Finally, once out of the vents and of the darkness, Poppy loosened and let go of her grip on Naeemah. While the snake woman slithered towards her boyfriend's room, Poppy scurried off to her own room, in searching for a portable light source, like her phone. She left it in there before solo training to prevent it from being dropped and possibly damaged. Once she had her phone in hand Poppy knew that if they were climbing into anymore vents again, well at least this time she will be prepared.
Even before Naeemah nudged back the door to his room, the lingering scent of blood proved inescapable. From first glance Todd had a punching bag resting in the left back corner, he was once a pro-boxer after all. As Naeemah proceeded deeper into his room, she noticed the ceiling light turned off. Though that was nothing out of the ordinary since Todd never switched a single light on if he did not have to, he had night vision. His eyes were actually quite sensitive to the light, thus there rested his fox sleep-mask by his nightstand. Bloody tissues trailed to his bathroom, and when Naeemah entered that room she discovered piles upon piles of even more tissues spilling from out of the trashcan by his toilet.
After she finished examining the condition of Todd's bathroom, she took her eyes off of the tissues against the tile flooring, looking up. Though as she did, she realized she was no longer alone. This mysterious intruder was so close behind her, that their reeking odor of cigarettes now overpowered the scent of blood. She could hope this stranger was Todd, yet he never smoked and nor did this stranger smell quite like any of the other mutants. The soldier was fully equipped and geared from head to toe in military-issued riot gear, as all of the Maximation soldiers now were due to the lock-down. According to her thermal vision, he unfortunately was alone. He should have known better than to travel alone. Poor guy, because Naeemah was likely not going to kill him, no making him wish he was dead is what may bring Todd back to her.
Blood... Was Todd hurt? What happened to him? Many questions passed through Naeemah's head as she continued searching for him. Strangely enough, there was no signs of him there... Naeemah could taste his blood in the air, coming from the tissues. Maybe, if she was that worried about Todd, or focused on the tissues drenched in his blood, she would have noticed the intruder earlier, and would be able to avoid confrontation, but sadly, that wasn't what happened. Even if the intruder was armed and using military-issued riot gear, that wouldn't be nearly enough to protect it from her. She couldn't let him scream or call for help, but she needed information about what was happening. Luckily, she knew exactly what to do.
Patiently waiting in the darkness of the room, she waited for the perfect moment to strike. The second he got within her reach, she jumped on him, coiling around the poor man in the blink of an eye. If she wanted to kill him, he would be already dead, either by constricting him or by biting him in the jugular, and letting her poison do the work, but instead, she needed him alive, at least for now.
The man was completely immobilized by her tail, Naeemah herself was behind the man, with her hand over his mouth preventing him to scream, her mouth close to his ear as she spoke in a menacing tone. "You are going to tell me exactly what I want to know. If you try to call for help, scream, if i feel you moving any muscle from your body other than your heart and diaphragm, you are dead." Naeemah said, hissing as her tail quietly rattled further contributing to the menacing aura. "You are alone. There is no one here to help you, your life depends solely whether you will answer my questions or not." she said, hissing in his ear. "Where is Todd? What is happening here? Why are you all trying to kill us without even asking anything?" Naeemah said, slowly taking her hands off the man's mouth.
In fear that he may speak far too loudly, the man simply mumbled, though to the point where his words were inaudible even to Naeemah.
Naeemah opened her mouth, taking off his helmet with an agile movement, her fangs almost touching the poor soldier's ears as she hissed, "I don't have much time..." she said, constricting him a little more. "Tick tock... you are running out of time, soldier. I am not a very patient woman..."
As Naeemah flicked off his helmet, he slowly bowed his head in forward, letting not his potential killer see his face. But even with this slight movement, he realized how much he has been restricted, and how little of a possibility he had in fighting his way out. Her grasp became tighter, till he strangely and simply chuckled to himself, which only caused her to apply even more pressure, now leaving him gasping. It was time for him to reveal himself, "Ha heh-- Okay, I give up-- You know I like it-- rough-- but this is a little much!" Todd swung his head back, revealing his face. If Naeemah could see color, she would have had a better chance recognizing him sooner by his messy red hair.
