OOC: Hello everyone! guess what? JAMES HAS FINALLY GOTTEN SOME FREE TIME!

that's right. i've pretty much finished a Multimedia project, sat a maths test, completed maths homework exercises, completed an english essay, and even revised notes for a Theatre class Test to be sat next thursday.

ALL THAT has kept me damn busy for a loooooooooooong time as you can all tell.

Having done that, i have only 2 modifications to make to my Multimedia project, and a few leftover maths questions to do. FREE TIME IS A-GOGO! This Saturday my girlfriend and i are going out to see a movie, because we finally can because i'm not too busy. I swear, the amount of free time i have lost on my weekends because of all this hectic clutter...

anywhoo, i must bring something to everyone's attention. As we all know, Bentleee has her resits in about a week. She has been studying really hard, but so many things are playing on her mind right now and she has been through so much to get to where she is now. This degree is of incredible importance to her, and after the exams are over, suffice to say that she is successful, she will have to organise accomodations as her current residence is the school at which she is studying.

Because of all this, she will be extremely busy for quite some time, and out of courtesy i don't believe we will all have a problem understanding that, i know you guys are all sensible people 😛

Now, in terms of Eclipse and Susie's section of the RP, i messaged Bentleee a while ago asking about where she was going with Wraith, Caine and she said that she doesn't have any major plans with their adventure, just that she wishes to write when she is able. She also mentioned that i could have Eclipse and company encounter Wraith and Caine whenever fit, so we CAN continue the storyline in Bentleee's abscense, i will do as best a job i can to control Wraith and Caine. Tergonaut, i hope you can back me up there buddy, because i'll probably need a bit of help.

Long story short, story can progress in Bentleee's abscense. only reason i haven't done so already is because i have been busy, and i felt that i shouldn't ask Tergonaut to post AGAIN right after he already has.

okay, thanks people!

BTW: Tergonaut, that little development between Susie and Eclipse that came up here in your last post:

"Did he call me a fair maiden?! she thought, and for some reason her heart skipped a beat as her mind fixated on that thought. Wow...he is kinda cute, now that I think about it..."

I feel kind of stupid now that i didn't ever imagine such a development taking place, but now that you have brought it up it struck me as a rather interesting idea. Time will tell if these two become any closer, i will keep it in mind, could make for some deep character development.

---------
IC:

"It was kinda rough for a while there, but we got outta there. You should see what those hedgehogs can do!"

"Yeah?" asked Bean, one eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Yeah! They've got freaky huge muscles, giant blood-sucking fangs, and eyes that shoot freakin' laser beams, man! Scary! We only barely made it out of there," lied Susie.

Normally, Eclipse would have laughed at such a scatter-brained remark, afterall it was just a slight exaggeration.

But no smile came to Eclipse's face, and no laughter brewed in his throat, the situation at hand was far from humorous in his mind.

It was clear that Susie was just trying to make their 'targets' sound scarier than they were, proabably in an effort to sway Bean and Bark from their mission. But Bean and Bark didn't seem like the type who would believe such random banter, especially from their captives.

"Uh-huh, Laser fangs eh?" mused Bean.

"No! Laser EYES! and blood-sucking fangs!" replied Susie, making ferocious faces as she emphasized her words.

Bean was not amused.

Eclipse's assumption was right, it wouldn't work. Eclipse could join in with Susie and sound more sincere about the unbelievable power of the hedgehogs, but there was still doubt that even with believabe knowledge they would deter. Afterall, Bean had already shown some traits of an unsound mind. as if he'd be afraid of a gargantuan hedgehog.

The other reason why Eclipse didn't join in, was because if he told Bean and Bark that the two hedgehogs were really dangerous, then it would mean they would think the same of both Caine and Wraith, and probably bring harm to them both. Although unsure about Wraith, Eclipse was already uneasy about bringing these characters to Caine.

"Oh please," groaned Bark, slapping a hand to his forehad as he listened to Susie.

"And they can make this really loud roar that'll blow your ears off! They can smell blood too!" ranted Susie.

Bean stopped and turned to face Susie, he was about to say something when Eclipse spoke.

"One of them is just a kid." said Eclipse

The whole group looked over at Eclipse, including Susie, who had immediately stopped talking and broke out into a small burst of panic when Bean turned to face her.

"What'd you say rodent?" squawked Bean.

"It's true that one of them is extremely powerful. His name is, 'Wraith' i think. The other one, he's just a kid. He cant harm anyone, you have nothing to fear from him." Eclipse had hoped this would bring their focus in a confrontation to Wraith.

"We were informed by our employer that they were both highly dangerous." replied Bark.

Eclipse felt a bead of sweat along his forehead, "Perhaps you were purposely misinformed. The young one is harmless. I know that for certain."

"And just how do you know that?" asked Bean with a sneer.

"well.." stuttered Eclipse, "In my time here i've been attacked by Wraith. He was just on a rampage as far as i could tell, and so he made a hit and run. He had taken the courtesy of introducing himself before he attacked, i'm not sure why. That's how i got his name. With him he had a younger hedgehog, but the child looked scared, both with me and Wraith. Wraith is the one that did all the fighting, the young one just stood there, horrified, and Wraith grabbed him and took off afterwards. He's not with Wraith willingly, but he's not fighting back. He's harmless."

Eclipse purposely altered his re-telling to Bean and Bark to omit the fact that he knew 'the young hedgehog' well, to stop them from asking more questions, and to keep them from doubting that Caine really is harmless, they might think Eclipse was just defending him because he was his friend... perhaps that was the case, perhaps Caine really was dangerous, it was something that could not be said for certain. regardless, a promise is a promise.

"And what of this 'Wraith'?" asked Bark, "If he truly is the dangerous one, tell us about him."

Susie listened intently too as Eclipse prepared to speak about Wraith, it was important that she know what they were up against too.

"From what i saw," began Eclipse, "He's strangely well spoken. VERY creepy sense of humour too. As for his abilities, he can teleport , uhh... he's very fast, and uhhmm.. let's see... i think he could shoot beams from his eyes."

"SEE? what'd i tell ya! Laser eyes!" shouted Susie, looking victorious.

"Yeah yeah, whatever" replied Bean.

"How were you able to observe such abilities if you were merely attacked?" said Bark to Eclipse, with his arms folded.

Eclipse swallowed, "whaddya mean?"

Bark leaned a little closer to Eclipse, "You said he is well spoken. That demonstrates intelligence. I doubt someone with that much intelligence would carelessly execute so many of their powerful manouvres against a surprised target, unless that target was a threat."

"I uhhh..." Eclipse was shocked by Bark's degree of intelligence, he didn't count on anyone making such an assumption. "I... i laughed at his name."

"hmmm?" Bark leaned back up.

"I made him angry, so he showed off his power to scare me... I told you he had a creepy sense of humour." Eclipse sounded as convincing as he possibly could.

Bean broke out into a small burst of wicked laughter. Bark merely chuckled to himself, it wasn't clear whether Bark believed Eclipse or not.

"Poet didn't know when to keep his mouth shut!" cackled Bean.

Thr group continued walking in 'formation'.

Eclipse almost smiled to himself out of relief, he felt that he had avoided a sticky situation.

smiling.

smiling...

Eclipse jerked his head a bit and his smile faded, why was he smiling? he was caught stuck in the middle of nowhere with two hired killers going to meet up with that scary Wraith guy, and he had no way of saving Caine, why the hell was he smiling?

Eclipse hadn't noticed that he had been staring into nothing as he was smiling, but he also didn't notice where his eyes were looking in their vision into nothing. He had been looking at Susie, her face and her expression.

He looked down at his feet as they walked and rubbed his eyes. He assumed that what he felt now was uncertainty toward Susie, he still didn't know anough about her. There were questions he needed to ask her.

Susie had been quietly humming a tune to herself to keep in good mood. She turned to Eclipse.

"You alright 'Clips?" she asked.

"Hmm? what?" mumbled Eclipse, "Oh... yeah i'm good. I... Hayfever. itchy eyes."

"but you just said you were goo-"

"-hayfever!"

First an enemy, now an ally? a scruff grim voice chuckled and Max glanced back. Still a bit surprised at the whole situation itself. The black echidna stood there smirking, arms crossed as he assessed the situation. He however did not have his sword raised in a hostile fashion and at the moment was holding it by his side like a old one would a cane.

My isnt this interesting. the echidna smirked as he looked at the Overlander assassin or thus he was called. He had a dark feel to him, but Factor had dealt with many foes and.. He didnt feel he had to attack at this given moment. He chuckled lightly as he looked to Max, then Taffy, then back to Carrion.

I think the one million dollar question is why are you switching sides? And how can we trust you knowing you were a former enemy.

Max nodded. Yeahhow can we?

In the shadows outside the building in the shadows of the darkness stood a cloaked figure with two crimson red eyes emitting from the hood of the cloak. It watched the figures with interest. Carrion. a mutter escaped its mouth. Traitor. followed. His eyes narrowed as he saw him offering to be the ally to that of which he was sent to destroy.

Traitor he muttered as he reached out on the ground and took aim. The rifle was a silver color and its scopes glass was a crimson red. Quickly looking through the rifles scope he aimed. The first object in sight, a red hedgehog. Max.

Firing. a mutter.

BAM!

As the bullet released from the gun, the loud noise erupted and the red hedgehog turned around quickly, as did most of the population in the room. Factor did the same but put the sword in a defensive stature. But before anyone could say anything, Max felt a cold hard bullet stray through his right shoulder. His eyes widened as he flew back from the piece of metal and into a wall.

GAH! he yelled as he gripped his shoulder.

He was bleeding, obviously. The red hedgehog, stubborn that he is pointed his gun at the window and beginning to shoot rapidly. But his gun didnt shoot anything. The safety was still on. Gah. he muttered painfully. But before anything could else occur to the hedgehog another bullet ripped through the air hitting his gun hand thus knocking the gun out of his hand.

Max cursed again, loudly. GOD DANG IT! he snarled.

The sniper is outside! Hermes spoke out towards the people he had newly rejoined, his eyes closed as he concentrated to increase his sensual awareness and to detect the aura of the figure that was firing at them. He could detect the energy around the long weapon, a sniper rifle, which was being used to fire at them, and he could sense the faint aura of the attacker themselves. But the aura was strange. Different from a usual persons. It was confusing. In the shadows!

And how do you know that?! Max snapped back, feeling more tensed by the situation. Have backup planned all this while?!

No, this person I dont know who they are. Their energy is mixed, different, hard to read. I know Ive certainly never encountered this person before. I recommend you take cover as much as possible. Ill track the movement of the rifle, and to who its aimed at. Hermes continued.

The others looked to him with a strange mix of looks on their faces. For those who had met him before it was a distinct sense of mistrust. Just how could they trust this person who had attempted to kill them all before? And for those who hadnt actually encountered him before but had actually heard of him, how could they trust him as well? The situation was becoming even more intense

"In the shadows, huh?" Riku asked. She swept her cloak off to reveal her face. "You guys better get down. I'll distract his fire," She said.

Sniper rifle, job done. his unemotional voice spat as he tossed it down. Smoke Grenade be guided. it muttered as it moved its hand forward and retrieved a grenade from its belt. The canister was black, as was the pin. To give it camouflage at the deep night. He then tossed it inside, and as it connected with the ground inside smoke emitted from it and it grinned as it walked forward.

Today, the Overlander Supremacy will win.

As the smoke occurred, Max held his breath knowing dear god what smoke tasted like - he owned a plane after all. Dont breathe it in! Max shouted, still in pain from his wounds. He couldnt or just didnt feel like moving at that given second.

Just run! Leave meh here!

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp What?

JUST LEAVE ME GEDIMMIT!

Max didn't want anyone to get harmed, if they ran they'd have a better chance.

"You're crazy Max. What good will it do to us to leave you here?" She asked.

"What good will it do for you to stay here?!" Max shouted back through the midst of smoke.

"At least I'm not bleeding like a river and I can defend myself," She said.

Hermes had been confused by this. The attack was unexpected, and still, the figures aura was strange, incoherent. It was definitely in the shape of an Overlander, but the energy was just something confusing.

He could still see the figure though, no matter what his tricks might have been. His eyes were still closed, in deep concentration as he sensed the figure. He could feel the low energy within the smoke that had been designed to mask and disguise the intruders presence, but it was small. Although the rest of the groups vision was distinctly impaired, his was perfect. He could see every person in the room, Max, on the ground, shouting to Riku (she was the one who battled the Bat and that strange hedgehog Wraith? In the wheatfield) to go and leave him behind, but it was something the group wouldnt be able to do anyway. They couldnt just leave, as they had another two wounded within the building itself. He could sense Taffy and Lena beside Alexs injured and unmoving body (again, he didnt know their names) and he could sense Factor and Zephron within the room as well, a bit more spread out from the rest. The two Overlanders who owned this house were also in this room and they were in danger as well, but they were out of the way, against a wall, so for now they would be out of the way from the attacker, but still, their presence here was bad enough.

