird night."

[DemonTongue]

Sleep did not come easy on the hard ground with the storm swelling outside. Many of the early hours of the night she spent awake thinking, trying to get comfortable and stay warm. When she finally did sink into sleep it was shallow, fraught with unwanted imagery and short lived. After one such bout of light sleep she awoke warm and draped in a blanket. It smelled strongly of old leather, sweat, blood and dirt, but was far from unwelcome. She readjusted and didn't wake again until morning.

Morning. It was still damp and grey from the storm and the lingering cloud cover. She wanted to sleep more but the dim light and lack of a proper bed kept her from doing so. With a begrudging moan she sat up and rubbed her eyes. Almost immediately she noticed her companion was gone. No surprise there. Surprising was that what she thought was a blanket was actually Sebastian's duster. Brooklyn silently ran her fingers over the collar for a moment brows knitted deep in thought.

She stumbled out of the tent with the duster draped over one arm. The outside world became far more crisp all together. The smell of rain, the sound of the creek and a bird every now and then, the cold air on her skin. But no Sebastian. Thankfully no Tenau either. She made her way to the creek intent on washing up a bit before continuing her search. Shivering she decided to slip into the duster for now.

The water was freezing on her face but it served to wake her up a bit more. Unfortunately this also pulled her further into the real world and her mind began to grind through the logistics of getting off this island and back home. Home. She frowned. If she had been taken on a prison ship then... Was she an outlaw? But what did she even do? Could she even go back without being taken again or worse this time? It finally struck her just how right Sebastian had been when he told her she wouldn't be going home. Despite herself her chest started to ache and her eyes burned. Tears began to flow and mix with the creek water she was trying to dry away. She hated everything. She stood up with clenched fists and turned toward the camp. Then she came face to face with a pair of very large, violet, reptilian eyes. Brooklyn jumped back, her heart stopping. Then she screamed.

---

Adrenaline surged through his blood and violently ripped him out of his slumber. Sword already in hand while he slept Gabe practically tore the tent down as he lept up and sprinted out in to the forest. Terrible screaming came from the water's edge chilling the morning further. He was in kill mode fully prepared to destroy whatever threat waited for him without a second thought.

His boots skidded over mud and rocks as he slammed to a full stop on the banks. Bloodlust was given away in every aspect of his form. Every muscle was tight, his breathing came heavy, his teeth clenched and every sense was on pins and needles. He searched the area quickly only to have every desire to kill immediately snatched away and replaced with the urge to run. Run. Run for miles. And then find a nice quiet place to sit and take a moment to seriously consider which life decisions had been the ones to land him in this situation.

There was the little blonde brat screaming and panicking. There was the loudmouthed Prosthetic that had Her Almighty Bitchfullness Annabelle so bent out of shape. And there was a dragon. No. Gabe took several slow and very quiet steps back toward the trees. Those two were on their own.

Annabelle came rushing out of the trees after him and stopped by his side, "What in the name of the Gods are you--!?" She balked at the sight before them.

Perhaps the shock of it all had suddenly rendered her more insane than before because Gabe could have sworn he heard her order him to kill the thing. Did he? No. He couldn't have.

"I said kill it!" Annabelle snapped at him, "Kill it!"

Ah, so he did.

"Lady," he turned toward her and looked her right in the eye with a look as serious as death, "Can you shit gold bricks?"

Her silence, the slackness in her jaw and the blood boiling in to her face was answer enough.

"Then you can't afford that," he rested the sword over his shoulder and turned his attention on the dragon once more.

[Vash]

He dismounted the dragon and ran up to Brooklyn when she started to scream at the sight of the dragon. "Woah woah woah woah, relax. No need to freak out, she's friendly." He turned back towards the dragon and pointed toward Brooklyn. "She's a friend. Don't kill...see the white haired one over there?" The dragon cocked her head and looked towards gabe and Anna across the grove. "She's evil, but don't kill her, need her...temporarily. Treat her bad though, she deserves it. The other guy is just a goon, don't kill him either. If either try to kill you however, go nuts." He looked towards brook again and smiled. "See, she's no problem. She won't kill you...well, unless you attack her. Then she'll freeze you and make you shatter...BUT. She won't do that unless you DO piss her off...I'm not helping am I? She understands what you say too, just...start a conversation. HEY TEMPLAR BITCH." He left Brook and the dragon alone for a few moments while he walked away to talk to Annabelle. "WHAT?!" she yelled, keeping her distance from the dragon. "GET YOUR GOD FEARING ASS OVER HERE." "Fuck no! Not coming any closer to that thing!" "Stop being a pansy and get over here! She'll only kill you if you look at it wrong! Besides, world's at danger right now! Magic and such!" "You can come over here to spill your filth to me!" "No way! I'll get wet!"

Meanwhile, the dragon just looked at Brooklyn, keeping eye contact with her frozen figure. She lay down and crossed her paws over one another and set her head down. A low rumble came from inside her belly. If one looked at her from the right angle, one might see a sly smile come over her just before she blew some arctic breath near Brook playfully. She yelped and jumped to one side, balancing on one foot away from the icy-flame. She pursed her lips and opened her eyes wide as her breathing became more heavy and scared. From deep within the dragon's belly, she laughed and closed her eyes, resting.

Finally, the templar conceded and had Gabe help her across the river with his body and she drew closer to the dragon. Sebastian showed her the book and the map and told her of what was going on, making sure that his voice was loud enough for Brooklyn to hear as well. Once he was finished he closed the book and gave it to her for her to look over more carefully. "I'll never believe you-" "Listen, woman. Skip your damn prejudices and stupidity. Hunt's off. Considering us four are the only beings in the world that know about this, we can stop it. We both know that the superiors aren't going to do anything about it other than blockade the island with crappy weaponry and end up doing nothing to slow him down. Put aside your pathetic little rivalry with me for FIVE FUCKING MINUTES and work with me." He was right, she knew it. She looked at the book again and read through the story again. Her brain told her that it was wrong and the story was fake and she should use this free moment to stab the bastard in the stomach, but considering that there was a dragon laying over there harrassing the other Illuminavit with icy flames, her heart was quickly overpowering her brain. "Fine. I am going to have to concede to your points. My superiors would just leave it up to the maker to sort things out instead of taking action...but that does not mean that we are going to be friends." "Like I would want to be your friend. You're probably into slave and master stuff." Her jaw dropped for the second time today as yet again she was insulted and young gabriel behind her could just swallow his pride and nod, eyeing Anna at the same time as if he had to experience such things. "Poor guy...." Sebastian thought to himself.

Another scream would set them off and make them turn towards the dragon only to see Brooklyn being lifted up into the air by the dragon as she slipped her tail underneath the back of her shirt and had her suspended with her flailing. "Hey! Don't struggle! You'll rip my coat! That thing was expensive!"

"Ahhh... Wh-What do I do!?" she whimpered. "Just sit and let it happen. I'm sure everybody gets lifted up by something bigger than them and gets something slipped into their shirt! Wait...that sounded horrible...GOOD ENOUGH."

He stepped over to the dragon, whom was having fun screwing around with the young woman hooked on her tail. "Okay, let her go. She's had enough." She seemed sad as she curved her tail and let Brooklyn slip off. She plopped to the ground and started to ball up "Do you have any other dragons on this island? I doubt you can carry all four of us. She cocked her head, looking as if in deep thought, then lifted her head high into the air and let out a loud bellow. Not soon after, several dragons of many types came from the direction of the mountain. Most just circled, seeing the newcomers and then heading back, but a brave few ventured down to join them. The female dragon approached them and hugged several with her neck, being loving to her brothers and sisters. Annabelle stepped forth to choose one with a very light skin, but Gabe refused to have any of it and decided that as his duty as her bodyguard, the dragon should be one that would be best suited for him. It was greedy, but one might never get this chance again.

He stepped forward and a dragon near the back of the group stepped forth, wanting to test him. They glared each other down for a few moments. "Just approach it...him slowly. He's like a horse...sort of. Have to let them accept you." Gabe did as he was told and approached slowly. The dragon didn't move until Gabe drew too close. Then it lowered it's head, cautiously. Just before it could get within arms reach, it looked over to it's sister frost dragon, expecting her to say something about killing Gabe, but she didn't. He lowered his head and let Gabe place a hand onto his snout. A sense of calm came over him and he stepped forward behind Gabe and settled. The other dragons took off. "Alright, lets get out of here. Hey, do you have a name?" He looked towards the female dragon and she shook her head. He thought about it for a moment before coming to a conclusion. "How does Aurora sound?" She cocked her head, thinking about the name. She knew the meaning but she was slow to grasp it. She slowly nodded her head as it took hold and she lowered her head.