"TODD!!! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!" Naeemah said, half crying half shouting. "You don't know how worried i was about you!" she said, loosening up her grasp on him, but still coiled around him. "Stupid fox... I was this close to killing you..." she said, hugging him and resting her head on his shoulder. "Everything went so wrong so fast... Dante killed Eiseley, the soldiers came trying to kill us and..." she was saying, but he voice went silent on the last part. "We're dying Todd... The serum is killing us..." she said, silently sobbing on his shoulder "All our dreams, our hopes... our future..." she said, hugging him tightly. "My dreams of having a life together with you... They took everything..." she said, crying. "But I will not let them take you away from me. Even if that means letting a trail of dead bodies behind me..."
As she rested against him, Todd leaned his head against hers. They have only known each other for a little over two months, and well, Todd has always known that there was reason why they have moved so fast in such little time. Yes, everything made sense now. Because of their lack of time, everything they have done together, was that much more worth it. When Naeemah finished speaking, Todd dragged his fingers against her neck, shifting the position of her face to be placed against his forehead. Now, they were touching forehead to forehead, "I'm flattered you would kill for me," he smiled. "I would do the same for you." Todd is never the one to the raise up the number of casaulties yet, when it came to Naeemah, he would be the first to let heads rolls if anyone laid a finger on her. "Gum-drop, our days might be shortened, but nothing changes between us-- we'll still be together even if--" Todd paused, looking down, hesitant to continue, but it had to be done, "Look, if we're going to make it out of here alive then-- err... You're not going to like this but, we're going to have split up again. You know going undercover is my shit... So, in order for me to pave a safe path I need to go remain undercover as a soldier, while you travel behind me in the shadows. I won't be far from you-- it's going to be fine."
"I won't lose you. You're everything that they haven't taken away from me." she said, looking to his face, rather mad with his plan. "You don't need to go undercover... We can use the vents or something like that!" she said, trying to convince him. "Todd... I know we known each other only for a little over than two months... But what i feel for you is real. I love you, Todd. I want to be with you, I want to protect you..." she said, looking to his eyes. "I need you. I don't think I can keep thinking straight with all this happening if you go away... I know you don't like to kill... but the only thing that keeps me from letting out all the hate I feel is you... I wont let you go Todd! I don't want to lose you." she said, coiling around him and kissing him.
Lips pressed against lips, Todd kissed her, held her, as if that were the last time he would ever have the chance to. He pulled back, no, he was not going to allow their time together to feel helpless and hopeless. "No, Naeemah." It was rare for him to ever call her by her name, unless they were in some type of argument or difference. "The vents aren't safe... Well, they're not going to be for long... I heard news of them releasing drones into the vents-- drones that can be detonated. So imagine mines on wheels. I won't get caught. This is the best for both of us and the rest of the mutants-- speaking of which, are you alone?" Yes, Todd was concerned about the rest, he honestly wanted to get as many of them out of there as possible, well all but Dante. To Todd, the Stalker really caused this all. If he did not decide to kill Eisley, then it is very likely they would have not been put under lockdown in the first place.
When Todd spoke about drones, Naeemah knew that things would get really tough. She didn't want to admit, but Todd's plan was really the best bet if they wanted to minimize casualties. Todd was the perfect choice for infiltration missions. The information he gets will be vital for their survival. "No... Poppy is with me. She went to the other room searching for something..." she said, looking to the corridor, trying to see Poppy. The girl didn't seem to be the type for fighting. Naeemah knew that if she left her alone, she would be in grave danger. "I... I understand... Can I at least have something to be able to communicate with you?" she asked. "If something bad happens..." she said, looking down. Naeemah knew that they were in a dangerous situation. Any error could mean death or at least, being gravely injured. "Even without using the vents, I can still easily move myself through the facility. Since I can sense thermal radiation, sneaking up on me will be very difficult, and I can set ambushes to take down anyone who comes after us... But I'm still worried after you. Promise me that you wont get caught! ... And be careful about the other mutants... Some of them cannot be trusted..." she said, hugging him tightly. Dante... Especially Dante... Naeemah didn't trust him one bit. He was a danger to everyone, be it human or mutant...
"Some of them... like who? I know Dante for sure is a threat, after what he did to Eisley and all-- anyone else?" Todd let go of Naeemah and she loosened her grasp before kneeling over to pick up the riot helmet. If he was going to remain undercover, it be best he covers his face.