The rest of the group was outside, and that made up for three members a deer, vixen and small wolf pup. They were out of harms way for now which was a good thing at least, but their help would have been appreciated as well. Ah, no matter in this situation, Hermes was by far the best choice.

It would be impossible for us just to go, Hermes spoke out in the direction towards Max. Youre not the only one wounded here. You still have the rabbit, and the A pause, of reflection. the small Overlander child. And Im sure your group knows the importance of not running away from your friends. Best choice would be, not to just act macho and tough, to be a hero. It isnt going to work anyway. Your friends wont easily desert you.

Hermes walked towards the corner of the room, bent down, and picked up the artefact that was lying there. It was the energy weapon that Max had once had by Riku, which was ironic in a sense. It seemed that he and the hedgehog would keep changing guns between them, perhaps. Along with his scythe that was still ready to be used at any given opportunity, Hermes had found himself in a much more powered state.

The only thing I can recommend is at least give cover, and to stay out of my way. Ill give us some more space. And, my apologies Mrs. Diller. This is something I wouldnt do unless I didnt have any other choice. Hermes finished, before running forwards through the smoke, towards their attacker who was closing in on them steadily. Mrs. Diller was about to speak up with a question, but was unable to before it happened.

In seconds Hermes had jumped through the window that the sniper had shot through and with it, smashed the glass into nothing but shards, landing in a crouch on the other side, outside onto the dirty and filthy streets of the Overlander city. He tilted his head up but never opened his eyes , being able to keep sensing the attacker. He hoped that by smashing the window it would be able to help get rid of some of the smoke that the grenade had mixed into the room. Whilst he should have opened his eyes if only to get a better look at the attacker, he instead ran straight forwards. Before the attacker could react, Hermes threw out his fist in a concentrated hit towards the attackers stomach area, an attack however that wasnt just a normal punch. Like his sight that could be reinforced with his own energy in being able to sense others, Hermes fist was now charged with that self same energy to make it even more powerful, and the force that came along with it hit the attacker upwards, back towards where he had been attacking from, and instead of the shadows, into the nearby wall, cracking it deeply. As the attacker slumped back to the ground again, Hermes finally opened his eyes to see who had been attacking them, and as he did so he gasped in surprise.

EDIT: Editted a mistake. I misinterpreted as the attacker actually having now been in the room, when he was still outside. I've corrected this now.

"What in Downunda is goin' on?"

Everyone who was concious turned to see Karya, Bucky, and Eckli, standing in the doorway. Eckli, with his super-sensitive hearing, had heard the commotion caused by Alex and the assailant who had yet to be identified. The pup yelped upon seeing Alex unconcious and injured, with Lena doing her best to try and heal him. Eckli rushed up to them, and gave Lena a steady gaze, while placing one paw upon the bullet wound.

"I can help..." The wolf pup said, and she nodded.

With glowing eyes, both magical creatures began the healing process, with Eckli hoping Alex would be all right, and this would be enough...

While Lena and Eckli cleansed and sealed the wound on the archer rabbit, Kari had rushed up to Zephron, demanding an explanation.

"Well, I kinda took a wrong turn...but I found Mrs. Diller's house, is it? Yeah, okay, I found you guys here and figured it'd be best if I hid for the moment." The bat scratched the back of his head. "Then that caped lady came up, and we went to help out and stop the rest of the gang from coming through."

Kari raised an eyebrow, before glancing at Max, who was still clutching his bleeding shoulder.

Zeph got the hint, "There's a sniper outside. Shot Max. Some Hermes Carrion guy came and offered his services....he's tackling that dude."

Before the attacker could react, Hermes threw out his fist in a concentrated hit towards the attackers stomach area, an attack however that wasnt just a normal punch. Like his sight that could be reinforced with his own energy in being able to sense others, Hermes fist was now charged with that self same energy to make it even more powerful, and the force that came along with it hit the attacker upwards, back towards where he had been attacking from, and instead of the shadows, into the nearby wall, cracking it deeply. As the attacker slumped back to the ground again, Hermes finally opened his eyes to see who had been attacking them, and as he did so he gasped in surprise.
The figure didnt make no noise at it simply got back to his feet. The hood on hisno its cloak revealed what it was. A large silver shell of metal was his skin and a line of a black glass with two red dots for eyes blinked rapidly.

So, Project Slayer has done it. it droned.

Betrayed his superiors. it droned again. With that said the robot un-hooked something from his belt. What it was looked like a hilt of dark grey color of a long sword but no blade. A red and blue button on the blunt end of the hilt. The robot hit the red one and a red energy blade emerged from it.

Heheheh. the robot chuckled emotionlessly.

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp Who or What - are you? Hermes muttered under his breath at the robotic being.

The name is Hunter, known as Project Hunter. And I am your predecessor. it droned. But before Carrion could respond it ran at him at lightning fast speed and pushed him in the face with its free hand, the hard metal fist connecting with his jaw sent the Overlander flying.

Ready to die, betrayer? it droned.

Hermes reeled from the punch as he was sent flying back a short way. It had hurt slightly, especially since he was in a sane state of mind and not the insane assassin as before, but he had experienced and handled pain before. The two most recent examples were of course the Bat Eclipse and Wraith the hedgehog, but he had fought far more then those before in his life, and had grown accustomed to it. Well, physical pain at least. Mental pain would be a different story.

This had just gotten to a whole new level of confusion. Some of his questions were answered from this revelation but with it came yet even more strange questions confusion. If his head wasnt already fit to burst with his conflicting thoughts, beliefs this had just gone a step above that.

It was a robot. Okay, that answered one question, about why its aura was so strange and yet familiar compared to what he had experienced before. It was distinctly different from any other Overlander or Mobian, and that of a standard machine appliance as well. In that case it was more and less.

But the bigger questions now, that threatened to question everything about Hermes, about who he was, what his real purpose was, had now appeared. He had betrayed his superiors? What the heck did that mean? Just who the heck were these so called superiors? Hermes didnt know of anyone like that, other then the people which had just recently hired him on a mission to go and kill the protector of the forest, which, he would admit, he failed in doing. But still, the forest was a big place, it would take time for his employers to have been notified by it. Unless of course he was being watched the whole time, tracked by something but that was impossible. He was Hermes Carrion, the tracker. His aural sense ability allowed him to be able to sense anything with a range of his choice. Anything and everything. Every person, even if there was something in the way of a normal visual sight. He could see and feel every single blade of grass, every crack in the pavement, every bit of relief on the bark of trees, the small molecule energies of the wind itself so how this thing managed to track him was baffling. Even though its energy aura was different from other things, he could still sense the difference of it, so he should have been able to detect it. And Hermes had only just revealed his desire to join the furries group. How in the world would this robot know that? Sure, Hermes had attacked this robot, this Hunter, so that might have told something but then again, Hunter had attacked the whole group first. This instance was only of Hermes trying to protect his life.

There was two questions. Who are these real superiors? The one who hired him for the job? He would have called them clients, not superiors. And how would Hunter know him to have been a betrayer anyway? That was mind boggling.

Next question.

Predecessor?! What on Mobius did that mean? Project Slayer Project Hunter? What did they mean? They were words, terms he had never heard of before. Even in his own, mixed up mind, he could tell he had never heard of those terms. If he had, they would have juggled back something loose. No, that was something he wasnt sure of, he didnt know.

Too many questions. He needed answers now. And from the looks of things, even if Hermes asked it didnt look as though the robot would simply answer him. He would have to beat it out of it, as much as he didnt want to really fight against it. Although now, he had a different mind set, thanks to the young Overlander Gavin.

Not all Mobians are evil. Only some of them are truly evil, just like there are some Overlanders that are evil

Which meant that the evil ones were the real enemy that needed to be attacked, and not the innocent ones. And although it had taken him a long time to deliberate, and come to an understanding of it, Taffy and her group were the innocents. The only ones he had left, any purpose in his life. He didnt know what their mission was, but he wanted to help them, if only for atonement of the sins he had committed.

And if it meant betraying so called superiors of a robot who wanted to harm the group, then so be it.

Die? No, I dont believe so. Far from it, in fact. I have a lot to live for, a lot to try and understand with. Before, I admit I did have a purpose, but it was wrong, misguided. Now I have a real purpose, and I aim to fulfil it no matter. And I aim to get some real answers from you. Hermes curtly responded.

In what was a shocking move, Hermes once again closed his eyes, as his visionary perception changed. Once again, he could see the energy and aura of the world, and this would aid him in battle. Because of the nature of Hunters beam sword, Hermescould sense it from anywhere, behind him, above him, below him, wherever it would be. And thus, that meant he would always be one step ahead of him, able to dodge and evade it.

But a close quarter hand to hand combat would not be the best way to go about it. Get in too close, and that beam sword could prove deadly. He wasnt sure of the properties or damage it could do, but he suspected it could easily destroy the wooden of his scythe easily and the scythe, no matter what painful memories it brought, ti couldnt be allowed to be destroyed.

Hermes simply raised his other weapon up, the energy gun that Max had once got from Riku, and fired at Hunter.

OOC: Cool, James, I'm ready to keep up with you. Pass along my best wishes to Ben, would you please? It's gotta be hard for her right now, but we'll carry on the best we can here; that'd be a better tribute and will give her something to read whenever she's able to.

James, EZmail me whenever you feel we need to pow-wow on the direction of the plot. Just restating that if you'd like to do that.

And actually, I thought you had already guessed about what I was hinting at back in your post where Eclipse reacted shyly to being told that he had "pretty ears" (which was actually an accident on my part in the sense that I didn't realize it would have that sort of effect! XD). So my being subtle WAS effective after all! Yes, I'm a sucker for romances in RPs, so I'll be looking forward to see how this develops too. Especially since Susie is turning out to be a worse liar than I thought she would! The whole situation is actually very good for drama, I mean, she's a two-bit thief and he's a demon-possessed magician, it's got the stuff of fairy tales.

But yes, I'm not forgetting Taffy either. 😛

Also, about the going to my board to post major OOC stuff and all: I'm just wondering if everyone's gone to see it yet or not, and if they have, why they may not be posting. I'm not expecting a huge rush or anything, and I'm definitely not angry or mad or anything, I'm just curious to see whether people think that's a good idea or not and whether we should persist in it. It could help, but if you think it's too much trouble, that's perfectly fine. I just offer my board because it's otherwise dead and it's usable.

IC:
Everything was happening so quickly now, as it had done in every other combat situation the group had faced in the past few days. And now as the dingy-smelling smoke cleared through the now-shattered window, Taffy found herself with all of her friends once again...even the ones she had thought had left. But there wasn't time at the moment to ask for explanations, this was a time for action.

"Hold still and stop yelling!" Taffy snarled at Max as she approached him, forcibly holding his arm so that she could get a better look at his injury. "It looks like it was a clean shot, you're lucky that didn't hit anything important."

"I don't need you to do anything for me," growled Max as Taffy dug into her backpack for a bandage. "I'll be fine, just give me back my gun!"

"I'll hand it to you after we get you tied up here," stated Taffy coldly as she stood back up and wrapped the shoulder wound the best she could, Max relenting just enough to hold the arm in place so she could do her work. "You shouldn't use that arm for much of anything until it heals, that's going to take some time."

"Yes, Mom," replied Max sarcastically. "Now gimme my gun, I've got work to do."

Taffy frowned at him and felt more like decking him than giving him back his gun. She knew that he was only going to end up hurting himself more if he ran around with that sort of injury. But at the same time, the thought that it could have been her lying on the ground at that moment with a hole through her body reminded her that they weren't in any normal situation. They couldn't afford to sit around and wait for Max to heal. Besides, I did promise, she thought, angry with herself for doing so even as she picked up Max's gun from the floor and handed it to him. "You're a stubborn blockhead, you know that?"

"S'what keeps me alive, darlin'."

"You'd better not call me that again or else I'll snap your arm off myself!"

"Uh, guys? We need to get out of here."

Taffy turned to see Lena, who along with Eckli had apparently finished healing Alex. Zephron and Karya were holding up Alex, who was still unconscious, and Bucky and Riku were both standing there as well. Taffy felt stung by the "darling" comment from Max more than any insult for some strange reason, but she was even more guilty after realizing that her friends were looking to her for their next direction, and she had been standing there arguing with Max.

"Okay, we need to get to the east side of town," said Taffy quickly, remembering what she had overheard on the radio earlier. "They've found the second Chaos Emerald, and it sounds like whoever grabbed it has gone crazy. We're probably going to run into another fight, so we'll need to hurry."