He mounted her and sat right at the base of her neck. He didn't wait for Brooklyn to come with him, He and Aurora simply took off. She flew over Brooklyn and suddenly the girl found herself grabbed around the arms by her paws. Though she wasn't being pricked by them, she couldn't help but scream as the ground started to get farther way and she was lifted into the air. "Don't do anything I'll regret, Aurora." She ignored him and, after they got high enough, she released Brooklyn and let her wings curl up. As Brooklyn screamed and plummeted, Aurora fell faster underneath her and caught her on her back. She gripped onto Sebastian's torso and closed her eyes. His coat, still on her body, whipped and tore at her, threatening to carry her off even though it would never.

They ascended higher into the air and through the clouds, eventually coming out above the clouds. "Open your eyes, enjoy the view." She reluctantly did so and found herself seeing the sky at it's greatest beauty, clouds forming archs and spirals, looking fluffy enough to dive into almost. He pointed towards the east out of nowheres. "Look, you can see Centari Station." The station was huge, covering a good part of the horizon. You could even see the space elevator extending from below it to Arcadia's surface. "Part of me hopes we get to travel to new Gnisis at one point. Beautiful city. Are you alright?" His voice was sincere and low, talking between the beating of Aurora's wings.

[DemonTongue]

Silence gripped him as the events of the morning unfolded. Normally he was a man of few words and now that things seemed so far out of his control he found that he had absolutely nothing worth saying. No words could change any of this. They couldn't stop the great beasts from swarming them, they couldn't get him off this island and they couldn't stop what was coming for Arcadia. There was no use for them.

Gabe clenched his fists. It was all he could do to keep from making for the trees when the multitude of dragons swept down. Of course it was a magnificent sight, one he most likely would never see again. They were incredible, graceful, lithe and filled the sky with color and motion. Perhaps that is why he stayed put. With such a stunningly beautiful variety of creatures on display he had to wonder what happened to this one.

Of course the biggest, nastiest, ugliest, brute would step forward to challenge him after he had turned his nose up at the waif Annabelle had been eyeing. It was a monster. A jagged under-bite, small smoldering eyes, thick neck, hunching posture, and thick slabs of muscle rippling with every motion gave this thing a look only it's mother could love. Now it breathed it's foul, caustic breath down the back of Gabe's neck. He stood his ground despite every nerve in his body telling him to flee. The Illuminavit had taken off already and he was still coming to terms with what he had to do next.

"He's just like a horse," he remembered the Prosthetic telling him. Gabe shuddered and his ribs suddenly ached where they had never fully healed after a vicious kick suffered in his childhood. He turned to face the creature.

It... He... growled low in his chest so much so that the ground rumbled under them. He opened his mouth in a snarl that felt almost taunting and revealed a long lolling tongue and a yellow-green glow from somewhere deep inside. The great dragon spread its wings and threw its huge tail from side to side posing a threat to the trees around the creek. The Prosthetic was so wrong. Gabe smirked and tilted his head at the dragon. This was nothing like a horse.

His legs seemed to move on their own while part of him screamed to stop what he was doing. There was no way he could back down now. It was time to step up to the plate and of course he had his pride as a cut-throat, do anything, go anywhere mercenary to uphold. Gabe stepped up on the dragon's shoulder and mounted at the base of its neck carefully situating himself between the ridges that ran the length of its spine.

Then he held out a hand for Annabelle, "Get on," he said. The woman did so but rejected the hand he offered and any of his help what-so-ever. Gabe made a face and rolled his eyes.

"Can this beast even take to the air?" she asked, incredulous, "It's built like a rock."

"More like a boulder," Gabe snorted... "Boulder." He liked the sound of that and so did the dragon from the sound of the gravely chuckle that boomed from under them.

With a great pumping of his wings flinging up dirt and mist and leaves Boulder did indeed heave himself into the sky and with far more power and grace than either of his riders had expected. At first the lurching made Gabe worried he would lose what little food he had scrounged up the past day, but once into the clouds it was a completely different and exhilarating experience.

---

Brooklyn screamed a slew of barely audible curses over the rushing wind. Her body shook violently as she clung tightly to Sebastian and her knees dug into the dragon's sides. She glared out over the clouds. They were beautiful but it only took the edge off of her seething.

Truth be told she was in awe of what was happening to her right now. She couldn't even be sure if she was awake. The skies and clouds stretching forever were just so surreal and beautiful. However she was disgusted, furious, sick and worst of all frozen by terror. Aurora's wings beat the air to keep them aloft. Brooklyn could feel her muscles with every stroke and became very aware of the creature and how it had treated her as some kind of hilarious play thing. She knew she should be feeling wonder in the prescience of such a legendary animal thought to be extinct, but disdain filled her heart.

As Sebastian pointed out the station in the distance and spoke about beautiful cities she listened, but said nothing. What an ass. One moment he was saving her life and seemed like he cared and the next she was being ignored or made-fun of. One thing was for sure. She was done with it. She was done with being dragged around for fear of dying. The life she had built was gone now anyway. She was done with being powerless. And she was done with Sebastian. His smell and voice and body touching hers were making her livid.

"Am I alright?" she repeated his question back to him slowly with venom, "I hate you," she hissed.

Her hands loosened their grip on him little by little as her anger overtook her fear until finally she let go of him. When she had completely separated herself from him she placed her hands on Aurora's neck to hold herself steady. Inside her chest she could still feel her heart pounding miles a minute. She was still scared. Death was all around her at this height and with her life in the hands of this, this, this demon. Humiliating herself by handing herself over to the will of others only made it feel all the worse. She could handle being scared and stressed. No longer could she handle losing herself and her dignity. Moisture laden winds whipped past them snapping their clothing and she let their eerie voices fill the bitter quiet.

Taking deep breaths and focusing on the clouds and the spire of the space elevator Brooklyn waited for her imprisonment with these two to be over.

[Vash]

"That is...too bad." He was actually sorry that she was doing this. "Templar bit-I mean, Annabelle put aside her hatred of me for the greater good. Guess I know what separates the girls from the women." He let go of Aurora's neck for a moment and reached back and wrenched his coat off of her and put it on himself. "I'll let you get off at Yolduga so you can go piss off and wallow in your hate of me and eventually die in prison when they catch you while Aurora, Gabe, Anna, and I tend to more important things since it's obvious that's what you want." It wasn't long before Gabe joined them mounted on Boulder. From the looks of it, Annabelle was actually enjoying the ride a bit more than Brooklyn was. When they drew close, Sebastian yelled out over the wind and beatings of wings. "First time up here?!" He yelled. "Yeah! It its...quite the site. As a Templar I cannot use magic so I cannot see what the Mages see...but I must say, it is breath taking!" Anna yelled out. For the first time since meeting her, she's lightening up. "Feels good to be free, even if the woman who has chased me for the last seven years is watching my every move!" "Not for long! Once this is over you are going straight back into the shackles!"

They were traveling very fast for two large reptiles. Turns out dragons were able to get up to very high speeds and it wasn't more than a couple hours of straight flying before they saw Yolduga Below them. While it wasn't exactly as "Tropical" as Sebastian described, it was still a very beautiful place. He pointed down towards a forest outside of the city and yelled to land there.

Once they were on the ground and hidden deep in the Tenau forest, after dismounting the first thing that Sebastian did was check his diginet uplink and he screamed with joy. "YES! Oh glory to the net! I have the diginet again! Come here DT, I want to see yah!" He clicked a button and a hologram projection came out of the bracelet. He used his hand to interact with it and accessed his digi-vault. He picked through several items. First though, he took the pistol from the island and cast it aside and clicked on a Lex and within seconds, a blue light came from his rib and quickly after, the Lex was in his holster. Next he clicked on another weapon, but not a IVT one. A Tenau one. Shortly after, a strange looking Bow, Quiver, filled with Arrows.

He stretched, feeling the weight of his bow on his back, then noticed that Anna's jaw was slightly agape as she looked at him. "What? Just because I'm IVT means I can't use a bow? Don't be so judgemental. And how didn't you know? Oh wait...I know. Every time you fricken ambushed me YOU USED AN EMP AND CUT ME OFF FROM THE NET." "Hmph" she replied. "Never bothered asking, just knew I had to capture or kill you...I recognize the quiver though...it is Elven." "Damn straight it's Elven. Don't ask why I don't use a more advanced quiver. You'll get nothing but the back of my hand and an angry foot." Finally, he clicked one last item in the vault and she Quickly appeared just behind his right foot.

Once she was finished spawning, she swiveled her head around a little and looked up at Sebastian before jumping and making several cheerful and loud electronic noises. He squatted down and let the little robot come around front and place her front two legs onto his thighs. He placed a hand on her head and smiled. "Hello DT. I missed you so much! Whats it been? Two months? Three?" The little bot just made several more electronic noises before taking her legs off of his. She looked around at the others then back at Sebastian. "The white haired one is Annabelle. Firecrotch there is Gabe and the blonde girl is Brooklyn. Brooklyn was just leaving to go live her life while heroes do work. That includes you little buddy. Come on, lets go get a drink." He stood up and looked at Anna. "They don't know my face here, right?" "We are in the Ravenwood region of the Telsoro continent. They only know you in the capital city of Sten." "Note to self, avoid Sten. I'm going to go get a drink. Been a couple months since I've had either a Chuckola Cola or a beer in my stomach. I'm dying for one."

