OOC: I don't know whether TBlood meant for his post to take place before Cherry exited her room, but I'm going to assume that he just meets him after Cherry left so there's no holdup there. Let me know if this creates problems.

IC: "Ya... Where were you?" asked Knight.

"Down in the prison area with her," said Justin as he gestured toward Cherry, who was still moving forward to a better position where she could address the others.

"And what were you doing while that robot was rampaging in here?" asked Knight, gesturing to the debris left over from the Watchman. "Kind of a bad time to go off alone with a girl like that."

"Whoa, hold up, I was just helping her out, and then we got locked out when we tried to get up to you guys, that's all." Justin raised an eyebrow. "Or did you mean it was coincidental that robot happened to go crazy while I was gone?"

"I'm not accusing you of being behind it, I know you better than that," said Knight with a smirk. "You're the only guy I know who loves working with machines but hates robots." The smirk dropped. "I am curious about what you think about this, though, I'm not so sure about Lilian or any of this."

Justin shrugged. "I think she's having a run of bad luck, is all. Look, Miss Cherry is gonna tell what she knows, I think she's got a pretty good idea of who was really behind what happened tonight. Maybe we should listen to what she's got to say."

Lilian considered the question. "If you're facing against a normal-sized Watchman, aim for their head. If you smash or chop it off, it usually disables them. The big one was a prototype that we happened to capture a few days ago, so we don't know too much about it except that it can be harmed by normal unaugmented weapons. I think aiming for its head would be a good ideas as well, it should be a common weak point. If that doesn't work, aim for joints and disable them. If you can take off their legs and arms, they can't use any weapons without those and are powerless."

Lilian rubbed her eyes wearily. "But, you will all need some rest. Not sure how we're going to sleep, but that was the only Watchman in this base, so no more robots." All I have to do is find out which idiot let that thing loose, then I'll-

She looked up to see the red-furred echidna begin to approach her. Another question? At this rate it'll be tomorrow, we can't fight without rest.

Laying in one of the other rooms was the girl rabbit. She was on the bed with Dr. Clarice Tymarron hovering over her, finishing the bandage she was tying to the girl's head. Poor dear, thought Clarice as she completed her job and began packing up her medical supplies. She looks so young. She's in very good shape, though, and there's that sword she's holding on to...

Clarice looked down at the rabbit's hands, one of which was still clenched to the grip of that long sword. She shook her head, remembering the last time she had treated a girl with a sword, and she tried to be careful as she unzipped the jacket and removed its tattered remnants, revealing the green triangular handkerchief she wore around her neck and blue tank top she wore underneath the jacket. She disposed of the ripped sweatjacket and went to the nearby dresser, where she selected some overshirts and jackets and placed them out where the girl could find them. Then she came over and did one final check before pulling the covers up over the sleeping girl.

That was when Clarice noticed that the expression on this nameless girl twitch. She quickly backed up as the rabbit began shifting under the covers, as if struggling against something in her dreams.

It was dark. So terribly dark where she was. Yet somehow she could also see the terrible images, her last memories before she had fallen into darkness.

Brutal fighting. Attacking innocent bystanders. She had tried to stop them, she had tried so hard...

"No, no please..."

And after that, the loneliness, the fear of traveling over a devastated suburb, trying to find a familiar face. There was only one thing she had been able to find in the burned rubble. The one thing that she held onto with a grip tighter than death...

"Please, stop it..."

And then the earth shook, she turned, and there was that shining light that came at her as she braced for oblivion.

"NO!"

Megan sat up in bed in a cold sweat, her eyes wide open. She breathed hard as she tried to put all the pieces together in her mind. It didn't make any sense to her, being in a soft and comfortable bed after everything that had happened.

"Easy does it, you're safe now," said a warm female voice.

She whirled her head around to face the speaker, a red-headed vixen dressed in white. "Wh-who are you? Where am I?"

"I'm Clarice, a doctor," explained the vixen gently. "You're in a room here in our base. One of the other heroes brought you here from the cliffs after you were transported there from your homeworld."

Megan began to calm down, slowing down enough to notice the blade she held in her hand. So, it wasn't a dream, she thought as tears sprang to her eyes at the sight of the sword. That means that Daddy...

"There there, it's all right, you're fine now," comforted the vixen as she came over and sat next to Megan, and she put an arm around the rabbit girl. "Nothing to worry about, see?"

"I was...transported? What do you mean?"

The vixen was quiet for a moment, as if trying to find the right way to answer that. "Our leader, he created a device that can transport people from one world to another," she carefully explained. "He had a lot of people brought to this world, our world, to help get him back. He's basically a prisoner now. You, and the others that were brought here, are heroes."

"Heroes..." Megan closed her eyes wearily. "It was a 'hero' who helped me get here?"

"Yes. He went to help you right after he got finished fighting off a giant robot. Was rather dashing of him, since he hasn't gotten much rest since he got here."

"Mmkay...mm..." Megan raised one hand to her head. "Head hurts..."

"Oh, look at me here keeping you awake when you need rest," said the doctor in a self-scolding manner as she got up. "I put some fresh clothes here on the table for you when you're ready to get up. I believe Lilian, our acting leader, will explain the situation more tomorrow morning. Until then you should try to get some rest."

"Okay...thank you."

As Clarice left the room, Megan found herself alone with her thoughts. She lifted the sword up, looking at its edges for a moment before she placed the sword against the wall near her bed. She then fell back onto the pillow, wincing as pain raced through her head from the jolt. And then she was staring up at the ceiling.

I wonder what he looks like, she found herself thinking. Her head hurt, but she wasn't really that tired as she laid there, trying to think past all of the terrible things that had happened to her and focus on the image she had in her mind of a gallant and noble knight who had come to her rescue while she had been out.

OOC: Moving right along o-o this post is mostly informing the rest about Jerin, so there's a lot here...am really disappointed I didn't get to play around with everyones characters =( I've been wanting to. It'll have to wait though, I didn't want to make the post too long x_x also, as everyone probably already knows =P your characters don't HAVE to just leave Cherry alone after all this. They can go after her with questions, issues, whatever. And if your character isn't actually physically present, maybe they heard Cherry speaking through the door o_o or something =P you guys'll cover it somehow if you're interested ^_~ right?

I think that's all. Cheers.

Cherry stood in front of Lilian, nodding politely.

"Cherry O' Kidna, ma'am. And this is my companion, Legs."

The decipede chittered at the vixen, who smiled at him somewhat humorously. Indicating the remains of the fallen robot, Cherry turned, addressing not only Lilian, but the others as well.

"I think I know the bugger responsible for this mess..."

Lilian turned her full attention to Cherry at that statement.

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"Well, s'kind of complicated, but here's the thing..."

Reaching into her bag, Cherry rooted around for a moment, before producing two sheets of thick paper. The first was a very official looking wanted poster describing Jerin's looks and mannerisms, and the second was a glossy photograph taken from the poster, a detail of Junk peeking out from Jerin's pocket. Cherry tapped the photo of Junk grimly.

"This is Junk. He's robotic accomplice to Jerin, my arch foe, the bloke you lot currently have in one o' yer prison cells. He's small, compact, and about ten million times more dangerous than he looks. He was built and programmed by Jerin. He's very adept at hackin,' and his A.I. is one o' the most advanced I've ever seen. He problem solves, even acts independent of his initial programmin' if he calculates the results will be more beneficial to his master. Point is, I've seen this sort of scenario played out in a similar fashion firsthand, and it's typical of him."

She pointed at the vent Lilian and the guard had entered through.

"I think you have him in your ventilation system. And that's the worst possible place for him to be."

Taking all this in, Lilian rubbed her head tiredly, closing her eyes.

"You seem very certain of yourself. Have you any proof of what you say?"

Cherry shook her head sadly.

"No ma'am...I regret that I don't. My word is the only proof I have. I'm not asking you to believe me, I just wanted to make you aware...you and everyone here..."

She paused, then regarded each hero guiltily, her sad eyes apologetic.

"...I...just wanted you to all know I don't think this is Lilian's fault. I don't think she or anyone affiliated with her was responsible for this attack. The man who built the robot in this photo was my responsibility, and if his creation caused this, as I truly believe it did, then I'm the one you should be blamin'..."

She looked away.

"...s' because of me...it's my fault. And I'm sorry...I'm sorry to those of you who were hurt, and to those of you who were frightened, and to those of you who were angered by this. It's my fault for lettin' him live."

Everyone was silent. Then Lilian cleared her throat, holding up the poster.

"This...creature, you speak of, Jerin...I remember we imprisoned him because we weren't sure he was one of you. I was supposed to do a background check on him before letting him roam about freely. But you indicate he's dangerous, and this poster seems proof enough of what you say."

"Aye, s'the most recent one put out...though I'd say he's more'n dangerous. Dangerous is too mild a word to describe him..."

"I see...the thing is, I don't recall my men reporting a robot of any sort in his possession when he was brought in..."

Charlie, the guard who had followed Justin and Cherry from the prison complex, spoke up, affirming this.

"Yeah, that's true, me and the boys went through his bag ourselves. Loads of weird weapons, and these creepy looking mirrors, but no sign of a robot..."

Cherry sighed, addressing him.

"Was there a round metal ball inside the bag?"

The cat thought for a moment, then nodded, speaking uncomfortably.

"Oh...come to think of it, yes...I remember it because it was odd to see this little metal ball among all these complicated looking doo-hickeys."

Cherry closed her eyes.

"Check again. I wouldn't be surprised if it's gone now."

Enlightened, the cat nodded, an alarmed look crossing his normally relaxed face. It was then he seemed to remember something else, and turned to Lilian.

"Oh, Lil, meant to tell you, speaking of that freaks gear, old Tom touched this one thing inside his bag when we were going through it, and...he..."

Charlie swallowed.

"He-"

"-He touched Anarchis."

Lilian glanced at Cherry, puzzled.

"Anarchis?"

The echidna spoke softly.

"Anarchis is Jerin's weapon. Jerin's LIVING weapon. She's quite compact, and her appearance is that of a black baton when she isn't being used-"

"-THAT'S what it was!"

Charlie interrupted, excitedly.

"Poor Tom barely even touched that thing, and the next thing we knew..."

The cat trailed off, rubbing the back of his head.

"Meant to tell you that earlier, Lil, but with all the excitement-"

"-I understand. But what are you saying? This weapon, did it hurt one of our men?"

Cherry continued.

"The weapon in question, Anarchis, is actually a living weapon, as I said. Living weapons come to one hand alone, the one they're made for or the one they choose to wield them. If a creature other than the one the living weapon has chosen as its master tries to lift or use it, they receive a nasty shock, or else the weapon simply feels too heavy to lift. Anarchis is a special case...Jerin amplified her sense of security, so that whenever someone touches her, they generally get fried pretty...badly."

"How badly?"

The echidna looked grim.

"If you need to ask, ma'am, you don't want to know. I'm guessing yer mate Tom's in critical right now, though."

Charlie nodded sadly. Cherry sighed.

"Never heard 'er speak meself, o' course, but she's quite a nasty, disagreeable customer, according to Luminos."

"Luminos...?"

"My sword."

Hearing a few muttered whispers, Cherry rubbed the back of her head, slightly mortified, realizing how weird she probably sounded.

"In any case, I've called some o' me mates to come and collect Jerin. You wouldn't want him here anyway, he'd do more harm than good. I'm goin' down to sit nearabouts his cell until they get here, and Justin's comin' with me..."

Justin nodded, as though to confirm this. Cherry continued.

"...in the meantime, I suggest you do sumpthin' about yer vents...I don't know what sort o' equipment or facilities you have, but you need to seal them off to ensure that Junk won't be able to get into any more high security areas."

"I'll see to it..."

She paused.

"...so you've been down to the prison?"

Cherry nodded.

"Aye."

"How is that possible? You need security clearance."

The echidna regarded her calmly, producing the security card she still had.

"Found this on the floor before I came fer the briefin'...I was goin' to return it soon as I made sure it was him. I would have asked to see him, but I wasn't certain you'd let me at the time, and I couldn't afford to wait. I hope you can forgive me."

Lilian crossed her arms.

"I see. Well, now that we know he's dangerous, there's no need for you to go back. You need to rest before the mission tomorrow, and the guards will handle him until your friends arrive to collect him...though I don't see how they'll-"

Cherry frowned, interrupting.

"-Your guards don't know how to handle him. Please, listen to me. If you don't let me watch him personally, he will escape. I don't mean to undermine the competency of your men...but they don't know him. They don't know his tricks or his treachery. And I do. And you must believe me when I say that if I and my companions do not watch him tonight, by morning he will be gone, and he will have killed a lot of your men along the way. You might think it's worth the risk. You might not believe me. You might even try to detain me. But I'm afraid I put too much stock in life to allow that...therefore-"

She pushed the security card back into her pocket.

"-I am going back down to the prison, whether you like it or not. If you intend to stop me, you will have to have yer men restrain me by force."

She touched the hilt of her sword, eyes boring into Lilian's.

"Your choice, ma'am."

Lilian stared at her evenly.

"No matter what I say, you will not be swayed in your decision, Miss O' Kidna?"

"Aye ma'am, I won't. An' I can be very stubborn."

Justin piped up quickly.

"And I won't let her go alone."

Lilian sighed.

"Very well...you've put your trust in I and my organization, and you came forward to explain this to me. Plus, judging by the reward offered on this wanted poster, it would seem you speak the truth. So I will believe what you say, and I will not try to detain you. I personally think you should rest, but it's your choice."

"The General always said "you can sleep when yer dead," ma'am. My mates should be here to grab him soon anyway. They'll know how to find Junk, too, if yer lads haven't-"

"-Yes, about that, as I was saying, the Core is not so easy to find as you make it sound, I don't know how you think your friends will be able to find-"

"-they'll find it. Trust me."

She winked.

"Be on my way then. Fix your vents."

She turned to leave, but not before Legs spotted Torn and TJ. Chittering excitedly, he pointed at them. Torn's face broke into a smile, and she waved at the insect. Cherry stared at them for a moment, then approached, smiling herself.