"With Dante, its probably kill or be killed. Noelle also had a very violent reaction, and if it wasn't for me, she would have killed Eiseley... I understand it was a pretty shocking and stressful situation, but I would keep an eye on her." Naeemah said, silently watching Todd getting the riot helmet. "Poppy... I feel like if I let her alone, she will be in grave danger... She doesn't look like the type who likes fighting... I don't know... Not everyone was that shaken by Eiseley's death... Some of them were awfully quiet... Almost like if they were enjoying the show... Call it a woman's intuition, but I feel like some of them cannot be trusted." Naeemah said, getting the helmet from his hand, and putting it into his head, gently kissing it as she did so. "I will let you go under one condition: I want to be able to talk to you whenever I want." she said, looking to him with serious eyes. "If someone dares to even touch a strand of your hair, I want to know it, ok?" she said.
"Well, you have my scent memorized now, though it reeks of cigarettes, the soldier I stole this uniform off of was loaded with about two packs in his pants pocket. Also... hid him under my bed, you know so the body isn't found. He'll hopefully be out cold for a couple more hours." Todd shuffled his hand in the pants pocket, pulling out not a pack of cigarettes but his phone. "Okay, if there are any emergencies, I'll call you. Can't promise I can answer all of your calls, my phone will be on silent so I don't draw any attention. Also, keep yours on the lowest brightness setting, you'll need to maneuver through the shadows."
Naeemah nodded, silently staring to him. He would certainly call her if something bad happened. That thought at least served to calm her down a little.
Poppy made her way to Todds room, knowing that that was where Naeemah would of headed. She walked in just in time to see them falling all over each other. Wrinkling her nose she steeped back into the hall way, letting them have their moment. At the rate things were going it could be their last. She felt a pang of sadness, trying to distract herself she checked her phone but it definitely didn't help. No text, no notifications, no missed calls. She was dying, and she had no one to turn to with this news that would actually care. She was dying alone.
She heard her name, and it snagged her attention. Well yeah she didn't like fighting. But she had come to terms with the fact that she may not have a choice. She popped her head around the door frame, "Are you guys done making babies in there or should I make myself comfortable?" she had heard enough of the plan to know what they were going to be sticking to the shadows. Not a plan she was comfortable with. But what else could they do? "Uh, I'm not very... Good in the dark. I can't, uh, see and stuff I mean. Maybe I could just fly close to the ceiling? You would be super-surprised how many people don't look up?" she knew the idea sounded lame before it even left her mouth.
Naeemah was almost going near Todd again to kiss him, but they were interrupted by Poppy. Stepping back, a little alarmed, Naeemah blushed a little as she turned her face away from her, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"But won't the flapping of your wings give you away, Poppy?" Todd's relationship with Poppy was one of distant friendship, nothing too close, though nothing of resentment or apathy. She has proved to be someone he can cracked jokes with every now and then. Even when her humor did become a little too dark or crass, Todd never got offended for the fact that it is just a joke. "Oh wait--" Todd throw a few glances up at the ceiling light, he just noticed that it was dark. For those without night vision, he could understand the fear of the dark being logical. The shadows are Todd's battlefield, he is a predator upon darkness, so he found her fear legitimate as he recalled her mumbled remarks of it in the past. Yet, they still needed to press on. "This is totally not about the dark is it?" he smirked after speaking sarcastically. "Nah, but if it is... My girl's got ya," he referred to Naeemah as he patted Poppy on the shoulder.
"Poppy, right now, the darkness is our best ally. Our best chance to escape." Naeemah said, looking to her. "If the issue is the dark, don't you worry. I may not have the same night vision that Todd has, but I can see far more than he can, thanks to my tongue and my ability to sense thermal radiation. I don't mind if you hug me, Just stay with me and you'll be safe." Naeemah said, smiling to her. Something on her, something on that happy, cheerful girl made Naeemah want to protect her. "And Todd wont get caught, isn't that right, Todd?" Naeemah asked him, poking him in the visor with her finger. "Please, be careful, ok? If you feel something is wrong, run and call me, got it?" Naeemah said, gently touching her forehead in his visor.
"Ah.. You know I won't get caught, sweet-pea. Promise, you can kick my ass if I do, deal?" Before exiting his room, Todd shot Naeemah his ionic cocky smirk. In his head, he had this in the bag.
Vashonn