She crossed her arms and shrugged. "While normally I don't drink, I think now might be a good time. I will joi-" "Nope. You won't be joining me, I drink alone." "Not so fast, cowboy. i am going to make sure you do not escape again by any means necessary." "Oh stuff it. If I wanted to run, I would have shot both you and your boy toy and flew off to take refuge far away from here by now. right now, we have shit to do and I'm not doing it on an empty stomach. Oh." He turned towards Aurora whom was sitting and waiting patiently. "Hey, sorry Aurora, but stay hidden. I don't mean to be rude but you and your brother stick out like firework on a cloudless night. I'm surprised we're not dealing with the law right now to be honest. I guess nobody in the ENTIRE CITY was looking up. Go figure." She nodded and looked toward her brother Boulder, whom nodded as well. "Okay, meet back here in say...two hours? We get to fly to...well, the name of the frost dragon there. Aurora." Anna spoke up now, surprise and bewilderment in her voice. "Come again? Aurora? Capital city of the entire Illuminavit empire? The one place that a Templar will be killed and ripped open by scientists in shorter time than it takes your heart to beat?" "The one place where we REALLY don't need to go to, we need to go to. Yeah. Nobody said that being a good person was easy. See you all in a couple hours, come along DT."

She made a few more electronic voices and thumped around next to Sebastian and he and her walked away and toward the city, bound to find a good place for a drink.

[DemonTongue]

Firecrotch? Gabe had no idea what this guy was getting at but he let it slide for now. He was glad Sebastian had refused Annabelle's company for a drink. While the Illuminavit had his high-tech blasphemy to supply him, the rest of them were going to have to take a more old fashioned approach. To take the old fashioned approach one needed money. Gabe scratched his chin coming up with a few ideas as he watched the girl walking away from them. She had slipped off the dragon as soon as they landed and stomped off without even listening to the conversation. Looking between the two of them the mercenary could almost taste the tension. Soon he was heading into Yolduga as well.

"Just where are you going?" Annabelle followed him.

He tapped the pommel of the long sword strapped to his back, "This isn't going to cut it. Need proper weapons if we're gonna frolic through IVT territory... So I need to find someone who's got heavy money bags and who's lookin' for a fight. Wouldn't mind if you wanna lend a hand."

---

Yolduga was as happy a little town as there ever was with birds singing overhead, ducklings and their mothers paddling all in a row through the canals, people laughing, talking, and going about their business, the sun shining down to illuminate the colors of the buildings, clothing and boats on the water, and the bouquet of scents that wafted through the air. Brooklyn sulked through it. To her relief she didn't stand out too much. Many of the people wore clothing similar to what she had picked up but most of them were cleaner and more luxurious. The only reason she would stick out was from looking ragged and dirty. She sighed. She didn't know what she was doing. A lone pebble called to her from the edge of the walk and of course she stopped to kick it into the canal. Then her stomach growled. Though she didn't know what to do or where to go she knew she wasn't ready to die just yet especially not from starvation. In order to live she needed to take care of her basic needs first then she could start focusing on the more complex issues. Work from the ground up.

However she wasn't sure how she was going to do even that. Frustrated and discouraged she leaned against a wall and slid to the ground putting her hands on either side of her head. Think, think, think. She could feel the cold steel of the gun still shoved down the back of her pants and wondered how much she could sell that for. Maybe a little if nobody around here knew what a piece of crap it was. She scratched her scalp. Maybe the sword? She didn't know much about these old style blades but it seemed to be in decent condition. If nothing else it could at least buy her a meal or two. A gold coin landed between her feet bounced and rolled to a stop. Brooklyn looked up to see where it had come from and saw a well-dressed man walking away. Had he just dropped this for her? But, no she wasn't some washed up beggar. No!

"Hey! I'm not--" she was cut off by an identical coin being dropped in front of her this time by a woman with a bag of groceries. She growled. "I don't need your--" This time another coin, smaller and silver. Cheapskate, she thought.

What was she doing!? She was absolutely mortified! Taking these people's money like some filthy vagabond. She was no beggar, dammit! Back at the station she created weapons of war that could mow down armies and wipe small cities off the map! She and the rest of her development team had built things that could obliterate these people walking around like they were so far above her with the flip of a switch! Her stomach growled again and this time it was painful. Brooklyn frowned and her temper cooled. She couldn't obliterate anything if she was starving and she had to admit this was working. She had at least a little something now.

"Oh, you poor dear," an old woman stooped to look her in the face and smiled. She took one of Brooklyn's hands in her bony fingers and shoved a couple notes into it. "Here, I hope this helps. Pretty little things like you shouldn't be out on the street."

Yeah tell me about it, the girl thought, but instead she decided to go with a polite, "Thank you."

Once she felt like she had enough to work with Brooklyn wandered from her spot, letting her sense of smell guide her toward food, until she came up on what looked like a market district. For some reason, perhaps it was the money in her pockets regardless of how she had gotten it, she was able to hold her head a little higher than when she first arrived in Yolduga. Already she was on her way back up. It'll be okay. I can get through this, she reassured herself. Almost immediately she parted with one of her gold coins in exchange for a dumpling the better part of which ended up on her face as she tore into it like a ravenous dog.

"No, no! I'm sorry! Your mother is a saint! You win! I'm sorry!" a screaming man stumbled out into the street and tripped. His face was bruised and bloodied. On his back he tried to scramble away, offering money and apologies. After him stomped the Tenau brute she was-- had been traveling with. He grabbed the man by the front of the shirt and delivered one final punch to the man's face. He sagged. Gabe reached down, snatched up the man's wallet and dropped him where he curled up and sobbed. People in the square were silent and stared as he examined the wallet's contents and pocketed the money. Gabe simply glared up at all of them and frowned.

"You heard 'im. He deserved it," he growled. The people went back to what they were doing, many of them muttering about what had just happened.

Brook tried to disappear into the crowds but it was too late. Gabe locked eyes with her and started coming after her. She struggled to get away but the busy market goers blocked her path and only moments later she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder. Gabe whipped her around effortlessly and loomed over her.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I- I'm- ... Mind your own business!" she shouted back.

"Right now this is my business. What happened between you and...?" Gabe trailed off.

"Sebastian?" Brook hissed.

"Yeah, whatever, that guy," he waved a hand dismissively.

She glared at the pavement and ground her teeth together, "I'm not going to lower myself to hang around with some ass who constantly throws me into terrible situations and treats me like I'm a joke. I'm better than that and can take care of myself."

"Fine. I'm still askin' ya to come back though."

"No! Did you hear any of what I just said!?"

"Did ya hear any of what was written in that book?"

Brooklyn was silent.

"I dunno 'bout you but I heard somethin' about four people, not three and that hunk of movin' scrap that guy's got with 'im doesn't count."

"Does it even matter?" she rolled her eyes, "It's just a stupid old book with some stupid nonsense magical mumbo-jumbo scrawled in it. We don't know who wrote it or where he got it."

"Best remember where you are," he whispered.

She looked around and noted that she had gotten a few suspicious glances.

"Look," he continued, "I don't care if you don't believe in this stuff, but where the well-being of your whole world is concerned ya should be. Even if it's fake nobody should be takin' that risk. The rest of us see that. Even what's-her-face."

"Annabelle." Brook mumbled. At this rate he probably didn't know her name either.

"Whatever. Point is yer actin' like a stupid child."

"Excuse me!?" Brook exclaimed.

"Yer sitting here telling me about how yer sick of being treated and how you hate so-and-so and about how yer better than this, but you refuse to look at the big picture. You only think about what you want, what makes you happy. Guess what? If the whole world goes to shit you ain't gonna be happy and you'll have to carry around way more guilt than any one person can live with. Ya talk about lowerin' yourself but I know you didn't have any money when we got here so where did you get that?" he pointed to the partial dumpling she was still working on, "You either stole it or begged for it or whored yourself out for it. I'd say yer pretty low already."

Brooklyn didn't respond nor could she bring herself to look him in the eye.

"It doesn't matter if you don't like any of us because this ain't about you. Come back and do something with your life. Or just stay out here and whore around because you're better than us, right?"

Gabe finally released her and started to walk. Brooklyn furiously stuffed the rest of her lunch in her face and fumed over what he had just said to her.

---

Several minutes later he heard the tapping of boots on the stones behind him. The little blond bounced up beside him and kept pace. They walked in silence for a little longer but a knowing smirk spread across his face.

"I'll come back," she finally said, "I won't be of much use. I don't know how to fight. But I'll come back."