"TJ and Torn, I presume?"

Torn nodded, smiling nervously at her. TJ inclined his head to her as well, speaking.

"Yeah, I'm TJ, and she's Torn...and you're that girl Justin was carrying around."

"Aye, that I am mate. I'm Cherry O' Kidna, as you've probably heard already, and I know you've met Legs..."

She nodded to the decipede, who chirped at them. Then she continued.

"My companion told me you saved his life when a guard tried to shoot him, Miss Torn, and that you, Sir TJ, fought Core soldiers off while we tried to escape. I would like to reward your valiant acts, if I might-"

Reaching into her pack, she produced two small gems, one a sapphire, and one a diamond. Taking TJ's hand, she placed the diamond in his palm.

"For you, Sir TJ, for your brave deed on behalf of I and my companion."

Turning to Torn, she placed the sapphire in her hands, then took them, smiling.

"And for you, Lady Torn...Legs is my sole companion and my dearest friend these days. I don't know what I would do without him...this gem seems such inadequate payment for the compassion you have shown for someone very dear to me...but until a more proper opportunity to express my gratitude arises, it shall have to do..."

She released her hands. Torn and TJ stared at the small gems, bewildered. Cherry stepped back, smiling.

"Those are a pair. Among my people, blokes buy the diamonds, and birds buy the sapphires. Then they trade. Leastwise, s'what everyone was doin' when I took off. I thought it appropriate, you're an adorable couple."

Blinking, Torn burst out, blushing with embarrassment.

"We aren't a couple!"

Surprised, Cherry glanced at TJ, then back at Torn, then back at TJ. Then she laughed, winking.

"Oh? I see...then save them..."

She continued to chuckle, turning away.

"...save 'em to give to someone special. That's all. And again, my sincerest thanks."

Glancing back, she nodded to the others.

"Sorry again about the 'bot, mates...you can go back to sleep. I'll watch over him."

With that, she started down the hall, Justin trailing after her.

T.J wanted to laugh at Torn's shocked expression when Cherry remarked that they looked like an adorable couple. If only we were a couple. He thought to himself. The large amount of info she had sprouted about this Jerin person made him slightly uneasy but he was also curious to meet this person. He didn't know why he'd want to meet such a person but he blamed it on boredom or whatever. "Hey, could I come along? I'd like to meet this Jerin person. No reason really but I just want to meet him," T said.

OOC: This takes place sometime during the night, after most of the events of which happened after the fight with the Watchmen, and the other arguements, and stuff like that.

Spiner had gotten out of bed. He hadn't been asleep at all, and the magic he had cast upon himself earlier had worn off. He winced, standing at the end of the bed, holding his arm over his chest. He groaned slightly. Maybe it was better for him to get checked out by the doc.

He left the room, eyes wandering upon the carnage left by the destroyed robot, and the debris had been cleared away earlier. He mentally shrugged it off, he was used to such carnage.

He continued on, heading towards the infirmary. His mind drifted off slightly, wondering whether that girl he rescued earlier was there.

He came across the entrance to the infirmary, and saw Dr. Tymarron sitting at her desk, going through some paper work. He grimaced slightly, not really wanting to disturb her, and but before he could make a decision on whether to stay or not, she had raised her head from the paperwork, and had seen him standing at the entrance.

"Oh, excuse me, I didn't see you standing there," she had said, placing the paperwork back onto the desk. "Please, do come in. Can I help you with anything?"

The winged hedgehog nodded, and took her up on her offer, and came in, sitting himself upon a chair in front of her desk. "Actually, yes," he had answered, placing a hand upon the desk, and rasped his fingers against the desktop. "I don't want to be that much of a bother, ya know, since it's late and everything, but I need you to do something for me."

Dr. Tymarron nodded slightly. "And what would that be?"

"I was injured in the attack against that robot earlier," he began to explain.

"Ah, yes, I had heard about that. Then you rushed off to help that poor girl," Dr. Tymarron interuppted, "rather noble of you."

"It's no big deal," Spiner had said with a shrug, before wincing again, trying to hide the slight pain. "But, as I was saying, I was hurt in the attack earlier. The robot's arm, hit me directly in the chest," he grimaced, "and I was flung back."

"Go on," Dr. Tymarron had said, with a nod, as she listened.

"Yeah, well, I cast healing magic upon myself," he then blinked, realising that the good doc may not know what the magic does in his world, and he quickly remembered his lessons about the White Magicks, saying them in his own words, "it works similar to some sort of numbness, allowing the person it's cast on to keep going, as though there's no pain. It also prevents any further damage to the injury, like pulling any muscles, or whatever."

"I see," Dr. Tymarron nodded again.

"Anyway, I did that to ease the pain, without thinking of the type injury which I had received. I think I might've cracked a rib, or something. Can you check for me, doc?"

"Well, go over to the bed over there, and I'll examine you," Dr. Tymarron had said, standing up, "and you'll need to remove your shirt, aswell."

"Right," the winged hedgehog had said, getting up, and walking over to the bed. He lifted the shirt up, wings slipping through slits in the shirt, and he threw it over the bed, and he waited for the doc.

Dr. Tymarron had walked over to him, and examined his torso. "Tell me if it hurts, all right?"

The winged hedgehog nodded, and he winced every time she applied pressure with two fingers into his sides. "Yes, they hurt."

"All right," she had said, walking over to a table, and grabbing something off it. "I'm positive they're not cracked," she had said, "bruised, but not cracked. You have nothing to worry about."

Spiner nodded, as he listened to her.

Dr. Tymarron returned back to him, holding a roll of bandages in her hands. "However, I'm going to apply this around you, just to be on the safe side."

Spiner nodded, again. "Right," and so, he lifted both his arms, as the doc unwrapped the bandage, and begin circling it around him. "Say, doc', how's that girl?"

"That one you brought in?" She asked, continuing her job.

"Yeah, that one."

"She's in good shape," she replied, "despite the nasty cut on her head."

"That's good to hear," he had said, with a tone which sounded like relief. At least it wasn't worse.

Dr. Tymarron smiled slightly, as she finished with the bandage. "All right, you're all done."

"Thank you."

"Try to take it easy, hero," she had said, though she knew nothing would be easy for them on the tasks they had to undertake.

"I'll try," he had replied, with a slight grin. He knew the irony in that. "Again, thanks."

Dr. Tymarron nodded. "Don't worry about it, it's my duty," she had said. "You should catch up on your rest, as some of the other should be doing, too."

"Right, right," Spiner nodded, absentmindedly, as he placed his shirt back over him. "Doctor's orders, right?" He said, jokingly. "Oh, and one more favour, doc?"

"Yes?"

"When that girl wakes up, tell her that I said that I hope she feels better," he had said, before walking towards the entrance.

"All right, I will," Dr. Tymarron had said, keeping her smile. "Take care, and as I said before, catch up on your rest."

"Will do, doc," he had said, before leaving, and heading back to his room. Resting seemed like a pretty good idea right about now.

TJ's words caused Cherry and Justin to stop in their tracks. They looked at each other. Then at TJ. The echidna's eyes were wide with shock and disbelief.

"MEET him? You want to bollocksy well meet him?"

TJ shrugged.

"Got nothing else to do, really, and I can't sleep. Plus, if anything does happen, there's more strength in numbers, right?"

Cherry frowned.

"I don't much care for numbers these days, mate. Thanks fer the offer, I do appreciate it. But I think we'll be ok..."

She turned to leave. He cocked a brow at her, adding quickly.

"-If you'd allow me to join you, I'd more than consider that adequate...compensation, for the city."

Cherry paused. TJ smiled inwardly, pleased to discover he'd played his cards right. It had been apparent to him while she was speaking that the echidna was a creature of propriety and honor, and knowing that, he supposed she also followed a very strict moral code of conduct in regards to her actions. She might not want him to come. But he could also tell she didn't want to refuse him if fulfilling his desire was a way of re-paying him for his assistance to her and her small insect companion. As she thought silently upon the matter, Justin spoke up, concerned.

"Hey, just so you know, that guy down there is seriously freaky. I just met him myself, and I don't like him already. I don't think it'd really be a huge loss if you didn't meet him, you know?"

TJ nodded.

"I understand. But I'm curious about this...Jerin fellow. I feel like I should meet him, for whatever reason. Don't worry about me. I can more than handle myself."

Cherry scowled.

"Curiosity killed the prat, mate..."

She trailed off, frowning. When she spoke again, she didn't look terribly happy, but her voice seemed resolved.

"...I strongly advise against your coming. Meeting Jerin is rather like saying you'd like an appointment with Death himself. But I won't stop you if yer determined to tag along. You helped protect me life, and if this is your idea of retribution...then so be it."

"I'll tag along."

She nodded respectfully, then smiled at him, raising a brow knowingly.

"I figured...well played, mate. You're pretty sharp. I suppose I'll have to keep an eye on you."

Glancing at Torn, she jabbed a claw at her.

"S'pose you want to come too, since he's goin'?"

Knight stood a few paces away, listening to what Cherry said of Jerin. It was more out of casual curiocity rather than something that realy sparked his interest. He quietly left, after realising that Justin's 'obsession' with Echidnas was enough to sway him on her side. Knight made a mental note to be on the look out in case she turns out to be another 'Gingersnap'.

The forumer walked back towards Camden and Castor, making a stop next to Lilian to ask her a new room - or a speedy repair to the door of his old one. ((OOC: I'm assuming some sort of arangement was made, no need to sweat the details; I just assume that the room Knight is now has a door - whether it's a new one or not, I dont care ))

"We should get some rest... Tomorrow promises to be a long day." He said to Camden who nodded. "I'll see ya later, Castor."

She shook her head. "No thanks. I'll stay here."

T.J smirked. "It can't be that bad Torn. I mean, I've heard about this guy but he can't be near as bad as A.J or Nightmaren from our world."

She shook her head and he shrugged. "Suit yourself," He said.

He turned to Cherry and Justin. "So shall we be off?"

OOC: Ending this part early, in case you'd like to post something, Terg =3

"Aye. We'd best get down there immediately."

Cherry nodded politely to Torn.

"Miss Torn."

Turning, she headed for the stairs, Justin and TJ following close behind. Legs hugged her neck a little, chittering. Cherry frowned.

"Good point, mate."

Glancing back at the boys as they started to descend, Cherry spoke quickly.

"Listen up. If yer gonna do this there are some rules. One, don't get close to him. He may be chained up, but that doesn't make him any less dangerous. Two, don't let his talk get to you. He'll probably try to incite or anger you with his jabber, but as soon as you move close to strike him, you're as good as dead. He likes to strangle creatures with his chains, and he's very good at it. And three, above all else, be polite to him. He can be very well mannered when he wants. And between crude and well mannered, trust me...well mannered is the way to go. Plus, he never forgets an injury. So anything rude you say to him he WILL remember. Do I make myself clear?"

Justin and TJ nodded.

"Crystal."

"I understand."

"Good. Be on your guards."

OOC: Before I get to the actual post...I had to laugh at TBlood's implication of Justin's thing for echidnas. XD I think I'll even include that as a part of his character profile in the future.

Just going to be an "internal thoughts" post for the most part.

IC:
Justin walked behind Cherry and alongside T.J. as they went back down into the jail area of the Core. He had looked back at Knight and the others dispersing back to their rooms, including those twin vixens from earlier, Cosmic, and Castor.

Huh...Castor's the very practical type, sounds like he's professional about this sort of thing. Don't blame him for being so pessimistic about this deal, just hope that he doesn't drag the others down by it. Then there're those twins, they're cool, I wouldn't mind working with 'em. Especially Claire, she seems a little more laid back than her sis. Then there's Cosmic, he's a good kid. Kinda reminds me of me when I was his age. Just hope he doesn't lose his childhood in the process.

Justin turned back to face the way in front of them. Heck, I honestly don't think any of these guys would be hard to work with. And it's not like I get much of a choice about who I work with either, Knight and Camden are just gonna stick with me whatever mission we get assigned to. Assuming we get assigned that is, maybe they'll give us our choice instead. Not sure which one I'd go for...maybe the sub base one, that seems harder than the other two and I'll be with two other SONIC agents, so we could handle that better no matter who else is with us. Either that or the jungle one.

He looked at Cherry's shoulder, considering her seriously. And then there's her. She probably thinks I'm a nosy guy for butting into her business. And maybe I am pushing it a little. There's just something about her that makes me want to trust her, though. And it's not just 'cause she's pretty, there's something past that. She looks really young considering how she acts, all business and no fun.

He had to shrug. But then again, I never was good at telling how old someone was. And it gets harder with non-humans. But she can't be older than twenty-five, I'd say, tops.

I didn't ask for this to happen to us, and I'm betting Lilian wishes there was another way, too. But I'm here now, they need help, and I don't mind lending my talents. But if something rotten turns up, Knight, Camden and I can handle it.

He lazily put his hands up behind his head, strolling along with the others. I'm getting downright thoughtful lately. Hopefully I can get more ammo for my gun tomorrow. There's gonna be a lot on our plates then.

He closed his eyes as they reached the bottom of the stairs, then opened them. But no matter what happens, I made a promise. I've got your back, Miss Cherry. Promise. And I keep my promises, thick or thin.

T noticed that Justin seemed to be in some sort of deep thought but he found Justin's two companions very interesting, a professional soldier and a young woman that could pass for a college student in his world. "Hey Justin, could you tell me more about your partners?"

OOC: Nothing interesting here. Just alot of monologue and personal character development, I'm sure alot of you don't care about the Bayfield's, so skip if you want.

IC:

Camden and Knight watched as TJ, Cherry and Justin walked off, leaving the "heroes" to get back to their rooms.

Via whatever arrangement that Knight had made, the couple found themselves openning a fresh door into a simple room with a bed, a desk, a chair and some mild provisions such as a kettle and cups, a small toilet was connected to it by the entrance.

