13:30:06 Sunday, April 13 2070
Gang HQ
China Doll

Crystalline clear the metallic scent sharpened her vision of the moist trail left by Toy Robot. In release at the sight and scent, the gang went into action, chaotic individual motions weaving together in a wave of 410Crashers to the Gym and out the loading dock doors.

China Doll practically leapt over the railing skipping a set of stairs on her way down. During her brief exposure crossing the lower hallway, her glance towards the front doors verified the invaders were momentarily consolidating their position.

Hope that's long enough, they will run me down if they get moving.
First thing I am changing are the stupid Miracle Shooter icons and targeting reticles I copied.
This is not a game!

Not anymore.

Entering the gym and glancing towards the other entrance, the one closest to the trollish entry team, she waved to get JAX's attention, then frantically pointed to the overhead track, and then the already backing van in the loading dock. Mounting her waiting Ducati, China Doll, mentally commanded the Razor to roll to the northern doors, avoiding the van as it backed under the overhead running track.

Grimacing at the ARO targeting reticles highlighting the angry red blobs beyond the door while she carefully pulls out her Fichetti pistol, releasing the safeties and running through the systems checks.

"I'll run drag, keep the doors clear, and we need to pick up Aziz."

Her weapon ready, China Doll drops into a relaxed position and straps herself down.

<<Crash410 \\ AgentX Scan Guard and Update>>

13:30:19 Sunday, April 13 2070
Running Away, Hopefully to Fight Another Day
Shade

As Toy had regained consciousness, Shade suppressed his instinct to give her a big hug out of sheer relief that she’d pull through. He was afraid of reopening her wounds, and restrained himself when he saw the confusion in her eyes.

He saw how Raven’s voice, urgent but gentle, cut through the haze of Toy’s fogged conscious and got her up and moving towards the back of the Y. Once again, he thanked God for Raven, and sprang back into action again. Running down the hallway towards the gym, he returned Raven’s message.

<@Raven: Thanks so much for helping Toy, I owe you. I’ll meet up with you two, where’s your wheels at?>

<@Shade: Back of the Y, other side of Elizabeth Street.>

<@Raven and Toy: Got it. I’ll see you there. Stay safe you two.>

Letting his finely honed muscles take over, his mind was free to concentrate on what had to be done. Sprinting towards the gym, he vaulted over the railing, turning 180 degrees in midair to catch himself on the railing, and then gently dropped to the floor. Hitting the ground in a crouch, he immediately rolled to break the impact and came up running again towards his bike.

Thank God that while my mind has been clouded, my body is still up to speed. Now I just need to get my mind back into things, and I’ll be good to go.

He laughed quietly at his own thoughts as he raced towards the bike. That’ll be easier said than done. Right now, first things first.

And the first thing to do was escape. Straddling his bike, a Yamaha Rapier that China Doll had taught him to ride, he brought it to life, the engine throbbing with a gentle purr. Accelerating into motion, he smoothly pulled the bike out of the garage along with the others who were racing from the gym as well, out into the streets.

Seeing Raven and Toy ahead of him mounting the shaman’s bike, he signaled them. <@Raven and Toy: I’m with you. Go!>

They went all right, taking off at an unbelievable speed that had Shade shaking his head. How can she ride that fast? It’s not natural! It must be magic. There’s no other reasonable explanation.

<@Shade: We need to stay safe for a while, a minute at least, otherwise Toy's wounds will open up once again. We will be at Cyberia in a few.>

<@Raven: OK. How the hell are you moving so fast? Magic? I can’t keep up.>

<@Shade: Spirit help. Just keep up as best as you can till we’re clear.>

As best as he can was a good way to put it. Shade was able to ride a bike with a reasonably proficient level of skill, thanks to instruction from the more vehicular minded individuals in the gang, but he was nowhere near as good as the truly skilled riders. After a few twists and turns, he was afraid he’d lost them, but shortly he sees them waiting for him.

Raven must’ve communicated silently with one of her spirits, because something, call it a presence, was suddenly behind him on the bike.

“Let's fly! At least they will have trouble to follow us. I just hope there are no traffic checks...”

With that, the two of them gunned the accelerators, racing off into the afternoon, hoping that before the day was over they’d see their friends again. Following Raven’s course, Shade attempted to get a sense of clarity in the otherwise wild and crazy last few minutes.

<@Raven: Where are we meeting up with the others? Nurse’s clinic, right?>

13:30:19 Sunday, April 13 2070
Confused and disorientated
Toy Robot

The massive cavity ripped out of Toy Robot's carotid artery had grown back through healing magic and fresh oxygenated blood hit her brain all at once. A sickly tingling raged in Toy's hands and feet and she felt herself exploding back up towards consciousness through the white, oppressive ocean which consumed her mind when her brain was deprived of blood. With this catapult towards consciousness all of Toy's sensations of pain and fear exploded back into being coming on line all at once like a cacapohnous recording of an orchestra being played back on a stereo on maximum volume which had been muted only a moment ago. Toy staggered helpless left and right as the world spun like a mad amusement park ride around her. Nausea and unconquerable panic punched her hard in the gut one after the other and from time to time as Toy staggered she wasn't sure if she was still on her feet or if she was on the ground quivering.

Toy wasn't sure how she got there but all of a sudden she was sitting on the back of a bike. The world was still spinning, though, and between frantic dry heaves she was afraid that she might tumble from the back of the bike as soon as it started moving. Toy reached forward and grabbed the person ahead of her, who seemed kind of skinny, and clung hard, knowing that her sense of balance would not return for a while. As she grit her teeth and reined in her useless dry heaving, Toy realized she was pressing herself against someone with long hair.

13:30:06 Sunday, April 13 2070
Gang HQ
BronzeWyrm

No sooner had Shade arrived he was gone again! Damn him! The three, probably weakest, members of the gang struggle to get Auran's unconcious form down the stairs. The trolls are in the front door, a grenade goes off, they dash across the hall into the gym, praying that a bullet would not take them out. Then Electrode is suddenly there...

Once Auran is secure, Nurse leaves, the heads up display shows her dashing for her bike. Once Auran is secure on the buggy, 0day runs off to join her. Wyrm barely has the time to strap in when she sees Nurse's bike take off out of the loading bay doors. Electrode isn't far behind...

In her hands Wyrm holds the thermosmoke grenades that Tao left them with. Maybe tossing them up Hunt may help in some small means in providing cover for those escaping. The gang flees from the HQ like rats leaving a sinking ship, scattering to the wind like leaves in autumn. Now is 'not' the time to get poetic Wyrm, she reminds herself. Once free of the grenades, Wyrm's mind is a jumble...

Ok, stay calm, focus... She takes a deep breath... She tells Electrode to match Nurse's route as close as possible, then goes VR... She needs to make sure that they can't track the gang electronically. She's actually hoping to take on oen of the hackers - if not to delay them - then to provide some means of venting out her anger at this situation.
-
So much for a punk street gang, damn Slam, damn his deal! What the frag was he thinking?! Wyrm's icon sparks with electricity, her persona embracing the anger in her mind.

13:30:05 Sunday, April 13 2070
On the streets of the neighborhood
Halo

The drugs were racing through her veins, both the natural adrenaline and the cram. If she wasn't on the bike she'd likely be vibrating she was so amped up. With a pause in her breathing she pops the clutch and the bike lurches forward. Giving it the gas she smooths out the ride and rockets out of the Y via the loading dock's opening steel rolling door.

Backing off the gas and pulling in the clutch she barely feels Tao's arm wrap around her as she starts to put a booted foot to the ferrocrete and leaned hard to the right, letting the back end of her bike into a controlled slide as she whips it around to shoot up Hunt Avenue to the north.

She's picking up speed when she has to make a decision on which way to turn. A hard left and risk laying the bike down onto Spinning Ave. or a softer right onto W. Main and near certain suicide in front of the assembled trolls.

Her choice is clear but she makes certain as she takes the right that she tells the Trolls just what she thinks of them with as crude of a one armed gesture as she can manage while keeping control of the bike. It wouldn't be hard for them to see the gang symbols on her and even the subtle tag painted into her bike. It was just as likely they would spot a box being clung to tightly by Tao.

This decoy damn well better do it's fucking job or we're all toast...

She flips an insanely tight u-turn almost immediately after a slight turn up W. Main to head back onto Spinning at a breakneck pace. She knew these streets like the back of her hand and was counting on that knowledge to save their asses should the Trolls give chase.

Her heart was pounding in her ears, her breathing was coming in rapid shallow succession.

If she had been directly plugged into her bike she could have afforded herself the luxury of closing her eyes and visualizing the various alleys and dead ends of the neighborhood and the surrounding area. Instead she had to force herself to think on her feet, to manually control the bike, to fly by the seat of her pants as she pulled further away from the HQ.

She wouldn't have it any other way...

13:30:19 Sunday, April 13 2070
Near Cyberia Café
Raven's Spirit

13:30:16 Sunday, April 13 2070
Gang HQ
China Doll

<<Crash410: JJ//Shall we split up? >>

Immersed in her concern over why JAX was stupid enough to have stuck around in the gym until she herself left, only after checking everyone was moving clear, the question jolted her into a response.

<<Crash410: Crash 410 Together Forever!

In the channel background a flashing montage of laughing smiling partying people parade in rapid succession.>>

That stupid initiation chant might not be so dumb after all, if I can use it when not high.

<<Crash410: We run together. I'll try and split one off. Alone! Both follow me, I lose them in Auburn, One follows I'll lose him and come back, none come, then I nail them from behind. >>

Those piles of muscle and bone won't be able to cut corners like my Razor.

!!JAX must be crazy "---14TROLLS---JOKE---FRAG---", like it's an easy thing, especially with a mono-saw.