"That'll change," he said, "But we're not done here. If you don't mind a little more dirty work we might be able to get you some decent gear by tonight."

She pouted, "What do I have to do?"

"Break a few hearts. Not much," he grinned.

[Vash]

"Welcome. Keep your weapons holstered IVT. Yolduga may be one of the few cities that doesn't care about what you are, but if you draw your weapon we'll treat you no worse than those freaks that were sent off to the Dead zone." He didn't take the insult from the barkeeper personally. He was just doing his job. He nodded in his direction with a smile and he and DT casually strode up to the bar. The Tavern itself was modest and quaint. Combining old-world wooden structure and floorboards with modern furniture and appliances. It was very home-y. Various lavalamps were on every table and shelf and it gave the place a very unique lighting and look. He took his place on a stool and ordered a drink that had evaded his lips for quite a while: A Chuckola Cola. A strong soda with a kick in it that has a strong chocolatey taste that is far from overpowering yet not underwhelming. When he popped off the top he drank deep and shivered as old memories started to flood back into his mind. A hand went to his face and touched a cheek as he was reminded of what the templars did. He shook his head and remembered something important. He opened his Digi-vault again and summoned the Alice Miracle. A small tube of paste that was blank and devoid of markings. Pristine almost. When nobody was looking, he took off his digi-vault band and revealed a small intake tube in his wrist that popped up. He connected the container and the paste inside was quickly sucked out and distributed throughout his body. "Ahh...that hits the spot. Was almost too late that time...." He disconnected the empty container and pushed down the intake tube until it clicked and was hidden again. He then put on his wristband and took another swig of his cola.

He did not have long to himself before what seemed to be a Tsurask Warrior in bronzed armor with an energy spear on his back joined him. "Mornin'" He said to the Tsurask whom responded with Removing his helmet and placing it onto the bar counter. "The same to you...." His voice cut down to a whisper then, low enough so that only they could hear each other. "Prosthetic." He kept his gaze forward, but he talked in the same hushed tone as the Tsurask next to him. "Attack me here in an attempt to take me alive and I'll make sure you watch yourself die." "Worry not, friend. I know better than to attack one such as yourself. Besides, my people have no quarrel with yours." Sebastian took a drink from his cola and allowed his gaze to peer over to the Tsurask's, followed by a cock of his eyebrow. "Alright then." he said, no longer hushed. "My name is Shalizar Conmortah, by the way. A pleasure." He extended his hand and Sebastian returned it with his own. "Sebastian Black." He said. "You seem to have traveled a great many leagues, if you do not mind me making conversation." He pressed his lips together and sighed. He did his damnest to not stick out and what happens? He draws in strangers. "Yep, with many many more to go." "is that so?" "...Yes...look, I can already see where you're going. What do you want?"

"Straight to the point. I e-" "If you're going to try and make me a delivery boy, you can forget it. Didn't spend 20 years in IVT military to end up carrying a package from one place to another." Mr. Conmortah was a little uncomfortable now as it seemed that this man enjoyed drinking alone. He shifted in his seat, choosing his next words carefully. "May I join you?" "Wat." "May I join you?" "Why." "I'll pay you." "I didn't ask how much, reptile. I asked Why." "I have been stuck in this city for six months because of the embargo on my homeland thanks to the Circle not accepting our ideals. I have become quite...antsy to say the least." "Why should I take you with me?" "You won't find a better warrior in the city other than yourself." "Suck up. But I like that brand of suck up. Fair warning. You're probably going to die where I'm going." "And where is that, if I may ask?" "Aurora." "My people are welcome there. What are you talking about?" "Lots of magic and stupid people involved in the reason behind my going." Shalizar sat there for a few moments staring at the Prosthetic before it hit him. "It involves templars doesn't it....?" "You're sharp, you know that? I like you. Yeah, meet me outside of town in about an hour and a half." "Thank you very much sir, you won't regret it." He got up quickly and gathered his things before bowing to Sebastian, whom just waived him off. "Maybe now I can enjoy the rest of my so-" "SEBASTIAN." 'FUCK. Barkeep! Another ten colas! To GO!" Behind him stormed in Anna, decked out in New Clothing (No crown), washed up and actually looking...very beautiful. "Can't a man drink in damn peace?!" "Yes, I just wanted to keep you on edge. What are you doing?" "DRINKING." Stupid question number one out of the way. She sat down and ordered her own drink, a strong alcoholic Killian's Red. "You're into Chuckola Cola?" "Yes. Go away."

"But I ordered a drink." "God damn it. Thought we weren't supposed to be "friends". What, did a shower suddenly make you want to kill me less? Barkeep! Those Colas?!" "No. Just trying to be polite." "Yeah, no. Go away." The Barkeep did as he was asked and Sebastian payed for the ten Chuckola colas and got up. "Going to go find a place to not get drunk in peace. Mysterious-deity damn." He took the bag and made his way for the door, exiting quickly and heading towards the city limits so he could find a good tree to fall asleep in and listen to the damn birds. Then he stopped and smelled himself. "Damn, I need a shower...temporary room first, not-drunk later."

He made a U turn, heading for the residential district and picking up a room so he could rub off the stink of yesterday and clean his clothes of Brooklyn's stink. Thankfully, his bank account was untouched by his arrest. Fuckers would have a better time hacking the intergalactic peace conference than hacking his accounts and profiles.

"Man, what a killjoy...can't blame him...my mother did hunt him for a good chunk of the last decade...." Annabelle continued to sit at the bar, taking sips at the beverage and enjoying the wet gold burn it's way down her throat. Her mother was the original hunter of Sebastian, not her. Fuck, she only recently started hunting for him after her mother was reassigned by the chantry...she should explain that her rudeness on the island stemmed from both the stress of being shipwrecked and being "on the job." Hell, she barely even knew him to tell the truth, he had no right to be treated like dirt. She'd make a mental note to explain it to him at some point. Afterall, he probably thought she was her mother. They did share the same name and physical build, only her mother was just a little shorter and Anna was...a tad bit more clever.

[DemonTongue]

Earning money out here was so easy it was almost wrong. Actually wrong was just the right word for it she thought as Gabe punched the lights out of yet another sucker. All she had to do was add a little purr to her voice, bat her eye lashes and smile at just the right moments. Once they had cleaned up her face and picked all the leaves out of her hair it worked every time. Some shmuck looking to buy a girl a drink would approach her, they would flirt, get close and then Gabe would storm in with the over-protective boyfriend act. Too easy. As he pocketed the man's cash Brook heard yelling coming up the street. She squinted to see through the people walking down the street and there she saw armed guards running toward them.

"H- Hey, we should go," she stammered, "Now!"

"I see 'em. Run!" Gabe grabbed her roughly by the arm and drug her down the street and around a corner. They didn't stop there though. The mercenary lead her down alley ways, up ladders, over rooftops, across bridges and through buildings as they made their way through the maze of the cities.

"No! I knew this would happen! We're going to be sent back to the island, I know it!" she cried.

"Stop it!" he yelled over his shoulder, "We'll lose 'em!"

"Don't you people keep bank accounts or something!? Do you even know what a bank is!?" she kept going.

"Pushin' my patience, kid. Just so happens I got cleaned out the first and second time I went to prison. You learn after a while."

"Wait you-- This isn't your first time as a prisoner!?" her eyes went wide.

"Nope!"

She was having second thoughts about the people she had thrown her lot in with.

After Gabe felt like they had put enough distance between themselves and the city watch he finally slowed to a stop in a quiet residential area. Brook was winded. She sank and put her hands on her knees struggling to breathe. Her lungs burned, her legs ached and she thought her heart would rupture any second now. He watched her with his hands on his hips, chest barely heaving as he caught his breath.

"Yer outta shape," he frowned.

As much as she wished she could have managed to say, "Shut your dick holster," all she got out was an inaudible wheeze.

He started counting their money and after a minute or so she heard him mutter something like, "Yeah, should be enough if that bastard is still around."

"Who?" she managed to gasp.

"This way," he started to walk off.

Brook stood up straight and threw her head back and then stomped along with him, "Where are we going? When are we going to get our gear already?"

"I know a guy," he said.

"You know a guy?" she rolled her eyes, "Just tell me what we're doing!"

"Look, Tony's not exactly running a... legal business."

"... No wonder you keep getting thrown in jail."

"Hey. Point is, he owes me one and he's not the type to go back on that sorta thing."

"Are you sure about that? I'm all for doing what it takes to get out of these rags but I really don't want to get sent back to--"

"I get it," he interrupted, "I'm sure. Oh, try not to stare much. He might take it the wrong way coming from you."

Brook was nervous. Her imagination painted pictures of this Tony person that were unsavory to say the least. He was probably big and mean looking. More so than her Tenau companion. There was a scary thought. This man was probably unshaven, covered in muscle and fat and surrounded by men just as mean and ugly. What kind of hell was Gabe leading her into!?