The group made its way downstairs, where Mrs. Diller and Phyllis were standing. Taffy bowed briefly to Mrs. Diller. "I'm so sorry about this, I-"

"No need to apologize, these rowdies were going to tear things to pieces as it is," Mrs. Diller said, cutting off Taffy. "The important thing is that we're both safe, thanks to you and your friends. We'll have to leave this place now since it's so dangerous, but if you need a safe place to stay after your business is over, you can find us at our other home in the west side."

At that moment, Alex mumbled in his unconscious state, "Gavin..."

"Oh! Mrs. Diller, there's a young boy who we brought with us, he's probably somewhere upstairs. Could you-"

"We'll get hime back to his home, don't worry about that. Now you had better get going before they send more people to find out what the commotion is here. Besides, your other friend out there is fighting still."

"Thank you so much for everything, Mrs. Diller, see you later!" Taffy said, leading the group out into the street where the scarred human Hermes and a humanoid robot were fighting.

"Okay, we need to bring him with us," said Taffy. "I don't know what to think but he just saved our lives right now and we owe him at least this much. But we also need to find a car or something to get us to the east side, it will take us hours to try to walk there. We'll have to hotwire it or something-"

"There you go, bossing us around again," spat Riku. "And after I risked my life to save your tails."

"Now's not the time to argue about that, Riku! So who's going to help Hermes and who's going to help find a car?"

Susie shrugged at Eclipse's strange behavior. She had completely forgotten, at this moment, about his poem and how momentarily she had become dreamy-eyed even in the middle of a dangerous forest with two certifiable psychopathic murderers. It was not because she had lost any feeling for Eclipse, for she still had that sympathetic feeling for him, but it was more a matter of her shifting gears, so to speak. It was her way of adapting, to change her focus so rapidly that for a normal person it would appear bizarre, but to her it was perfectly normal.

"Okay...wait a sec, I think I got something here..."

She scrabbled around in her tool belt for a moment and found a pouch where she triumphantly pulled out a small red pill. "Ah ha! Here ya go," she said as she handed it to Eclipse, who looked at it dumbly.

"What's this?"

"Allergy medicine," said Susie with a smug smile. "Sometimes I get allergies too, so I carry it around."

Eclipse mumbled a "thank you" as he went and took the pill, and Susie turned back forward and blissfully continued along the path they had chosen...

...and nearly bumped into Bark's outstretched arm. "Hey!"

"Shut up," said the bear in a quiet, deadly voice that made Susie's blood run colder in her veins than his usual big booming bellow. "Do you hear that?"

So preoccupied had she been before, in trying to come up with lies to protect herself and Eclipse, that she had not been paying attention to her physical senses. Her ears pricked up, and she strained to hear what the polar bear was talking about..."

"Wolves," gasped Eclipse, and Susie turned to look to see the horror on his face, his cloudy eyes now clear.

Hey, it looks like that medicine worked! Not bad for being a year old, thought Susie proudly. And he must've heard what Bark's talkin' about 'cause of his big ol' ears.

Then the enormity of what Eclipse had just said hit her, and her orange and white-striped fur bristled all over again, following the general contours of her body but ultimately blocking out her wiry frame and making her appear much bigger than she actually was. "W-w-w-wolves?" she stuttered in a high and squeaky whisper.

"And a bunch of them too, from the sounds of it," said Bean, who had taken out one of his sticks of dynamite and had a lighter in his other hand. "Angry, too, it sounds like they're fighting. Question is, are they fighting with themselves..." The green duck trailed off and looked up at his partner meaningfully.

"Or have they found our targets?" finished the bear as he cracked his massive knuckles, a smile slowly crawling across his face.

"Well, looks like we're about to see whether you're right about the laser fangs and everything," sneered Bean. "Follow us, but make any noise and I'll blow you both up, understand? And don't try to run either, even if we don't get you the wolves probably will."

And with this threat, both duck and bear plunged into the woods ahead, and Susie and Eclipse both followed as closely as they dared. Ohmigosh, we're going into the woods out here in the wilderness after killer hedgehogs who might be fighting with werewolves, with two homicidal maniacs on top of that... Susie's fur started going back down as her mood shifted automatically to help her deal with the stress of the situation. If I make it out of this alive, this would make a great movie! I'll have to talk with the Boss and see if he couldn't get a script made...

The trees were passing by quickly as they raced swiftly yet silently along, and now Susie could hear the snarls and howling of the wolves as they got closer to where the sounds were coming from. Even her deliberate attempts to block out the unpleasantness of the situation ahead couldn't keep Susie from denying cold hard reality, and she became more frightened as they got closer. Her instincts kept telling her that she was crazy to go in this direction, but Bean's threat was also impelling her forward. And in the small part of her brain that had common sense and was thinking through all of this, she knew that if Eclipse's friend was this way, then he'd be in trouble and would need help.

Her mind refocused on the present as they came close to a clearing, and beyond Bark and Bean she could see a pack of massive wolves, muscular and gray-furred. They were growling and howling as they surrounded a pair of dark-colored hedgehogs with bright bluish stripes, a purple weasel with a pistol and an Aussie hat, and a small black Chao that hovered over the others, who were back-to-back as they were surrounded by the wolf pack.

And through it all, Susie noticed something glittering in one of the hedgehog's hands: a purple gemstone. Wow, that stone's gotta be worth a ton! she thought immediately, unaware of its greater value.

"So we charge in and help out?" asked Bean quietly to his partner, though the duck looked like he was barely holding himself back from lighting the stick of dynamite in his hands, visibly shaking as if restraining the primal part of himself that demanded to blow stuff up.

"We wait to see what's going on for just one second-"

A low growl from behind them caused the group to whirl around, and Susie saw that they were surrounded by another part of the pack. Fear tightened her throat as she moved close to Eclipse, and she saw Bean and Bark turn around to come back-to-back with them as they faced the wolves around them.

"Poachers have been less restricted thanks to our current employer," mentioned Bean with a shred of irony. "These wolves're probably desperate for any meat they can get, since their prey's been hunted down to the brink of extinction."

"It's either us or them," said Bark in that quiet voice as he raised his massive fists. "I'll try to clear the way, Bean will drop bombs to cover us in the rear. We'll try to join the others."

"But don't you want them dead?" asked Susie, too frightened by the wolves to think very hard about what she was saying.

"Our employer wants them alive," said Bean, his beady eyes darting back and forth as his lighter came dangerously close to the edge of the short fuse of the dynamite. "Don't know why, it'd be easier otherwise. But he's paying us ten mil for each hedgehog, so we can't complain."

"Enough chatter. We go on three. One...two..."

Bark dashed forward with a booming roar of "THREE!" and it was like flipping a switch. Everything was happening all at once as Susie saw Bean light the fuse and drop the stick, the wolves around them leapt forward, and Susie and Eclipse joined Bean behind Bark, who was charged by three of the wolves from the front at once. Susie couldn't see much from her angle, but she definitely saw Bark pull back an arm and swing it forward, striking three different times in the same swing, and those same three wolves fell back with yips of pain, blood streaking the air for a paralyzing second...

And then the dynamite exploded behind them, and the action fast-forwarded as Susie's booted feet pounded the pine needle-covered ground, the wolves snarling and howling all around her as she ran alongside Eclipse. She dared a glance to the side at Eclipse to see fear there, yet a certain determination also seemed to be there in his eyes, and somehow that strengthened Susie.

Suddenly Bark stopped, having to contend with another wave of wolves from ahead, and there was a heart-stopping moment where Bean was lighting another bomb and Susie and Eclipse had to skid to a halt or run into the back of Bark. Susie looked beyong Eclipse to see a wolf streaking at them from the side, and suddenly Eclipse filled her vision as he tackled her with a shout of "Look out!"

She reflexively put her arms around him as they both went down, and she saw the one wolf fly through the air at the same time that another wolf that had been behind her had jumped. When Susie and Eclipse hit the ground, Susie held on tight to Eclipse and rolled to one side, both of them tumbling over each other, as the two wolves crashed into each other and slammed to the ground. They recoiled, and Susie found herself up on her feet helping Eclipse up as Bean smacked both wolves hard across the nose with another stick of dynamite before lighting it and throwing it behind Eclipse and Susie.

This is crazy! thought Susie as she and Eclipse dashed forward to follow Bark, who cleared the way once again through to where the other group of fighters were gathered, one of the hedgehogs and the weasel fighting hard.

"Caine!" shouted Eclipse as he tugged on Susie's hand and the two of them ran over to the other hedgehog, who brightened as he saw the bat approaching.

"Eclipse! You came!" he shouted. "Who's your friend?"

Eclipse looked over at Susie. "This is Susie, she..."

Susie was already looking at what Eclipse had just discovered: they were holding hands. Embarrassed, both she and Eclipse let go quickly and went silent. Why am I embarrassed about that? she wondered, actually concerned about what had just happened. We were just holding hands, that's all...

But reality snapped back in again around them as Bark and Bean joined the fighting in full.

Eckli looked outside with a hint of weariness in his eyes, before barking to Taffy, "I'll help 'em!"

Karya paused, before nodding, "Me an' my bud Eckli'll help Carrion. C'mon Eck!"

And before anyone could say anything, the two companions had dashed out the front door and into the fray. They skidded to a halt beside Hermes, and locked their eyes on the strange robot before them.

"So...I understand you're name is Hermes Carrion. Nice ta meet ya mate." The mercenary smirked, greeting the Overlander on her right.

I appreciate the assist. Hermes replied, opening his eyes to see them, a bit embarrassed that these people would actually be willing to help so easily. But then again, their attacker, this Hunter, was a threat to them all, and it could mainly just be a need to work together for their own survival. Still, the fact that she and her partner were even willing to help a man as dangerous and regarded as him was still something. And

Wait. That wolf pup with her. He was the same one he had met back in the burning wheat field! But of course, he was her partner and a member of the group, but whilst Hermes was less surprised to see Karya join him, since they had never met and she probably didnt know just how frightening he was, Eckli had met him. A fleeting moment, true, but still

Hermes looked up just in time to see the effect of the energy beam that Hermes had fired from his weapon, just in time to see Hunter raise his sword weapon in front of him, which the energy shot crashed into, and was discharged, the energy being redirected from it and being dispersed elsewhere.

So it didnt hurt it. No matter, with allies they should be able to deal with it more easily then possibly before.

But be careful. We dont know what his limits are, but we do know hes packing some serious firepower. Hermes said, closing his eyes once more. Thanks? he lingered, waiting for their names.

My names Karya, and this heres Eckli. The vixen replied.

Right. Good luck. Hopefully we can get some answers out of it Hermes didnt want to get into a close combat fight, again because of the robots weapon, but from the looks of it it would defend against his energy weapon anyway. Perhaps the others would have a more effective long range attack, and the energy gun could still come in handy later, if there came the right opportunity.

He lowered the gun, and aimed it towards one of Hunters legs. He wasnt very proficient with a gun anyway, but hoped that the attack would be on target.

Riku ran up to them. "I'm going to help as well," She said with a smirk.

((OOC: Do you guys really have to gang up on Hunter? =P))

The energy blast was coming for his legs fast, not accurately mind you. The robot snorted as he quickly dodged the attacking blast with a quick and timed jump. As the Artificially endowed robot thought the blast had rived through the air under him. It snickered emotionlessly, kind of evil if you would of heard it like these four had.

Three assisting threats. it droned.

It grinned as it held out its right arm in Carrions direction. If it would have had a face it would of smirked sadistically. To Carrions surprise the hands center opened and a firm barrel exited from the hole. He knew what this was going to do next. And the robot did just as expected just not at Carrion. It swiftly turned and fired rapidly - silver blasts of energy blasting at Riku, and the two furs.

Die or Allow yourself to be Captured! it droned.

Riku crouched down and leapt over the blasts aimed at her. The blast spun up and straight at her. She growled and launched herself at the robot. She bounced off his head but the blasts hit the robot. She landed on the ground but when the smoke cleared, the robot was undamaged. "Darnit," She said.

Karya just nodded, before letting out a startled "Whoah!" and jumping out of the way of the blast, as she had been dancing. Eckli, with surprising agility, jumped out of the way and quickly skirted Carrion to stop at Kari's side.

"Stand back Eck...I'm gonna see if I can still use those special functions since Susie fixed my arm..." And with a grunt, the vixen smiled satisfactorily as her arm shifted into that of her famous light-sword.

Eckli just looked around the street, slightly alarmed yet not surprised that there appeared to be no plant life. He was basically a sitting duck then. Darn.

A cyborg, eh? I wont kill you slowly then. it chuckled only like a robot would. Its voice, emotionless stale. He snorted as its robotic gun hand turned back into a regular hand, and the robot flashed its sword gracefully.

Shields98%

Come at me.

Riku wielded lightning in her hand and leapt at the robot from behind. She latched onto its back. She looked at the other cyborg, hoping it'd take the open oppurtunity to strike.