Up until13:30:09 Sunday, April 13 2070
Gang HQ
Tao-Fighter´s Grandfather

When his grandson polite but quickly asked him to go to war in his tribes name, the dead old man responded without hesitation. Though he was a mare shadow of his mortal self, he was still a consummate warrior. Together with the little spirt messengers, he took off for the nearest astral enemy. He felt the memory of excitement echo through his astral form, as he approached his pray, being reminded of the hunting trips through the black hills in his youth.
They closed in on the coiling serpent of whirlwinds, that the opposing air spirit was and the Watchers rushed forward as cannon fodder. Producing the sound of deadly rattlesnakes with their wildly shaking heads, they tryed to bump into the spirit of air, like a hoard of infants attacking an older sibling in play. The old warrior didn´t take the time to gether intel on his enemy either, aiming a sraight WildCat handstrike at the distracted foe. The wind spirit however, was as quick as mungoose, expertly evading any of the faux-snakes, as well as the old man and quickly counterattacking him in return. The whirling tentacle flailed at the ancastor spirit, easily snapping his wrist, as he blocked it. Without pause the small armada of spirits continued their offense with little success, the old man brushed by another hit from the enemies whip-like limbs.
Finally, numbers and speed started to turn the tide in the battle and after another 4 seconds, they managed to rip their fiend apart and it scattered to the four winds from which it was born.
The seasoned veteran of the Ghostdance War lost no time, leading his squad of watchers out of the building, to charge the next foe. They did little damage, before the last opposed spirit was backed up by two trolls expanding their senses into the astral. Instantly, the spirits concentrated their attacks on the closest of them, but got disrupted by bolts of magical energy, before making a difference.

13:30:07 Sunday, April 13 2070
Gang HQ
Tao-Fighter

His worries about food stuffs where blasted away, when they cleared the edge of the building and the line of Spikes came into view. As Halo engaged in non-verbal communication with the trolls, the Egg-Head still clutched to the back of her helmet, mimics her crude gesture. Tao-Fighter would join in too, but he already feels one arm short, between holding the box and his Ingram and keeping his body attached to the bike. The feeling dosn´t improve, when Halo swings the bike into a sharp u-turn and the young mage almost flys off the back of the vehicle. The decoy would have been dropped, if he hadn´t sliped his hand under some of the tape wraped around it, using it as a handle, when they took off the building.
He focuses his concentration on the trolls, all his sensoric enhancements tuning in on them. He filters out the sounds of gunfire and roaring engines as well as his own thundering heartbeat for a moment, to listen in on any aural cues, his directional microphone aimed at the apparent leader of the group. Zooming in on the Spikes in front of the Y, he checks out the reaction of their foes, while his ride speeds onto Spinning. The trodes feed in the olfactory boosters output as well, though it gives little information about their opposition. Between the exhausts, blood and smoke, it picks up a scent, that reminds TF of a dream.
As they race down the road, Tao sends Egg-Head, to deliver a message, to the Axe wielders and distract them as much as possible, from harming any more crashers or their property. Without delay, the little creature rushes back towards the the Building, to tell the intruders, that they give up and what they are looking for is in the basement at the bottom of the pool.

Without concentrating too much on it, Tao-Fighter allso records some last words, to be sent to his friends when his biomonitor detected that he wouldn´t stabilize after some fatal injury.

As they speed away to the west, TF waits for the blink of an eye, to react on anything the Trolls might do. He sees the Mages flinging some spells into the air, while their last spirit engages in a struggle against some invisible foes.
When he feels the mental link snap, that keeps his Grandfather in this plain of existence, the elven Wujen clenches his teeth. accelerated by the chemicals coursing through his blood stream, he visualizes the bridge between the realms of the living and the dead and calls forth the image of his Grandmother in less then two seconds. His ancestor heeds his calling and manifests beside him, her concerned words ringing in his head. Due to the drugs in his system, he dosn´t feel exhausted as he usually dos. The old asian lady in traditional northeastern chinese dress kneels beside him in mid air, speeding along with the motorcycle.

Tao´s Grandma: "You have been smoking again!"

before he can place his request with the spirit, he feels Bean, Peanut and Pumpkin being disrupted. He concentrates for another second and an agitated Bean-Head reappears on the ancestor spirit´s lap, rattling it´s head angrily.

13:30:13 Sunday, April 13 2070
Running Away
Aziz

Aziz hurriedly gets onto his bike, thanking Felix as he gets off it. He revs up the machine, and takes off after JJ. When JJ gets on the comm, proposing a split up, Aziz replies. "Yeah, sounds good." He veers off to the right, and heads east down main street.

13:32:00 Sunday April 13, 2070
The Streets

The escape from the Spikes started out harrowing, but it soon became clear that the pursing forces were more than a little uncertain of what was going to happen if they did catch their prey. The group following Halo seemed relucant to split up enough for anyone to catch her and, worse yet, the leader eventually called off the chase to add his force to the force pursuing the second fleeing group. Before the two forces could link up, however, the second group had already made good their escape.

And so, the Y took a thorough beating as the frustrated trolls all but tore it apart looking for their weapon. Inside the Y, the last survivors of the Crash made good a stealthy exit.

13:35:06 Sunday, April 13 2070
VR - The Home Node
BronzeWyrm

It occured to Wyrm as she looked for an online fight.. The security logs! The trolls could get visuals on every single gang member should they fall into their hands! She plunges into the HQ's security node, scrambling to delete all visual and audio recording from the camera systems. Hashing the login server to slow down any attempts to crack the node while she was working.

Wyrm worked as fast as she could, but careful not to miss anything critical, she was in the finishing stages of cleaning up the security system, encryption was in place, should be a challenge to whoever pokes their noses in here...

Then they came back - all of them! They started ripping through the HQ - most likely looking for the package. Systematically ripping the place appart floor by floor. She watched them in a mix of sadness and horror. Watches as they destroyed months of hard work. Sweat and hard-earned nuyen had gone into restoring the HQ into something quasi-livable, and yet it was being destroyed within minutes... She felt like an ant watching it's ant hill being destroyed. Wyrm left before they reached Slam's room where the security systems' server sat... She didn't feel like experiencing dumpshock today... Besides her work was done, there was nothing left for them to take here, just an empty server.

She comes to the Meat, tears in her eyes. She blinks and notices that they're nearly home. Auran will be treated soon. We can heal and recover. She wipes the tears from her eyes checking the channel tactical map. The gang was scattered, but most still made it. Good, she thought. We've made it so far... Then she goes through the comm log, checking status reports.
[13:35:10] C410: BronzeWyrm "If you've nulled your tracer ice, coordinate any wounded to the Shadow Clinic, we can patch your icons before we process a recompile point."
[13:35:11] C410: BronzeWyrm "What's Toy's status Shade? I scanned you and Raven going to her aid...">

Wyrm watches the channel traffic and the tactical grid as the gang regroups - where's Felix's commcode?

13:32:00 Sunday April 13, 2070
The Streets

During the persuit Halo had been looking back over her shoulder, changing the route they were taking dynamically based off of how close the Trolls were on their tail and just how many of them were keeping up. She's all but floored as she watched them peel off in a large pack and leave her and Tao racing the streets of the neighborhood all on their own.

She slows her speed just slightly as to not draw the attention of any patroling LS officers and keeps her awareness on hyper alert as she continues to wind through back alleys and various back streets trying to stay on netural to friendly ground as she watches their back. She knew it was likely that there would be Spikes watching out around the Y, which meant heading back there or even JAX's garage for at least the next 24 might be suicidal. Feeling like she'd like to keep breathing for a while she drops a message back to the gang's channel before placing a couple of private calls.

[13:35:15] C410: Halo "Tao and I are clean, so it seems. Looks like they gave up when they knew they were out classed." *VBG* "Looks like they doubled back though, so anyone around HQ still might want to keep their heads up. We're in no need of medical help, so I'm gonna cruise the streets and take Tao where he needs to go then celebrate my mortality. I'll make my way back to you guys when I know my tail is completely clean."

She looked back over her shoulder at Tao and piped into his head a message.

"You got somewhere you want me to take you? You know we can't go back to the Y."

17:45:37 Sunday April 13, 2070
The Abandoned St-Jude's Mission, Harrison Street
Felix

Felix’s breath was slow and shallow. He felt as if holes had ripped his lungs apart. Each breath burnt more and more. His hair was a mess. His black tshirt stuck to his body like a second skin. Sweat rolling down his neck and face, the young mage was staring as his trembling hands, both covered in a myriad of colours. Light from candles, and a small fire that burned in a garbage can (fuelled by what was left of Felix’s commlink), danced on his face. Lifting his gaze up at what used to be a bare brick wall, the street kid looked upon the canvas he had just finished.

It was a picture Felix had seen, a very long time ago, in a dusty art book in some library’s dark basement. “The Scream”. His breathing had started to slow down. Somehow, he started feeling better, calmer. After leaving the package with JJ and Aziz, Felix had taken his own bike and went to ground, hiding out in the only place he felt secure. The first thing he had done once he had gotten “home” was to throw up. He felt sick. The world made him sick. He had burned his commlink, and all the clothes he had been wearing.

the car's on fire and there's no driver at the wheel
and the sewers are all muddied with a thousand lonely suicides
and a dark wind blows
the government is corrupt
and we're on so many drugs
with the radio on and the curtains drawn

we're trapped in the belly of this horrible machine
and the machine is bleeding to death

the sun has fallen down
and the billboards are all leering
and the flags are all dead at the top of their poles

it went like this:

the buildings tumbled in on themselves
mothers clutching babies picked through the rubble
and pulled out their hair

the skyline was beautiful on fire
all twisted metal stretching upwards
everything washed in a thin orange haze

i said: "kiss me, you're beautiful --
these are truly the last days"

you grabbed my hand and we fell into it like a daydream or a fever

we woke up one morning and fell a little further down --
for sure it's the valley of death

i open up my wallet and it's full of blood

A whisper echoed in the spartan room. Felix turned around, dropping the compressed air paintbrush he had been holding.

“Who’s there?!” he said in a trembling voice.

Rapid flashes of images rushed thru his minds, ripping it apart. Grabbing his head with both hands, Felix feel to his knees, a cry of pain coming out of his head.

“GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!” he screamed, tears clouding his vision and running down his cheeks.

He saw Neo shoot the ork. JJ get hit. The Spikes rolling in. A dark cloud surrounding him.

He heard people screaming.
He heard people dying.
He saw dark blood pooling around a beautiful young woman.
He saw the shadow of a hung man.
He heard a girl cry.
He saw flashes of light.
He felt the cold steel of a blade.

The voices grew louder in his head, making his body shake. His forehead against the bare cement floor, all of Felix’s muscles started to tremble.

I’m dying. Help me. Where are you going. Help. Die. I’m in so much pain. Please help me. I don’t want to die. Help. I’m afraid. I’m cold. Please help me. I hurt. Pain.