Soon they came onto a peaceful, mostly empty, street lined with well maintained houses and shops built from an older style of architecture. Trees grew along the walkways and flowers grew in window boxes. Gabe approached a shop with a young man smoking an e-cig and reading a book on the front porch and an intricately woven sign that read, "Fine Jewelry." Brook was still looking around for the back alley drug dealers.

"This is it," Gabe said, "Tony!"

The man on the porch glanced up from his book, raised an eyebrow and got to his feet. He was tall and slender wearing a dress shirt and slacks. His hair was black and combed, his face was clean shaven. When he stood and walked to the steps it was incredibly controlled and graceful. He did not smile. Tony only watched them as they approached.

"Kinsley," he said matter-of-factly, "What are you doing here?"

"The fuck do you think I'm doin' here? Time for you to pay up."

Brooklyn cringed. Things were tense. So this Tony wasn't nearly as ugly as she had imagined. He wasn't even close to the images she had concocted. Truth be told she found him rather... A wicked grin split his lips and he pocketed the e-cig before jogging down the steps.

"You son-of-a-bitch," Tony chuckled and caught Gabe in a bear hug that looked far more painful than affectionate to Brook. Men. Then she realized why Gabe had told her not to stare. Tony was clean, professional, handsome and the left side of his face was webbed in deep slashing scars. His nose twisted where it had obviously been broken, his left cheek bone seemed more caved in compared to the right and several large chunks were missing from his left ear. He turned to her with a dashing smile.

"And who might you be?" he swept up her hand in his own, "Please don't tell me you belong to this brainless dog."

"N- no. He's not- I'm-" she stuttered.

"That's Brooklyn," Gabe chimed in for her, "She's an... accomplice."

"It's a pleasure," Tony's smile softened and he placed a gentle kiss on her hand. She was left speechless and blushing. By some miracle Gabe did remember her name after all and it was a good thing because she sure didn't.

Tony released her and turned back to his old friend, "I suppose you'll be wanting to come downstairs."

"Downstairs" was in stark contrast to the meticulously clean shop upstairs. The shop was carpeted with spotless display cases along the walls and sitting areas complete with cushioned chairs and flourishing house plants in the corners. An elegant door in the back lead to a dark concrete stairwell. At the bottom a cellar spread out and a large steel door with a wheel in the center and a complex security pad on the side dominated the far wall. It put Tony through a gauntlet of procedures to unlock the door the final one being a scan of his left eye which turned out to be fake and contained a sophisticated quartz encryption chip in the iris. No magic here.

"Who's side are you on?" Brooklyn muttered.

"Whichever side is paying more," Tony chuckled.

Gabe folded his arms and frowned, "Don't forget which side saved your life."

Inside the vault was what heaven must look like if there was one. She didn't know were to start. It was cavernous. Several rooms were partitioned in the space with steel grates. Hooks were set on the grates and shelves filled in the space between. On the hooks and shelves hung more guns, swords, tools and miscellaneous military equipment than she possibly could have looked through in the time they had. Most of these items, she noticed right away, were illegal for civilians to own.

"Ditch your weapons," Gabe told her, "Won't need 'em anymore."

"He's right," Tony confirmed, "Take your pick... As long as it's a reasonable pick of course. I have to turn a profit here."

She did as she was told and went to go wander through the collection. Gabe seemed to know exactly what he was looking for because in no time he was back chatting with Tony in a hushed tone with a powered down laser sword and a few supplies. There were some extremely dangerous weapons in here. Some of them were only fresh out of production and one or two she recognized as projects that she had been assigned to the past couple of years. Incredible. Eventually she came across a rather unassuming pistol and pulled it off the hooks it was sitting on. She also took the liberty of picking up a suppressor, several magazines of .50 caliber slugs and hollow points and a scope. She didn't want to miss after all. Then she returned to the front of the vault.

Tony smirked, "Do you know what that is?"

"I know it can take a man's head of his shoulders," she smirked back.

He snorted, "Good eye."

Gabe also forced a long dagger made of a curious black steel on her before he was satisfied with her choices. With some of the money they had conned out of the locals she also picked up a nice little tool kit that came with a leather case and rolled up into a neat little package. As they were leaving Tony kissed her hand once more and told her she was welcome anytime she wished. As long as she had money next time that was. Brooklyn noticed after getting closer to him again that a deep red scar cut across the entire width of his throat. It was jagged and thick, almost reminiscent of an electric bolt in shape.

"But you," Tony turned to Gabe with a grin, "I'd better never see you here again."

Gabe nodded and waved and they took their leave. Once they were some distance away Brook tapped his arm with the back of her hand to get his attention.

"Hey, so why did he owe you again?" she asked.

"I'm sure you saw his face," Gabe shrugged, "Well I was there for that. Stopped the bleeding. Got 'im out alive. That's all."

"Wow," she said quietly, "That scar on his neck. Must have been a lot of blood. How did you manage to--"

"That's all," he ended the conversation.

On the way back they also stopped to spend the rest of their ill-gotten cash on new, more appropriate, less filthy clothes for Brooklyn and a shower. Then Gabe started off toward the pub where he was to meet Annabelle. The sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon.

"Sebastian is probably going to be there, huh?" Brooklyn said quietly.

"Might be," Gabe replied.

She sighed deeply and looked away, "I'm going to take a walk. Need to think about somethings and I'm not sure I want to be around that guy right now."

He stopped and looked at her with a very concerned expression.

"I'll be okay," she assured him, "I'll stay where people can see me, I won't go down dark streets and I won't take candy from strangers."

He didn't find her joke amusing, "Fine. You be careful though, ya hear me? Anybody gets too friendly with ya, end 'em. If yer not at the pub in an hour I'm comin' lookin' for ya and you don't want me to come lookin' for ya. Got it?"

Brooklyn nodded and turned the other way stepping into the Yolduga night.

[Vash]

As the young, beautiful Brooklyn walked the streets, going deep into the city. She was lost for a while, but then she realized that she was only walking for fifteen minutes. She huffed and started to turn back to head towards the bar, but she stopped as she saw a woman sprinting around the corner and grabbing her, yanking her into an alleyway. She was tall, a head taller than her, with skin tight black jeans on, an unzipped black hooding with white inside linings. Underneath, she had a right corset that pressed up her large assets. She had what many men would call a perfect body. Hourglass figure, small hip, strong, powerful legs and thighs. The only downside was that she was hiding her head in the hood. The woman put Brooklyn against the wall and hid her face in hers, pressing her lips against Brooklyn's. She felt a tongue slip inside of her mouth and...down her throat...and she felt compelled to grip the woman's sides and kiss back. A few moments later, several officers stepped by with swords in hand. One stopped to look, but did not stray as Brooklyn gripped the woman's arse and pulled her leg up to wrap around the woman's hip. The officer forgot about it and ran on.

After a couple moments more, she disconnected and let Brooklyn catch her breath. "Too close that time..." she said. She lowered the hood and Brooklyn nearly screamed as she saw the woman's head. Long horns with ridges extending from her forehead and extending to the back of her head, dozens of ridges on them as they curled and twisted. They were beautiful and intricate. She had long hair, falling to about the middle of her shoulders, dark red colored. Her face was narrow, but very attractive with magenta eyes. Her lips were plump and juicy. Then it hit her, her legs felt weak. "Thank you, Brooklyn." Alarmed, she asked how the woman knew her name. "As a...lover of magic, I find out many great things from just being around people." She stared at the scarlet haired vixen for a couple moments before she spoke again. "I'm Madeline." She took Brooklyn's hands and shook them. "Wow..." she smacked her lips and smiled. "You...taste fantastic...ya know. I happen to have a friend back at my place...if you want to, you, her, and myself can have some fun...what do you say?" She wanted to run and get away from this woman, but a large part of herself said to stay. Something in her stomach rooted her to the ground. She nodded.

______

Forty five minutes later....

Brooklyn stumbled into the bar, as if she was drunk. "Where the hell have you been?!" asked Annabelle. "Gabe has been throwing a fit, he was about to go looking for you!" She and Gabe were at the bar with a couple drinks in their hands.

[DemonTongue]

Somehow the lights and smells around her became more intense, the sounds became clearer and more diverse and the contours of her body under her trailing hands became softer, more sensitive and far more worthy of attention than they had been before. To her it seemed the whole world had slowed down and she was allowed to experience it in more detail than ever before. A simple act such as walking up to the bar and letting her jacket slide off her arms became extremely sensual. Every nerve tingled as the fabric caressed her skin and exposed it to the air.

"I was..." she began to answer Annabelle's question but trailed off while slowly tracing her lips with her fingers. The atmosphere at the pub was so welcoming. So warm. Brooklyn stared at the fireplace at the far end of the room. She felt her body heating up. Was she dreaming? She could still feel the succubus' flesh on her own and caught lingering wafts of her scent. That was real? It had to have been.