It snarled. Self Defense Shields activated. it droned as Riku felt a sure of electricity surge through her body.

The robots eyes narrowed. Play fairyou organics do not.

OOC: I hope no one minds, but I think this might actually be an interesting thing to take note of. Of course, within battles its always better to keep fights as fair as possible and such, but it's obvious that some characters are more powerful, or weaker then others. Therefore, I thought a Tier list of all the current characters and where they stand in my opinion might be an interesting thing to have. This tier list is only based on the characters' combat abilities, and thus doesn't include any other weaknesses or strengths the character might also have. For example, Taffy is one of the lowest in actual combat ability, but I'd say she'd be one of the more highest in actual tactical thinking, whereas powerful fighters like Wraith are weakened by their own ego and such. Alex on the other hand is also much more weakened due to his naivity to the world.

In my opinion, it's better to have generally medium or lower powered characters, since it forces fights to be a bit less intense or generate into power fights designed just to have one more attack be powerful then their opponents, and instead forces the RPer to rather fight more strategically then random slugging. However, it's not to say that really strong characters are bad as such, as long as their personal weaknesses also find a way to be accounted and that their personalities are strong enough. In fact, RPs should be less of combat and power, and more about personality and characterization, but you can't judge that in a tier list, can you? Anyway these are just my thoughts on the subject. If people feel this shouldn't be up or whatever, feel free to say and I can just edit it away. Just thought it might be interesting to take a note of.

Tier List: Based on Combat ability

Top:
Wraith
Lunaril

Upper:
Hermes Carrion (Both sane and insane forms, as each sides as their own benefits and disadvantages)
Riku (Current form: Mixture of her standard abilities which would have placed her as High, and the Dark form powers of Evil Riku which would have placed her as top.)
Bean (If not higher)
Bark (If not higher)
Hunter (If not higher)

High:
Eclipse

Mid:
Alex
Max
Karya
Zephron
Bucky
Seipher
Factor
Kohle
Eckli (Although has good potential to be in High tier)
Nack

Low:
Taffy
Lena
Caine (Has yet to reach his full potential, which could place him well up in the Top tier)

Bottom:
Gavin (Although I think hell be out of the RP from now)
Roody

IC:
Hermes charged forwards towards Hunter. Although he had at first only decided to fight from a distance, the robots energy shield would negate his own energy weapon much as it did to Rikus attack, which was countered and deflected back at her. As such, he believed that a much more solid melee weapon would work, and as such, had drawn his scythe out from his back and now held it in both hands, after dropping the energy weapon and now charged straight forward. He hoped that Rikus attack would be a good enough distraction for him.

Whilst Hermes was running towards Hunter from one of his sides, Karya was doing the same but on his other side, flanking him. She had her own light sword drawn, similar to what looked like Hunters, but he wondered if it would prove effective against the robots energy shield and its own energy sword.

Riku fell off from Hunters back, her body singed, and already its attention had refocused upon the rest of the other attackers. Karya was the first to get in close, so it made way to compensate for her.

Karya charged forwards, and swiped her weapon downwards in a diagonal arc. Hunter merely blocked it easily with its own energy weapon, the two locking together in a tense match of strength. Despite the fact that Karya did have strength, especially in her own robotic arm, Hunter had far more power on his side, and seemed to be quickly gaining advantage against her, although the vixen was holding on long enough.

Long enough for Hermes to again attack Hunter from behind, similar to how Riku did. But instead of using an energy attack which backfired, he used the far more solid scythe, in a manner almost replicating Karyas own attack, a downwards diagonal swipe. But he had the benefit of reach with his own weapon, which allowed him to be just a bit further away from Hunter for safety, which was always comforting. Hermes saw his scythe move in, through the energy shield, coming close to hitting Hunters armour until the robot shifted.

Hunter had foreseen the attack coming easily enough and had decided to work the situation to his advantage, especially since he was outnumbered. He had dodged to the side at the last moment, moving out of the way of the curving scythe, and as such Karya tumbled forwards slightly from her own effort against the robots attack, and came into a surprise of her own.

She fell into the path of the scythe, but only just. None of her person was actually hurt, except a part of her clothes was torn into two with a noticeable rip across it. She wasnt physically damaged, but she was no doubt shaken up by the fact that she could have almost been sliced into two by what was meant to be an ally.

Hey! she shouted. Ymind watching where ya waving tha thing?! she shouted, looking at her clothes.

My apologies. Hermes replied, unknowing how to really react to such a situation. Hes clever, and swift too. While we do have numbers, it can work just as against us as him.

Riku rolled out of the way as her burns slowly began to heal. She glared at the robot, wanting to shred it to pieces. "It's tougher than I thought. If it was night, this would be easier to deal with," She said. She summoned her cloak to her and pulled out a small dagger from it.

(OOC: Good idea Ash. Very good. )

"Kari! Kari, are you ok?" Eckli bounded up to her.

"Yeh...yeah I'm fine mate. It's that Hunta character. Very sneaky."

Eckli just turned to stare at Hunter, wishing there were more plants than just those in the backyard. Without warning, the pup began to shudder violently, while his eyes began to glow, much like they had in the wheat field. Two vines began growing out of his shoulders, one for each shoulder, dancing and curving in the air like serpents through water. Eckli's eyes lost their glow, and with a curious glance he examined the strange new growths.

"Eck! Eck, how in the world did you...?" Karya had been in the process of morphing her sword into a strong shield, hoping to be able to at least make the robot stumble, when she noticed the vines out of the corner of her eye.

"I...I don't know. I just wished....." The black and white wolf took one look at the vines in his shoulders before turning his attention back to Hunter. A certain look came into his blue eyes...determination, maybe?

And with a sharp bark, Eckli took a running start toward Hunter, the vines moving like whips this time. The one on his right shoulder shot forward, coiling itself tightly around the robot's left arm. The second followed suit, while Eckli, who was coming around the back, tried to jump and sink his large, sharp claws into a tender spot.

Karya, not wanting to pass this up as a chance to attack, began running toward Hunter's right side, hoping Eckli would see her coming. With her shield poised, the vixen prepared to throw all her strength into this hit.

Hunter however, had already grabbed the vines that were latched to his arm and had torn them in two, causing Eckli to wince and whimper a little. They vines were, after all, attached to him physically. Hunter gripped the ends of the wriggling plants and began twirling them around, wrenching Eckli from his position and tossing him toward Kari. The two companions collided with startled cries, each rolling with the impact and landing in a heap, leaned up against the dumpster Zephron had used as a hiding place.

"Ugh...Eck, tell me when your plane is coming in for a landing next time...." The vixen rubbed her head with her organic hand.

"...right." Eckli, meanwhile, was shaking his head in an effort to dizzy haze that hung in front of his eyes.

OOC: Honestly Tergonaut, i didn't realise the accidental hint you had made about the 'pretty ears'. Funny thing is, i seem to have made an accidental implication myself, when i said 'fair maiden' in the poem. I purely said 'Fair maiden' as a poetic way of describing Susie, i literally had no intention of sparking along a relationship between them! Not that i'm complaining, as i am quite a big ol' softy myself, and the idea of a romance in an RP is interesting to me. Besides, so what if the development of these two character's relationship is accidental? as if love in real life isn't already just as unpredictable! And yes i agree, the coupling of a two-bit thief and a demon-possessed magician is indeed the stuff of fairy tales. MOVE OVER SNOW WHITE!

Sorry about not posting on that OOC board, i haven't had the time to create a new account to use on it, as mine is a local account specifically for the roleplayer's guild. I will however be making a new account in future for it okay? nevertheless, it'd be useful to know just how many others are interested in that board.

And before i forget.
Pachamac, the idea of the combat tier list is a handy idea. This does indeed give me a clearer understanding of how a battle should proceed between characters. The positioning for Eclipse and Lunaril seems accurate enough, although if anyone has a problem then i am willing to have him put down into the Mid list. Thanks again for supplying us with that Pachamac!

Unfortunately people, i am a little lost as to what to write for my next post. Tergonaut, there's a message in your InBox. sorry everyone, but i'm not doing too good a job for negotioating through Bentleee's abscense ><

Riku charged up her dagger with lightning and lunged at the robot again. She stabbed it into its back before jumping back to avoid another incident like the previous one.

Riku charged up her dagger with lightning and lunged at the robot again. She stabbed it into its back before jumping back to avoid another incident like the previous one.

Hunters eyes flashed for a quick moment as the jolt of a dagger being stabbed into its back surprised him. His eyes narrowed as he saw Riku run past him knowing the culprit. He immediately grabbed the dagger in which was in its back and snickered only like a robot would. Sneaky organic bastard. it commented as it glanced on Riku as he pulled out the dagger and threw it into the energy beam of his beam-sabre thus making the piece of metal discinerate on contact.
It looked to the figures and waved its beam sword in a typical taunt.

Prepare to die. it droned.

&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp orsurrender. it droned again.

OOC: I have that feeling again that I'm forgetting someone.

IC:
Taffy looked back down the street to see the fighting. "Zeph, I really don't want to add any pressure, but can't you hotwire this junker any faster?"

Zephron sat ini the driver's seat with the door open, messing with the console of the old gray hovervan they had found, his features tight with concentration. "It's a piece of luck that this doesn't have any security on it. Should be ready in just a sec, might want to pile in."

Taffy ran to the back of the van and popped open the back doors, motioning to Lena and Bucky. The two girls brought Alex between them into the van and laid him down near the front onto the bare floor. Max and Taffy hopped in the back, and Taffy shut the doors just as the whole van shook beneath their feet. "Got it!" came Zephron's voice from the front as he slammed the door closed.

Taffy looked out the back windows to see the battle's progression. Looks like Eckli and Karya are down again, she thought tensely as she reached out an arm to balance herself as the van jerked around. That robot thing is not giving up!

"Zeph, we need to pick up the others! Try to ram that robot, but slow down at the last second and we'll pop open the doors to get them in, then drive away." Taffy's mind was working frantically as the van shuddered around them, and her eyes darted down to Alex, who though healed was still looking a little pale.

"Gotcha," acknowledged Zephron.

The van stunk of grease and Taffy wasn't so sure it would survive much longer as it shuddered, but the van was moving. We are NOT leaving anyone behind, she thought fiercely.

She looked over at Max, who was cradling his gun in his hands. "Max, can you shoot that without hurting yourself?"

"Is water wet?" he asked back, his hat hiding his eyes at that moment.

"Good. Bucky, you and Max will have to shoot at that thing as soon as the doors open. Don't worry about destroying it, just distract it long enough to let the others get into the van and then we'll drive off."

"Right, chana, here we go," said Bucky as she readied her bow. "I'll pick it out high, Max."

"And I'll aim low," replied the red hedgehog, a rakish grin on his face as he adjusted his hat with his good arm.

Taffy looked forward through the front windshield as Zephron revved the engine of the van and shot forward. The robot was trying to slash at Hermes and finish him off, but they both noticed the van ramming at them and they both broke away from each other, the robot going one direction and Hermes going on the other side of the van.

At the last moment, Taffy threw herself down next to Alex and reached an arm over his prone body to keep him from tumbling around just as the van screeched to a sudden halt. There was the twang of Bucky's bowstring and the report from Max's gun as they popped open the back doors of the van. "Get in the van, quick!" shouted Bucky as she smoothly loaded another arrow onto her bow and launched it, even though the first had been intercepted smoothly by the robot with its laser sword.

Karya and Eckli quickly complied, and Hermes sped towards the van. But the Hunter seemed to understand what was going on, and it streaked toward the van as well, dodging swiftly left and right to dodge the attacks being sent at it. Taffy looked out the back of the van and her blood froze as she realized her plan was backfiring. It's going to catch up with us! We can't fight that thing off, how are we going to-

A bolt of red energy struck the ground in front of the Hunter, and it veered away at the last second, unable to slow down in time to head straight at the van. A few more bolts swept the air outside the van door, and Riku suddenly appeared, the hood of her cloak thrown back as she fired shots from her blaster and joined the others in jumping up into the van.

"Now!" shouted Taffy, gripping onto Alex as tightly as she dared as the van kicked underneath them. Riku closed the van doors and then smashed out one of the back windows, using the open space to fire more shots at the robot, who was in pursuit once again, its legs rapidly pumping and its feet tearing across the concrete. Hermes also joined in with the gun he had obtained, but then they both stopped as the robot ceased to follow them and instead darted into an alleyway.

Taffy relaxed, pulling herself up to a sitting positing next to Alex, leaving her hand on his shoulder absently as she looked up at Riku. Max was also looking at the girl, grunting in approval. "Nice shootin'," he said. "Saved our butts is what you did. If you hadn't popped up just then, this plan wouldn't have worked."

Taffy leaned back against the side of the van, rolling her eyes. Oh great, now she gets her moment of glory, she thought scornfully as she closed her eyes. Let's just hope we didn't make a mistake bringing her and Carr...Hermes along.