It suprised the Scout how much the room appeared to be like a hotel room, rather than a dorm of a military facility. Still, comfort was the best option for the VIP's, how welcome would we have felt sleeping in closets?

The door closed, as Knight walked in and plunked himself down on the bed.

'Well, this is certainly an interesting vacation' Knight joked, smiling 'How's your head?'

'I didn't exactly join that frey much...' she said slowly, with a small smirk 'so it's still there'

'Good!'

-

As night continued and the earliest hours of the morning were fading fast, with the sun close enough to tease the world of it's presence; Stressed Bayfield continued to plot, obsessively. Once again, the only man who had ever hurt him was getting in his way and becoming a severe annoyance.

Until now he had to stay quiet, but he could already feel what was in his sister's heart. The weakness grew and grew, but now she had a bigger shield to protect her from ever achieving anything in life. At first it was a job, now it was a man. It was sickening, to the spectre, how people could think of love as the sole ambition of life. How people could search for that fairy tale romance and think "that's it. Nothing better to do"

People had to live up to their souls, if they denied themselves the chance to fluorish, they denied themselves the chance to live. Both of his siblings had wanted so little from life, but even that they couldn't achieve, throwing up mental boundaries, distractions, walls, excuses. Believing themselves prisoners of fate and victims of circumstance.

All he ever wanted was to set them free.

All the scheming came to nothing, however. Knight was the one Camden was hiding behind. Perhaps finally evening the score with him would bring her one step closer to life.

-

Back at The Core, Camden sat in her bed, unsleeping, watching over Knight who appeared to be out like a light. She never could sleep with him, ever. Perhaps those psionic abilities Knight mentioned were the cause, but she had been unwilling to sleep next to anyone for over two years now. Memories of the things which happened when she did were enough to keep her awake, mindlessly she placed a hand on her chest and pressed down, hearing the dull crumble of a life she could never let go off.

Letting out a sad sigh, and a feeling of guilt and sorrow, she turned to Knight and gave him a small kiss. She had a new love now, a bigger one. Yet still she clung to the past like a child to it's mother, just like Stressed said. She put her arms around Knight and held him close.

and with emotions brewing and clashing in the Sailor Scout's heart, morning's first light beamed in through the gap between the window and the curtains.

OOC: I told you it was a useless post

Claire had long since fallen asleep, as had Kristi. Or so it would appear. They knew they wouldn't get much rest at all...knowing the big events up ahead and thinking of the ones in the past was enough to make them stay up for hours on end. The Dunns had done what they normally did on nights like this: The would meditate, which replenished their strength, but allowed them to be alert. While their bodies were seemingly calm, their minds were buzzing while they chatted...

"That was...just wild." Kristi floated in the air, in a sitting position. She rubbed her face, then shook her head.

Claire was pacing back and forth, nodding. "Yeah..yeah, it was." The vixen paused in her pacing, then turned to look at her sister with a sour expression. "And I'd really like to know who it was that did that. I don't feel the least bit safe with that twit walking around...." A shudder.

Kristi nodded.

And so on it went, until hours later.....when early morning came around.

OOC: Here's a random comment of the day...for some reason, when I think of T.J. and how he came to save the day when he first appeared in this RP, I kept thinking of him in my head as Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon.

IC:
Justin came out of his thoughts, like stepping out of a misty cloud, and he looked over at the ebony-skinned man who he knew as T.J. "Huh? Oh, you mean Knight and Camden? Eh, I don't think of them as my partners, though they belong to the same organization that I do. What would you like to know?"

T.J. lowered his head slightly as he looked at Justin, his eyes piercing yet inoffensive. "You work for the same organization? You are clearly from the same world, if I understand correctly. But what about this organization?"

Justin lowered his hands into his jacket pockets as the trio walked along slowly down the corridor of jail cells. "Eh, guess it doesn't hurt to tell ya. The three of us are operatives of Special Operations National Intelligence Collaboration, or SONIC for short. In the world we live in, our job is to take on what regular cops can't handle." The human listened to the steps the group was taking on the cold metal floor. "Knight, I don't know much about that guy. He's a professional soldier through and through, works for SONIC because it pays and lets him shoot people. Camden, she's a...it's hard to explain about her without going into a lot of other stuff, but she's basically Knight's girlfriend and is the third member of SONIC. They're a good team, they know how to do their job, if that's what you're askin' about."

"Impressive. So you're a special operations team? That must mean you are as well trained as they are."

Justin rolled his eyes, trying to be modest. "Pfft, yeah right, I'm just along 'cause I know machines."

"Nevertheless, you were brave and tried to help Torn escape. You handled yourself well."

"Aw, get outta here!" said Justin, trying not to give in to the temptation of relishing such compliments.

Somehow, both Justin and T.J. stopped talking at the same time as they got closer to the cell, partly remembering Cherry's advice, and partly just because of the bad feelings that hung in the air. Justin could almost feel a palpable tension as he got closer to where Jerin was held prisoner, and his fingers itched to go for his gun. Freak, talk about your bad vibes, thought Justin. Pull yourself together, Justy, no time to be losing it now.

The three of them stepped in front of the cell, and it was not long before there was a stirring from inside. "Hey Red. Hey handsome. Looks like you brought a friend. Would you like to come and play?"

Justin really wanted to let off on this guy, despite Cherry's warning. There was something about the almost playful invitation that got on Justin's nerves. "Sorry, bub, hedgehogs just don't do it for me."

There was a rattling of chains from inside the cell, and Justin could barely make out the black hedgehog's eyes leering through the dark at him. It was hard to read the expression on Jerin's face, which could have been angry or ecstatic, and the shadows made it harder. "Oh, so echidnas are more your bag? I see how it is, then."

Justin grunted and took a step back in surprise. He was taken aback, and it took him a moment to recover. His brow furrowed and he narrowed his eyes. "You've got a lot of nerve to say that in front of a lady, punk."

"You started," said Jerin childishly.

There was just something about that faux innocence that got under Justin's skin. "Why I oughta-"

He felt a hand on his arm, and he realized he had been bracing himself to charge. He forced himself to relax, turning away from Jerin and going toward the opposite cell. "I see what you mean about him, Miss Cherry," said Justin quietly as he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

"As do I," said T.J.

T.J hadn't yet been insulted by this small black hedgehog but judging by Justin's reaction, he could tell he'd be a lot worse off if he let Jerin's talk get to him. He reminded T of A.J, who was often much nastier and more brutal. He just folded his arms and smirked at Jerin.

OOC: XD @ Terg's comment. I have never read SM so I wouldn't know the comparisons...

Jerin smiled pleasantly at TJ, winking.

"Like what you see, pretty boy? You make for a nice view yourself. Bet you take it great from the back."

"JERIN..."

Shaking her head, Cherry glanced worriedly at TJ, ready to intervene. His hands were twitching a bit, small flames trying to kindle themselves into brighter blazes within his palms, and his normally cool eyes were beginning to turn red. Despite all of this, he looked as though he was doing his best to keep himself in check, a fact Cherry found terribly admirable. Still, as frustrating as she knew Jerin could be, she didn't trust him to hold his temper very long if the hybrid were to continue.

Touching his arm, she spoke imploringly.

"TJ..."

Tensing, the man nevertheless nodded sharply, and tight lipped, went over to sit near Justin, who had slid down the stone wall opposite the cell. Cherry sighed.

"Oy, look, I need to ask him sumpthin,' so I'm goin' in there for a bit. Try not to get too excited, ok? S'what he wants..."

Glancing at Legs, who saluted her silently, they split up, the insect crawling up the wall and squeezing into the nearest vent, while the echidna held up the key the guard had given her, unlocking the door and slipping inside. Standing in the dark, she heard Jerin chuckle, his shackles making a bit of noise as he changed positions.

"You know what your problem is, red? You need to lighten up. Always so grim and serious. You'd be a lot cuter if you smiled more."

Cherry rolled her eyes, retorting sharply.

"Aye, and you know what yer problem is?"

"Tell me."

"A lot smaller, or so I'm reliably informed by most o' the ladies 'round the Oasis."

There was a pause. Then Jerin laughed, quietly at first, but building to maniacal levels, as he was prone to.

"A lot...oh...oh that's good, red! Ahhahaha...well, sit down! Pull up a bit of gravel. What is it you need to ask me?"

"I'm not sure if you'll have any answers, but I figured I'd give it a shot. Ok if I draw Luminos?"

"Be my guest."

Drawing her sword slowly, Cherry moved a little closer to him, though she still remained a good ten feet away. Sticking Luminos' hilt securely in the ground, she sat next to it, crossing her legs indian style and facing him.

"Right. How much d'you know about Bastion?"

"Bastion."

"Aye, Warlord Bastion o' the Bloodthirsty Eyes. You know the stories, probably better'n me."

He thought for a moment, moving a little more, restlessly.

"No."

"No?"

"No. It's not going to be that simple. A game. I want to play a game."

"What sort o' game?"

"A game of you."

"Jerin-"

"-You tell me things, red. You tell me things about yourself. And in turn, I will answer your questions about Bastion. One at a time though, and each consecutive question must have an answer equally proportionate in information to the last one asked. We take turns. You get three passes and one pass override. If you pass a question, then that question cannot be asked again, in any form."

"How do I know you won't lie to me?"

"How do I know you won't lie to me?"

She smiled a little at that, nodding.

"Ok mate, fair enough...I'll play yer game."

"Excellent. Lets begin then, shall we? I'll go first."

She inclined her head to him, nodding, and waited.

"What is your real name?"

Cherry narrowed her eyes.

"Cherry is my real name, ya twat."

"Ah ah ah, you're lying to me."

"Pass."

He smiled.

"Fine with me if you want to use all your passes in the beginning. How old are you?"

"Twenty eight."

"Another lie. We can keep this up all night. Lie and that's what you'll get in return."

Cherry looked away.

"Pass..."

Jerin frowned.

"Where did the nickname "Cherry" come from?"

The echidna stared at the wall.

"I doubt the answers written on those stones, red."

She looked back at him, speaking evenly.

"Yer right, it's not."

Pulling down her sleeve, she held up her arm, pointing at her fur.

"Echidnas aren't normally this color, yeah?"

"True."

"Aye. Me da was a rare colour too, though his was still seen occasionally...he was red, but more o' a sandy, orange red. And me mum was varying shades o' brown, like most o' me kind. Now, if we go by genetics, my colour would have most likely been brown too."

"Punnett squares and all that, yes...the fur color red is a recessive trait among your species. So there was a higher chance of you being brown."

"Exactly. Well, fer some reason, instead o' gettin' one or th' other, both colors got...mixed, I guess, s'the best word I can use to describe it. So when I was born, I was this dark red, even darker than I am now. And da...da used to call me his little cherry...because the color was that o' a ripe cherry. S'how I got the nickname."

"I see. Thank you."

He smiled.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

She glared at him.

"My turn. What d'you know about Bastion?"

"Answer inproportionate to the answer of the question I asked you. Though, if you want to tell me YOUR life story hereafter, I'll answer your question."

Cherry frowned, thinking for a minute.

"If you've encountered Bastion before, what specifically happened during the encounter?"

"Much better. Yes, I have encountered Bastion before. I was returning from a mission, another day saved, crisis averted, all that. I was nearly home, when I saw something moving in the rocks overhead. Due to its close proximity to the Oasis, I thought further investigation seemed appropriate. I didn't think black unicorns were anything but figments until I met him. There he was though. I'd heard he was someone to be feared, but when we met, he seemed very drawn out and tired. We talked. He told me about himself, about life, about war, about death..."

He tilted his head at her.

"...about love...ah, he spoke mostly of love."

Cherry leaned forward eagerly.

"About love? Are the rumors true, then?"

"That's two questions red. It's my turn."

"Bugger. You're right. Go on."

"You spoke briefly of your father. Now I want to know more. What sort of man was he?"

Looking down, Cherry responded softly, oddly offering little resistance to the answering of this question.

"Da was...you can't describe him in one word. He was all o' the things a Knight and an ideal creature should be. At least, in my eyes. He was compassionate and attentive, without yieldin' to anyone or anything, he was intelligent, without bein' arrogant, he was careful, without lackin' faith. He used to tell me there was good in every living thing, that every creature and rock and tree was here fer a reason, even if it was hard to see, sometimes. And that when someone did sumpthin' wrong, no matter how big, they should be given every chance for redemption possible. But sometimes, the good is just too deeply buried for some creatures to achieve in one lifetime. It's unlucky and it's unfair. But that's where we come in, he said. We exist to keep the balance. We are below the Gods themselves. We exist as judges and as executioners, because that is why they created us. Someone has to keep the world balanced. It is our lot and our curse. But we need to do it..."

"You're getting off track. Your father."

"Aye, me father...he loved to laugh. Nothing could ever rile him, you know? People could say the meanest, crudest things to him. He'd just smile, and say, 'aye mate, yer entitled to your opinion, o' course.' Used to drive folk crazy. In work, he demanded competence and proficiency. He drove his soldiers like a slavedriver. But he drove himself like a slave. He was a swordsmaster, a real one...the best one, dependin' on who you ask. But despite everything he was, and all of the things he did, he always made time for me, for mum...for his friends...da...da loved life. He loved the Oasis and he loved to live...he..."

She trailed off, resting her head on her shoulder.

"...he loved to live..."

"...Thank you."

"-Are the rumors about Bastion true?"

"Careful red. That's a very open, vague question..."

"Are the rumors about Bastion and the current Lady Alcippe true?"

"Yes."

Cherry wasn't sure what to say to this. She stared at him hard, trying to read his face. Jerin returned her gaze evenly, finally inquiring.

"Why are you asking me about Bastion?"

"Answer inproportionate to th' one I gave you."

"Hmhm. Do you have any sisters or brothers?"

"Pass."

"You've used all your passes, red. Plus now I know you do. No need to deny it."

Something dangerous flared up in the echidnas eyes, and her voice was quiet and fierce.

"'F you so much as think o' goin' after one o' me kin, I swear to everythin' I'm worth, Jerin-"

He smiled.