"I was..." her brows knitted together as the past hour came flooding back in excruciating detail, "Holy shit."

"You were what?" Annabelle pressed her.

The girl's cheeks blushed deeply and her eyes we wide. Her nails dug into the bar, "I got lost! Okay!? Dammit, I told him that I was going for a walk so I went for a walk and that's it! It's none of your business I'm fine leave me alone!" Barkeep!" her defensive yelling petered out into an exhausted request and her voice cracked, "I need a Kavorkien."

[Vash]

The three being left in the bar for more than a few minutes would get them killed obviously, but thankfully, Sebastian stepped in with Shalizar at his side. He didn't hesitate to come up to the bar and question why Brooklyn was here. "Why the fuck is she here? I thought she decided that this was too much for her and ran away like a coward?" He crossed his arms, the scowl evident in his face. There was a loud BANG as she slammed her freshly emptied glass down. Brooklyn slipped off her seat and stumbled grabbing onto the bar for support until the room stopped spinning enough for her to wheel around to face Sebastian. Her cheeks were flushed and her expression angry, although somewhat dazed.
"I am here," she said slowly, "because the world needs me."

"And drunk to boot. Pathetic. Might as well be on your way, girl Your help will come to be as useful as a bullet in the stomach. Besides. You've been replaced." He gestured toward Shalizar, whom was standing next to Gabe, just watching with his helmet sitting on the counter. "I am sure that there is some lonely man out there that will make your life worth it for the ten seconds before he puts you in the dirt for being so useless." She bared her teeth and her eyes flicked to Gabe who was watching her closely, "No. You don't get to tell me what'todo. I'm not going anywhere... And I didn't come back 'cause I wanted to. I came back because I can be helpful and because... I care about what happens, " she looked at Gabe again. He nodded. "... to all of the other people." Close enough.

"Oh, okay. You care about what happens? Alright." Before she could realize it, his pistol was between her eyes and was pressing her head back. "You're about to die horribly and let down the world. What do you do?" He pressed it deeper into her nose and slowly started to squeeze the trigger, even though the safety was on. A gasp escaped her lips as her back thumped into the bar. She squirmed and then froze realizing she couldn't run. She groaned as he pushed the gun into her face. Her heart raced.
"Hey!" Gabe yelled and stepped toward Sebastian, "What the fuck is wrong with you!?" "I. Don't. Like. Cowards." He wouldn't budge the pistol from her face and he wasn't phased by Gabe's movements. "ACT or you'll die. Cowards like you don't have a place here." She didn't move and didn't answer. She only continued to glare at Sebastian. Then she took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Her body stilled. "I don't know," she said quietly, "But another person doesn't have their gun to my head. You do. And I know you won't shoot." Then she reached up grabbed the gun by the barrel and wrenched it off her face.

"No. You don't know." He clicked another button and it whirred for a second. He held it up to her face again and out of nowhere a large amount of pain surged into her head as a rubber bullet impacted her forehead. "Wake up from your dream. Anybody anywhere can put a bullet in your skull for seemingly no reason just so they can have the cash in your wallet, your dignity, or just to do it. You're at least smart enough to remember that I don't kill women." He clicked the button again and the bullets transitioned back into lethal bullets. He sat down at the bar and grabbed one of the drinks from the bag that he had from earlier. He passed her one and smiled. "Take a drink, makes the body forget about the rubber bullet that I shot you with."

Sprawled on the floor in shock, she propped herself up quickly. She had just been shot! No! How!? Her fingers went to the epicenter of the blinding pain that was splitting her skull and came back wtih the lightest smear of blood. Although her vision was blurred amidst the pain she could still see it and she could still hear that bastard's voice. Rubber bullet... Her hand trailed down to the dagger stowed in her boot. That piece of shit. Tears streamed down her face from the ache. She grabbed the hilt and slid it free as she rose to her feet. All she could see was red.
"No," Gabe said under his breath and stepped in. He pushed the dagger down, "Not about you, remember?"
The grip she had was so firm her knuckles were white. Then she released it, put the blade back where it belonged and stepped past the Tenau. Brooklyn accepted the bottle, twisted off the cap and smiled as a single bead of blood ran a trail down her nose and mingled with the tears.
"You're right," she giggled, "I'm just so stupid! I'll forget all about this in about five seconds as long as I have this drink. Sebastian you're just so mother fucking smart! I didn't know that dangerous people would be coming after me if I stuck with you guys! Gosh, I thought this would be so damn easy! Whatever would I have done if you handn't just shot me in the head? I tell you, my eyes have been opened. I'm so glad I have a big strong man to show me how stupid I am!"

"I don't need to remind you that I have live bullets in the chamber. I can shoot you in the foot to see if we can compare."

"Go to hell," she hissed and downed the entire bottle in one go.

"You two are perfect for each other. " Down the line a little, Annabelle stood up and walked over, a beer in her hand. "Kiss and make up already. You're both acting like children." They turned and looked at her as she insulted them with truth. Sebasitan didn't care much, he had been called worse by better people. He smirked a little and started to lean over to Brooklyn, his tongue sticking out and wiggling. "NOT WHAT I MEANT."

Brooklyn frowned but didn't let Annabelle get to her. This had not been the first time she had been called a child today and in all seriousness she knew the Templar was right. She still had a lot to learn. Today had been the single most surreal twenty four hours in her entire young life. First the dragons, then the con-artistry, then the arms dealer and then the... she blushed and smiled weakly just thinking about it. Her face twisted when Sebastian suddenly leaned in closer with his tongue out and interrupted her little fantasy. Oh... now there was an idea. A smirk spread across her face. Before he could wrap up his crude little display she reached out, put her hand on the back of his head and pulled his face into hers, swallowing his tongue and kissing him deeply. Then she cut it short and roughly shoved him backward.

Brooklyn frowned but didn't let Annabelle get to her. This had not been the first time she had been called a child today and in all seriousness she knew the Templar was right. She still had a lot to learn. Today had been the single most surreal twenty four hours in her entire young life. First the dragons, then the con-artistry, then the arms dealer and then the... she blushed and smiled weakly just thinking about it. Her face twisted when Sebastian suddenly leaned in closer with his tongue out and interrupted her little fantasy. Oh... now there was an idea. A smirk spread across her face. Before he could wrap up his crude little display she reached out, put her hand on the back of his head and pulled his face into hers, swallowing his tongue and kissing him deeply. Then she cut it short and roughly shoved him backward. Brooklyn frowned and stood up. That wasn't quite the effect she had been looking for but at least now he might get off her case for a while.

He started to walk away but he stopped short and reached into his mouth, feeling something. He pulled out a couple dark red hairs and looked back to her. "What in the hell were you doing to get dark red hairs in your mouth?" "Wouldn't you like to know," she muttered and kept walking. "I'm sure Gabe would. Look at him, he's simply bursting at the seems with questions!" Gabe raised an eyebrow at him and finished his drink, "I'm sure I don't. Her business. Not mine." "But for all we know, she might have gotten herself involved with some...Succubus or something! We both know their crotches don't judge!" Brooklyn rubbed her temples. Her head felt like it was submerged in boiling water and her prosthetic friend was not helping. "She was a much better kisser than you," she said sarcastically. "Oh hooo, is that so?" He placed his hands on his hip and smirked. "First: I wasn't kissing back. Second: I don't normally use my tongue, I am a gentleman. Third-" Before he could finish, another woman walked into the bar and spoke. "Brooklyn! There you are!" The woman that walked in was scarlet haired and very...buxom. She came over to Brooklyn and embraced her, digging her tongue into her throat. She had no horns now, hidden by magic. She handed her a bag with a couple weapons in it. "You left this at my place. Figured that I should return it. I knew where you would be, thankfully. Have a good journey, Brooky." She kissed her cheek and turned, seeing the others and winking before giving a small wave and walking out. The others simply stared at the cherry faced Brooklyn turned away from them. Sebastian broke the silence. "Well...at least you didn't have sex with a vampire...or a cross breed. Their kinds love to cross breed. Trust me, while biting is fun, it's not fun with them. Add in a cross breed and you get...well...a "fucking bloody disaster". HA BA DUM TSH" He "air-drummed" out the badumtsh and got the others laughing.

Heading out of the bar and making their way out of the city, the group went into the forest and went to hunt down the area where they agreed to meet back at. They found the dragons, sleeping and relaxing, Aurora using her paws as a pillow while Boulder was on his back, snoring it seemed like. "What in the god damn...?" Shalizar was frozen as they came upon the creatures stirring from their slumber and stretching out their scales. "What are those, Sebastian?!" He drew his spear from his back and Boulder was the first to react, taking an aggressive stance and preparing to kill the puny Shalizar very quickly and with plenty of acidic pain. Sebastian was on him and put a hand on his spear. "Sheath it. They're friendly, but they don't take kindly to being threatened." He was reluctant, but he did as he was told and placed his spear on his back. "They're from an island a couple hundred miles into the dead zone. Hidden. They're dragons. Come on, you can ride boulder...provided Gabe doesn't mind."