Slowly, Felix rose to his feet, as if he was struggling with a heavy burden.

“I…. Said…”

His pained face distorted itself in a mask of pure rage.

“I SAID: GO AWAY!!!!!” he screamed at the top of his lungs.

The plastic panels he had settled up to separate the room flew to the floor. The few windows that weren’t borded up exploded, sending shards of glass everywhere. Falling back to the floor, sobbing like a wounded animal.

We need you. Please listen. Help us.

“I can’t do this. I can’t help all of you. I’m not strong enough for this” he said in between sobs.

He heard the scrapping of feet on the cement. He heard the echo of drops of water hitting the floor. He heard the rustle of clothing.

“Look at yourself, you’re pitiful.”

Felix closed his eyes, trying to shut him out.

“Don’t do that drek man, you look ridiculous.”

He was here… there was no point in fighting him anymore.

“What do you want from me…”

“What do I want?! For crying out loud Felix, I want what I always wanted, to help you!”

“Go away. You’ve never been of any help.”

He laughed at him.

“I’m the only thing keeping you alive, you ungrateful piece of drek. Pull yourself together man! I told you this would happen.”

“It was your idea! You told me it would all be fine! You told me no one would get hurt!”

“Hey man, you heard what you wanted to hear, as always.”

Putting both his hands over his hears, Felix started to murmur to himself, over and over “I’m not listening. I’m not listening. You’re not real.”

He was pulled to his feet by an incredible force. Opening his eyes, he was met by his own deep green gaze.

“WILL YOU STOP WITH THIS FRAGGING SELF PITY DREK. PULL YOURSELF TOGHETER!”

Felix shoved him back, pining him agains’t the wall. His lungs were burning with fire, his hearth aflame with a desire to kill.

“Yes! That’s what I’m talking about!”

“Just stay out of my life ok?! Just leave me alone!”

A sharp knee struck him in the stomach, punching the air out. Holding his side in pain, Felix fell to the floor.

“You can’t just shoo me away Felix. Whether you like it or not, you’re going to have to deal with me. No more fragging running way. No more playing hide and seek. We have to be whole again.”

“No… please….”

“You know very well that we’re both dying. You need me. Especially now. You can’t push me away forever. You can’t run away forever. I’m part of you.”

“No… you’re nothing. You have nothing to do with me.”

He crouched down, gently brushing Felix’s face.

“Don’t say that. It hurts me. I love you, you know. And I know you love me.”

Felix’s eyes filled with tears again.

“Let’s stop this hide and seek drek. Let’s work together for once.”

“Just promise me one thing.”

“Anything you want”

“No killing. No more killing.”

“I promise Felix. You have my word. You listen to me, and I’ll play by your rules.”

What am I doing…

Closing his eyes for a few seconds, Felix took a few deep breaths in and out. When he opened his eyes back up, he was gone. Pulling himself up to his feet, Felix felt a new strange power running through his veins.

What… What have I done…

13:31:17 Sunday, April 13 2070
On the Streets
Raven

With insane speed, the three motorcycles are driving away from the HQ. For some reason, despite the amazing speed, Shade notices that steering the vehicles is no more difficult than it normally is, his worries do not dissipate quickly, though. The trolls would not be able to follow them for sure, unless they would use spirits or followed them on the astral, but nothing of that happened, as it seems.

About a minute has passed now, since Raven and Toy Robot have left the building. Suddenly, the bikes go down in speed, back to normal. It appears like they are merely crawling now in comparison, then they realize how slow they have been driving actually, at a fairly modest speed considering the situation, not even half the revolutions the engines could manage. Shade notices, that the hand holding a loose grip on his shoulder is no longer there. When he looks back, the old man with the scruffy beard isn't there either. Gone, as if he never had been there to begin with.

Raven looks around for a moment, turning her head into all directions, her eyes focussing on another world, which only few people could ever see. Then the elf moves her bike next to Shade's, shouting over to him: “I don't think anyone could follow us. Can't see anyone on the astral and their bikes surely couldn't keep up with us. Toy is still in bad condition, but the wounds won't break up again. She will need some rest. Where to now?”

13:30:14 Sunday, April 13 2070
Getting on her motorcycle and riding
China Doll

Aziz replies. "Yeah, sounds good."

sigh... it's like I'm not even here

Emphatically, "JAX"

<<Crash410: Option Beta Set. Move it. I got Drag.

JAX... you ride my tail like your life depends on it.>>]

The Ducati's engines screams a crescendo as the tires spin, generating a cloud of grey hot rubber smoke. Moments later, inside the stinking rubber haze, the locked front brakes are released. Sliding out of the obscuring grey, the Ducati's sharp lines accelerate like a rocket down the street, away from the others.

Let's see how big an egg these chickens lay!

Front tire lifts as the bike accelerates straight at the oncoming pair of Spikes. A slight wobble and a blur later, China Doll is past them, nose dropping as the engine note shifts down, only to start rising again as she accelerates away.

Now that's clearing the road!

... hope I didn't lose JAX

13:31:17 Sunday, April 13 2070
On the Streets
Shade

Over the driving wind whipping past them, Shade yelled, "Let's find a safe place to sit and chill for a second. We need to contact the others, see who made it out and if we can regroup anywhere! Follow me!"

Their course had originally taken them north up the 410 Highway that was the source of the gang's name. Merging seamlessly into the 167E, the trio exited onto eastbound Valley Ave, heading towards the Liberty Mall. The 410 Crash and the Liberty Mall Posse were on good terms. As long as they didn't raise any trouble or try to cut into the LMP's biz, there shouldn't be any problems.

Since it was still the middle of the afternoon, the mall would be reasonably filled, good cover to blend in to without drawing attention to themselves, and hopefully the public setting would serve as a reasonable safety buffer to prevent hostile action from any other gang.

Cruising to a stop in the far corner of the parking lot, near at least a pair of exits for a quick getaway, far away from any attention and near only a few isolated cars whose owners must like exercise, the trio stopped to catch their breath. "Let's get an update on how we're doing here," Shade said. "I'm doing fine, clicking on all cylinders. Raven, how about you?"

She smiled wanly, "A little bit drained from all the mojo, but I'll live."

He nodded. Toy looked pale and sick. She still hadn't gotten off of Raven's bike, so he answered the shaman, "Great. Can you check on Toy? I know you said her wounds won't break open again, but if you could make sure she's hanging in there, maybe she needs some water or something, I could grab it for her. I'll try to get on the comm and see who else is still alive and where we can meet up."

Walking a few feet away to give the girls some privacy as Raven inspected their badly injured friend, he pulled up the commlink on his image link. Before he could dial any of the others up though, Wyrm beat him to it.

[13:35:11] C410: BronzeWyrm "What's Toy's status Shade? I scanned you and Raven going to her aid...">

[13:35:16] Shade: @BronzeWyrm <Wyrm! Thank God you're safe! >

The relief was palpable in his voice. He hadn't seen or heard from Wyrm or any of the others in the Lounge since he'd left Auran to their care to help Toy. He'd assumed the group had made it out ok with all of them to help with Auran, only realizing later that might not have been a safe or a smart assumption to make.

He'd wanted to go back to help, but by the time he realized it, he, Raven, and Toy had already been clear of the scene. He didn't think he'd be able to live down the guilt if his mistake had cost more of his friends their lives. Thankfully, this time it hadn't. Mentally, he promised to himself that it wouldn't in the future either.

Glancing over at Toy, who true to Raven's words, seemed to be hanging in there, he continued, [13:35:18] Shade: @BronzeWyrm <Toy looks like she's going to be ok. I honestly thought she was going to die, but Raven's mojo looks like it's going to do the trick. Where are you right now, and who's with you? Toy, Raven, and myself are at the Liberty Mall, lying low. If Nurse is with you, would you please ask her if it would be ok for us to take Toy to her dad's clinic? I don't think she's going to die anymore, but she's still pretty messed up, and I think she needs to see a doctor.>

His mind had been racing a mile a minute, but now that he knew Toy was ok, and that his mistake hadn't cost his friends their lives, Shade's mind began to revert to its usual calmer, analytical self.

Seeing that Raven had mostly finished checking any parts of Toy that would be inappropriate for him to see, Shade walked back over towards the girls and motioned for them to get on the link so they could get in on the conversation as well.

[13:35:25] Shade: @BronzeWyrm <We should regroup somewhere safe, get a head count and see who's still alive. Then we're going to have to figure out where to go from here and what we're going to do about this mess. I don't know who made it from the front door, it looked pretty ugly up there, and I'm not sure who got off the roof. I'm pretty sure Halo and TF made it, and I think JJ and Felix said they were on their way out before things got too tight. Other than them, I don't know much. Have you heard anything from anyone else yet?>

13:32:02 Sunday, April 13 2070
The Streets
Tao-Fighter

When more then half the Trolls took off, to get Halo and Tao-Fighter, normally the boy had probably thought about dropping the decoy package right away, to distract them a bit, but in his drugged state, he simply keeps going with his plan. He summons and sends off one pair of ancastor and watcher after another, to support his gangmates. The I-Ging has served him well today. Meanwhile, he keeps a close eye one the cloud of pursuers, waiting for an opportunity, to capitalize on any Spikes, out of sight and protection from the Mage riding with them. But they don´t spread out at all, always going with the slowest member, which makes the escape of the two Crashers seems almost too easy. Finally the Spikes completely give up on trying to catch them and they are just on another scenic ride through the hood.
Eventually, Tao starts to relax a bit and even enjoy the freedom of breezing through the streets. Though he is still worried about his friends the coke in his system slightly drowning out these thoughts. He takes in the Smells, the noises and the sights of the streets, feeling the wind on his face and the girl in his arms, almost feeling content. Still he keeps his guard, to spot any dangers they might come across. He calls the HQ, to try and talk to the Spikes, maybe conning them, to get something useful out of this mess after all, but they don´t pick up. When Halo speaks up on the gang channel, he finally sends out messages to all the crashers, as well.

[13:35:20] C410: Tao-Fighter: <How is anyone else, any need for backup? If everyone is alright, we will meet up when the streets have cooled down a bit. Keep your heads down and watch your backs, pals!>

As he sends off the message, his fallow ganger turns her head around to him.