There was something about Hermes that prompted Taffy to trust him, but he had been the lesser of two evils back there with the thugs. But now it seemed like he had suddenly reformed from his insanity. Why the sudden change? Did it have to do with what happened with Gavin back in the Great Forest? So much had happened in such a short time...

"Next stop, east side of town," announced Zephron brightly, who was sounding as relieved as Taffy was about leaving the danger behind them. "Is anyone going to take the passenger side seat up here?"

Factor nodded. "Aye, I'll join you." the echidna said as he joined Zephron in the front of the car.

(OOC: Short post...meh)

"Thanks for the assistance," Hermes spoke up, slightly embarrased with the fact that this group who he had attacked before actually did help him, even though in many regards he didn't deserve it. "I'm grateful for it."

Some of the others looked up to him and nodded, others that had experienced back within the forest said nothing. Instead, glaring at him, keeping a watchful eye on him. This change in him was too sudden, and it certainly didn't feel right. Max in particular simply glared at him, unable to rightly trust him.

"I'm sorry for what happened back there," he said towards Karya. It was certainly a close thing that she barely missed the attack from his scythe otherwise more of her would be ripped rather then just her clothing. "And for what has happened before." This was concentrated on the entire group. "I can understand its difficult to trust me after all we've been through. In your positions I wouldn't trust me either. I just ask for the chance, that's all."

The van was still filled with an eerie silence. Those who had experienced his brutal attacks before didn't know what to say, how to respond, and those that hadn't experienced it didn't know him enough to make judgement. He was fine with the silence though.

"This weapon," he said, throwing the energy gun into the middle of the van. "I think it would be best if I didn't have it. I'm not proficient with a weapon like that, and I believe it would be better if someone else, who doesn't have a weapon, takes it."

Hermes shifted and moved, walking towards the front next to Zephron and Factor, crouching so his head was inbetween them, looking out towards the road before them before he could await a response from anyone else. Zephron and Factor didn't react in a shocked way from Hermes' moving, since they didn't know exactly what he was capable of or what he had done.

"I live in this city, so I should know it well enough to be of some help."

Although he hadn't mentioned it so far, Hermes' mind was also filled with other things. His estranged past, his purpose, right and wrong, and most recently, that strange enigmatic robot Hunter. It seemed that, although it attacked all of them, it was mainly focusing on Hermes. And for the real reasons why... they were something he wanted to find out.

Eckli lay sprawled out on the floor of the van, panting from his exertions. The vines had since retracted themselves, and their commander was still recovering from that slight twinge of pain he had recieved when Hunter had snapped them in two. Eckli was curious as to his new power, but didn't yet want to test it out again.

Kari, who nodded in ackknowledgment of Hermes' apology, simply sat staring at her metal appendage. Since her impact with the dumptser, it had reverted back to its original form and had her fingers now curled into a fist. Other than a few bruises and scrapes from the concrete, she was fine. She was slightly in awe of her companion's newfound power, and yet concerned with their destination at the current moment. However, she trusted her friend Zephron not to be stupid and lead them into danger. Karya also trusted Hermes enough to help the bat navigate the streets.

"Right-o...just tell me where to turn and I shall comply," Zehp said to Hermes, not taking his orange eyes off the road. The bounty hunter couldn't help but give off a small smile....

Take this corner here, Hermes said, pointing to the turning at their right. It shouldnt take too much time to get there, but the problem is, the east side of town has a huge number of warehouses. Its right by a dock and the sea, you understand. Finding whichever warehouse out of however many of them there are would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

So of the others looked to him a bit disappointed with this development. Time they did not have.

However, youre lucky that you have me. Ive got the capability to find and locate anything. A talent of being able to see the aura of anything within a distance. If I concentrated now, I could feel the aura of every single one of you, of anybody within this city. I could feel every building, every speck of dust in this dirty city. I can feel and see everything, such as things through a wall, or whatevers in your bag. Hermes turned and looked at Taffy and her bag, the one with the Chaos Emerald within it. I can find that needle. Locating which warehouse it is shouldnt be a problem.

For a long time there was darkness, nothing more. A swirling pit of inky black that surrounded his entire vision, of which encompassed everything. And then, suddenly, the darkness was split in two, separated suddenly by a blinding white stripe of light, and then a thundering boom after it.

Everything was changed. The colour of black shifted, and melded into something else; a flickering mix of colours, reds, yellows, oranges and everything else in-between. The scenery roared before him. It was a fire.

Alex blinked. He couldnt quite understand what he was seeing, but soon, the rest of the landscape changed and formed, creating a truly coherent image and making everything clearer. It was a village, with small old and primitive buildings, surrounded by strange stone columns with pictures upon them. They were being destroyed, and amongst the flames and fallen debris were charred and burned, still bodies. There were also other figures, standing up, roaming around, their own forms distinctly familiar. Overlanders.

One other figure was obvious to him. Whilst everyone else was masked by the flames, creating shadowy, indistinctive silhouettes, this person was as clear as day. A small child, on his knees, still, looking up, mesmerized by the fire and destruction. The figure had long ears, a cream coloured fur. He wore ragged clothing. Whoever he was, he must have led not too well a life, a poor child.

FLASH

Everything changed in an instant. Again, it took a while for Alex to understand and recognize what he was seeing, as it didnt make sense. Before him was a lake, surrounded by trees. It was the lake, the one he often went to bathe at. And there, before him, was that same rabbit child as before. This time however, he was not on his knees, instead he was lying down perfectly still. And there was something else, too. This figure was also perfectly clear to see as well a wolf. One however, that was not an anthropomorphic.

The rabbit child slowly wakened, blinking his eyes. He spotted the wolf, but didnt seem fazed by it. Ah, uh ah the rabbit child spoke to the wolf. The wolf slowly shook his head from side to side. Do not speak with your mouth, young one. Instead, use your mind. The wolf spoke, without moving his mouth! The rabbit child was equally surprised as his eyes widened and he suddenly shifted a little bit backwards. Whatever this scene was, it was peculiar to Alex as well. He could hear what the wolf was mentally speaking, anyway!

Who are you? The rabbit child asked in his thoughts.

The wolf bowed his head. My name is Kenji.

FLASH

Whats this? a voice called out. Alex, as he surveyed the new scene, knew the voice was familiar, but he couldnt begin to decipher who it belonged to at first. But then, it made sense as he finally understood where he was. Another part of the forest, his home. Before him, he could see the rabbit child again, still in his ragged clothing, looking weary. His body was bruised, battered and weary. And again, next to him, as clear as day was another figure. Different then before. A deer.

Bucky.

Whats your name, chana? Bucky asked, kneeling down to inspect the rabbit.

The rabbit didnt reply at first. Then, slowly: Ah uh

Ah uh? Thats a weird name. Cant you speak properly? Bucky said, placing an index finger to her chin in thought. Well, since youre saying Ah uh, Im thinking your name must be Al-ex, right? Anyway, thats what well call you from now on. Yknow, chana, normally I would just pass right through this forest and you, without a second thought, but something tells me youre different.

The rabbit child looked up, confused slightly, but his weary and dampened expression was finally lifted. It was hopeful, happy and pleased. It had a companion. A friend.

FLASH

A little bit more to the left. No, a little bit more still. Little bit more perfect. Now up a slight bit thats it. Thats better. Now fire! spoke Bucky, in the newer surroundings. It was again, a part of the forest, this time near to a cave in fact.

The rabbit child did as he was told, and the projectile which he had once been holding was now found sailing through the air, before it hit its target, of the middle of a red and white striped circle. Bulls-eye.

Wow! Nice shot, Alex, right on target. Everything was perfect! Bucky complimented, clapping her hands. Good work!

The rabbit child seemed embarrassed slightly, but nodded and smiled, laughing slightly. Its all thanks to you, Bucky.

FLASH

Well, well, what do you think?! the rabbit child shouted with great enthusiasm in his voice. The landscape was again different then before. It was still a part of the forest, but different to the ones before. It was a familiar area, of a large, hollow tree, with a weird sort of building having been created atop it.

Youre kidding me! You created this all by yourself?! the deer, Bucky, exclaimed.

Thats right! You were talking about homes, about how people need shelter. And so I did it, like you said they were like. A home for both of us! The rabbit child shouted.

Uh, Alex Bucky said, trailing off.

FLASH

A sudden sound, waking him up. The scenery was of within the tree house. The rabbit had been sharpening the tips of his arrows, when a sudden, crashing sound awoke him. Something in the distance, trees were falling, crumbling. The beginning of something new, the future. And a gathering of incredible individuals.

FLASH

Blood. So much blood. He had gone out suddenly, to try and help a friend, rushing into something without knowing all the variables, all the information. For his trouble, he was attacked and wounded badly by a wolverine after Karya. He blacked out again into darkness. Moments later, the rabbit childs vision was replaced by a bright white silhouette, in the shape of a small dog. A wolf pup.

FLASH

A sharp, whining sound of a bullet. The splintering of a wooden bow. The memory of the encounter with the crazed Overlander, whose name they did not know. The rush of the his entire life flashing before his eyes again, as the Overlander charged at him to try and kill him once and for all and his saviour, Gavin. The Overlander child who took the hit for him, and with it offered wise words that helped change two people.

FLASH

Rushing into something headfirst again, without the proper knowledge. And running into danger and trouble again because of it. The feeling of cold, hard metal placed against his skull, and the shifting of it, the gun lowering to his back, and the pain of the wound from the bullet

FLASH

Everything was now black again. No concise landscape around him. Alex wandered in a void, his body curled up into a foetal position. Suddenly, a bright white light blinding his eyes. Alex looked up, and saw two white figures, coming down towards him. One in the shape of the wolf pup, and another in the shape of the Terran. Warm feelings friends

Hack! Gack! Alex shouted, coughing as his body suddenly convulsed and he woke up, spluttering and trying to catch his breath.

Eckli was up in an instant, by Alex's side. "Alex! Are you all right friend?" The pup's face was contorted in a strange mixture of relief and slight worry.

OOC: Hey.
I finished my exams now. Thankfully.

I am out of res now though and am at a net cafe. I am staying at my brother's big, posh house in Surrey Quays and he has EVERTYHING... except net connection.

I would print out everything I had missed but it's 20p a page which is... a bit of a rip off to say the least! >>

Bare with me til I know what's gonna happen in the next few days. (:

Ben

OOC:
Ben! How are you? How'd you go? What's up? SO MANY QUESTIONS! missed you a lot. but it's good to see you back!

shame about the net connection, but hey, of course we can bare with you, you can rest easy k? and you've certainly earned some rest.

And i agree, those prices per page are a rip off.

OOC: Welcome back Ben! Glad to hear you've gotten past those tests, let us know ASAP about how you did, hey? And take your time catching up on things - you've earned some rest after what sounds like torturous studying.

I'd make an IC post now, but what the heck, y'all are doing great as it is and I think we're pushing this in the right direction! But never fear, I'm still into this and loving how complicated our little group is getting, especially since we're back to two groups now - but both with the same quest and objective, though they don't quite know it yet! Only time will tell when they'll meet up again, so hold on to your hats and keep up with the beautiful posting, folks!

OOC: Bloody. homework. kills. me. yeah.

Tergonaut, i'm real sorry for taking so long to post after you had already pretty much served me the basis for my next post on a platter. You did a lot, and i cant thank you enough, that was seriously like, the only time i've ever been just... stuck for ideas in a roleplay! still, i learned from the experience, and it did only happen once, so i guess it was actually quite beneficial.

Anyway, time for my post. Once again, welcome back Ben! it's great to hear from you ^^

--------
IC:
"Eclipse! You came!" Caine shouted. "Who's your friend?"

Eclipse looked over at Susie. "This is Susie, she..."

Eclipse looked down and just discovered that he and Susie were holding hands. Embarrassed, both she and Eclipse let go quickly and went silent. Okay, what was that? he nervously wondered, Wait... All i did was hold her hand. It wasn't even for very long. Hey, why am i even contemplating this?

But reality snapped back in again around them as Bark and Bean joined the fighting in full.

"What in tarnation?!?" exclaimed Nack as he turned to see the newly arrived group of Mobians. He reflexively drew out his pistol and fired to his left as he caught a glint of a wolf's eye in the corner of his own. The bullet hit it's mark, causing the wolf to recoil backwards.

Caine jumped at the sound of the gunshot, he was very frightened. Eclipse's attention, as well as everyone else's, was brought to Wraith who was getting into a strange stance.

In a split second, twin blue-beams pierced through the air outward from his pupils and swept across an entire row of wolves. The wolves that got hit with the beams soon found themselves within an icy tomb, and stood frozen on the spot in their last position.