The group mounted their dragons, this time Annabelle riding with Sebastian and Brooklyn riding with Gabe due to Brooklyn's snappy attitude. Though Shalizar was squeamish, he stayed with and they took off for the air, rising above the dotted cloudline and enjoying the view. Annabelle spoke while they flew, the beating of the wings privatizing their conversation. "So...I-" "Not in the mood for talking." "Stow it. I want to talk. So...I wanted to talk about my mother." "Your mother the seeress..." "My mother the Templar Commandant." "Wat.Wait wait wait wait...." "It just hit you did it not?" "How long have you been hunting me?" "About three years." "So that means that even though you used children against me-" "Dwarven deathrow-mates that I shaved and had stylists make look like children." The dragon slowed down as he came to several realizations and his face started to turn red. "I...you...your mother is a cunt, you know that? Also, you both look spectacularly alike." "It's why we don't talk anymore." "I...uh, why now?" "I am paid to be the way I am as I have to hold up my mother's name in the templars. I'm not on the job right now...technically." "So I've been treating you like dirt for no reason." "Not exactly. I did put those scars on you and make you think that children died...and I do look a lot like my mother, so I can understand the confusion." "Son of a fucking whore...I, uh..." "Yeah, no need. Already get what you are trying to say. Just wanted to get it cleared if we're going to be killing together. Still not friends." "Fine by me."

They two groups continued flying for a good two hours before the sun started to go down and they were forced to land. They landed at the base of a hill with forest around it. A small grove. "We'll set up camp here for the night. How was your first flight Shal-" The young Tsurask fell off of Boulder and started to crawl a little ways before finding a tree and hugging it. "HATE. FLYING. HATE IT. I LIKE HORSES BETTER."

[DemonTongue]

"Your help will come to be as useful as a bullet in the stomach."

These words had replayed themselves in her mind a dozen times over on the flight and a dozen times more as she stared into the camp fire. Occasionally she would poke at it to keep the embers fresh or add more fuel as needed but for the most part she kept quiet and kept still. There was so much to think about. So much to sort through. Enough to make anybody lose their mind. Yet, in the end what could sorting through it all actually accomplish? Could anything even be done once she came to terms with her surroundings? The girl came to a begrudging conclusion. No. In the end she decided it best to not think about any of this insanity and focus on something as straight-forward as keeping flames alive.

Doubtful voices would continue to creep into her uneasy tranquility through the night leaving her to question if she was really as necessary as she had claimed to be in the bar. With no alcohol to fuel her confidence she was sinking under the pressure. Gabe seemed to believe there was some reason for her to be here, though he had hardly been clear as to what that reason was. The more she thought about what he had said to her the more he realized his opinions stemmed directly from the words in the old tome Sebastian had brought back. He was Tenau, she reminded herself. His opinions on her role in all of this came from the realm of the magical and unreasonably superstitious. Even then she had been replaced. They were no longer the four he had spoken about, but five she realized watching the lizard-like warrior that had joined them. Six if anyone cared to include the little robot. She was superfluous. Brooklyn ran her hands through her hair and left them on either side of her head as she stared at the ground.

What are you doing? she struggled to answer herself, Just keep the fire going, she decided.

---

Something, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it, about this place was giving him the creeps. Nothing seemed out of place or suspicious as it were, but he couldn't dismiss the feeling of being watched. Truth be told he had felt this way ever since before arriving on the island and the events that transpired had only set him more on edge. The fact that one of his comrades had been cavorting around with demons, willing or no, left a sour taste in his mouth. The lizardling newcomer didn't help. In the past Gabe had done his fare share of picking up extra hands for hard jobs off the streets and out of bars, but he had never allowed himself to trust such people from the start. He always kept an eye on them, treating them like loose cannons until they earned his trust. Sometimes the defensive stance was unneeded. Sometimes it saved his life and his wallet. His hand was never far from the blade at his side and Shalizar was never far from his sight.

"You should rest up," he told Annabelle, "I'll hold down the fort for the night. Wouldn't get much sleep anyhow."

[Vash]

Coming out of the forest, Sebastian dropped a good amount of wood a fair ways from the fire so that it could stay up all night. He looked around the camp and saw Brooklyn sitting alone at the fire. He knew he probably shouldn't as she was no doubt sore from earlier, but fuck it. He grabbed a couple of the remaining few colas and strolled over to the fire and sat down next to her. "Hey. How's the forehead?" She pulled her knees to her chest and crossed her arms over them, only affording him a cursory glance, "It's fine." "I apologize for shooting you. I admit I went too far...to be honest they were supposed to be blanks." He offered the cola and smiled, though he suspected that she wouldn't take it. "... Thanks," she took the bottle gently and set it down on the ground between her feet for now. "It's..." Okay? No, it really wasn't. "It's been done," she shrugged. "Not expecting you to shove your tongue down my throat again. Just hoping to end on somewhat decent terms...you seem like something else is bothering you. What's up?" He took a sip of his cola and got a little more comfortable, stretching out his legs and sighing. Brooklyn growled in her throat at the mention of what she did back at the pub. In hindsight... it didn't matter. She didn't really have much energy left to care about things like that. Her mind was a swirling mess of thoughts and even if she wanted to talk about them, and she wasn't even sure if she wanted to do that in the first place, she wouldn't have known where to start.

"I've been once or twice for work. Never saw much of the city." "You've been missing out, Brooklyn. Made up of three levels, the upper city where the citizens stay, the industrial zone where we'll be doing some business, and the undercity where I'm just assuming that this stone-majiger is. Only other place I can compare the sunets to would be Centari Station..." He grew quiet for a few moments before speaking, a smile on his face. "Tell ya what. To apologize, let me get you one of these while we're in Aurora." He held up his hand and gestured towards his wristband. "Digi-vault access. It's normally only given to commanders in the military and those whom are very well off...but I have my connections."

Once barely focused on what Sebastian was saying she sat bolt upright at the mention of the digi-net. She stared at him with a slack jaw but fearsome expression, "Are you serious?" The idea of the things she could get her hands on! With access to something like that so many of her problems would vanish, or so she thought. "You had better not be jerking me around." "Well, as long as you're okay with getting your left or right arm cut off with a hack saw." He smirked and took another drink, hoping to freak her out a bit. "I..." her eyebrows knitted together and she looked at the ground. Never had she heard of that being a requirement. She thought one only needed that device Sebastian had around his wrist or something similar. It made no sense. Brooklyn frowned deeply. "Why?" "Well, you see, we have to connect with the bones so your body doesn't overload and blah blah blah, might have to take out your brain..." He paused for a couple moments as the chuckle that was in his thought started to overcome him and he burst out laughing. "hahh, Just yanking your leg. It's just getting you a wristband and syncing it to your DNA then me spending three hours encoding the connection so nobody can hack in and place pornography in there as a joke or kill you."

"Fine," she started before he burst out laughing...Though she was relieved to hear that she wouldn't have to sacrifice her brain. That was pushing it. Now she was just growing insatiably excited. Even the mention of somebody using the technology to kill her didn't faze the girl.

"That's," she grinned as chills ran down her spine, "the best thing I've heard in days. How soon until we get to Aurora?" "Should be there late tomorrow evening. That excited huh?" He smiled and leaned back until he lay on the ground. He placed his hands behind his head and sighed. "Don't be telling the others and telling all your friends. You can get them in a lot of trouble." "I won't tell anyone," she smirked, "And thanks in advance. You don't have to be helping me, but I appreciate it." She opened the cola and leaned back on one hand. "Hey, have to make it up for shooting you in the face and telling you that you aren't needed. Really shouldn't have said you weren't needed. Next time though I won't bribe you with high technology though." "Well... It's... I mean you guys really don't need me. I'm no soldier. I guess I'm just trying to..." she sighed, "I don't know what I'm doing." "No, but that's what I'm for, to slap you around, insult you, and show you that you're just learning and discontinuing your time as a little girl." She looked back and gave him a dirty look, "I'm all for learning, but lets do it without the slapping around or insulting. If you can handle that." "Aww, but that's the fun part. Without that it's mildly informative." "Yeah. 'Fun.' Whatever, " she looked away again. "Oh stop being a fuddy duddy and look at the bright side. It's better than not being shown the world at all or being thrown into religion." "Look I'm no fan of religion," she said quietly incase the Tenau were listening in, "but I think I could have done without seeing the world like this... Is this how things always are for you?"