Halo: "You got somewhere you want me to take you? You know we can't go back to the Y."

He hesitates for a moment, thinking through his options. Uncle Bob has his children visiting him, this week, Hell´s storage is packed tight with boxes at least for another 4 days and the Garage is not an option at the moment. He shrugs slightly, but figures it is to dangerous to split up, yet, anyway. He answers with a counter-question.

Tao-Fighter: "I think we should stay together, as long as the area is swarmed by angry Trolls?"

13:32:45 Sunday, April 13 2070
The Streets
Aziz

Aziz zips his bike into a back alley and dismounts. He leans up against the wall and breathes hard, trying to collect his thoughts from the fight.

I shot first. Did I start it? No, that's shit. They were going to attack anyway. I just got the drop on them., he thinks, sinking down and sitting next to a trashcan. He puts his head in his hands.

I should have taken the leader's head off. We should have been able to fight them. What the hell happened?

He stares at the wall opposite him.

Can't stay here for long. Gotta keep moving.

He stands up and brushes some dust off.

Saw Thyn take some hits. Is he dead? Fuck. Who else is dead? I have no idea. Not my fault. Not my fault., he thinks.

"Not my fault.", he says out loud, for emphasis. Aziz quickly looks around, then gets back on the bike.

Where can I go? Where would everybody else go?, he thinks. He checks the gang chat, and sends out the message, in reply to Tao's

[13:36:10] C410: Aziz: <Meet where?>

13:31:40 Sunday, April 13 2070
t3h str33t
Toy Robot

The thrashing, speeding bike had stopped. Toy kept herself planted on the seat, rigid as a classical statue, for fear that if she moved she might, like an irresponsible bar patron, pitch to the pavement.

The world was more clear as her brain had the time it needed to take in a fresh supply of oxygenated blood. Her vision was in focus and she could finally see her fellow gang members around her.

Nevertheless, she was still affected by disorientation and a feeling of weakness and nausea, which were the afteraffects of the massive systemic shock that her carotid artery wound had inflicted on her body. She felt as if she had to keep all the muscles in her body tight, and cling to the bike with her legs, or else she would explode into an outpouring of vomit and urine. As it was, she felt stabbingly lightheaded. Greater nausea and pain circled the edge of her consciousness like a hungry wolf.

As life-giving oxygen and blood returned to her brain, though, the situation came into clearer focus as her mind began to piece itself back together. Her fellow gang members had risked their own lives to pull her from the fire. The euphoric feeling of gratitude hit her in the belly like a mug filled with Bacardi 151. Almost like a reflex, she gave a weak, uncoordinated hug to Raven, who was closest and who was in the middle of checking on her.

As Shade motioned Toy over to speak on the comm, Toy staggered over to him driven by a swirl of sickly lightheadedness and survivor's euphoria which blended together like warm coffee and cream with harsh economy scotch.

"NOT DEAD," bellowed Toy, and then she broke off into an indecipherable cacaphony of jumbled Indonesian. She went to hug Shade, and ended up almost toppling over on him. She broke off the Indonesian to say, "THANK YOU", still feeling sick and off balance.

13:35:35 Sunday, April 13 2070
On the streets
Halo

Downshifting her bike and pulling off onto 5th Ave NE, just inside the border of Rattleheads territory, she idles the bike and looks back at Tao and flips up her visor, her blue eyes piercing into him.

"Do you see anyone behind us? Did I not dust their asses about 20 minutes ago and we've just been wandering the streets like tourists since then?" You can hear the grin in her voice even though her lips are hidden behind her helmet.

"Seriously Tao, it's not like I'm proposing going back into the HQ alone or something, I just need to decompress, I need to have some alone time and I need to see someone before I head back to gather with the whole gang. Besides there's not a whole lot I can do for the injured right now."

Not sure gathering all in one place is the wisest decision right now either, the more we go underground, the harder it is to wipe us all out in one shot...

She shrugged and looked up to the sky for a moment, thinking about all that just happened.

"I can always swing you by the Clinic, drop you off and meet up in a few hours. I'm a big girl Tao, I'll be fine."

13:35:40 Sunday, April 13 2070
On the streets
Tao-Fighter

Her blue eyes are piercing into him, stirring up a funny feeling in his guts. Her ironic comment invokes a rebellious streak in his drugged mind, but as Tao opens his mouth to make a smartass reply she overruns him.

Halo: "Seriously Tao, it's not like I'm proposing going back into the HQ alone or something, I just need to decompress, I need to have some alone time and I need to see someone before I head back to gather with the whole gang. Besides there's not a whole lot I can do for the injured right now."

She shrugged and looked up to the sky for a moment, thinking, and he gives her the time to do so. Play it save, Tao-Fighter. He secures his Smartgun under his right arm, with it´s straps, then pushes his eyegear up and draws the breether dangling around his chin down a bit further, to free his face compleatly. Refocussing his eyes on her´s again, the cocain in Tao´s brain makes it hard to resist the urge, to pull off her helmet, so he can see her whole face. He smiles slightly, his eyes lightening up involuntarily, when she returns the gaze and he replys in a soft but steady voice.

TF: "I know, we all need some time, but I think it´s to risky right now. We should lay low for a while. You´d still have plenty of time, to sort out your stuff, before we meet up with the others. I don´t.." He hesitates for a split second and she cuts him.

Halo: "I can always swing you by the Clinic, drop you off and meet up in a few hours. I'm a big girl Tao, I'll be fine."

TF: "If you where, you wouldn´t suggest riding through town, without backup, while all it takes is a lucky shot from the Spikes!"

The words came out harsher then intended, as drug paranoia and true concern mixed with faces from the past in Tao´s hyperactive brain. Never again! Not now ... not her.

13:35:30 Sunday, April 13 2070
Shadow Clinic - Auburn
BronzeWyrm

Wyrm switches to voice speech in the channel. She usually transmits by text, so this is a rare occurance. You only hear Wyrm's voice, making you wonder if she's in a quiet room, all you see is the bronze draconic face of her icon, not a live feed, so it's hard to tell.
[13:35:30] C410: BronzeWyrm "Our persona's exited the node fine Shade, I don't think Steel's icon made it. We're entering the Shadow Clinic to tend to Auran. Any other wounded should rally to the Shadow Clinic for treatment."

She had already said as much in text, but repeats it for those who are only tracking the channel on the voice-only band. There's no emotion in her voice as she speaks, though Wyrm's expression changes when she spots Toy's pale face come into view of Shade's video pick up. You never thought you could see icons change emotions, but Wyrm's does, looking concerned.
[13:35:33] C410: BronzeWyrm "Bring Toy to the Clinic, we'll hook her to an IV, her icon's faded bad, probably lost a lot of blood."

Sadness enters her face...
[13:35:35] C410: BronzeWyrm "The Spikes trashed the HQ bad, the bulk of their personas were still lurking the node when I was forced to log off. System is offline, can't pick up any signals from HQ anymore. Sending the roto-drone for recon."
[13:35:37] C410: BronzeWyrm "Roll Call so far: BronzeWyrm, Auran, Nurse, 0day, Electrode, Tao-Fighter, Halo, Shade, Raven, Toy Robot, China Doll. Jax and Aziz were with CD, so they should be ok... Felix's comm is off, no idea where he an JJ are, though last markers tagged them clear."

13:32:04 Sunday, April 13 2070
On the Streets
Raven

Raven's smile returned, when Toy began rambling in her weird language. “Looks like she's ok. Still, we should get her into the clinic, can't hurt to have someone with better knowledge of this whole medicine thing check her.”

To Toy: “Hey, it's alright. You are still in bad shape, and it's outside my power to get you beyond this point, so be a little careful now, ok? We are going to bring you into the clinic, to Nurse, you will need a few days of rest at least.”

“We have retreated from the Y, most of us must have gotten out, I think. Not sure, if all made it, though. We will clean up this mess later. I wonder who these trolls were. The Spikes? C'mon! They seemed more like some corporate special force strike team, than a bunch of troll gangers.”

13:35:53 Sunday, April 13 2070
On the streets
Halo

She was still wound too tightly and the events that took place less than an hour before were still weighing heavily on her, she didn't like the fact that no one had gotten a confirmation on the status of JJ and Tag. She was realizing that likely there were members of her family back at the Y who weren't going to ever be drawing another breath. And now Tao was getting up in her face and calling her foolish and childish. He pushed the wrong buttons and soon found himself on the wrong end of her fiery temper, complete with full on Spanish.

"A la verga! Como the atreves a decirme eso! Cago en tu leche!" She continued on for a bit just ranting, an occasional English word slipping in here and there.

She stopped herself just short from dumping Tao off her bike as her temper simmered, and burned behind her eyes. She drew a long breath and let it go slowly before she spoke again.

"I don't think you understand. I am going to go do what I need to do...alone. You currently have two options. I can take you somewhere and drop you off either where the other guys are meeting up or another location of your choice, or, I can leave your ass here and let you walk or find another way back. Seeing how we just got raided and attacked by the Spikes... ahhh fuck it.... "

She slapped down the visor on her helmet and continued to fume silently on the front of the bike. Her blood was boiling, she wanted to take it out on the assholes that just tried to wipe them all off the face of the earth. Seeing how that wasn't an option currently, she was lashing out at anyone near by and that meant Tao was taking the full force.

13:35:55 Sunday, April 13 2070
The Streets
Tao-Fighter

The moment he finished the sentence, he knew that it was a mistake. Halo explodes into a fury of spanish cursing, though the emotional content is plane to see in her flaring eyes. It takes Tao a second to get any other meaning out of it, besides that she was pissed, while he translates for himself. Bullshit! How you dare say that to me! But he lost her after the first two sentences. I should put what into my milk?
The Jazz Rush urged him to reply in kind, but he bites his lower lip hard and stays silent, just standing her gaze, but trying to keep the concerned expression on his face. The Latina glares at him and he expects her, to dump him off her ride, then and there, but she she gets the better of her temper and puts her rage back inside, taking a deep slow breath, though Tao can still feel the sering flames under her skin, see the anger and frustration in her eyes, while she addresses him in english again.
He just nods. Understand. He feels some contentment, that he can give her at least some relief by having her vent off at him, though the young man bitterly whishes, he could do more. He wishes, he could unload his feeling on somebody, too, but it wasn´t as easy, to 'vent off' guilt, concern and grief. As she shuts her visor and turns away, he finally replyes over the com in a calm voice, while he cautiously puts his hands on her waist.