Bean and Bark had beaten back a large majority of the wolf pack, and the remainder seemed to be getting fearful of the increased number of prey that seemed to be capable of fighting back. Needless to say, they turned tail and scattered.

Wraith let out a sinister laugh, "Cowardly mongrels!" he shouted after the wolves.

Roody flapped close to Wraith, "Yeah, think twice before messing with my master!" the chao shouted.

Bean threw one last stick of dynamite outward behind the retreating wolves.

"Must you always be so excessive, even to something as simple as wolves?" asked Bark to his accomplice
Bean shrugged and grinned, throwing another stick of dynamtie for good measure.

Nack kept his gun drawn but took cover behind Wraith's confident figure, quivering while looking over at Bean and Bark.

"Heck, it's Bean and Bark!" he muttered to Wraith.

"In the flesh" remarked Bark, overhearing the quivering weasel, who despite having a firearm, seemed quite afraid of he and Bean.

Eclipse's mind raced for available options. This confrontation was a mess, he had hoped to have the battle with the wolves last a bit longer so that he may slip out with Caine and Susie in the fray, but everything had ended too quickly and now they were caught in the open between Wraith, Roody and Nack, and Bean and Bark.

Susie stepped closer to Eclipse, and so did Caine. Needless to say this made Eclipse feel a bit uneasy, this feeling of responsibility, although it was also somewhat re-assuring to know that they trusted him as much as they did.

Wraith turned his head but not his body toward Bean and Bark. He smirked before frowning as he turned to Caine, Eclipse and Susie.

He turned around completely and pointed an accusing figner at the three of them, his eyes fixed onto Eclipse for a while, "I'll get to you three in a minute... especially you bat-boy... so don't even think of wandering off!"

Eclipse and company reluctantly complied. Eclipse himself looked down at Caine and tapped him to get his attention, "Caine, i'm keeping my promise. I'll get us outta here somehow."

Eclipse didn't have any complicated plan, he was simply waiting for the right moment to make a break for it... but whether that moment would arise or not was soon to be seen.

Wraith turned back to Bean and Bark and scoffed, "Well, well... Bean and Bark eh? A desperate pair of losers if I ever I saw them. What brings you here?"

Bean drew out a round black bomb and began throwing it and catching it like a children's toy. "Don't play dumb Wraith, we know what you are."

Bark stepped forward, "We've been sent here to retrieve you and the other... specimen." he looked over at Caine as he said that, then turned back to Wraith, "We know all about your tricks so you won't be able to deceive us."

Wraith tilted his head up at them, "Hmph! I must say that i'm somewhat offended that your employer is sending novice assasins after me! Does he doubt my power, or is he just an idiot?"

"Who you callin' novice?" squawked Bean, drawing out his lighter.

"uhh.. you might not wanna get 'em all angry an-" said Nack weakly.
Wraith interrupted him by delivering a knock to the face, "will you stop breathing down my neck!?, the blow knocked Nack unconscious instantly, Wraith was strong indeed.

"Are you and the other specimen going to come along with or without a fight? It doesn't matter either way." boomed Bark, irritated by Wraith's lack of attention for them.

Wraith laughed, "So now you're going to give me options? tsk tsk, no. This is how it's going to work...", Wraith raised a clenched fist, "How about i give you two some options, hmmm? Seeing as you so rudely interrupted my own daily schedule, i think that giving you poor saps the oppurtunity to run away would be much too generous." a cruel smile came over Wraith's face, "So instead, you have but two choices: one: you can stand still and accept a few minor injuries without resistance, or two: you can choose to fight back and supply me with some amusement as i grind you both into the soil of this wretched place. Heh, it doesn't matter either way."

Wraith's words must have strung a nerve in Bean's brain, the green duck instantanously became furious and lit the bomb that he was casually playing with only moments ago. Bark saw hiw comrade's actions and decided that now was as good a time to join in the new fray as any. The massive polar bear went into a fighting stance, and waited for Bean to throw his bomb before he would rush in with both fists reared for a strike.

Bean ferociously threw the bomb straight at Wraith while simultaneouslyn drawing out another with his other hand. Wraith kept his eyes firmly fixed on the hurled explosive, and delivered a well-aimed kick which sent the bomb right back to it's owner.

Both Bean and Bark both widened their eyes at the back-firing bomb and quickly scattered for cover. The bomb reached between the two as they scattered and exploded violenty. Wraith chuckled with glee as he witnessed both of these so called 'assassins' desperately jump to avoid one of their own attacks. "ooh, good shot Wraith! That oughta show 'em!" exclaimed Roody, who also took much delight in seeing the explosion.

The smoke from the explosion hadn't even cleared when Bark's massive figure came bolting out from the midst of it straight toward Wraith. With one fist extended in his leap, Bark hit Wraith with the force of a bullet-train, straight to the chest. Wraith's eyes momentarily widened as he took the blow, but didn't have time to react before his chin met with Bark's other fist, which was brought up at an incredible speed, propelling Wraith into the air and against a tree, which he collided with, then fell to the ground.

Needless to say, Roody was utterly taken by what he had just seen. "Argh! Wraith! get up!"

"now.." whispered Eclipse as he grabbed both Susie and Caine by the hand.

Susie and Caine were both silent as Eclipse led them out into a random area of forest, just away from the battlefield. Wraith was temporarily down, that weasel was knocked out cold, Bean and Bark were abosrbed in their fight, and so was that Chao... it was an escape oppurtunity that could not be missed.

Eclipse and company tried to tread lightly, but at the same time tried to gain as much distance as possible from their former location.

--

Back at the battlefield, Wraith lay limp against the tree with his head bowed down and his arms at his side, wrists against the ground.

Bark breathed out heavily and straightened himself out.

"*cough* *cough*" came from the now clearing cloud of smoke from the bomb blast. It was Bean.

"My own damn bomb..." muttered the green duck, "nailed by my own damn bomb!", he was growing more agitated as he walked up to Bark.

"Calm down Bean, the blast didn't even hit you. But i suggest you take more care with your aim next time." said Bark, in a calm tone.

Bean scoffed, "There was nothing wrong with my aim, i just didn't throw enough of 'em, that was all." his gaze turned to Wraith and he raised the unlit bomb he still had in his hand.

Bark slowly walked up the limp figure of Wraith, cautiously keeping his fists raised as he did so. upon nearing within a few feet of him, Wraith leapt up into action, bounding into the air above Bark and blasting downward with two parallel ice-beams from his eyes.

Bark managed to dodge this but just barely, Bean was already a good distance away, so he didn't have to move to dodge the attack. Not moving however, was something that he soon came to regret, as Wraith landed right beside him and delivered a swift kick to Bean's back, propelling the duck forward a few stumbling steps.

Bark gritted his teeth and charged at Wraith again, both fist reared back to deliver a double forward-thrust. Wraith ducked beneath the massive Polar bear's attack and brought up his own fist into his chest. Bark felt the blow, and stumbled a bit, givng Wraith enough time to move at incredible speed and deliver three seperate kicks to Bark.

Bark stumbled back as he coped with the pain. Wraith was about to dash toward him when he felt a stinging pain in the back of his head. He remembered why. That attack made by one of those wolves earlier had left a bruise on his head. one that stung thanks to some splinters from the tree that he was hit against.

Bean took advantage of this moment and threw his second bomb at Wraith. This time, the hedgehog was hindered slighty, and only barely managed to not get caught within the blast, but merely got pushed to the ground by it's force.

Bean swiftly lit a stick of dynamite and threw that as well. Wraith opened his icy eyes and fired the parallel frost beams once again, this time at the lit stick of dynamite that was headed right for him. The ice beams formed a solid layer of frost around the dynamite, and the fuse itself became hard and rigid, with a sharp icicle on the end. Wraith caught the frozen dynamite and wielded it like a dagger with the sharp pointed ice on the fuse being the attacking point.

Bark stood beside Bean and cracked his knuckles before growling at Wraith. Wraith smiled smugly and motioned for the two to come at him, he was ready for them. The two assassins shot eachover a glance before each making their move, Bean drew out two sticks of dynamite in one hand and swiftly lit them with the other which held his lighter. The Duck put away the lighter and twirled a stick of dynamite in each hand with excellent proficiency. He then threw then both violently against the ground, causing them to bounce slightly up at Wraith from an obscure angle.

Wraith jumped back to avoid the twin blasts but still felt some of his fur get singed, much to his own discomfort. Once again, Bark emerged from the smoke, this time not directly from the middle, but from one of the sides so as to surprise Wraith.

Wraith felt the full force of one of Bark's massive boots collide with his body, Bark had delivered a powerful kick. Wraith recoiled from the hit and threw his newly made icicle weapon at Bark.

The sharp edge of the frozen stick of dynamite pierced itself into Bark's shoulder, causing him to flinch violently.

Wraith dashed toward Bark but then tripped over something on his way and fell flat against the ground. He got up quicklly to see what he tripped on. Bean ahd rolled a round balck bomb in his general direction, like a bowling ball, it hit Wraith square on the ankles.

Needless to say, Wraith was growing very frusttrated. He got up and jumped to avoid yet another bomb blast. Smoke was now covering large portions of the battlefield, giving Bark plenty of places to lunge out from.

Wraith's cold eyes scanned his surroundings as he kept a lookout for any surprise attacks. This time, both Bean and Bark had lunged out from the smoke from a different direction. Bark ferociously had his teeth bared as he reeled both arms for a strike, despite any wounds, and Bean was wielding a stick of dynamite like a club.

The two came very close to Wraith before he suddenly disappeared. Bean and Bark stopped dead in their tracks and now their eyes scanned around for any surprise attacks.

"Now i remember what the bat said..." muttered Bean, "This joker can teleport!"

"speaking of bats.." started Bark, "where are the poet and susie now?"

Bean stopped for a second, then began searching frantically in all directions for Eclipse and Susie, but they were nowhere to be found.

"Hey waitaminnit!" squawked Bean, "The other target's gone too!"

Now Bark's focus was interrupted as he looked over at Bean upon hearing the duck's words.

The oppurtunity was taken advantage of, and Wraith re-appeared directly between the two, grabbing each of them by the scruff of their necks and spinning around in a circle with them before throwing them both violently.

Bean hit a tree and Bark hit a boulder, both lay down where they hit.

Wraith breathed out a bit, "You've wasted enough of my time here... and you've cost me dearly" he spat angrily, referring to the now unknown whereabout of Caine. Wraith then teleported out of the scene, Roody quickly flying next to him to be teleported with his master.

Wraith knew he could find Caine if he could sense him, but the whole ordeal was a setback... and he hated setbacks.

Bark growled and Bean groaned as the both of them sat up from their locations, rubbing their foreheads. "What the heck is he?" muttered Bean, checking that he hadn't dropped his lighter, or his backup matches.

Bark checked his jaw to make sure his teeth were all in place before he replied, "This is going to be harder than initially expected."

A few curse words were uttered from the direction of the collapsed figure of Nack and Bean and Bark both looked over at him. Nack sat upright and felt his nose, it was bleeding... thanks to Wraith. "Is this ther thanks i gets for helpin' out a hedgehog? no sir, that ain't right..." he grumbled.

He looked up to see too looming figures standing over him. Bark grabbed Nack by the collar and brought him up to eye-level. "now hold on jus' a minute now! put me down darnit!"

"What were you doing working with that hedgehog?" asked Bark in a menacing tone. Nack replied nervously, "Well, uh, y'see, uhm.. i was jus' doin' buisiness and uh.."

"Bark, this guy's useless, let's just blow him up and go look for Wraith!" shouted Bean, obviously frustrated. "Besides, we got a little payback in order!"

Nack saw his oppurtunity, "Oh, so you're after 'im eh? well now... i thinks i might be able to help you boys out!"

Bark set the weasel down to listen to him. "This had better be good." he grumbled.

Nack dusted off his arms and checked for his revolver before continuing, "Yes siree, so happens i know exactly where that there Wraith character's headed!" he smiled slyly, his large fang potruding out from the rest of his jaw, "that is, if'n 'yall tell me why yer after 'im in the first place..."

Bark narrowed his eyes at the weasel, "Our employer wants him brought back to him. He's potentially... he IS highly dangerous, and so's that other one. They-"

"employer eh?" interrupted Nack, "well now... that means there's uhh.. money involved here right?"

"yeah, OUR money!" replied Bean, crossing his arms.

"heh, well..." said Nack, adjusting his hat, "What if i was to tell you boys that i could get this much closer to findin' that crazy hedgie and all you'd have to do is split a little cash on the side eh?"

Bean scoffed, "And why do we need you weasel-boy?"

"well, ain't no-one around that knows these here parts better'n i do!" said the weasel, sounding proud, "plus, i happen to know where he's headed right now! 'course, i'd live to share my skills wit' you boys, but only if 'yall have me along..."