"Relax, babe. Just relax. New question. Have you ever had sex before?"

Cherry's eyes widened.

"PASS."

"You're out."

"I'm not tellin' you that."

"Then I have nothing more to say."

"I know enough."

"Do you know what happened to Bastion?"

"He was slain by-"

"-That's a lie."

"WHAT?!"

"Answer me. And I'll tell you."

Cherry's claws curled into fists, and she looked down at her lap.

"...No. Never have."

"No?"

"NO. What happened to Bastion?"

"Bastion was NOT slain, as you seem to think he was. He escaped...or perhaps, was let go. I know because I met him again, about three or four years after my fall from grace. After he was supposedly 'dead.'"

"You met him? Where?! Where is he now?!"

"My turn."

"Bother..."

"You've never had sex, why not?"

"Not tellin.'"

"You have to. You're out of passes."

Cherry looked away.

"Saving meself fer marriage."

"That's a lie."

She scowled.

"Fine. I never met anyone I liked enough to get it off with, ok? Just all these gits with the clothes or the hair or the ride..."

She sat back.

"I mean, every girl wants a looker to come and give her a twirl, yeah? Every slagamuffin wants different things. For me, s'not about the clothes or hair or ride or strength or any of it...I want more'n that...sumpthin' else..."

"What is it you want?"

"That's two questions. S'my turn."

"Indeed it is. I'm forgetting myself. Ask your question."

"Where is Bastion now?"

He grinned.

"Pass."

"WHAT?? That's unfair!"

"Don't get so angry, red. It's perfectly fair."

"You led me into that."

"Yes. And you walked into it."

She sighed.

"Why did you leave the Oasis, anyway?"

"Because I had to."

"That's bollocks and you know it."

"What is it you're looking for in a mate?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"You weren't specific enough."

"I have nothin' more to ask you..."

"I'm calling in my override. What is it you're looking for in a mate?"

"Jerin, I'm DONE, the game is over."

"The game is never over. What is it you're looking for in a mate?"

She stared at him for a long time. Then she smiled, leaning forward.

"Think o' everythin' that makes you the despicable creature you are..."

She paused.

"...then take th' opposite o' all of it, an' that's it."

He chuckled.

"Ouch, baby."

She stuck her long tongue out childishly, blowing a raspberry at him.

"You asked, ya prat."

"I did. Thank you."

"Game over."

She got up, pulling Luminos from the ground.

"Red?"

She looked back at him, frowning.

"Aye?"

He winked at her.

"Sometimes the things that make us most alive...aren't the things the world looks on with a loving eye. Think about it."

She stared at him, then turned, exiting. Outside, the boys waited, still seated against the opposite wall. TJ's eyes were closed, and Cherry couldn't tell if he was sleeping or simply meditating. Justin looked up as she sat beside him. Leaning forward, the echidna pressed her claws together, deep in thought.

Oy...THAT did absolutely nothing for me. That twat. Ok, lets re-cap. He claims Bastions real, and he claims the rumors about him and Lady Alcippe are true. Also claims Bastion isn't dead. But he could very well be lyin,' fer all I know. S'not like he's trustworthy. Plus he wouldn't give out the blokes location, which isn't exactly supportive of his claim.

Sighing, Cherry leaned her back against the wall, staring at the ceiling.

Least I know a bit more...guess I better put this out o' me head fer now. Won't matter soon anyway. Others'll be gettin' in shortly. Best to think on this-

"Miss Cherry?"

Glancing at Justin, Cherry smiled tiredly.

"Sorry mate...was lost in me thoughts, there."

"Heh, it's all good. Are you ok?"

"M'fine. Riled, that's all. You lads aren't the only ones he has that effect on."

"Sorry to hear that. Anything I can do?"

Cherry shook her head.

"No mate, m'set. Workin' him over wouldn't do much good. He'd probably just laugh and enjoy it."

Justin smiled, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Guess it was obvious that's what I was thinking, huh? I don't blame you for disliking him. Freaky guy."

From the cell, Jerin laughed, calling.

"Oh baby, you know I like it freaky-"

"-SHUT YER GOB!"

Growling, Cherry rolled her eyes, looking back at Justin.

"Ignore him."

"Yeah, I remember. You ready for tomorrow?"

"I'm always ready, mate."

The human smiled.

"Ah. You know who you're working with yet?"

"I'm partial to anyone, really. You've been very kind to me. Torn seems lovely, and TJ over there, o' course. I had a run-in earlier with Mr. Troy as well, and he strikes me as the real professional type, which I always like castin' my lot in with. Then there's those vixen twins..."

"Oh, Kristi and Claire?"

"Aye, those're their names, then?"

Justin nodded. Cherry smiled, looking straight ahead.

"I liked them. Where I come from, there aren't many female warriors outside o' the...outside o' home. So it's always a pleasure for me to see some. They seemed very committed to one o' nother."

"They are. It's nice that they have each other to rely on."

"Aye...in any case, they interest me greatly. If the opportunity arises, I'd like to speak to 'em. As far as teams go though, I think all o' these folk are pretty competent. I'd be proud to serve alongside any o' them."

"I get that."

Justin paused.

"If you're interested, I think it'd be cool if you were on my team."

Glancing over at him, Cherry cocked a brow.

"Oh?"

Swallowing nervously, especially after remembering what Jerin had said earlier, Justin quickly added.

"Along with Knight and Camden, I mean. I know you don't really know anyone else too well, so I thought maybe you'd feel more comfortable with me. Plus, I'd have your back."

Cherry stared at him, then looked straight ahead.

"I appreciate th' offer, but I don't need yer protection, mate."

"I know. I'm not asking you to let me protect you. Just to let me watch out for ya."

"I have Legs fer that."

Chuckling good naturedly, Justin leaned forward.

"You're hard to crack, you know that?"

Cherry shrugged, winking at him.

"Have to be, mate."

Jerin piped up.

"Hard to crack indeed. Harder still to penetrate. Isn't bestiality illegal where you come from, handsome?"

Gripping Justin's arm as he started to rise, Cherry shook her head.

"Oy, leave it...we should probably stop talkin' anyway. My mates should be here soon. I'm goin' to meditate until they arrive. I need to stay composed, an' I don't want them thinkin' I'm too tired for this gig."

Swallowing the angry retort he had for Jerin, Justin nodded, sitting back reluctantly.

"Right. Think about my offer though, ok?"

Cherry turned away from him, closing her eyes.

"I will think on it. Get some rest, mate."

She lay very still, hand poised on Luminos' hilt, eyes closed, unaware that the twins were drifting in a similar meditative state. If she had known, she probably would have had an even deeper appreciation for them.

But at the moment, Cherry O' Kidna's thoughts were peaceful.

It was over.

It was finally all over.

T.J found the dialogue between Cherry and Jerin hilarious. He thought the hedgehog was a little vulgar at times, maybe enough to make Torn blush, making him glad that she had decided against not coming. He also noticed how eager Justin seemed to helping Cherry and he smirked. "So I guess we should go get some rest then..." He said.

Spiner sat upon the bed, his arm resting over his chest. Even though he said to himself that hed rest, he couldnt, and he wasnt forcing himself awake, as per his training with Rogue. So, to pass the time, he thought about the ares which were to be attacked first. He brought up a display of the same holographic images shown earlier on the HUD of his eyepiece, which he recorded.

The power plant Id like to go on that one, especially if we have to plant a bomb. Cause as much destruction and mayhem as we can. At least there arent any civilians there at least, there shouldnt be.

As for the naval base he shuddered slightly. He wasnt particularly fond of being underwater. In the sky and on the land was where he belonged. Though, the idea of blowing ships up does sound, fun, to say the least.

The Central Spire. Id rather do this one first, if it wasnt for what Lillian said about that they couldnt locate the final piece. So, I guess Id have to wait until that happens. But, this is a definite must, for sure.

He let out a sigh, the display flickering off. Yeah, definitely the power plant. Or the naval base, but, whatever. As long as Im teamed up with people who can hold their own, and that girl.

"So...which place would you rather go, sis?"

Claire and Kristi had given up in meditating, and instead decided that it would do no harm to converse quietly inside their own quarters. They had been talking about other subjects, such as what they'd do when they got home (If, Claire had said) and what was going on right about now. The twins had both been staring at the wall across from their beds, until Kristi had posed such a question.

Claire tapped her chin, then raised her finger in thought. "Hm...personally I'd choose the power plant. If I had to destroy some place quickly, that'd be just as good a target as any. Setting off a bomb or explosion would trigger quite a few big booms." The vixen chuckled.

Kristi giggled, "Yeah. Big booms alright.."

"What about you?"

The silver vixen blinked, "Me? Well...hm.....I guess I'd choose the naval base. I like water, and I've always been fascinated by ships." She paused. "Too bad I'd hafta blow 'em up..." Kristi shrugged, peering down to her sister in the bottom bunk.

"And what about teams?" She queried.

"Teams? Hm. Well, I guess I could work with anyone here without having much trouble..." Claire wrinkled her nose, "Though I'm not too fond of that Castor guy."

Her sister nodded, "Me too." Then she smiled, "What about Cherry?"

"Cherry?" Claire repeated. "Oh..her. Well, I like her. She knows when to get serious and apparently can get things under control. She's got a good way of goin' about things, I guess."

"I see. Well, same here."

A few moments of silence passed by, before Claire spoke up.

"Eye Spy?"

"Yep."

Nice to know they have warm water in this screwed-up place.

Castor stood motionless in the shower, leaning forward with one hand pressed against the wall so that the hot water from the shower head landed directly on the back of his neck. There was no soap or shampoo in the shower, which didn't surprise Castor in the least given his current locations. Not exactly the Ritz here, after all... It was probably for the best, though. Total cleanliness wouldn't be necessary for the upcoming task he'd have to do, and he's never been much of a neat freak anyway. The water on its own would do just fine.

Castor rubbed his shoulder with his free hand as he showered. Being ripped away from his dimension, knocked out and then being led into an intense firefight had put a severe knot in his shoulder muscle. As he tried to message it back, he touched something strange with his hand. Something sticky. He brought his hand back around to look at it.

Blood. And judging from the sudden pain he felt in his shoulder, it has his own. He lifted his head up and looked around, suddenly finding himself on a darkened street back in Basin City. The skies were angry, rain falling and wind howling, the occasional thunder-clap and flash of lightning adding to the confusion that Castor suddenly was feeling. Why am I hurt? he thought as he looked down. Oh, I got shot. Suddenly, he remembered what happened: he'd been narced on. Set-up. Ambushed. That snitch Benny had told him where a mark was gonna be and he'd shown up just to get greeted by four smiling mafioso thugs with guns in hand and blood on their breath. He'd got out. They hadn't. But one of the greasy pricks had got lucky, pot-shot Castor right in the back as he finished one of his comrades off.

Benny saw Castor coming, too. Tried to make a run for it. He forgot that Castor had 13 little 9mm friends, and each one of them could run far far faster than him. Two bullets stopped Benny's getaway attempt as he tried to climb into his car. His NEW car, no doubt bought with the money Castor's mark had paid him to do the set-up. Castor walked up to him slowly as he begged for mercy, for forgiveness from the angel of death standing over him. Castor said nothing and kept a poker face as he grabbed Benny and laid him on the sidewalk with his head partially inside the car. The pleading grew in volume, but nobody heard him. No passerbys, no police and certainly not the little voice of vengence in Castor's head which smiled a little smile as he grabbed the car door and attempted to close it despite Benny's head being in the way.

And before Benny could scream his last, Castor found himself back in the shower. 32 times, Castor thought as his daydream came to an abrupt end, his hand brushing against the scar left by the bullet he'd taken that night. Finally got that door shut after 32 tries. Second and last time I ever enjoyed killing someone. He'd been about one working scenario shy of adding a third one to that list just tonight: that conniving witch Lillian. He'd come so close to shooting his way through her and every single one of her soldiers, just out of spite. He'd wanted a bloodbath, a hallway full of bodies and maybe even the base burning to the ground. Truth be told, he still wanted it a little bit. But that would destroy his chances to get home, to go back somewhere relatively sane. Castor turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel to dry himself off with.

Something else was also weighing on Castor's mind: the prisoner he'd overheard Cherry talking about. Someone who they'd considered dangerous enough to keep behind bars while someone like Castor could walk around freely. The idea of someone worse than himself being brought in as a 'hero' was intriguing and amusing at the same time to Castor. Maybe I should get a look at them when I take my equipment to the armory... he thought as he dried himself off. Always good to know the competition...

Castor descended the stairs toward the prison, completely unarmed for the first time in god-knows-how-long. He'd made sure every single weapon he carried was at the armory to be modded, even his spool of fibrewire. He didn't think they'd be able to put a chip on fibrewire, but it never hurt to try. He'd even left behind the switchblade he'd stolen from the punk when he'd first got there. Not that he'd need it to look inside a jail cell... Then again, knowing the idiots running this place, the cell's probably unlocked.

Castor stopped at the entrance of the prison and looked inside. Cherry was lying down while the younger human was leaning against the wall next to her, looking lost in thought. The other one was farther off, looking like he was about to take a snooze. Castor stepped inside the prison and knocked on the door. "So, where's this 'boogeyman' you were going on about up there?" he said.

OOC: I'm currently working on the intro post for the three missions, wanted to get some words in edgewise while giving Cherry a chance to reply to Castor.

Cherry and I talked about it, and we're basically going to assign everyone to the places that their characters showed an interest in going to. If your character didn't show any particular interest in going someplace, then we assigned them to a team that we felt was most likely for them to go with. We decided to try to avoid having a million posts of having everyone decide who was going where and trading places and such, so that's why we did that. If you want to trade slots with someone else's character, Cherry and I are willing to be flexible, we just want to have this RP go smoothly to the action part that everybody's been itching for since the beginning. I'll post up the team roster in my final briefing IC post, coming up soon.

So, yeah, we're getting closer, so get ready!

Time running out on this library computer; any questions, ezmail me. Later!

Cosmic lay sleeping in his bed, the dreams haunting him.