[13:36:44] C410: Tao-Fighter@Halo: "Entiendo. Perdóneme, socio. Es toda mi avería! No deseo perderle, don´t want to lose anyone."
He switches back to english, when he hits the limits of what little spanish he had picked up, since he was living with his cousin.
"Contact to Felix is already lost, due to my failure, as well as to JJ and Thyn. I fear Slam, 2by4, Knifes, Cammy and Neo didn´t even make it out of the Y. I can´t hold you back and I don´t want to. I just want to know you´re save!" *sigh* "If you have to go alone, just drop me off at Traffic and Tompson, partner. I´ll walk down to Tag´s place and see if he´s there."

Tao-Fighters mood is gloomy. The coke euphoria enhanced by their flamboyant escape has faded, though his thoughts are still pacing on the fast lane. He feels responsible for the escalation of the situation, for any gangers injured, missing or dead. He dos not know, if he will stand the thought, that Halo is out there alone, once the post-Jazz depression sets in.

13:30:03 Sunday, April 13 2070
Gang HQ
Nurse

Nurse was attempting to first aid Wyrm. When Wyrm woke saying to make for the bike, Nurse grabbed the first aid kit and then followed Wyrm out of the lounge.

13:30:06 Sunday, April 13 2070
Gang HQ
Nurse

Since Shade has gone off to find Toy, due to Wyrm and 0day getting Auran out, Nurse will simply focus on getting to the Gym, leaving Steel give extra help with Auran as they need it . She is probably a bit behind Wyrm due to the need to gather the First Aid kit so Nurse'll go the route of moving down from the track into the Gym.

Nurse doesn't care to get into La Raza turf and doesn't want to hit 669 turf til it is the only option left... so she heads out of the Y heading south down hunt, pops onto Traffic only insofar as is absolutely necessary to get onto 410, heads SE til she gets to Valley Ave E and heads north to make it to Main St. From there she heads west til Wood Ave so she can pull north onto wood the half-block necessary to get to her backalley and get to the shop.
At that point Nurse will pull her bike inside, send 0day up to her room if he wants to get back into VR or something, else she'll shunt him to the 'waiting area' of the ShadowClinic. If others are already there, she will get to work helping Dad take care of injured, else she'll help with any last details to get triage set up to speed the process when others arrive.

As she is travelling along the 410, Nurse comms her Dad and starts out by saying, "I'll explain later, I will, but right now get ready for incoming wounded. I am on my way too."

13:35:30 Sunday, April 13 2070
Awakened Auburn - Shadow Clinic
Nurse

At the clinic Auran is treated by Nurse or her Dad. If Nurse is given an option regarding Toy, she is just short of demanding that Toy is brought to the Clinic for treatment and observation. Ditto for TF! Nurse wants him in for 'long term' care because she is well aware he is still hurt from previous drain, and will be unhappy if he has managed to acquire further damage during the combat.

Nurse gives nervous glances to her Dad as she makes sure Wyrm understands, even while Wyrm herself is being treated, that Nurse wants all injured to come to the Clinic for treatment. She does not voice her inner conflict regarding the package from the A's though - this isn't her parents' fight, but any of the 410 who come to the clinic may well have the package with them.

Unbidden a new thought pops into Nurse's mind: she had been hoping to talk to her Mom about getting her own DeepWeed setup as a possible income for the gang. Nurse tries to shelve that useless thought, because at this moment she is pretty darn sure she is in more trouble with her parents than she could have imagined possible 24 long hours ago!

13:35:30 Sunday, April 13 2070
Awakened Auburn - Shadow Clinic
Auran

The sounds of gunfire echo in Auran's mind. Her vision looking at hot lead being pumped into trolls from various direction. Then suddenly it all went black again. The sudden stench of smelling salts waking her from her magical "coma." Auran blinks dazed watching the people working over her. Where am I? I'm cold... so cold... Is this hell? She blinks around again and looks at the others that are around, recognizing Wyrm, Nurse and Doc Blue. She gets her senses enough to force out "Doc, you might as well stop, I'm broke and can't pay you. But I think I can make it from here." As she tries to sit up she falls back on her back from the pain that's going on inside her. What in the name of the almighty Fragging happened? She sighs letting the medics finish bandaging her up. They finish and let her rest some, and she considers falling asleep again in the chair when suddenly realization happened, and she remembered exactly what she was doing. "People... let me out for a second, I'll be right back."

Auran grunts as she gets herself on her feet, holding onto the walls for balance. Gathering herself together, and taking the bandana off her face.... she lets out a sigh. She attempts to steel her face in cold expression, but the pain was too deep, and she was just a jumble of reactions. As she walks outside and notices some of the other hackers seeming to be busy, so she ignores them for now. She checks her pockets and finds her cigarrettes and lights one up. As she takes the first drag, a loud coughing fit comes up, and she spits out blood. She continues hacking and coughing, and begins even to vomit up some of the blood that her subconscious mind must have made her swallow. She gasps for a second trying to catch her breath when she tries one more time to pull the cigarette and the same thing happens.

Noticing her coughing was gaining some attention from the scum of the streets she walks back to the alley, tossing her cigarette out into the open to let the scavengers have at it. She then checks her pockets to see what was still there and not. She notices most of the stuff was still there, but she was missing the gun she had fired at the trolls with. And the box of ammo she left out. The press of a button and her hidden gun arm slides fired out of her wrist, a gun on her left arm came out. She checked it to make sure it was still ok. Thank god it didn't fire... She puts the safety back to on for the heavy pistol, before bringing out the pistol from the small of her back. She puts that in the empty slide, and then resets them both.

Her eyes filling up with tears at dissapointment with herself and from the pain, she walks back into the clinic. She sits down on the floor, leaning against the wall before asking, "Wyrm, how'd it go? All I can remember is taking one guy out and then being magically knocked out. Did we get those bastards?"

13:36:00 Sunday, April 13 2070
Awakened Auburn - Shadow Clinic
BronzeWyrm

Wyrm smiles as Auran finaly comes to, Doc & Nurse had done their deeds well. As she caps the bottle used to bring about Auran's wakefullness she cheerfully greets her friend. "Look who's icon is back online!"

Before she can say much more Auran trying to get up and get out, her voice is still fuzzy from all that the body has been through. Somehow she managed to get up, and stumble up and out the door.... Electrode beams a video clip, that's not pretty, but Wyrm figures it best to let Auran get it out of her system, as long she's still concious, she should be ok...

A few minutes later, though pale, Auran looks a little better. Wyrm watches her friend slump to the floor, looking down with concern, Wyrm hands Auran a bottle of juice.. the liquids will help rehydrate her.
When she replies, her voice is filled with the sadness she finally let seep in.
"Um, the troll personas were too tough, they hacked through the defenses like they were paper! We just barely escaped the node before they totally crashed it!"
Her voice is filled with emotion, welling on tears, and looks down in shame for having failed to defend the HQ.
"Most of the gang is scattered, some persona's drezed." She shakes her head, pushing the emotions asside. "It doesn't scan well, but last result is that they didn't get what they came for."

She looks nervously over to Doc, not sure how much to tell in Nurse's father's company. She knows that neither parents are going to be impressed that the girls put themselves in danger...

13:36:15 Sunday, April 13 2070
Awakened Auburn - Shadow Clinic
Auran

No way! No Way! "I don't believe you! Bullshit! That's a lie!" Auran's pale face started to actually gain some color as the anger pent up in her. She releases it after about 3 seconds since Wyrm's been one of the few she really trusts in the gang. The fact that she was almost sobbing also proved to Auran that she wasn't lying. "Ok, sorry Wyrm. Come here." Auran leans forward and wraps her arms around the gothic elf. She snuggles a bit giving her a kiss on the forehead, but doesn't hug too tightly due to her own wounds. She winces a bit as Bronze hugs back. "It's ok, It's ok. You're safe here."

With the hug over. Auran leans back against the wall again. They scattered us? How bad did it get? Even with our strength? We fought some gangers before, even orks and trolls before, how did they beat us so bad? We lost some people. They crushed through Neo? and Aziz? and Thyn? and our drones? and Slam? Frag... it's not possible.... It couldn't be. Disbelief still ran through the white haired woman's mind. "So, our home compromised, people scattered, and some didn't make it..... What's the plan of action now?"

13:36:32 Sunday, April 13 2070
Awakened Auburn - Shadow Clinic
Toy Robot

As soon as Toy Robot found herself in the shadow clinic, having been brought there by Raven and Shade, Nurse, ever the good clinician, scarcely gave her time to sit down before checking her pulse rate and blood pressure with a stethoscope and armband.

Toy didn't have enough English vocabulary to understand the diagnosis; something about low blood pressure and care for shock being "primarily supportive."

The next thing Toy realized was that someone jammed a needle in her arm and left it there. It didn't hurt very much so Toy suppressed the instinct to rip it out. And in any case, it felt kind of good to lie back and relax, and try to let her body and mind settle back into place, back into a harmonious order unsubverted by weakness and nausea...

13:36:46 Sunday, April 13 2070
On the streets
Halo

Halo couldn't help but flinch at first and tense up as Tao put his hands on her hips. She stared straight ahead, but behind the safety of her helmet an eyebrow is arched sharply as he starts speaking Spanish to her. Someone's been doing their homework...

She's about to reply, to apologize when he suddenly starts trying to pin all the blame on himself for what's going on. Again she's about to interrupt him when he mentions Felix's com is offline. Her stomach lurches and she feels like the wind was just kicked out of her. There has to be some explaination, Wyrm said they got away clean, the Spikes were chasing us... damnit I should have stayed with him...

She feels her need to get away increasing at breakneck speeds, to just run and not look back. That desire is overwhelming her as the emotions start to come back into play again, people she cared about were hurt. They were missing. Or worse they were dead. She swallows hard, forcing herself to keep from throwing up right then and there.

Without another word, when Tao suggests a location, she's revving the bike back up and pulling back out into traffic. It's a short and uneventful drive to Thompson and Traffic, and she pulls over to the side of Traffic that borders the "neutral zone."