Bean and Bark looked at eachover, it was true that they didn't know these parts very well at all, they had actually hoped to keep Susie with them so they could make use of her tracking abilities, but now they had nothing. Not to mention that having someone else on their side to fight Wraith didn't exactly seem like such a bad idea.

"alright..." said Bean, "we'll give you 10% if you join."

Nack waved a finger, "nope, can't help ya! i didn't hear mah favourite number there!"

"15 percent" said Bark, sternly.

Nack folded his arms, "gettin' closer..."

"twenty" said Bean.

"nah-uh."

"30 percent." said Bean again.

"yer gettin' there..."

"how much then?" inquired Bark.

"oh, 75's nice..." mused Nack.

Bark growled.

"okay okay fine, i was just stirrin' ya! 40's fine!" said Nack.

"THIRTY MAX" squawked Bean.

"yeah, that works too." grumbled Nack, hoping for a higher share. "yer awful lucky i'll settle for that. information don't come cheap 'round these parts y'know!"

------

As Eclipse Susie and Caine ran, Eclipse could sense a disturbance within the group.

Eclipse stopped and let go of Caine and Susie's hands.

"what's wrong 'clips?" asked Susie innocently.

Eclipse turned to face Caine who was looking back where they came from.

"Caine... what's wrong?" he asked.

Caine took a while to reply, "It's... it's.. Wraith's still back there..."

Eclipse tilted his head, "It's ok, we've got some good distance, we can keep go-"

"no it's not that" said Caine, shaking his head while closing his eyes tightly, "It's... nevermind i don't... i don't know anymore."

Eclipse placed a hand on Caine's shoulder, "hey, chin up. i kept my promise didn't i? you're safer here with us now."

"yeah, we'll take care of you!" said Susie, shooting Caine a happy grin.

Caine still looked uneasy, his mind was in conflict about Wraith.

Eclipse knew there was something wrong, but he also knew that the group didn't have time to spend asking any more questions here, they had to keep moving in case Bean Bark, or even Wraith himself was already hot on their trail.

Eclipse turned to walk but stopped halfway as his large ears picked up something.

Susie curiously looked over at him, "what now?"

"i hope i'm not inconveniencing anyone" said a voice from nowhere.

"wh..who are you?" asked Eclipse to no-one in particular as he looked around nervously.

"Forgive my abruptness, my name is Cipher..."

---
OOC:
Tag Tergonaut, here's your bit!

Phew, that was long. i know i wrote a lot back there, but i'm not necessarily proud of that post. it seemed kind of... empty. just like, not enough feeling was in it. Bleah. Well, i haven't posted in this RP for a while, maybe that's got something to do with it. I better get posting again soon, otherwise i fear my RP abilities may become rusty... or at least, rustier than i just demonstrated. man, come to think of it i don't really like my post at all. Ah well, i'm keeping it up purely based on the fact that i need to progress the storyline, it's been on my ' to do' list for far too long.

OOC: your RPing style is getting rustier, and you werent pleased with that post? What the heck?! O_o That was a fantastic post, James, I felt really involved in that post, even if I was only reading it! All of the characters were well done and the fight itself was so engaging and brilliantly done. Seriously, this RP would be a fantastic anime or manga if only

And its great to hear that the exams are over now, Kate, which should no doubt be a lot of weight lifted on your shoulders. Now theres only to have to wait until the results come. Hopefully that all comes out superbly.

And about catching up on the RP, that was a point I made on Tergs message board which Im not sure if a lot of people read whats better, shorter posts or longer posts? As is obvious, longer posts take a longer time to read, but also a lot more detail, characterization, action and generally events can happen as James has demonstrated. I personally dont mind reading long posts since Im a quick reader and have a good deal of time, and I dont mind writing longer posts either since Im a fast typer as well, and when you start writing, you get involved in it etc

But what are peoples thoughts on this matters?

IC later.

Thanks for your welcome back and all, James, Terg and Pach ^^
I've finally got a chance to print out the pages I printed but haven't quite finished reading it all. I've been a bit ill. What bad timing considering I was supposed to be having a break.

The viva list should be up today- and I hope to dear god I am not on it. It's an oral exam. It's supposed to be for people only just missed a pass and the viva can raise your marks and not deduct. It's rare people do well in them though. If you're not on the list, chances are you've passed. All people that fail are on the list anyway... >>
but people with 52% (and 50% is a pass) may be on it.
So yeah, am sitting here twiddling my thumbs and waiting for the good old doctor to post the list.
The actual results are out tomorrow.

James, I read your recent post. It's excellent and I was well into it as well ^^. You shouldn't doubt your skills. Really! I wouldn't bother commenting if I didn't find it a fantastic read. You controlled Wraith really REALLY well, and also Caine's doubt. And the fluctuating upper hands between the adversaries. Good stuff!

Pach,
It really is up to the writer whether they want to write short or longer posts and they shouldn't really care what other people think. If people were enjoying the RP and were commited, they would be happy to read long posts.
Having said that, to me it depends on how the person writes, which is all a bit diffecult. I think it's always nice to write vivid posts to get people in the story, but at the same time express yourself in a manner that's easy to the eyes. One's individual style is also nice rather than a monotoned and generalise, 'matter of fact', manner of writing. If a post is really REALLY boring, and espicially long at that, I will switch off. A fault of mine I wish I could correct.
I like it when people balance what the write. I'm always intrigued by what a character is feeling, or what they're thinking and how they are reacting to a given situation at a given time so that I know what they're like. Then again, I think it's intrigueging for certain characters, not to describe what they're feeling or what they're thoughts are. Builds up a sense of mystery. I remember a book 'Mosquito Coast' by Paul Theroux were the story was told by Charlie Fox so it was 1st person. But for me at the time it was hard to decipher what his thoughts were because he was a confused adolescent boy who tried to impress his dominating father.

Before I trail off there... I think;
It's good to balanace description of character's 'well beings' with the descirption of the scenery maybe. But if people try too hard to the extent of describing like, every leaf on a tree... then I will get bored. Detail is great, but precision and to the point is also something I like. Unless you want to drag something out to match the tone of the scene, like going on about someone's killer thirst in the desert, page after page, then it's valid.

Now I've forgotten what I really wanted to say... ^^'
Basically, to me it's all about the style of writing and what you're trying to get across and whether it's an enjoyable read. If it's tedious and painful to read, then I wouldn't like longer posts. But I won't protest about it either. It's not mainly a personal thing, though I do have some faves in terms of people's writing styles (well, I'm being honest). Scenes play a part. An exciting scene is great to prolong. Some boring scenes I do realise have to be prolonged in order to advance the plot.
I like everyone's writing here though!

Well, we'll see what Cipher has to say now and I guess I'll takeover with Wraith and Caine. Still am not up to date with the other scenes though *shot*

Anyway, take care guys!

Sorry to double post. I think my msg will be overseen if I edit though. Pls don't kill me XD

I passed my exams. Only JUST! They did put me on the viva! And I was in tears last night, telling myself I had failed but quite the oppisite happened.

Phew!

James has sent me a long lovely msg but I have to go home now and check my brother's house and as you know, don#t have net. But I staggered in here to at least let people know. Not everyone was lucky in my course though...

Thanks for your support and positive words all along everyone. They meant a lot to me and I wouldn't have done well without them.

Take Care!!! Gonna try and write something tomorrow I should think.. post wise! XD

Well done Kate, that's excellent news. You deserve it for all the hard work and effort you had put into it, and all the stress and worry you got given from it. That's great news and well done.

OOC: I shall hopefully post soon but various circumstances have been chewing up a lot of my time...

OOC: Thanks Pach! Yeah, it was stressful though, very stressful. It's supposed to get better from 2nd year onwards. We shall see, term starts this monday e_e. Some holiday. But I won't complain cos things worked out how I wanted

IC:

Wraith reappeared on another spot in the part of the forest, seemingly isolated from his adversaries and the previous party he had been journeying with.
As the lights died down, he nearly collapsed to the ground, before grabbing onto a nearby branch to balance himself.
"Are you okay my superior?" asked Roody catching up.
Wraith scarcely nodded, as he stopped to catch his breath, his one hand latching onto a branch and the other gripping the Chaos Emerald.
"Stupid of those jerks to turn up!" Roody commented, referring to Bean and Bark.
Wraith growled at the mention of the names, before pulling himself up and straightening.
"Next time I see that damn duck and that son of coat bear... I swear I'll butcher them alive!" he threatened in a dagger-like tone, his voice nearly echoing through the trees which scared certain birds away in a frantic array.
"like I did the wolves..." he muttered in a cold tone.
He looked towards Roody and smiled superficially.
"So the losers were sent out to capture you and Caine?" Roody asked.
"I reckon. So." Wraith frowned, turning his head to scan the trees in a slight distracted manner "that's not a burden on my mind right now though. The pursuers will never succeed."
He paused as he briefly reflected on the events just before his fight took place with the two 'assassins', as it were.
"That bat. That... schitzo!" Wraith realised.
"Schitzo?" Roody enquired.
"Yes. I met him first in the wheetfield before I captured that other poor sap of a hedgehog. One minute the bat was cowardly and careless, the next he transformed into some magic wielding freak..." Wraith said biting his lower lip, not really able to come up with a good explanation, one that could merely even convince himself "don't know what the volatile freak wants with that hedgehog kid..."
"Maybe he's just his friend. Cos I saw some cat as well. Maybe they're all friends. And the cat didn't look the kind, or one to have the brains to scheme up some kinda ulterior motives.... so..." Roody trailed off.
"Either way, that's the 2nd time that bat has got in my way and that's as much as I'm going to put up with!" Wraith declared, raising a fist.
With that, the icey hedgehog took off in a blizzard like dash- with intent on finding the other specimen and to confront Eclipse- regardless of whether it came down to that or not.

___

Caine was startled to say the least when he saw the newcomer, Cipher the mouse arrived. Turning around slowly, but staying close to Eclipse and Susie, he faced the mouse fully and frowned slightly.
"Who are you? And why are you here?" Caine asked in a slight defensive tone.

OOC: Good to hear, Ben, good to have you back in. Hope it does go easier for you.

And Torn, be glad to have you back to whenever you can make it, haven't seen you around in a while.

IC:
The white mouse smiled roguishly at the three young friends. "My name is Cipher," he introduced himself, winking with his good eye, the other covered by a black eyepatch. "And Eclipse and Susan have seen me before, though they left the others to look for you, young Caine. As for the reason I'm here, it is the same reason I went to the others. I must be brief because Wraith is chasing after you even as we speak, but there is a shadow organization calling itself the Combine that is searching for the Chaos Emeralds. Wraith has one of them, which is undoubtedly one reason why those two mercenaries were after him and Caine here."

"But why? Why would they be after me?" asked Caine, though by the way his eyes widened and his jaw stayed slightly open, Cipher could tell that an idea was dawning onto him.

"The other reason they are after you, Caine, is because you and Wraith are a part of the Combine's plan to use the Chaos Emeralds to conquer the world."

There was a brief, stunning silence. The wind seemed to pick this moment to shift past them with a breeze, ruffling Cipher's gray trench coat. Caine exchanged glances with Eclipse, and they both remembered how Wraith was talking about Caine's purpose, how he was a weapon. The words of Seipher also came to Caine's mind, and the three-tailed kitsune sounded as serious as anything Caine had ever heard in his short span of memory.

"Now, I know that Wraith has called you a weapon, Caine, and I wish I could tell you that wasn't true," said Cipher, breaking the silence. "But the truth is, the Combine did create you, but even I'm not entirely sure what they meant you to be. The Combine is notorious for genetic and cybernetic experimentation, and there is no doubt that you were created along with Wraith to somehow use the Chaos Emeralds. Exactly how that is, I'm afraid I don't know either, yet."

"But!" exclaimed Cipher as he whirled around and began to walk into the trees. "Caine, to find out the reason why you are alive, you must seek after the Chaos Emeralds. The story that Nack told you is very true, you must unravel the mystery of the stag and the bleeding tree to find another Chaos Emerald. But quickly, before Wraith or the mercenaries catch up with you! I will use my magic to delay Wraith, but you must hurry!"

Cipher looked back momentarily to see that Eclipse had perked up his ears at the mention of Cipher using magic, and the mouse said, "Eclipse, the answer to your curse is with the Emeralds as well. Seek after them!"

And with that, the mouse was gone.

Susie sniffed loudly. "Weirdo. Stag and a bleeding tree?"

OOC: I'll try to post toward the other group next time I post, so let's keep it up and keep it going.

EDIT: Well, time to get this puppy rolling.

I didn't reply to Pach's post about longer or shorter posts. I sorta agree with Ben on the matter of involvement, though sometimes we find a post boring that the next person might get inspired by. Try as we might, we're not going to impress everyone every time. The important thing is to try to put as much effort into each post to make it clearly written, whether short or long.