"Cosmic... help! Please! Save me!" a young black-haired boy screamed. Cosmic stood motionless, frozen with fright. The blades spun in front of him. He walked toward. Whoosh! The blades spun in front of him, cuting off a bit off his hair, making it fall into the reactor. As the forces made the child draw nearer to his doom, did nothing. He couldn't.

"I can't do it. I can't help. I can't do anything" he said, tears in his eyes. The child fell, fell into the nuclear reactor, sinking slowly into the radioactive waste.

"I... I didn't save him... destroying an innocent life... not doing anything... that's murder. I... I'M A MURDERER!" Cosmic screamed into the wind.

"What sort of hero am I?! Blaster Boy... sir... I'm sorry. I let you down... I let you all down! I can't stay here... I must run away... run far away. That's it... I've decided. I'll leave here... and I'll never come back! Planet Evergreen... goodbye..."

Cosmic woke up. "AGH!" he said, sweating. "It- it was just a dream. Good. But why do I keep dreaming this?! And it happens more lately... like it's trying to tell me something... ah well. Better think about which to go on"

"Hmm. I'm sure as heck not going to that financial place, it's not really what I'm best at. The power place But the naval fleet... that'll work. I get to destroy stuff, which is always good. But the power plant... nah, ships are cool. I've always wanted to see ships this big, and the power plant is nothing I haven't seen before. Alright... I've decided. I'm going to the Naval base!"

OOC: Some info: Planet Evergreen is Cosmic's home world.

OOC: Continuing what Terg said, yes, we've already assigned everyone to a team. So far everythings worked out nicely, and everyones going where they want, but if anyone who hasn't spoken yet has issues, they'll have to be addressed after the morning briefing. Like, if you want to go somewhere else, you'll have to try and trade places with someone after Terg posts.

I don't want to hold things up further, but I also don't want to rush the events of this post, as I want Castor to have some time to get some words in. So anything Castor posts after this occurs during the night, and everything in Terg's post happens after that. Which I think is sort of obvious, but yeah =P over explanation.

On a separate note, Castor, your character is fun to write for. Kisses for you.

Despite her closed lids, Cherry's voice contained no traces of surprise when she spoke.

"G'd evenin' slash early mornin' to ya, Mr. Troy. Nice o' you ta drop by, though I wish it were under different circumstances."

Opening her eyes, she peered up at him from her low vantage point.

"You'll pardon me for bein' cautious, curious, etc., but why exactly are you interested in me prisoner?"

Castor shrugged slightly, smirking.

"Wanted to see the guy they thought needed jailing more than me."

"I see. I suppose by now you know I really advise against this sort o' thing. He's not exactly the type o' bloke you want to be remembered by."

"Yeah, I know."

"But you still want to see him, right?"

Castor smiled.

"Right."

Cherry chuckled, but rolled over, getting to her feet and walking towards the door.

"F'you insist, mate. But there're certain rules o' engagement, ok? One, I think this is obvious, but you can't get too close to him. Best I can offer you is a view through the window in his cell door. Two, don't let his talk get to you. S'only talk, and it's harmless so long as you don't do sumpthin' stupid or careless on account o' it. And finally, three, try'n be somewhat polite to him. I don't suppose it'll matter much within the hour, but he's the type who doesn't forget an insult. He's less likely to insult you back anyway if yer polite. This isn't some exhibit at th' zoo, afterall, and I won't have him treated poorly. S'like tauntin' a shark from th' safety o' a steel cage. Follow me?"

Castor stared at her, raising a brow.

"Don't get too close to him, don't let him instigate me, ignore his insults, but don't insult him, treat him with respect. All sounds sort of contradictory."

Cherry shrugged.

"Believe me, mate, I know how it sounds. Insane. Maybe that's the best way to deal with an insane person, though..."

The guard on duty, a giant black bear, stiffened a little as Cherry took out her security card. Glancing up at him, she smiled, nodding.

"S'ok mate, he's with me."

Frowning, the bear nodded, though he kept narrowed eyes upon Castor as Cherry unlocked the door and let him inside. Justin nodded politely to the hitman as he walked in, then sat back against the wall, perhaps figuring it best to let Cherry deal with Castor for the moment. TJ remained silent, eyes closed, listening. As he was led over to Jerin's cell, Castor addressed Cherry quietly.

"I heard what you said, in the hall. You think he was responsible for what happened."

"Inadvertently, mate. Inadvertently. I didn't ask him, and he didn't volunteer the info. So I meself don't know fer sure."

Castor nodded.

"Guess you wouldn't be curious, wasn't your ass on the line."

Unruffled, Cherry chuckled, her voice calm and rational.

"It's not that I didn't, or don't care, Mr. Troy, merely that knowin' him as I do, I know it isn't wise to give him a great deal o' credit for his exploits by carryin' on and askin' all sorts o' questions. He wants that. Better to research and find the answers on me own than give him the attention he desires. It only encourages him."

Cherry glanced back, winking.

"Didn't yer parents or teachers ever tell you that, mate?"

Staring hard at her, Castor smiled slightly. Tough dame, alright. Tough dame. He wasn't about to let her off though.

"Be easier to just squeeze him for information, if you ask me."

"Not really. He'd probably only laugh, and die before he'd give any real answers. He's just like that. Plus, he's a very good liar, so it's impossible to call anythin' out o' his mouth th' truth anyway. S'just better in the long run to use yer noggin to figure him out without givin' him the satisfaction o' knowin' you need things explained to you. Keeps him unaware o' yer affairs as well. Surely you can follow that line o' thinkin,' yeah?"

"I follow it..."

Before he could add to that, they were standing in front of the foreboding iron door. Cherry pointed through the little window at the top, a perfect square broken by three bars.

Castor nodded, standing next to her and peering inside the cell. He squinted, eyes darting around the room, but he couldn't see anything.

"I don't see a thing."

"Wait for it, mate. Wait for it."

Castor frowned, but stared into the dark, waiting. After a moment he thought he saw something moving. He focused in on the area. Nothing...then there it was again, accompanied this time by the clank of metal against metal. Staring hard, Castor was startled by the sudden appearance of two small pools of light, erupting from the perfect darkness, brilliant green and slightly aglow in comparison to their solid black surroundings. A pair of eyes, he realized. One seemed normal enough...but the other. The other was empty and glazed. A blind eye. Now, this in itself wasn't particularly unusual. Castor had seen blind men and women before, of course. But for some reason, it was different this time. Very, very different. Because the more he stared at that eye...

...the more he was certain it was staring back.

Another bit of movement drew his eye upward, the flicking of a long, batlike ear, and Castor blinked, realizing he could finally see the entire form of the creature considered more dangerous than he, though that form was still faint and hard to make out in the darkness.

Up until that moment, Castor had been half inclined to think nothing could surprise him anymore. He was wrong. The creature before him was possibly the weirdest one he'd seen yet. Looking him over, he took note of the visible scars on his face, the bruises and slashes on his exposed skin, his torn ear.

Doesn't look like much...he's been in a few scraps, maybe, but is this the guy I'm supposed to be afraid of? Yeah, that eyes creepy, but it's just a damn eye. There's got to be more to it than that.

Jerin continued to stare at him. Castor stared back, half expecting one of the snide remarks Cherry had warned him about. He waited. And waited.

What the hells this punk staring at? He doesn't think I know his deal? He's trying to feel me out, make me nervous. It's not going to work.

Smirking, he started to say something. But Jerin beat him to it.

"You aren't like the other two. Why're you here?"

Castor narrowed his eyes.

"Heard they put you away before you even did anything. Just curious how a mug like me got off while you got thrown in here."

Jerin smiled.

"This is not a competition, Mr. Troy. You make it sound as though my being here is some sort of victory, when in reality I sincerely doubt you were actively participating in a contest to see who could end up in the slammer first. A competition indicates a struggle between two or more individuals due to a mutual attraction to something unique, something one of a kind. And though you might believe otherwise, that we are 'competing' for the same things is an unsupported claim, at least, in my opinion. For that matter, I'd be happy to let you take my place in here, if you desire it so..."

T.J had been watching them as soon as Castor had asked to speak with Jerin, but he didn't bother to follow them. He had his fill of that awful creature and he only wanted to sleep and get ready for the mission.

OOC: Castor, you're still free to RP what you do next with Jerin, just posting this as planned.

IC:
In her own quarters, Lilian sat on her bed, looking up at the ceiling in a sort of melancholy daze. It had seemed like forever since this fateful day had started, and now she had finally reached the end of it. It was hard to imagine that everything had happened as it did, now that she was in her pajamas in the comfort and safety of her room.

The men are demoralized...its almost like theyre giving up now. Weve taken so many losses and we havent even begun this last desperate operation.

She lowered her head, her blonde hair falling past her shoulder as she reached to her night stand and picked up the headset. She laid back on her bed, her eyes closed as she pressed a small button on the side.

Good evening, Lilian. Status.

Tired, replied Lilian wearily.

A soft chuckle met her ears, a chuckle belonging to a bass voice that resonated pleasantly in her ear. It reminded her of better days. You have been going through a lot. Im sorry that it has to be over me.

It isnt your fault, sir. And were nearly ready. The heroes are ready to be briefed tomorrow morning before we send them to their missions. But thats not all...

Oh? Please, speak freely.

Lilian swallowed. Weve lost some men. We picked up someone who might have been a hero, but according to one of the others, hes behind it. The one called Jerin.

Jerin? Im afraid I dont remember all the names of the ones I selected, so it only rings bells of old and nasty stories I remember hearing as a boy.

It might even be the same one, sir. But the hero who told us about him - Cherry is her name - she is currently guarding him personally. We are also on the lookout for a dangerous robot that supposedly accompanies Jerin, but we havent seen a sign of it yet.

There was a pause. Lilian, why are you staying?

Huh? Im afraid I dont understand, sir.

Your life is in danger every moment, the burden of this responsibility is weighing down on you...it is very hard to bear in the circumstances we face. And the heroes might not be enough, after all. So, why do you persist in this? I would not blame you if you wanted to stop, just take the men to safety on another continent and live out your life.

Lilian was shocked by that, and she sat up. Tears built up in her eyes, emotion overwhelming her. S-sir, you cant be serious. Im not going to give up on you, weve lost too much to stop now-

But why, Lilian? I must know why you are doing this.

Because, sir...I love you.

Silence on both ends as Lilian held her breath. Seconds ticked away.

Thank you, Lilian. Ive wondered when I was going to hear you say that.

Sir?...

I love you too.

The vixen held her hands up to her muzzle in surprise, her eyes wide. It seemed so impossible to compare the feelings of despair that she had earlier that day to what she now felt, a burst of joy and light in her heart. Sir, I-

I know, mdear. Im sorry I didnt tell you earlier than this, now that Im not there to tell you in person. And please, call me Carl.

Okay, Carl. How long have you, I mean...

Ever since I first saw you, back when you first joined. Weve come a long way since the beginning of this fight, havent we?

We have. Oh, Carl, were going to bring you back, I promise!

Im sure you will. Now, as much as I want to continue talking to you, you have to get some rest before tomorrow. Its going to be a big day, after all. And we can talk later.

Lilian didnt want to stop, but she raised her hand back up to the headset as joyful tears streamed down her face. All right, Carl. Can I talk to you tomorrow night?

Certainly. I look forward to it. Good night, Lilian.

Good night!

Giddy as a schoolgirl, Lilian laid the headset back in its place and she fell onto her bed, tired but happy beyond her wildest dreams. Now I know why Im fighting on...its not just for the cause anymore, Im fighting for him!

Morning. Long heralded as symbolic of hope and new beginnings, the sunrise came with glory and majesty. This was to be a day of battles, of valiant deeds, of people fighting against the odds to overcome at last. Much hope laid in this new beginning.

And Justin was sitting against the cell wall, still next to Cherry and T.J., snoring. Cherry was still in her meditative position, eyes closed and breathing even, while T.J. was curled up against the wall.

Uh, excuse me, started one of the guards who came down the stairs and approached the heroes. The final briefing is in less than an hour. Breakfast is being served right now. We would like you to come.

T.J. woke up readily to this, pushing himself up from the hard metal floor. Okay, sounds good. You two coming?

Cherry shook her head head gently, her eyes still closed. Ill just stay here, thanks tho.

Okay, and you, Justin?...Justin?

Justin continued to snore, and in fact gained volume, much to the annoyance of everyone there. It took a bump from Cherrys elbow to his shoulder to snap him out of it, and he stretched and yawned from his place on the floor. Gmornin, evrybuddy, he managed as he picked himself up off the floor.

Good morning, princess, came Jerins voice from the cell before anyone else could respond. I had a dream about you last night.

Justin glared through the cell door window with half-closed eyes, trying to come up with a good response as his mind still went through the processes of waking up. Nuff outta you, was all he managed as he stretched and yawned again. So, we get somethin to eat around here?

Yeah, breakfast is being served right now, said T.J. with a smirk. And Im not passing it up.

Betcha I can eat more pancakes than you! challenged Justin spontaneously.

Youre on. Lets go.

T.J. turned and started walking, but Justin stayed where he was standing, next to Cherry. You comin, Miss Cherry? he asked quietly.

Im stayin here til my friends arrive. Ive got ter stay here.

Justin put his hands on his hips, shaking his head. Where is the posse, anyway? Youd think with a customer like Jerry over there, theyd be rushing to be the first ones to get at im.

Justin caught the telltale droop of a frown at the edges of Cherrys mouth. I dunno, mate. All th more reason for me tstay right here. Shouldnt be much longer. Dont worry, Ill be there for th briefing.

Oh no you dont, said Justin with more force than he had wanted to put into the words. You may be some butt-kicking intergalactic cop, but you need breakfast just like anybody else. Most important meal of the day, and all that.

Ill be all right, mate, you gon ahead, insisted Cherry, her own voice rising slightly.

Miss Cherry, the last thing your boys are going to want to see is you not eating right. Youll just waste away!

And we wouldnt want that, would we, handsome? Prefer the full-bodied types, I take it?