She speaks softly through Tao's com as the bike idles. "You're not thinking of running off into La Raza territory. Trust me, your Spanish isn't good enough to talk your way out of anything... "

She manages a feeble smile and sits there waiting for Tao to get off the bike and to say whatever else he needed to say before she left to take care of herself and her business.

13:36:50 Sunday, April 13 2070
The Streets
Tao-Fighter

When Halo´s body flinches at his tough, he feels bad about not having held on tho the back of the machine, instead, but he brushes the thought away, to concentrate on his linguistic excours. Tao senses her to relax a bit, while he apologizes, but get all tense again when he mentions his guilt. She seems about to reply, but stays silent, when he mentions their missing friends. The gangmember feels like shit, when he realizes, that his words draged Halo down again. The girl whos wellbeing and happiness has been his first priority, since the fatal night, one month ago, when Tao-Fighter draged her into all of this. The one person, that reminded himself most of his own history, yet seemed to have a much harder time, to cope with it, then the young elf. The only one giving him a chance to cope with his own families fate, by helping her, instead of pushing the memories aside.

He want´s to say something to comfort her, but dark memories flood his mind and strike him with silence, as he relives the most painful moments of his life. The cocain can't hold them back anymore, it only makes them feel more vivid and present, while the Jazz whips his brain into playing through them all in fast forward.
He sees his fathers mutilated body hanging from that pole, he can even smell the stench of his exposed entrails.
He whitenesses his mother and siblings, uncles and aunts being ripped apart by canines and great cats and chimeric spirit-beasts, clearly hearing the screams of monsters and men.
He imagines his grandfather, his last direct relative, being crushed in a mass of gass, metal, composite and plastic.
He can see the look in Mr. Vancouver´s eyes, when his hands strike him to death.
He watches Sascha and Halo, while they are beaten to unconsciousness, hear Saschas faint voice, asking for help, while her mind glides away into delirium, fell her heart stopping and her body getting cold under his hands.
He relives the past 30 minutes, the chaos when they got news, that the Spikes where coming. TF sees himself, handing out weapons and drugs and holding a war speech, thus sowing the seeds of escalating the situation. Doing nothing then sending useless spirits after minor opponents and then fleeing at the first possible moment, leaving everyone behind, just to save his own hide.

Tears trail from his eyes, but the air stream quickly blows them away and dryes his face. He holds his breath, whishing he could simply vanish into the void, where his parents and siblings where waiting. Everyone would be better off, without my meddling. His hold onto the girls hips turns lose, leaning slightly backwards and he almost drops off of the back of her bike, when they re-enter Traffic again. In the last possible moment, TF puts his hands softly onto her body again.

When Halo pulls over to the west side of Traffic, Tao-Fighter collects his senses again and swallows his self-disdain. When she addresses him softly, he lights up a bit again, as a small warm spot flares up in the sea of despair inside the young mage. He offers her a genuine smile, trying to cheer her up a bit with it again, as despite the faint smile, around her lips, her eyes tell another story. He offers a lazy reply to her joke, as he pulls off the backseat, to stand beside her.

TF: "I guess you´ll have to give me más lecciones, antes de que intente eso. Put what into my milk?"

Extending his left arm to the base of heneckck, he want´s to give her an affirmative pat, buhesitateses, when he wonders, what reaction his touch might cause. His expression turns serious again, keeping the smile though, while his hand still hovers above and behind her shoulder.

TF: "You can be proud of yourself, Angelina, You did a great job, today! You pulled away most of these Fraggers all by your self, so the others could make their escape. They will be ok! Whyrmsaieded last contact, they wher safely off the scene. They are just laying low in a static zone, or put their comes off, to get some rest. I´m just going to look for them, so nobody gets concerned"

His voice was soft, but steady and his gaze was firm and friendly. His first startement was totally sincer and nothing hinted to himself having any doubt about the other ganger´s safety.

13:45:00 Sunday, April 13 2070
Shadow Clinic
Raven

“Is there anything I can help with?”

With Shade's help Raven had brought Toy Robot inside. For now, they seemed out of danger. Hopefully the trolls wouldn't follow them here. She was resting now, given some medicine, narcotics most likely, to help speed the process up. But Raven didn't really know what to do now.

13:37:01 Sunday, April 13 2070
On the streets
Halo

A soft smile touches the corners of her mouth for a brief moment. She wants to feel good about what she did. She hopes she drew enough of the attention away from the Y that everyone got out in one piece or another, but it all still weighs heavily on her shoulders.

"Thanks. Why don't we swing by Tag's, make sure he's ok and then I'll head off from there. And I guess I'll have to owe you a few Spanish lessons."

She's still on edge, it might just be the Cram, but there seems to be something else there too. Something just under the surface that was causing her cool and casual (however hot-tempered) facade to crack ever so slightly.

She stashes the bike in an out of the way spot and locks down the security system. Once she's satisfied her bike's safe she dismounts and waits for Tao and the pair start off on foot towards the Mission.

13:37:05 Sunday, April 13 2070
The Streets
Tao-Fighter

Tao-Fighter is momentarrily surprised, when Halo 'suggests' to come with him and rolles off, leaving his hand hanging in the air. He didn´t want her to go too close to the Y with him, for a reason, but he figures he can´t do anything about it. Happy to have her mood improved a bit, if only superficially, and comfortable, to have her close by, a bit longer, he waits for her to secure her bike. When she dismounted, he playfully bumps her shoulder and they cautiously, but casually go their way.

TF: "We have to find you a compensation for the Tripple Happieness you lost tonight, Angelina!"

13:37:09 Sunday, April 13 2070
The Abandoned St-Jude's Mission, Harrison Street
Halo

Halo shakes out her hair and tucks her helmet under her arm as she heads inside the abandon mission, her guard goes up just a bit since she knows some of the other deniziens that have been known to hang out here when they've got nowhere else to go.

She's fairly quiet as she moves through the building, feeling Tao a step behind and to her left the entire way, weaving in and out of holes in walls, making her way to the area that Felix calls "home" now and again. When she thinks she's in the right area and before she walks up on him and freaks him out, she calls out softly.

"Hey Tag? It's Halo and Tao. You back here?"

13:38:01 Sunday, April 13 2070
The Abandoned St-Jude's Mission, Harrison Street
Felix

From behind the semi opaque plastic paneling, a shadowy figure moved lightly. The single large room, divided up by numerous such panels, didn't have any electricity. The only light came from what seemed like candles, lit here and there on the bare concrete floor, as well as a few cracks in the dusty boarded up windows. The place smelled of a mix of smoke and moss, and the air was heavy with humidity. Somewhere, the constant and slow drip of water echoed.

As Halo spoke, the form moved around a bit, as if scurrying about to get to cover. Somewhere, someone whispered something. Somewhere, something metallic fell on the floor. The two gangers approached the hung curtain that served as a door. They were a few inches from pushing it aside when it flew open, a dark mass springing towards them. But it was too slow, both street kid dodging aside.

The squatter turned around, his dirty face full of cracked and brown wrinkles, his clothes mismatched and torn apart. His eyes were yellow and bloodshot. His left hand kept shaking. His teeth grinding agaisn't one another as he spoke in a raspy voice.

"Have you heard the good news?" he said in what must have been an inquisitive tone.

"He..... He has risen! The preacher man says it's the end of time. He's says the rivers are drying. He says..." and the rest was lost in a mix of coughing and mumbling.

The squatter dragged his feet rapped in garbage bags to one of the corner of the large room, lying down amongst a pile of newspapers and unfolded cardboard boxes. Rocking back and forth on his side, he closed his eyes and continued on murmuring himself something.

Just as the room was returning to it's own strange calm and silence, shoes scrapping agaisn't the floor echoed in. From behind one of the pillars that held the crummy roof, Felix stepped in the open, the soft lightings of the flame dancing on his face... making him look even more pale than usual. Both his eyes seemed too deep in their socket, with dark bags under. His usually neat hair was rough and tumbled. He wore none of the gang's colors. He had shed his usual hoodie, wearing only a simple form fitting black tshirt and baggy pants... which made him look disproportionate, and thinner than most people thought he was. All in all, Felix looked somewhat sick.

"What..." his voice sounded hesitant at first. He took a few seconds to compose himself.

"What are you doing here?"

13:38:01 Sunday, April 13 2070
The Abandoned St-Jude's Mission, Harrison Street
Tao-Fighter

Tao had keped mostly silent for the short walk to the Mission. Focusing his attention on the surroundings, he had put his eye gear and breether back into place. He had wanted to talk to Halo, but he was worried the mood between them would plumet again. When they crossed Hunt, he cast an enhanced glance toward the HQ but from that angle, there was little to percive. At least it didn´t look like the building was on fire.

When they enter the Building, the Jazz pushes Tao-Fighter into combat readyness. He stays slightly behind Halo, to cover her back.
When the Squatter assaults them, the Streetline Special flashes out of TF´s sleeve, but almost as quick, the boy pushes it back inside.

Eyeing the man -it was a man, he thought- with pity, he deactivates the olfactory sensors of his breether, to keep himself from vomiting. When the homeless soul curles back into the corner, Tao kneels beside him with his hands in a nonagressive gesture and puts a nutrysoy-bar next to him.

When he sees Tag, a great burden falls from his mind, he is reliefed, but at the same time concered, when he takes a close look at his best buddy. He fleshes an unseen smile, beneeth his breether, when he offers a reply to the fallow mage´s confused question.

TF: "Halo and I wanted to make sure, you where ok, since you didn´t answer the phone. Are you injured? Know where JJ is?"

He emphasised the Halo, both to cheer up his friend a bit and to conceal his own deep concern. Standing up again, he slowly moved towards the skinny boy and motioned to give him a complicated handshake. He held back long enough, however, to let either Halo or Tag take the iniciative, first.

13:38:01 Sunday, April 13 2070
The Abandoned St-Jude's Mission, Harrison Street
Halo

As they approach the curtain she’s slightly apprehensive already about what she’ll find behind it. When the squatter came clumsily barreling at them, reflexively and without thinking she felt the relative comfort of 10 carbon fiber blades snap into place. She probably would have jumped slightly if she wasn’t expecting trouble.