That said, I think I prefer longer posts. Though short posts can create very touching and powerful scenes - some of the most emotional parts of Evalc's RP were done in short posts as characters reacted to each other in quick succession, and it really felt like it was something that could have happened in a movie - I often like to get a clear and descriptive picture of what's going on in a situation. Like Ben said, describing every little leaf on a tree is overkill - but it doesn't help to try to add in the other senses when trying to describe a scene. Do the leaves rustle beneath your feet, or crunch? Does the air carry a smell of honey, or lilacs, or rotting flesh? Can you feel the rough texture of the tree you're leaning against, or the smooth surface of an operating table? Did what you just eat taste sweet, sour, tangy, or bitter? And even visual senses can be enhanced by extra details. I also try to remember that most of the characters we use here in the Guild are anthropomorphic animals - while most of their abilities are in the human range, a bat Mobian would surely have greater hearing than a mole Mobian for example, while most Mobians will have slightly better smelling than humans. They aren't just humans wearing furry suits, after all. I often forget this myself though, I try to add in little details like Susie's fur and Taffy's tail bristling up but sometimes I let my human perspective get in the way of that.

...wow, that was a random and unnecessary lecture, everyone overall does a good job with this and we can only keep on getting better. On to the RP (and hopefully I can put what I just talked about into practice)

IC:
Taffy was still deciding whether to trust Hermes more fully or not when Alex's body shook under the hand she had left on his shoulder, and the tan-furred rabbit coughed as he sat up quickly.

"Alex! Are you all right, friend?" asked Eckli before Taffy could ask. Though the young pup had been nurturing the hurt he had received from the robotic Hunter, his own injuries were forgotten as soon as Alex showed signs of recovery.

Alex looked dumbly around the back of the van at everyone for a few moments, as if his mind was catching up with the rest of his body, but then he managed to catch his breath and choke out an, "I'm okay, Eckli."

Taffy felt immediately relieved, like a weight had just been taken off of her, and she felt happy to see Eckli hopping up and down excitedly at Alex's miraculous recovery. But she also felt a little angry at Alex for getting himself shot in the first place. "You were shot through the chest," she told him in an almost disapproving tone, "so don't move around too much, you still need to adjust to having your insides messed up. You're lucky that Eckli and Lena were around, if they hadn't been there..."

She trailed off as she realized that her hand was still gripping his shoulder, and she removed it hastily enough that she was sure everyone in the room noticed it. "Anyway, Hermes," she said, quickly turning to the human so she wouldn't have to look at Alex's eyes, "if you can really sense that much, then you should be able to find where that Chaos Emerald is with no problem."

"Yes, finding it won't be the problem," replied Hermes. As if to emphasize this, there was a loud boom that came from the distance, the thunderclap of an explosion vibrating the car ever so slightly. "But if that hedgehog I fought earlier was any proof, then the problem will be getting the Emerald."

Standing in the middle of one of the warehouses, holding a large ruby-red gemstone in his hands, a lone hamster stood amid flaming wreckage and bodies. The stench of burning fur reached his nostrils, and he greedily inhaled to let the foul smoky flavor reach into his insides.

"So you all thought I was just a tagalong, huh?" he asked maliciously as he looked about with glowing red eyes and a mad grin on his face. "But little Ricky got to the Chaos Emerald first, and now look what you are! Nothing but rags, see? Nothing!"

Ricardo walked out of the open door into the sunlight of the day, the gray haze over the city making everything look gloomy and downtrodden. "And now, nothing can stop me! I think it's about time I went to boss Garos and asked him for a pay raise..."

The hamster let out a laugh that was near-hysterical before he launched himself forward with blinding speed toward the technological complex that dominated the center of the city.

OOC: Just remembered something, I think I'm going to introduce the Boss Fight System that has been used in another RP to maybe help us all out. Basically the BFS is something that TetherBlood came up with to give vital info on each major enemy character that would come up, allowing RPers to understand the limits of a particular character and be more flexible when RPing battles with that character.

Boss: Ricardo (small-time hamster thug gone superpowered)

Abilities: Empowered by the red Chaos Emerald, Ricardo is now able to move with superhuman speed (though not the same level as Wraith or, for comparison's sake, Sonic) and he has above-average strength despite his frail frame. Though the warehouse was on fire, he doesn't have fire powers; the fire was accidentally started by the gunfire in the building during the fight there. He can also concentrate the energy of the Emerald into a single explosion, but this is a last-ditch effort that he'll only use when it is clear that he's outmatched.

Weaknesses: Right now, his biggest weakness is his mental instability, caused by the Chaos Emerald: though he is now powerful, the Emerald's unbalanced power has affected his mind and as long as he has the Emerald, he will be easily angered and distracted. He'll also lose all of his power if he loses his grasp on the Emerald, which will simultaneously restore him to sanity, but this won't be easy.

Special notes: Ricardo has accidentally tapped into the power of the Chaos Emerald, but since he does not have the other six to balance it out nor is he naturally gifted to use it, he has gone slightly insane. He is also headed right for the Combine base in the center of Danberg, so that's where the focus of the action will now shift.

Now, while the BFS sort of "spoils" the surprise of fighting someone, I'd encourage you to use your imagination when fighting against Ricardo. He's going to be well above the abilities of most of the characters, so it'll take teamwork to take him down. And certainly I'd like to see him last more than one or two posts, no instant knockouts if you please. But I'm not really that worried about this group, you've all got vivid imaginations and I'm sure this information will help you keep the upcoming chase and fight interesting.

Anybody have any comments on the Boss Fight System? This is probably a clumsy way for me to use it so it isn't the best representation of it, but it's an idea we might decide to work with.

OOC: Ah, many thanks to Terg and Ben for their response to my earlier question. All very good answers there and I appreciate your thoughts.

To be honest, I find this BFS a very good system to use, as it gives us information about the character so that if we wanted to use him in our posts as I expect we should we would be able to use him well. However, it does already reveal his weaknesses to us but I should believe that the rest of the RPers will be able to take into account the fact that the characters dont know it and thus not immediately exploit it. A nice idea.

IC:

Alex sighed and looked down towards the shaking ground of the van after a quick sweep of the van and noticing the familiar faces of his friends. He was still weary after what had happened, but more then not, he was disappointed that it had happened twice now. Running into something head first without the necessary knowledge and information, and in the end paying the price for it. Like Taffy said, if it wasnt for Lena and Eckli, he would have been dead. It would be better now to not experience anything like that again. Alex looked to his left hand, the one which held the razor blades before. It was bleeding despite the fact that Lena and Eckli had healed him before, their power was mainly concentrated on his gunshot wound. His hand had been healed a small degree, but Alex assumed that the group hadnt noticed it. And he didnt aim to tell them either.

Whilst it was also an unnerving experience, he also began to feel like a burden to the group. What could he possibly offer them? He was a nave, foolish person. He knew nothing of the world, or where he actually was. His strengths only laid within his sharp eye and use of a bow and arrow, but did he have them anymore? No. He still had some arrows in his quiver, but his bow was shattered, destroyed, by that Overlander assassin.

wait. Overlander assassin?

Alexs head shot towards his right and to the back of Hermes, who was leaning forward to give directions to Zephron. What the heck?! What was he doing here? What in the world was going on here?!

Alexs head turned around, to properly inspect the dirty and gloomy van. Max looked wounded, but everyone else was more or less okay. But where was Gavin?

Agh! Alex said, shifting slightly away from Hermes. Wh-why is he here? Whats going on!?

Alex! Hermes Hermes is on our side. Taffy replied, trying to relieve Alex whose sudden movement jolted pain across his body.

Hermes? Alex repeated. He hadnt been conscious to hear the Overlander introduce himself earlier, and was now filled with confusion.

We dont have time for introductions. Hermes muttered aloud. Something more important has happened.

What? Is something going on with the Chaos Emerald? Lena asked.

Theres a huge energy spike moving through the streets. Its moving at such a rapid pace I cant concentrate on it, and identify what it really is its moving away from one of the warehouses. One that is filled with energy as well, on fire. Hermes continued.

This energy spike. Is it the Chaos Emerald or not, chana? Bucky asked.

Yes. Theres no mistaking that particular energy. Its moving away from the warehouse to something else. I cant tell what, though. Hermes answered.

Then we intercept it. Factor said.

Just point me in the right direction! Zephron said, ready to turn at any moment.

Left! Go left now! Hermes shouted.

And Alex could only look on at the rest of them with an expression of such confusion.

OOC: Not posting an IC just yet, i just thought i'd get some OOC comments in.

Agreeing 100% with Pachamac on the Boss Fight System there Tergonaut. The system not only allows for a creative insight to a boss to allow for a fantastic battle sequence, but also gives us a better understanding of the character when we control them.

I haven't quite realised up until now what needed to be done in our battles so far. I thought we might've needed something to help with a battle against Lunaril, seeing as i feel that i haven't exposed his weaknesses (he DOES have them of course, i wouldn't make a god-mode character!). The battle against Hunter i feel was quite well done, with everyone leaping in to attempt an individual strike, however in future, using the BFS will allows everyone to make 'team based combat' posts, that could involve a lot more complex moves than simply running in one by one with an attack!

not to mention writing stats for a boss looks like so much fun :3

My highest regards to Tetherblood for their brilliant concept!

Boss Fight System good. i'd love to have it kept in the RP!

OOC: Heh, I dunno. I think it could work...and I can't think of anything IC to post right now...

Danm, I'm holding everyone up again!

Well, term has just started and I still have no net access ^^; not at 'home' anyway.

I ahve 8 mins left and there's no way I'm gonna get a decent post out of this.

At least I have read everything up and til now and maybe I can post tomorrow as I have the day off.

Yeah, the BFS system is cool. Just I think it's crucial that everyone knows 'Thou does not know thy weakness'.
The concept sounds like it exerts a little more control and order and some boundary as it were... but how is it in practise? (:

Cheerio!

OOC: Ben, good point to bring up: the BFS system's drawback is that it gives the players knowledge that the characters should not have. There can still be surprises of course as the creator of the "boss" can create, but for the most part weaknesses and capabilities are laid out. But so far as I've seen it used in GMI, it hasn't been a real problem; often, the characters have defeated a boss without ever discovering their weakness! It is noted however that the BFS has only been introduced recently and I've only seen it a few times, so in a sense it is still in the experimental stages as far as introducing it into this RP goes. I think we'll try it and see how we can adjust it as time goes on, perhaps we can include obvious weaknesses but not explain every little detail or whatnot.

Anyhow, no IC right now since I'm at college, but I'm going to try to post (or edit as the case may be) today. I'll try not to delay as this is going to be the first car chase scene I've done in an RP and I'm looking forward to it.

EDIT: Party time.

IC: With Zephron at the wheel, the van veered around a street corner just as a red-tinged blur came onto the street from another direction. "Follow that," said Hermes simply and calmly even as he held on to the chairs in front of him to keep him from falling over.

"Roger," answered Zephron, his concentration on driving as he stepped on the gas.

Taffy felt a lot more tense than she had before, and it was annoying her. Lots of danger in the direction we're going, she suddenly realized as she struggled up to her feet to look forward, seeing a humanoid shape that ran ahead of them. Why are the streets so clear? There should be tons of traffic right now...

The van hit a pothole in the road, and Taffy fell back down next to Alex, cursing under her breath as she struck her rear hard. Rubbing it, she happened to glance over at Alex and saw red dotting his hand.

"What happened to your hand, Alex?" she asked, the chase and everyone else forgotten as she recognized the scent of blood.

Alex looked up at her with surprise in his eyes, but he held out his hand to her. Like he already knows there's no use in arguing with me, she thought, and it was her turn to be surprised as she felt touched by the gesture.

"Never mind, let me wrap that for you so you don't bleed all over the place..."

It was a job made harder by the rollicking van as it twisted and turned, with the occasional order from Hermes and grunt of acknowledgement from Zephron, but Taffy crudely wrapped the hand so that Alex could still use his fingers but he would just have to be careful with his hand.

"Why aren't there more people in the streets?" asked Lena, who had just looked outside before being forced back into a sitting position by the moving van.

"Mrs. Diller said something about the city being ordered to stay indoors for those goons to go searching about, wasn't it?" pointed out Max.

"I'm useless."

Taffy looked back at Alex, her focus on his downcast eyes. "Oh no you don't," she said fiercely but quietly, recognizing the look on his face. "Alex, you have been brave ever since we've met, don't you dare start pulling yourself down now!"

"She's right, boyo," said Bucky next to Alex, and Taffy suddenly felt a little embarrassed at being overheard though she wasn't really sure why. "Besides, there's still a fight at the end of this chase, and we're gonna need every hand that can fight..."

The van and the blur it was chasing were both heading toward the large technological complex in the center of the city...

OOC: Think of the complex as being a lot like any major corporate center, like Shinra HQ from FF7 if that helps.