Justin gritted his teeth to bite back whatever remarks he had in the split-second of anger he felt. What the deal, this guys freakin persistent, thought Justin as he crossed his arms in front of himself. He looked back down at Cherry, who was still sitting exactly where she was, eyes closed, legs folded, sword across lap. Then again, sos she, he thought with sudden perspective.

He took in a deep breath, trying to relax. Okay, Miss Cherry, tell you what: lemme at least get you something to eat. Then itll help you stay awake during the briefing. This guys not going anywhere, and your buddies should be showing up any time to pick him up and crate him off. Then after we get done eating, well go up to the briefing together. What do you say?

For the first time since he had woken up, she opened those pretty blue eyes and looked up at him, a smile touching the edges of her lips. On those terms, yes, she agreed. But on one condition.

Whats that?

Stop callin me Miss. Sjust Cherry.

Justin uncrossed his arms, smiling back at her with a thumbs-up. Gotcha. Ill be right back with some grub, Cherry. He lowered his arm, looking at her for a moment longer. Yknow, buddy-boy theres right about one thing. You are prettier when you smile.

He turned evenly on his heel and dashed off before Cherry could reply. Shoot, forgot to ask what she wanted, he thought, mentally kicking himself. Oh well, Ill just get a bunch of whatever theyve got. And a lot of pancakes, that bets still on.

Later, after breakfast

OOC: Random comment, if anyone remembers the old Superfriends cartoon with the announcer/narrator voice, for some reason I think of that voice saying the Later, after breakfast part. Might work better if it said, Later, after a nutritious breakfast. Sorry for the randomness. 😛

Attention, everyone, announced Lilian as she stood in the center of the Core control room, where the heroes were all assembled. Gone were the blushing thoughts of the previous evening, Lilian was all business now as she looked out at the group. As we asked you to before you entered here (OOC: This did happen, though off-screen - just in case anybody was wondering), youve written your preferred mission and your skills onto a card and handed it in. After some deliberation, and assigning those who hadnt shown a particular interest in which mission they would go on, I have come up with the team roster.

She pressed a button on the console, and the holographic display came up, showing a list of white names on a hazy blue background. It read:

Power Plant: Spiner, Megan, Claire, TJ, One Tru Blu
Financial Center: Castor, Camden, Knight, Justin, Cherry
Naval Base: Kristi, Silver, Cosmic, Mike, Torn

Justin looked up at the hologram with surprise. At first it was because he hadnt gotten the mission he wanted, but then he noticed Cherrys name next to his. He looked out of the corner of his eye at Cherry, who was looking distracted, like her attention wasnt really into the briefing. Justins brief smile dropped. Shes gotta be worried about why her team still hasnt arrived. Wish I could do something to help cheer her up.

Megan looked up at the list bleakly, through half-closed eyes. She had slept well last night, it wasnt fatigue that held her eyes in check. It was a lack of will. She stayed at the back of the room, leaning up against the wall in the new clothes she had chosen for herself. Camouflage colors dominated her color scheme with jacket and pants, and her sword hung on her back in a new leather sheath that had been left for her in her room. She slumped against the wall, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Megan caught sight of one of the others looking at her, but the rabbit looked away before she could make out who he was. Probably some tough guy wondering what a little girl is doing here, she thought quietly. Yet she was willing to go on the mission. She didnt know what else to do with herself.

Ironically enough, the thoughts that Spiner and Justin had were similar.

Now, before we send you off to your separate missions, we have some new intelligence for you on each location, continued Lilian as she switched the holographic image to another setting. Our agents were able to determine the identities of the leader of each base location, as well as help us better prepare you equipment-wise for each mission. Hopefully you wont have to deal with these leaders, But should you have to, at least we can inform you about them.

The image shifted to the figure of a young business woman. In the Skyscrapers, there is Renee Jameson, head of the Imperial Financial Department. Dont misjudge her, she is far more sly than she appears to be. There are apparently a series of security measures that she designed for the Financial Center herself, the exact nature of which we could not determine from the reports. So be on your guard, there may not be as many robots to deal with, but there will be obstacles.

The next image was that of someone who looked so stereotypically like a salty sea captain that Justin had to clap a hand over his mouth to avoid busting out with laughter. Red and white striped shirt with an anchor on the front, blue jacket, white pants, black shoes, and a captains cap, all draped onto a muscular frame with a gray-bearded bone-nosed eye-patch-wearing head. This is Vladimir Pike, Vice-Admiral of the Imperial Fleet. He runs a tight ship, and the team headed here will likely encounter the heaviest resistance. His genes have been modified with fish DNA to give him amphibious capability as well as a natural understanding of the sea. Be warned, he also has enough electric eel in him that he can shock you if he touches you. He also raises pet sharks, so avoid being captured.

There was no image after that. The third is the most mysterious of the three, Diana Husk. We know that Husk is a huntress, a very dangerous one. She is a mercenary in the Kaisers employ to ensure that the power plant is not compromised. She is extremely dangerous, do not let down your guard at all. She is good enough that nobody knows what species she is or what her exact abilities are, though we are led to believe that whatever she is, it isnt human. Several of our own people were hunted down around that area, be extremely careful and dont split off.

The holographic display turned off. And there you have it. I know its not much, but at least you have something to go by. Now, we are dropping each team off via helicopter. Our choppers are armed with cloaking and anti-sensory magic, so the enemy will not be aware of your presence at first. Before you head out to the choppers, you should equip yourselves with whatever weaponry, ammunition, or supplies you think you will need. We are supplying rebreathers to the water base team, in case something goes wrong. Camouflage is available for all jungle team members, and business wear for the skyscraper team. And of course, augmentation chips are available for all of your weapons. You wont need augmentation chips for grenades or other heavier weapons, since they are powerful enough to overcome the magic shields of the Watchmen, which will be your primary opponent. Any normal ballistic weapons simply will not work well, if at all. The head is the weakest point on its body, but it is the most heavily shielded so dont try to use normal weapons on it.

She pointed down three corridors. There are supply rooms in the corridors as you approach the helicopters, you are welcome to use anything you can carry. You will also be each given an ear bud that will allow you to communicate with the chopper pilot, who will stick around nearby to relay messages back here. I will be coordinating all three teams from here. If there are any tactical concerns that come up, do not hesitate to ask me.

Good luck!

Justin felt a lot better now that he had a fully-loaded Glock once again in his holster. They had even had the special ammunition that he preferred, though it felt weird to be putting on a chip to make the gun work better. He still had some of his throwing bombs left over from earlier, and these were attached to the inside of his belt. He also kept some of the other gear he had kept in his pockets before he was transported into this mess. He had foregone bringing any other weapons with him, but he did make sure to bring along a tool kit that hung at his waist. He remembered his experience from Hinoke Island and wasnt about to leave behind what he considered his most vital equipment.

ETA in five! shouted the helicopter pilot from the front.

But did we have to dress up in these duds? thought Justin as he shifted in the business suit he wore. The sleeves of his white dress shirt were a little longer than he felt comfortable with, and his vibrant blue tie was a bit sloppy. I know its practical and all that, but Im much comfier in jeans and a T.

He could see the skyscraper complex through the window as the helicopter approached it, heading to land on one of the rooftops. They were going to enter in through the rooftop. The business attire they had been given was to help them be less conspicuous in the environment they were about to enter. The emphasis was to avoid detection until they could find the component, which was located in one of the three upper floors of one of three skyscrapers, connected to each other by skyways.

Castors gotta be pumped for this, thought Justin as he looked over at Castor. Hes a bit hardcore merc, but he already looks the part that we need to play. And Im sure everyone else can cover themselves decently enough.

Justins eyes strayed over to Cherry, who had changed into a white shirt and tie with suspenders holding up her loose skirt. I promised, Cherry. Time to keep my word.

Before we land, I just want to make something clear, announced Justin to Castor and Cherry, who turned to look at him. Knight and Camden here already know my position on this, but if we run into people on this run, living people, then Im not going to kill them. Im not expecting either of you to hold back cause of me, and I wont hold back either. Im just not going to kill anybody myself.

ETA, five minutes, boomed the voice of the chopper pilot in charge of the jungle landing team. The helicopter flew over the dense canopy of the jungle. They were going to be dropped off a mile away from the power plant, as the plant had a secure anti-aircraft network that would present a threat. The team would have to hoof it through the jungle.

Megan was sitting in one of the corners of the roomy troop helicopter, her eyes glued to the floor. She had hardly heard the announcement, not because of bad hearing but because of lack of caring. If anything, she could probably hear the best out of her team. Her rabbit ears were a testament to that. She just felt numb inside, and she didnt want to change that right then.

Everythings happening so fast...my parents, my friends, all of them are gone, and Im the only one left. What am I going to do after this?

She couldnt find an answer for herself.

ETA, five minutes! barked the pilot of the third helicopter as it approached the island. The island itself was not especially large, perhaps the size of a small town. But what it held underneath was the key part.

The entry point was at one of three small buildings located on the island. Thanks to Lilians agents, it had been arranged to not have guards for an hour. The building contained an elevator that led to the first floor of the naval base. The component was located at the bottom of the upside-down tower, to the tenth floor.

OOC: There, at last. If anyone needs a better description of these places and whatnot, please let me know. You can just assume the landing goes fine and start posting away. Be creative with how you describe each locale, you have permission to create your own challenges/traps as you go. Have fun, and lets get to it! Hopefully we can get each mission to end approximately the same time.

T.J landed in the thick jungle and sighed. It was hot and humid but the inner flames within his body kept him so warm that the warm air around him seemed colder. He had armed himself only with two short daggers, preferring to use his powers when necessary. Their foe reminded him of some of the agents breed by the Crescent Sun but slightly deadlier and he reminded himself to be prepared. He waited for his allies to land before he started to hack his way in.

Torn unlike T wasn't all that eager to start the mission. They had told her that their foe would probably put up the most resistance and now she wished she was teamed up with T. She could see the small building down below and clutched the Everblade in her hand, tighter than ever.

There was only one thought running through Blu's mind...

Not a jungle again! I'm sick of jungle's!

he had prepped himself with a handgun, one similar to the one he had used back on Hinoke Island a few months back, and had a chip placed on his frying pan of justice, and a special one directly attached to his skin, do his punches and kicks would cause damage as well.

-

In the helicopter, another thought passed into Blu's mind...

Wait, this sounds like one of those missions that's going to require a lot of work, I hate work...

But it was no use complaining now, he zipped up his camoflauge and got ready to get off the chopper...

-

On the ground, Blu and his team looked around, it's what you'd expect from a jungle. Trees, trees, different types of trees, more trees...

Firmly planting his feet on the ground, Blu got his bearings and decided upon the best course of action.

"Right..." Blu said to the rest of the group, "...Let's follow that big black cloud of smoke, the power plant is probably there."

He was about to say something else, but he really didn't like being a leader, he was a background kinda guy, besides, everyone was looking at him funny.

"...So, everyone ready to go?"

The Core - before the Financial Center Team was on the helicopter

Knight attached the magic-penetration modules on his handgun, and his survival knife. He also took four more of those chips just in case he needed to use them on newly procured weapons.

"You've been on a mission like this one before, haven't you?" Camden asked him.

"Uh huh. When I used to work for WepTech Corp, I did a lot of infiltrations in corporation buildings and the like. Of course, I usualy did my gigs during the night, by secretely infiltrating from sewers or roofs. We were usualy after documents regarding financial dealings, and sometimes even science reports."

"Corporate Espionage, huh?" Justing smirked.

"Yup." Knight nodded and then looked at his assault riffle. "Hmmm.... Looks like my F2000 Modular Assault Riffle is too big to carry around in this mission - and I can't put it in a bussiness suitcase if I want to use the case for other stuff too... Hey, you!" He said as he approached the soldier who was responsible for the armaments.

"How can I help you, Mr. Knight?"

"I'm gonna need you to get me a P90 submachine gun like the he uses." Knight replies pointing to Castor.

"A fine SMG, but I'm not sure if we got one. I'll go check, give me a minute." The troop replied as he went to check the inventory.

"You like my gun?" Castor smirked.

Knight smiled. "Well, ya - the FN P90 is compact enough, easy to use, and it has larger ammo capacity than other SMGs AND is designed to have better armor penetration to boot. Truly, a wonder among SMGs."

"Your extensive knowledge of weapons would be scary if it wasn't part of your job, honey." Camden smiled.

The soldier returned with a smile, but carrying a different weapon. "Well, looks like I was right - we dont have P90s but thankfuly DO have this!"

Knight raised an eyebrow and smiled. "An MP7 PDW. Yeah, that works!" He said and takes the gun, assuming a smile on his face - which Camden knows all to well.

"Everytime someone gives you a new 'toy' you have that exact same smile, Vass." the girl jested.

"That thing's good?" Castor raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah." Knight replied. "It was designed with the same requirements with your P90 in mind, and they are pretty much equal - the only real difference is its look. It's admitedly uglier than the P90, but at least when I fold the stock and the foregrip like this then I can use it like I'd use an ordinary handgun for CQC."

Knight then proceeded to change into his 'bussinessman' suit. His sneaking suit was skin tight, so he could still wear it underneath. The bulky parts of it, like some of the straps, holsters, and shoulder pads - where placed inside an elaborate suitcase along with his new SMG. He wore his handgun in a shoulder holster underneath his coat.

"Here, you people should take this." The guard said to every member of the team and gave them a small devise, that didn't look larger than a cellphone. "There should be metal detectors on the entrance. This devise projects a field that scramples the detectors."

"That way they can't detect we have weapons. Good thinking." Justin smiled.

"Ya, but there is a catch. The devise can only block metal objects that are no bigger than say a handgun. Anything bigger than that, and you'll have to put them in your suitcases, like the one Mr. Knight just used."

"The suitcase is detector-proof?" Castor asked.

The guard nodded.

"Well, I for once seem to be ready." Knight said taking one or two grenades and craming them insie his suitcase - 'just in case'.