When he starts rasping and wheezing about the rising of the Messiah or something or other she completely clears out of his way and retracts her hand razors, shaking her head. Just what she needed, some crazy old dried-up drunk preaching to her about God. Yeah, like this was a good time for that. She keeps an eye on the man as he shuffles across the room to go back to sleep. She wasn’t repulsed by him, it wasn’t so long ago that she could have looked like a younger, less drunk version of him. She felt sorry for him, even though his preaching tended to make the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

A deep sense of immediate relief floods into her when she spots Felix as he steps out of the shadows. It’s a short-lived moment when she registers just how badly of a toll the fight seems to have taken on him. He looks like a shell of his former self, pale, gaunt and almost visibly haunted. She shook her head and looked for words when he spoke up questioning why they were there.

“I… I… I mean WE were…” She’s completely speechless, instinct kicking in and wanting desperately to be able to take care of Felix but also wanting to keep her distance and not let him feel “weak.”

Tao steps up and finishes her sentence for her and she’s grateful, nodding in agreement as he finishes. Her eyes move over Felix again, more intently as she uses lowlight to compensate for the relative darkness of the room with it’s boarded up windows. She doesn’t like what she sees even more. As Tao moves to him, she hangs back ever so slightly.

“You are ok, aren’t you Felix?” She can’t mask her genuine concern, she chews on her lower lip as she waits for his response, her hands clenching and re-clenching into loose fists as she fidgets, growing more uncomfortable the longer she stood there. She wanted to do something more for him, she wanted to be able to make things “right” again.

She wanted to give him a hug.

13:38:11 Sunday, April 13 2070
The Abandoned St-Jude's Mission, Harrison Street
Felix

Just as Tao approached him, his hand extended forward, Felix took a small step back to keep a certain distance. He kept both arms extended next to his body, not making any sort of motion toward the young elf. By stepping back, the mage had also walked out of the light he had been standing him. His face and upper body were now shrouded in shadow.

Felix's voice changed slightly. He sounded almost amused as he spoke.

"My commlink broke." he said with a soft laugh.

He parted both arms from his body, as if he was showing something.

"Injured? Do you see any injuries? I am perfectly fine. Not even a single scratch! I probably one of the only ones who didn't even get dusty."

Without any warning, Felix stepped forward, rapidly closing the distance between Tao and himself. In a second, he was barely a few inches away from his face.

"Now, are you saying I can't look out for myself?" he said with an almost predatory grin on his face.

He looked at the elf from head to toe.

"You don't look so hot yourself chummer. Maybe you should try to patch your daisy eater self before trying to come to my rescue."

Putting his hands behind Tao's neck, he brought his mouth close enough to his ear to whisper in it.

"Unless you just wanted to stay with her. I'll give it to ya, she's pretty fragging hot."

For a few seconds, he simply stood in Tao's face, staring at him with this strange grin on his face. But when Halo spoke, something happened. Felix blinked a few times, as if he was waking up or coming to his senses. He snapped his head to the side, his eyes locking with Halo's for a few seconds before her turned his back on both of them and walked to a nearby oil drum in which a little fire burned. Rubbing his hands togheter, he hovered them of the fire. When he spoke, his voice sounded somewhat tired.

"I'm not sure where JJ went. I gave him the box, and I came here. We decided that splitting was a better idea than sticking all togheter. He probably went to ground like me."

Felix started to shiver as he rubbed his hands agaisnt his bare arms.

"Sorry about Old Man Preacher there. He didn't mean to scare you.... It's just that sometimes, he sees things that aren't really there. He used to live here before the mission closed down. He would read the bible to those who didn't know how to read."

He looked over at the old man.

"Used to be a good man. Probably still is when he isn't wasted to his eyeballs..."

Felix turned around, giving a tired smile to both of his fellow gangmembers.

"I appreciate your concern Halo. I assure you I am fine." he said while looking at the ground.

"I don't have much, but if you guys are hungry, there's some foodstuff in the footlocker over there by my stuff. Nothing fancy, but it'll fill ya."

13:38:15 Sunday, April 13 2070
Loyalty Park
Aziz

Aziz rocketed his bike down the main street, and turns right, coming to a stop in the middle of Loyalty Park. He checked his comm. Still no response on the meeting place. He clicked the bike off, and got off it, moving over to a nearby bench.

This isn't a good idea. You're in La Raza turf. he thinks, looking at a nearby wall with their burner painstakingly painted onto it, with two teenagers wearing Raza colors leaning next to it.

Still... they couldn't possibly be worse than the Spikes. 'Sides... I got this thing. he continues, glancing down at the AK he half stuffed into his messenger's bag. He looks over at the two teenagers again, and noticed they were hurriedly discussing something and occasionally looking his way. One of them nodded, then ran off somewhere.

Trouble, maybe... Aziz draws Kalila closer to himself, and slides the messenger bag strap over his head, taking the weight off.

Dammit, where are we supposed to meet?

13:38:13unday, April 13 2070
The Abandoned St-Jude's Mission, Harrison Street
Tao-Fighter

As he slowly approaches Felix, while Halo hangs back, not using the time for her, to take initiative, Tao-Fighter extends his senses into the astral world. With the help of his little sister ghost and his watcher Pumpkin, he takes a look at his friends Aura, to make sure, he is ok.
The chi is flowing through the young mages body, stronger then ever before and Tao can not see any major blockades or imbalances, that would point to injury or mental trauma. His mood is gloomy and sad, but suddenly shifts to slight amusement, when the mentalist mage takes a step back, away from the other magician and starts talking in a shifted voice.
TF is surprised, by this reaction, but figures it´s not to way out, after what they went through, mere minutes ago.

Suddenly Tag strides forward and almost explodes into Tao´s face, his emotions taking another odd turn. The elf is surprised and almost pops out his pistol, but stays cool and just returns the boy´s gaze.
He flinches slightly, beneath his goggles, when he is called a 'daisy eater' and told to care for his own stuff. Wanting to reply in kind, he still keeps silent, figuring Tag might just need to vent a bit.

Then the human mage whispers into his ear. He´s probably righ.. Ehr, no, She went along with ME! Besides, I´m in a ded.. oh, no, I´m not.. Tao-Fighter´s expression turns hard and he feels pushed to defend himself, but he dosn´t want to tell, that it was not Halo´s own idea, to look for Felix, still he exhales audibly through his nose.
The two of them stare at each other for a moment, their faces only centimeters away, as if they where about to kiss each other, if not for the elf´s filter mask. But the look in their faces tells another story.

As Halo speaks up again, Felix goes trough another extreme change of emotions, looking rather confused. Tao watches his buddy looking at the latina behind him, when he realizes he feels jealous about the girl being so obviously genuine concerned about the other ganger. What an asshole am I? He´s my best buddy and he needs that kind of attention. And anyway, Halo is just Halo.
When Felix turns away from them, Tao restricts his perception to the physical world again and turns to the girl silently flapping his arms slightly in a helpless gesture.

13:38:11 Sunday, April 13 2070
The Abandoned St-Jude's Mission, Harrison Street
Halo

Halo watches Felix closely as Tao approaches him, watching the strange and non-Felix types of movements with growing concern. When Felix closes the distance between them in a flash, she starts to take a step forward. Her eyes widen when he gets up into Tao’s face and actually calls him a “daisy eater.” Something was definitely not right, something in Felix had obviously snapped or been jolted lose in the raid by the Spikes.

When he starts to whisper something to Tao that she’s apparently not supposed to hear, she can’t help but concentrate that much harder on what’s being said. When the words do hit her ears, she’s thankful for the shadows cast about the room when the deep blush stains her cheeks a warm pink. I mean she thought that Felix might have what equated to a schoolboy crush on her or something, but she never thought she’d hear him actually say something like that.

When Felix caught her gaze she had to fight not to look away or down to the floor to hide her blush. As she held his gaze she could actually see the shift in his personality happen within his eyes and her concern only grew. Something she saw put her even more on edge, and she didn’t have to see his aura to know something wasn’t right, his eyes gave everything away.

She ignores anything about the squatting preacher, setting her helmet on the floor and slowly makes her way over to the fire and stops just behind and to the right of Felix. Her movements are deliberately slow as she places her hand softly on his bare arm. When he doesn’t pull away from her right away she wraps her arms around him from behind and hugs him gently, resting her chin on his shoulder and whispering words meant only for him into his ear.

“I’m worried about you Felix, I know you said you’re ok but I can see it, something’s not right. I’m not going to push, we’ve all been through a lot tonight, I just want you to know I’m here… if you want me… if you need me to be. You just have to ask.”

With that said she gives him one last little squeeze and backs off a bit, it was up to him to decide what he wanted now. Like it or not, once she got her own shit in order, she’d likely be checking up on him later if he hadn’t rejoined the rest of the group by then.

13:38:41 Sunday, April 13 2070
The Abandoned St-Jude's Mission, Harrison Street
Tao-Fighter

When Halo approaches Felix and gives him a hug, Tao feels strangely confused. Is this the Jazz-Crash setting in, already? It would be too early for that, so he dosn´t know, what to make of his emotions.
He feels out of place, like he should not witness the intimate moment between his two friends, or at least, he should not stare at them, while she was wrapping her arms around him. He should feel happy for Felix, but he feels like all happiness has left his life.
When Halo starts whispering in the mages ear, TF can´t stand to look at them, anymore and turns around. Searching for anything to put his gaze onto, his eyes settle on old man preacher, but he can´t but listen in on the words, that where not meant for him. When he dos, he curses his audio enhancements and feels even worst.
Tao feels pressed, to leave, now. Run away! He clenches his fists, his eyes water, bordering tears and bites his lip until he tastes blood, as the accustomed feeling of guilt flooding him sets in again and mixes with something else, anger maybe or frustration. He thinks about the daisy eater comment and want´s to knock Felix out. This day was just too much!

13:37:10 Sunday, April 13 2070
Awakened Auburn - Shadow Clinic
BronzeWyrm

Wyrm blinks, leans back a bit as Auran snaps. Anger momentarily colours her friends pale face, the outbreak is over as quickly as it started, and she's apologizing and leans in for a hug. Wyrm returns the comforting hold, but releases Auran when she winces at the hug being too tight. It's an emotional time for everyone, and Wyrm - though toughened by experience - is just as susceptable as anyone else.