"Every day of my life. I'm a hundred and seventy four years old and I can't remember the last time I was able to enter a city secretly" "A hundred and s-- Damn, you're old," she said absently, "But, wait. How are we going to get into Aurora if you can't get in secretly. And why?" her voice lowered, "What did you do?" "I have a couple friends in the border patrol. Aurora may be huge, but the people have good memories. And yes, I'm old as crap." "Explains why I'm stubborn as crap, doesn't it?" "Explains the senility too," she smiled playfully and took a drink. "Hey, I know that your name's Kasey or something like that." "What kind of a stupid name is that?" she snorted. "Hey, it's a good name. That was the name of a girl I dated before I became prosthetic! She was a WOMAN! Or at least I think she is...I'm a hundred and forty nine! Bite me!" Brooklyn raised an eyebrow,"Right. Ever get that brain of yours checked? Might be something screwy with your programing." "Bitch, I'm no robot." "Prosthetic. I know. Nevermind," she grumbled. "Damn straight, Prosthetic. I still have all the right organs. If you catch my meaning."

With a bit of a nervous groan the girl scooted away from him a bit, "That's... That's pretty interesting." "What? Is it wrong to have the same heart that I had since I was a child?" "No, but that's not what you were... You know what, I'm gonna try and get some sleep. Okay?" "Pervert." He smiled and closed his eyes, his body starting to head to sleep. Brooklyn glared and edged away from him an additional several feet before curling up and sinking back into thought.

It wasn't long before the two were fast asleep with Gabe staying awake to keep watch. In the morning, the group took off on the dragons again, but this time Shalizar riding with Gabe and Annabelle and Brook riding with Sebastian again.

Chapter 1: With Hair Argent and Ivory...


The group flew for a good chunk of the morning, resting the dragons only every now and then. It was not until late in the day that they spotted the great city of Aurora on the horizon. Instead of resting and arriving in the morning, the group decided to make the rest of the journey and rest in the city.

As they approached the city, they were met outside of the city limits by Intimidating VTOLs heavily armored border patrol. They circled the dragons as Lasers shot out of their VTOL and landed on the dragons, targeting them. Voices boomed out of one of them. "State your business, Tenau! Your kind is not-" Sebastian held up his wristband to his face and spoke, the wristband acting as an amplifier. "Do not worry boys. It's Sebastian. These are new clones out of New Gnisis. Perfectly safe unless they're pissed off, which if we get access to a nice docking bay, won't happen." "Oh! Sebastian! Why didn't you say it was you! We'll escort you into the city so you won't get any more trouble." "Thank you very much!" He leaned back to Brooklyn and whispered. "It pays to have friends in your home town." They were escorted to a landing bay near the edge of the city, flying between the buildings to a nice and private docking bay near the Darkwater Lounge and motel, a local favorite.

Once they set down and got off, they lead the dragons across the bridge and to a small place for cars to park after flying around. It was nice and roomy for them and they wouldn't be bothered by dumb people. Aurora seemed to enjoy it, though it seemed that Boulder was a little anxious. Once they walked out and shut the doors, two guards came, Armed and Armored with swords on their backs. They had taken after the Tenau and started to adapt their weapons but with much more ferocity. There was a reason that they had been successful in this war thus far. They came close to Sebastian and looked him over. The tension was heavy in the air as the guards were vastly superior to them and would be able to wipe them out easily, but it was broken just as fast as it as mounted as the guards took off their helmets and started laughing, embrace Sebastian. "Andrew, Lucerne. How've you guys been?!" "Good! Good! What brings you to Aurora?!" "Got some business down in the industrial zone...that reminds me, any idea where this could be?" He took out the map and showed it to them, the map had changed now that they were in Aurora and showed a red star floating above the city. "Hmm...I swear I've seen that before, but I can't place it. What about you, Lucerne?" "Same...maybe the undercity?" Sebastian groaned and placed a hand against his face.

"Not the undercity." "We have to get back to work, good luck on your search Sebastian. Hit the bar later?" "I don't see why not." "And your cute lady friends back there?" He gestured towards Annabelle and Brooklyn with a smile. "The blonde one is really cute." "Hey, if they're into small dicks, sure." "HEY! Lucern takes offense to that!" The man next to him turned towards Andrew and glared for a moment before the two turned away to return to their posts. "Alright, so." He turned back towards the ladies and Gentleman and crossed his arms. "Brooklyn and I get to head to the Industrial district for a bit to take care of business. What are you three gonna do?" Anna spoke for herself and Gabe, laying her arm across her lower chest and resting her other on the hand, stroking her chin a little. "To be honest, I do not want to be left alone in any part of this city. Somebody somewhere will recognize me or Gabe. If and when that happens, there is most likely going to be a fight and I would rather be with you, Brooklyn, and Shalizar instead of just Gabe...no offense Gabe." Shalizar spoke then, a bit of unhappiness in his voice. "Don't count me in, sirs. I'll be relaxing at the Darkwater Lounge visiting the barkeep. She and I are old friends. I'll rent us a few rooms as well." "Thanks Shalizar. If we find out what's what, we'll find you." After checking a few things and their gear, they started off into the high-Tech city of the IVT.

[DemonTongue]

Uneasy and restless, though she was, Brooklyn couldn't seem to keep a little smile off her face. When the VTOL's stopped them she thought her heart would give out, but they passed by without incident. Every time they rounded a corner or went through a doorway or crossed a path she could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up and her skin prickle. She kept a vigilant watch out for people who seemed too interested in them. Logic was telling her they didn't belong here, but at the same time she felt comfortable. At least she was back in IVT territory. Aurora was no New Gnisis but the similarities didn't escape her. She almost felt back home. Even though home was probably the last place she wanted to be right now.

Once settled and after leaving Shalizar behind at the motel the group was off. Though she noticed Gabe lingered behind for a minute. He had his eyes locked on the lizardling and one hand on his sword. It reminded her of the pistol shoved down the back of her belt. Absentmindedly her hand bumped the grip. Slowly, Gabe stepped away and rejoined the group. Was something wrong? She frowned and put it out of her mind. Not everybody involved in this had to like each other. It was he who had shown her that in the first place.

Brooklyn stuck close to Sebastian. She had to hand it to him, he did seem to know exactly what he was doing and if anybody could get them through the city it was him. As they made their way through Aurora she watched and listened for all the information she could. First the Industrial District. That was where she had always been sent on business. Not in any way shape or form a place where tourists would want to go but to her it was impressive none the less, at least what little of it she had seen. Admittedly her short time in Aurora was normally spent in presentation halls or laboratories. After that it was onto the Undercity and hopefully by that time she would have access to the Digi-Vault. The thought of it got her blood flowing in ways that almost disgusted her. From the sound of things, however, she was beginning to think this trip of theirs might not be so easy.

"What's so bad about the Undercity?" she asked Sebastian.

Turning a few corners and coming up to an elevator, he clicked the button and crossed his arms. "This'll take us to the Industrial District and we can get this done." He avoided the question, the undercity was a place that gave him nightmares and made him scared to sleep at night. It was going to be a while for the elevator to get up there, so he went to a nearby holo-wall and accessed the net. "Undercity is where the deathwalkers have to go. Those whose bodies reject all medicine. To the common people and tourists, it doesn't exist. Disease and viruses run rampant, and the Ghouls rend anything that moves outside of the camps. Get bitten, might as well bite a bullet as the poison will either degenerate you into a ghoul or make your organs fail. Many of the slum lords go there as well because what better security is there than psychopaths that can kill with a slight scrape of teeth? Put a few guards on the wall and in the estate and you're borderline invincible."

Brooklyn stood behind him the expression of horror on her face growing more severe with every word of explanation that came out of his mouth, "And- And you're sure that's where we have to go?" she whimpered.

"No. I'm not sure. That's why we're...I am going to ask around and find out where the gem is. Knowing the luck we've had so far, count on it."

She groaned quietly, "Alright..." and hoped to hell it wouldn't come down to that place, "So where exactly is this wristband and who do we have to kill to get it? I- I mean talk to... Who do we have to talk to, to get it?" she corrected herself with a blush.

"You should try to not be so violent, Brooklyn." The elevator opened and the grouped stepped in. It wasn't long before they were shooting down to the Industrial Level. "Have to go see my old buddy Killian. He sells them to veterans. I saved his life a few times after the military caught him and tracked him down."

"Hmph," she smirked, "Seems like daring rescues and illegal tech are the currency of choice for you people."

Gabe shrugged, "Pays to have people in your pocket, kid."

"So I gathered," she replied, "Are you sure we can trust this Killian guy? Everybody in this city seems to know who you are. What if one of them is looking for you?"

"Then if they start trouble, we have weapons and fists. Until then, we play it cool and relax. Killian is a good guy, he's a little erratic, but he knows what he's doing."

Brooklyn took a deep breath, folded her arms and leaned against the wall of the lift by the door, "Got it."

The lift ride was short and soon she could feel it decelerating and hear the change in pitch as it neared their stop. With barely a disturbance to the group inside the lift came to a complete halt and the doors opened wide onto the Industrial District. With a cursory check of her new surroundings Brooklyn stepped outside with the others and let Sebastian take the lead again.