"And you Miss? Arent't you going to change clothes?" the guard said to Camden.

Camden looked at herself. "I guess my current clothes wont cut it, now would they?"

"'Fraid not."

"I was afraid you'd say that." Camden said in exasperated voice and then closed her eyes. "Give me a minute."

"Yeah, about that, I've been meaning to ask you - how did you manage to loose the sailor fuku?" Justin wondered outloud. "I thought you couldn't take off those things."

"Well, if you let me concentrate - I'll show you." Camden replied and closed her eyes again. Pretty soon her entire body was covered in light, and soon after that, as the light dissipated she was there again - wearing typical 'secretary style' clothes.

"She learned how to have her clothes change form a couple of weeks ago, Justin." Knight explained to the amazed Sega City Mod.

"That was suitable impressive." Justin said genuinely impressed, as he too had a few brushes with 'Sailorness' and always wondered about the whole 'cant take off the fuku' thing.

"So, what do you think?" Camden said with a cheesy smile, making a spin around herself.

"Well..." Knight replied lighting up a cigarette. "It's too old fashioned for my tastes. I'd prefer you in something a bit more sexy."

"I knew you'd say that. Sorry, honey - but bussiness before pleasure." She laughed and winked at him.

Knight puffed cigarrete smoke and turned to the rest. "So, we ready to go...?"

TBC...

T looked at OTB and laughed. "Don't worry Blu, if you don't feel comfortable leading, I'll lead the way. I'm the one crazy enough to be excited about this anyway," He said. He hacked away some vines and frowned. "Though we may want to be careful. If we cause too much ruckus, that woman will find us and eliminate us before we can complete this mission," He said.

Earlier, after the mission briefing, Spiner had went to the armoury to outfit his weapons with the modified chip. As he waited for the modifications, his thoughts wandered off.

One True Blue? Heh, he was the one with the backfiring frying pan. Man, I hope it works if we really need it.

And, Megan. She's the one I rescued, right? I'm completely left in the dark about what she can do. But that weapon she's kept with her looks pretty nasty. I hope she can use it. But, apart from that, kinda cute.

And eventually, the modifications had been done. With nothing else to do there, he had left, and use what time he had remaining effectively.

"You ain't the only one crazy enough," the winged hedgehog spoke up, with a grin plastered on his face. Unlike some of the others, who had favoured the comouflage gear, he had kept his Rogue uniform he had on. Possibly because of pride from growing up within the organisation. He was either acting tough and cocky because of the adrenaline rush from the mission, one which he had always got, or because he was trying to impress - the latter being both of the females in the group, Claire, and Megan. Hey, anything was worth a try.

The humid atmosphere of the jungle isn't quite exactly what he was used to. He'd seen similar environments in history text books, but he'd never actually been to one. Oh well, he'd manage.

"And as for that Husk-lady," he paused momentarily, watching as TJ hacked away at some foliage, "I welcome the challenge." He then begun help to hack away at the plants in and vines in their path with his own blades. "If anything approaches us, this lil' beauty," he tapped the side of his eyepiece, "will let us know if there's anything near us well before it decides to make its presence known."

"Just don't let that piece of equipment fail us," OTB said, "I don't want to become no trophy hanging from a wall."

Spiner had let out a laugh. "Yeah, it'll work." He didn't mentioned the fact that it wouldn't if it got the slightest bit damaged. And he knew that with his luck, and past experiences, it would. He also was a bit sluggish, due to the lack of rest, which he couldn't get, so he reflexes would be bad if something were to happen.

As they trudged along, he knew that today was going to be one of those days when something was going to go wrong.

T had noticed that Spiner's laugh was a nervous one, he could tell but he didn't say anymore about it and kept hacking along with Spiner. "Hey Blu, just how powerful is that frying pan? Enough to knock that lady out if we run into her?" He asked. He was hoping almost not to have to use his powers in fear of losing control of them and causing a huge fire in the process.

"I don't think so..." Blu replied. "It tends to do it's own thing, that, and it doesn't seem to be functioning properly at the moment, it can deal a lot of damage, but I wouldn't put all your faith in it."

"...And besides" he continued. "The people back at the Core weren't too helpful with details about this woman, we're really taking a leap in the dark here."

Blu sighed. "I suppose someone's got to do it though..."

T shrugged and kept hacking a way through with Spiner. "Well I'm sure with all of us together, we can take her down but maybe if we can hurry and get to the plant, we won't have to deal with her," He said. He kept up the hacking, even while he was having trouble dealing with the humidity. "Anyone else want to help?"

Cosmic Kid stretched a little. "Alright everybody, let's get this show on the road!" he said, smiling widely.

"Yeah right, I'm real excited," Torn said. She didn't know how this young kid could be so excited about a dangerous mission but she thought he was a little too eager...

"Nah, you can keep the cell," Castor took a drag on his cigarette. "I'm just finding it funny that the morons in charge here went through all that trouble to bring you here and then throw you in jail right away."

"Guess I'm just lucky about making friends." Jerin smirked as he spoke. "Must be my good looks, isn't that right Red?"

Cherry grumbled and rolled her eyes in response as Castor sized Jerin up. There was a large amount of steel door between him and Jerin, but Castor wanted to know exactly how to act should he need to put him down. Within a couple of seconds, he saw it all. His best way in, how to get across the room the fastest, which angle to attack from and which implement to use to finish the job. Right then, Castor was leaning toward using the chains to strangle him, but the discarded pencil near the door looked promising as well.

"It's a nice pencil, isn't it Mr. Troy?" Jerin said. "The good doctor dropped it out of her kit on the way out. I was leaving it there in case Red wanted to give me a crossword puzzle to pass the time." Castor kept a poker face, but his mind skipped a beat. Sonuvabitch was doing the same thing I was. Sizin' me up, figurin' out how to kill me. Castor's respect for Jerin went up a notch and he suddenly got a better idea of what he was talking to. "I was right, Mr. Troy. You are different. A little more lion than the lambs I've seen so far. Let me guess, mercenary?"

"Close. Problem solver. I close contracts and solve persistant living problems."

"Oooooooh, you hitmen and your euphemisms!" Jerin chortled. "What's the matter? Not comfortable calling it 'murder' like everyone else?"

"I'm used to the euphemisms. They sound less... convictable and I can say them in public without causing a rise," Castor said, trying to keep pace with Jerin. Like he's looking right into my head... "Besides, murderers enjoy the act, while I just enjoy the money I get after it's done."

"Bull****. I know you've enjoyed at least a couple of them. I can smell the blood on you still."

Castor smirked in response as he took a heavy drag on his cigarette, keeping a calm demeanor even as his mind rushed to retort. "A couple of them had it coming..."

"Most of them do..." Jerin said before pausing for a second. "Sadly, I'm going to have to cut this conversation short. Red's people are coming soon and I want to be... presentable for them. But could you do me a favor before I go?"

Castor dropped his spent cigarette butt to the ground and stepped on it. "Shoot."

"Could I have a smoke? She took all of mine."

Castor absently pulled a cigarette out of his pocket only to have Cherry grab his arm, causing him to drop it. "NO! Don't frelling give him ANYTHING! You have any idea how many different ways he can use one of those to escape?"

"I can think of about three off the top of my head, four if you count 'dying of lung cancer' as a means of escape and fifteen if I give him my lighter as well." Castor replied. Bastard almost had me. Take away his freak body and he'd fit right in at Basin.

"Spoilsport," Jerin chuckled from the darkened cell as Cherry started to lead Castor alway, forgetting the cigarette still on the ground. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Troy. Take care of my woman while you're doing your 'hero' work."

OOC: Hope I didn't botch writing for Jerin too much.

OOC: You handled him perfectly, actually <3 I love you now. You should get a prize. Like a jolly rancher. Or a rusty kettle.

The rest of you as well o_o you're all brilliant. Rusty spoons for everyone. I'll edit this tomorrow, I think, just wanted to get it out of the way so I'm ready for the action =)

Cheers.

Cherry sat apart from the others on the chopper, withdrawn and silent. Justin kept her company at first, trying to make conversation, but after most of his comments were met with absent no's, yes's, and just plain silence, he gave up and left her to herself. When they were nearly to the financial center, she grew restless, and getting up, went to change. Pulling off what she considered an outfit in poor taste for a supposedly dangerous mission, Cherry's thoughts drifted back to the events of that morning as she dressed.

Cherry sat on the ground where Justin had left her, staring after him, her brows drawn together in concern. Jerin's next comment didn't help.

"Have a pleasant day."

Cherry stood, fully dressed in a well cut black pantsuit, the kind worn by successful, worldly businesswomen. Straightening her collar, she sighed, pulling her hair into a neat, secure bun, and pinning it back.

Can't believe I went off on that whole judgment day spiel...I really did it this time. You can't just step away from that kind o' thing.

Bending down, she adjusted the straps on her shiny black shoes accordingly, to ensure they were secure. Though outwardly respectable, they were a favorite pair of Cherry's, designed inside the Oasis to provide maximum comfort, grip, durability, and complete silence for sneaking about in. She typically wore them for missions like this, in which she had to appear presentable at first, and then knock some heads together later. Once she had finished preparing herself, she checked on Luminos, who was hidden inside a round black carrying case, the kind used to cart presentation boards to meetings.

"All set in there, mate?"

Pressing her palm to the hilt of her sword, she smiled at the answering burst of bright reds and golds inside her head.

"Good to know..."

Closing the case, she swung the strap over her good shoulder, tightening the bandages on her right hand grimly.

Hope this'll work out ok...

Turning to Legs, who was pacing nervously on the window sill, Cherry smiled.

"Look ok?"

The decipede chittered, nodding. Cherry winked.

"Yer sweet. S'better, in any case. Don't know how they expected me to fight trippin' over meself in high heels and a skirt. S'just ridiculous. The general would laugh his head off if he even heard o' such a thing."

Chattering agreeably, Legs hopped on to her shoulder, climbing into her breast pocket. Cherry looked down at him, raising a brow.

"Good to go?"

The bug nodded, saluting. Pulling a slim pair of black shades from her pants pocket, Cherry put them on, smiling.

"Right."

Turning, she re-joined the others in the main area of the chopper, seating herself once more. As they landed, Justin turned, addressing her and Castor.

"Before we land, I just want to make something clear..."

He announced. Cherry stared at him over the top of her shades.

"Knight and Camden here already know my position on this, but if we run into people on this run, living people, then Im not going to kill them. Im not expecting either of you to hold back cause of me, and I wont hold back either. Im just not going to kill anybody myself."

The echidna nodded.

"S'yer call mate. Do as you will."

She pushed her shades up.

"Just don't get in my way. S'all I ask."

The copter dropped the team off at the small building and Torn looked around. Even though the guards weren't around, she didn't feel all that safe. "So I guess we better find that elevator," She said.

OOC: I hope this is okay but no one else seem to care about the Naval base team so far...

OOC: Been busy, so this'll be a little short.

IC:

Claire remained silent throughout the trip to the power plant, her face blank. Inside she was tensed up, ready to act on the slightest whim. Looking around, she observed her teamates, somewhat more comfortable that TJ was along for the ride. She liked him, in a friendly sort of way. Her eyes darted over to Blu, and Claire fought the urge to laugh. Is he kidding me? Frying Pan of Justice? Pff, sounds stupid if ya ask me.

Shrugging, the vixen then observed Spiner and Megan, a small smile tugging at the frown on her muzzle. It seemed very good of Spiner to rescue that girl like that..he's a nice guy, I guess. The little smile disappeared, But Megan....I sincerely hope she's not like this all the time. Doesn't look too happy, for that matter. But I wouldn't blame her, just in case by coming here she lost everything....

After Landing

Claire listened in on the conversation of the others, before turning to TJ. "Sure, why not..?"

Putting her hands together as if in prayer, the vixen produced a black crescent-moon shape, which cut away at the grass and vines easily. Turning to look at her teamates, she caught their baffled stares. Shrugging, Claire simply said, "It's an Ulu Blade." Best not explain where it came from...doubt some of them'd know what Alaska is......

---Naval Base Copter---

Kristi clasped her hands together in excitement, not at all feeling the effects of nervousness just yet. Though she had wanted to stick with her sister, it didn't bother her much any more. Claire had been right, she reasoned, I worry too much. Everything'll be fine.

As the group landed and hopped off their ride, they stood, looking around at the building in front of them. The silver vixen looked over to Torn, "Nervous?"

The girl nodded.

"Don't be. I've been in worse scoops than this, and this captain guy doesn't sound too scary." Kristi winked, causing Torn to giggle a little.

"So I guess we better find that elevator," Torn said.

"Indeed."

OOC: Good work, people. I'm afraid that finals are going to affect how often a lot of people post, but I do check this thread basically every day, so if stuff comes up I can respond to it. I don't always have the time to make an actual RP post though, and this post might be cut short since I'm doing it from a public library.

IC:
"What she said," was Castor's reply as he made a final check of his guns, clicking one of the clips into place a little noisily.

Justin nodded as he reached into his suitcoat and pulled out his own pair of shades, slipping them on with a smirk. "Cool."

Glad they didn't give me that whole "Why did you come on a dangerous mission if you weren't planning on killing anybody" spiel. Not a good way to start a mission, he mused, though his spirits were high at the prospect of finally jumping into some straightforward action.

"We're touching down now! Get ready to jump!" called out the pilot.

Justin stood up with the others. We already talked with each other about our skills back at the base, so we all know what we can do, thought Justin as he adjusted his black gloves, with the red-fingered gray gloves hidden underneath. They know Legs and I can handle the technical stuff, and all of us can fight. I'm betting Cherry's sword will catch them off-guard; even with all of the weird stuff in this world, they seem to use guns more than anything else. And with these magic chips, even my gun and gloves should work on these things. I just hope they're what they're cracked up to be.

The side of the helicopter flew open, and Knight took the point, closely followed by Camden, then Castor. Justin stood by the exit and gestured to the door politely. "Ladies first," he said with a smile.

For the first time since earlier that morning, he saw her smile. "Awful considerate of you, mate, lettin' a lady go first into danger," she jested just before jumping down to the roof of the skyscraper.

"Oh well, least she went first," muttered Justin with a shrug before he joined the others on the rooftop. He turned around and could not see the helicopter at all besides the opening where the door was, though he could hear it and feel the wind of its passing. The helicopter door closed, and then its roaring sound flew up higher into the sky as a dull roar.

The team moved silently across the top of the building to the stairwell that waited for them. It led down a flight of steps to a metal dual door that was sealed electronically. Knight looked back at Justin, who nodded and walked forward to examine the electronic box that dominated the center of the door. Legs sprang from Cherry's pocket and landed on Justin's shoulder, though Justin was too engrossed in the locking device to react to the arrival of a strange-looking insect on his shoulder.

"Should have this open in just a minute," announced Justin as he pulled out a pair of tools from his pockets. "Less with Legs helping. Get ready, there might be some of those robots on the other side."

Legs pried open the front panel of the machine, and the two mechanically-minded members of the team worked together, their language barrier passed by their mutual knowledge of machinery. Justin had to smile at how well they worked together, even silently.

Then the door began to open, and Legs sprang back to Cherry as Justin got up to his feet, pulling out his gun and pressing to one side of the door.

"Hey, are you going to help or what?" asked Claire, directing the question at Megan.

"Oh! Right," responded Megan, shaken out of her gloomy thoughts. She reached up to her back and pulled out her sword, Sinbreaker, holding it carefully with both hands on the hilt. She began swinging it forward, using mighty strokes that was the match of any of the others' methods for chopping through the thick underbrush of the jungle.

The going was rather rough, but soon they could see the power plant in a clearing through the trees. They pushed their way forward, but then One Tru Blu stopped and pointed at something, fear apparent on his face. "Uh, guys..."

Words weren't enough to describe the twisted corpse that hung from a vine in a nearby tree. It was shriveled up, and two large bite marks dotted its neck.

Aw, crap, were the first two words which came to Spiner's mind upon seeing the corpse, due to the realisation of what the hunter was capable of, followed closely by, Ew. A shiver went down his spine, as though he felt as if it was a form of foreshadowing later events.

"This might be the hunter's work," TJ had said aloud, with a grim expression.

"Might be," OTB responded, "what if it's something else?"

"Lillian would have told us if there was anything else," Clair spoke up, "right?"

"Well, we don't know exactly what we're up against," Spiner had added, "and if their intel is as reliable as their troops, then we have reason to worry, eh?" He tried to lighten the mood with a light joke aimed at the soldiers from the 'resistance', though it wasn't that great. The sight of the corpse wasn't exactly morale-raising, and this was possibly the most dangerous mission of the three.

Why am I reminded of Nathan's classic Predator movies? He frowned, thinking to himself. I knew something bad was gonna happen.

Justin, immediatly after crushing the head of the watchman, went to help Cherry - who didn't seem to need the help anyway as a second Watchman was sliced in two.

With insticts honed from countless battles, Justin swang around to aquire a new target. Knight was standing straight, facing him, a Watchman was on the floor next to him with a destroyed camera head, while a 2nd one was standing still behind Knight.

The forumer sheathed his blade, just as the head of the watchman fell on the ground, followed by the rest of its body.

"This is the part where I suggest we approach things from now on, from a different angle of stealth." Knight calmly stated.

TBC...

OOC: That was Knight's Clint Eastwood moment

OOC: Okay, going to advance some things on all fronts.

IC:
N Team (Kristi, Cosmic, Mike, Torn, Silver)
-------
"Well, if we're going to do something, we'd better do it ASAP," grunted Mike as his gaze swept the island, checking the direction of the other two elevators. "It sounds like those other elevators are starting up."

"All right, then we're going through one of the windows! Come on!" shouted Kristi before she grabbed the rebreather hung around her neck and stuffed the mouthpiece into her mouth. The others followed suit, and Kristi led the charge as they jumped into the water, just before the two other elevators opened to reveal squads of Watchmen emerging, their motions eerily synchronized.

"Captain, intruders have left the island platform. They are now in the water."

The white-beared Vladimir Pike stood in the command center of the naval base, a circular room directly in the center of the tower. He grinned widely at the report given to him by the living computer that dominated the computer network of the base. "So, the landlubbers walked the plank, eh?" He barked off a harsh scratchy laugh. "Saves me the trouble o' doin' it for them! But stay sharp, mateys, me weather knee is givin' me fits again, and that means a storm be comin' this way!"

"Intruder alert on level three!" came the disembodied masculine voice of the A.I. "They entered through one of the windows!"

"See what I mean, me hearty? Send a force o' Watchmen to intercept, at once!"

"Wait...Captain, there's another window break at level four. It appears that either one or the other of the two locations is the actual entry point for the intruders. They are not a large enough force to effectively split up."

Pike stood at a control wheel that resembled an old steering helm for an old sailing ship. "Aye, then send troopers to both places! And if the corridors fill up with water, empty me aquariums. It may be time to let my pets get some fresh meat."

Kristi, Cosmic, Mike, Torn and Silver all broke through into the fourth level area, rushing through the first observation deck. The water roared behind them as it followed them, filling the corridors up to their feet.

OOC: I didn't have the team use up the bomb yet, I figure you can all use it more creatively to help you continue on. Despite how quickly things have been going, remember that this is a huge military base and that there are submarines outside of the base, so take that into consideration for future plot twists.

J Team (Claire, Spiner, Megan, One Tru Blu, T.J.)
-------
The power plant loomed up before them, a long low structure that was yet three stories tall. There was still a large clearing in front of them, a clearing between them and the cement-walled structure, an ugly gray wart on the face of the planet. The main thing that stood between them and the structure now besides the clearing was a tangle of vines and strands of thick, gooey webbing.

Megan wiped her forehead with her arm. So far they had struggled through the jungle, hacking through the vines, avoiding the webs, even fighting against Watchmen that attempted to attack them. But they had not yet seen whatever it was that had created the spider webs, though they had seen more corpses as they had gone on, some caught in the webs, others caught in the vines themselves. Some of them looked as if their blood had been drained out of them, others had become bloated and discolored.

There was a hissing behind her, and she whirled around in time to block the biting fangs of a massive spider. It was only half her height, but as long as she was tall, and it took a swift kick to the spider's midsection to push it off. She could hear more of the hissing, chittering sounds all around her, and the sounds of her comrades' weapons being drawn.

"I hate spiders," she breathed before she focused, letting her battle instincts take over while her fear and anger drove her to the attack.

OOC: Buncha spiders, fight them as you will but try to make the fight interesting. The spiders can shoot webbing, for example, and they have venomous bites, but they won't kill anyone until everyone else is incapacitated. Try to work with other players/characters, I should've set a better example but my time is waning.

OOC: *Bitten.* Ow.. >_x How can I taste like a ChefBoyardee if I don't know what one is?

IC:
Eyes. Hundreds of tiny eyes. Spiner's gaze shifted around him, and just caught glance as Megan gave a swift kick, and he saw what had landed some distance away. A spider. A large one at that.

"Crap," his eyes widened, as he realised what their group was surrounded by, "Goddess-damned freaking spiders."

He joined the rest of the group with the unsheathing of the weapons. He didn't want to get his blades stained with the blood of spiders - everything else he was okay with, just not spiders.

And then the attack began. Eight-legged bodies flung themselves from the trees and shrub, only to be either knocked away, sliced into pieces, or set alight with flames.

One spider-on-fire was sent flying through the air, apparently hit by the broadside of something solid, causing TJ to dive out of the way. "Sorry!" Blu called out to him.

Webbing was fired off from random directions, attempting to entangle to heroes. Claire stepped to the side to avoid it, bringing up a leg, and spin-kicking a spider away from her. TJ held his hand out infront of him, as his hand now became alight with fire, burning the webbing upon impact. Blu had used his frying pan to fend off the attacks, while Megan was doing something quite similar with her own weapon. Spiner, however, was rather sluggish, and webbing was caught around his wrist, causing him to drop one of his gunblades.

"Damn it," he grunted, slicing away at the webbing with his free hand, and performing a quick chant under his breath, and launching a small ball of fire at the spider which shot the webbing at him, burning it to a crisp.

He looked around at the others, and saw them still putting up a fight. It didn't matter how many spiders they got rid of, more just kept coming and coming.

T.J grabbed hold of a vine and pulled himself up to a tree, where he began to hail down fireballs on the advancing spiders but it didn't seem to reduce their numbers. He jumped down and landed on a spider near Spiner and killed it with his sword. "Maybe if we try a combo attack, you with your magic and me with my powers, we can clear away these things or at least try," He said.

OOC: =D welcome to the play, DL **Squish** <3 and quicktype IC post, just to try'n get our team moving with a plan of some sort o-o yessssss. Will edit this later. Need to get ready for class now though.

Wiping Luminos clean of robot fluids, Cherry placed him back inside his carrying case neatly, capping it and shrugging at Knight.

"Not much else we could have done, mate. They were armed and they were comin' our way. An' I wasn't about to give 'em the chance to fire. He who hesitates is lost, an' all that..."

Peering around the corner and down the hall, Cherry spotted the much sought after stairs, in addition to an elevator. She stared at the elevator for a minute, then glanced at Legs, smiling and cocking a brow. The decipede blinked, then nodded, returning her grin.

"Justin?"

"Yeah?"

"You think you can help me partner out in th' way o' riggin' some elevators?"

Justin scratched his head, nodding a bit.

"I don't see why not, but wouldn't that be sort of obvious, using the elevator?"

"Not if there's a distraction."

Knight frowned.

"You want to provide one, I take it?"

Cherry smiled.

"Aye. You four go down in th' elevator, an' leave th' distractin' to me. Cross the bridge to th' center, and find th' component. I'll catch up with you on th' other side."

Justin protested.

"UH UH, NO way. We're not leaving you here."

Cherry shrugged.

"M'not stayin' here. I have other ideas-"

"-What about other ideas?"

The three looked up to find Camden and Castor coming around the corner to join them. Castor jabbed his gun in the direction they'd come from.

"Took care of the suit and secured an exit. See you didn't have any problems. What's going on?"

Justin pointed at Cherry.

"SHE wants US to ride the elevator down while she distracts the bad guys."

Cherry rolled her eyes.

"Look...we need to go ta the center tower. The bridge to the center tower is on the fifteenth floor. You guys ride th' elevator down an' cross the bridge while I work me magic. I'm th' best one fer the job, fer two reasons: one, yer all humans, an' I'm not. It'll look less suspicious, an' I think you'll blend in with the crowd better."

Camden frowned.

"...And the other?"

Cherry regarded all of them evenly.

"Others fairly obvious, I think. I'm a liability."

Justin scowled.

"No you-"

Cherry snapped at him, all the frustration and sadness resulting from her current situation evident within her voice.

"-YES I AM, mate. I'm just voicin' what all o' you are thinkin.' Jerin wouldn't a sent that bug f'I weren't along. You heard him say he's already spoken to Junk. Which means all his plans are in place, and he will escape. At this point, m' willin' to bet he either already has, or he's in th' process o' doin' so. Given his past record, there's about a 50% chance he'll come fer me, since he knows where I am and what I'm up to. If I'm with you lot, that'll endanger the mission."

She shrugged.

"So I think y'all should leave me to it. Won't take but a minute to do what I need to, and then I'll give you the go ahead to board th' elevator. You'll get across to th' other tower ok, with the rush I'm goin' to create, an' in addition, you won't have to worry about Jerin bein' a problem. So unless anyone else has a better idea, s'what I'm suggestin.' Since we're a team, I'm not makin' the decision alone, o' course, and ultimately it's up to th' rest o' you. F'you don't wanna go through with it, I won't press you. Just consider yerselves fairly warned that f'I'm along there could be trouble from me query."

She leaned against the wall.

"I suggest you decide quickly, in any case, 'cause I doubt those're the last Watchmen they'll be sendin' up here. And I'd prefer not to be present to greet th' next welcome wagon."

"DUCK AND COVER!", Silver suddenly yelled as a shot from behind rang out. Watchmen were closing in from behind, and swimming up next to them behind the glass the separated. A few of the ones outside were making large holes in the glass, making more water come into the already flooding corridor. And something was being dropped from above, it was to high to be seen... "Oh my god..."

Meat.
Bloody. Meat.
Prime sharkbait material.

"Sounds like a plan," Spiner had said, standing back-to-back with T.J. A smirk spread across the hedgehog's lips, as he sheathed his blade, the other still remaining on the ground, he'd pick that up afterwards. He whispered an incantation under his breath, holding his arms out to the side. With a flash, a ball of lightning and a ball of fire appeared in either hand. T.J. stood on the otherside of Spiner, preparing his own balls of fire, to be launched at the spiders.

Another wave came down upon the heroes, and this was when Spiner and T.J. struck. Spider after spider were flung away by fireballs, electricity, and even the odd shard of ice. This prevented most of the wave from reaching the other heroes, while they cleaned up the ones they missed.

Everytime a hapless spider drew closer to the pair, out came the blade, and sliced poor incy-wincy spider in half. But, no matter how much they fired, they both knew that they wouldn't be able to keep it up forever.

T growled. "Is this the work of the island or do you think they are the work of that Husk lady?" He asked. He knocked away a couple more spiders and began to grow impatient.

"I don't know," Spiner wiped away sweat from his forehead, as he whipped out his blade again. Physically striking was more his thing. "It's hard to tell," his eyes shifted, slicing at a spider which tried to catch him off-guard, "But, these spiders seem to be big enough to make those webs, so we just might be invading their territory."

He took another swipe at one, spinning around, and getting another. "But I doubt it."

T sighed. "This is getting us nowhere. If this is the work of Hush, she could be softening us up so she can easily kill us," He said. He flamed a couple more spiders and stabbed another with his sword. He began to unleash another assualt of fireballs on the advancing swarm. He then noticed some of the spiders had began to weave a large web around them, trying to corner them into a small area.