"The troll persona's hacked in like a 'Runner team, no gang I ever tangled with meshed like they did. They waded through the defenses like they were peashooters. The roto's the only drone left." Wyrm looks over at Doc again, who's giving a really stern eye to his daughter. Frag, no time to say names now, well at least not voice them. Dad's really going to flip once Doc talks to him...
Neverless, Auran needs to know, Wyrm will deal with the repercussions later.
"At least 5 personas unaccounted for, Aziz's signals is online and strong..." she looks distant as she checks his location out through their GPS link. "As long as threading through La Raza nodes isn't a bad idea. He'll require a re-location point soon before attracting too much attention."
Her expression turns pensive and distant as if she's reading online status reports.
"Inconclusive status on Neo. "
"Thyn's van as checked in but is currently runing silent. "
"JJ's last report was that he was clear."
"Last status on Halo and Tao, they were clear."
"Shade and Raven are on route, Toy Robot requires medical assistance. "
"Our leader's icon" Wyrm says with a tone of sarcasm "is not responding. "
"Last video of the HQ, Felix's little surprise caught at least 3 targets off-guard. "
"Roto-drone reports they have finally vacated the HQ. "
"Star is on route to investigate firefight, ETA 2 mins, traffic drones report 3 cars and one van on an intercept course."
Her expression changes as she focuses back on Auran
"Current plan of action: mend and regroup. Most of the gang personas are collecting outside the Clinic."

-

The Clinic had a great cover for a gathering place, the old garden nursury on the corner of Ryan Ave. and North St. had been taken over by a Bear shaman as his medicine lodge over a decade ago. The Bear shaman was kind and caring, and didn't mind kids hanging around his place as long as they didn't cause any damages. It was a good part of the reason Doc had set up shop behind Awakened Auburn, not only did Nurse's parents have the space for it, but two strong magic wards made for a secure location to heal Shadowrunners. Between Nurse's parents shops and the McGee's tattoo parlour, there was enough muscle around to enforce the area as neutral territory - no one dared start a confrontation around here without serious reprisals. Even the 669 honoured this matter, and left the girls alone - even at school where they weren't technically protected.

13:37:15 Sunday, April 13 2070
Awakened Auburn - Shadow Clinic
Auran

Auran having come to her sense, uses the paleness of her skin to put her "mask" back on. Her face now reads calm, cool, and business once again. The Ice Queen was indeed alive. The news hitting her pretty hard. After seeing their gang in action, and the weapons they pulled out, the fear had hit her hard. She knew that they were lucky to have gotten away. "Hey Wyrm, I, uh.... I owe you one." Auran chokes these words out. She hates depending on anyone else but understood the value of good friends that will watch your back. She was glad it was Wyrm that saves her, and not some of the other more "useless" people.

No way did Slam bite it.... He was a tough cookie, one of the only reasons why I followed the guy. But he wasn't stupid, he wouldn't sacrifice himself..... something's fishy.... was he the target? was that a vengeance hit on Slam? I don't get it.

Auran stares into Wyrm's eyes again trying to become very very serious. "Well, we need to get organized. Find out about everyone else. Where's Chinadoll, JAX, and Cammy? and where's the box? Call a meeting, maybe give everyone time to lay low, cool down, and maybe even catch a nap and a shower. I know I need one. Pick a spot, and a time, maybe nighttime, and send it through. Then let me know who doesn't check into your call." As Auran is talking she is getting herself to her feet and readjusting her armor. "Some might not agree to a meeting since we still got the box, and the spikes might come in force again, and I don't have the weight that Slam did. But we need to coordinate something." She cleans off the glasses that are fitted for her face, and then begins to walk out of the clinic again. With her hand on the doorknob, she flicks open any key locks and says, "I'm taking my bike now, which I thank for being outside."

13:38:55 Sunday, April 13 2070
The Abandoned St-Jude's Mission, Harrison Street
Felix

As Halo’s arms closed around him, Felix felt a strange mix of joy and fear. He could feel his tired body tremble, even if he tried to control and hide it. For a few seconds, the mage lost himself in the situation, feeling only the girl’s soft skin against his own, smelling her natural scent mixed in with the smoke coming out from the fire. Both eyes simply looked into the fire, intensively, as if the dancing flames held some sort of omen about things to come. He turned his head slightly to the side, exposing a bit of his profile to her. Tears were already filling his eyes.

When Halo began speaking, Felix’s hand slowly crept up to come to a rest on the girl’s arm. A strange tingling sensation, as if her arm was numb, quickly over came the spot where the mage’s hand was resting.

“Thanks…” he murmured.

As she backed off a bit, strange feelings started to assault her senses… feelings she felt were not her own. Guilt. Fear. Dread. Joy. Sorrow. Love. Lust. Sadness. Exaltation. Every feeling overpowered her mind for a brief moment, only to be rapidly replaced by another one. She blinked a few times to clear her hear, as the world around her began to turn. Scenes and images started parading in her mind in a quick succession.

A young man was dangling from a rope, his feet still kicking the empty air beneath them. She could hear him choke. She could hear the rope crease and tighten with every feeble kick and spasms. The room was small, with green carpet and yellow paint peeling off the walls. The man’s shadow did it’s macabre dance against the wall. The carpet felt wiry and rough under her barefoot. The air tasted salty.

A woman was lying on the white and dirty tilled floor of a kitchen. The air felt damp and heavy with humidity. Her pupils were terribly dilated. A very thin and fine line of deep red blood ran from the corner of her mouth, down her cheek and to her neck. She was on her side. Her body was on her side, her legs slightly curled toward her own body. The woman was resting in a pool of blood so dark it was almost black. Her body felt cold. The room felt cold.

Looking down at her own hands, Halo saw they were covered in.... in a mix of fresh wet blood, on top of crusty dry and old blood. Her left hand still held a large butcher knife, dripping droplets of blood on the kitchen’s floor. She felt bile creep up her throat. As she turned around to flee from the scene she was met with eyes she knew very well. Deep green eyes.

Snapping out of it, Halo came back to her senses. But her eyes were still looking into Felix’s. The young mage peered from over his shoulder, a malicious smile playing on his lips. His gaze felt almost… predatory. In a strangely slow motion, he licked his lips. Chuckling, he turned his attention back to the fire. His shoulders slumped forward, as if he was about to collapse. For a few seconds, it seemed as if the young mage was loosing his balance. His feet slid on the floor as he slumped to the side, catching himself against one of the pillars that filled the room. His breathing was fast… almost hyperventilating.

13:38:55 Sunday, April 13 2070
The Abandoned St-Jude's Mission, Harrison Street
Halo

She tried to clench and unclench her fist, feeling suddenly like she had been sleeping on her arm the wrong way, that prickly, tingly feeling that lingers as the bloodflow returns. That feeling is soon forgotten as she suddenly feels like she's being forced head first into someone elses idea of a BTL. Only this one is anything but better than life.

Every feeling, every fleeting thought came at her suddenly, from a different direction, causing her to do 180's with her emotions. From overwhelming feelings of guilt for being responsible for something horrible, mixing with sensations of carnal lust intense enough to deepen the blush on her cheeks. Suddenly shifting to feelings of intense loneliness and deep depressing sadness, to euphoric moments of blissful joy, moving into extreme moments of furious anger, to the sweet feeling of a first kiss. Each shift comes so intensely, so quickly that she shakes slightly beneath Felix's touch. Halo had a feeling that the tingling sensation in her arm wasn't like the butterflies in her stomach when she had impure thoughts about a boy, but something Felix was responsible for.

"Felix, please... don't." Is all she's able to whisper before the next emotion came on, this time with a complete vignette to go along with it. The macabre scene of a young man's hanging, with full on sensory input, from how every detail looked to every sound and even every smell and taste.

"Felix, stop it." This time begging, with more intensity, so even Tao could hear her.

A shift in her perception, this time a woman laying on a kitchen floor. Halo felt hot, her clothes felt like they were clinging to her like a second, damp skin. The woman was dead. She could smell the iron in the air from the inky and glossy black pool of blood beneath the woman. Halo's skin is covered with goosebumps and she shivers visibly near the fire.

Halo's on the verge of losing it, her breathing is heavy and labored, her fingers tightening, suddenly feeling slick and wet as they wrapped around an object. A knife handle. The wetness was blood, someone else's blood. She wanted to scream. She wanted to run. She wanted to throw up.

She turned to run and found herself standing face to face with someone, familiar eyes, those deep green eyes. She's startled and she starts to scream...

"FELIX STOP IT!"

She's screaming at the top of her lungs, ripping her arm back from the boy's touch as tears stream down her cheeks. His predatory gaze chills her to the core, but she can't pull her eyes away from him. She's breathing quickly, trying to calm her terror and process what just happened as she watches him lick his lips like she was his next victim she squeezes her eyes shut and wishes she could disappear.

13:39:10 Sunday, April 13 2070
Awakened Auburn - Shadow Clinic
BronzeWyrm

Wyrm watches Auran's facial features shift.. she wasn't good at reading people, but she's seen her friend's 'business face' before.
Oh, I don't think I like the look in those eyes... But the mood shifts again, though only slightly, and Auran's stuttering out a thank you. Wyrm smiles and tilts her head, blushing slightly. "Well Shade shifted you from the windows, we merely carried you out. That's what buddy-icons do.." trying to pass her actions off as what one would expect - well it is what one would expect out of a Tribe...

Then Auran gets to business again, and Wyrm nods to her request to send notice out to get organized. Wyrm starts prioritizing gathering locations, when Auran asks for more status reports.
"ChinaDoll's status shows green."
Looking at the little green blips on the GPS grid....
"Jax status shows green."
"Cammy's icon..." she searches for a status "is undetermined. Ping reply not responding." she looks up at Auran "I can't tell is she made it, sorry."

Auran suggests a meet in a few hours, should give time for those who've run to ground to report by supper time. Wyrm likes this idea, she hates not being able to provide information.

Then Auran sorts herself out and prepares to leave. Wyrm gives a nervous glance to Doc and Nurse who are busy preparing for Toy's arrival. "Umm Doc suggested bedrest for you... Need to rest your persona, mend your icon." Looking at her directly. "You're still weak..."
She knows the argument probably won't stand, Auran's got that look that she gets when it's clearly useless to argue with her, but she has to voice it anyway. She's really not in any shape to drive, she could have an accident.
"At least use your pilot, and watch for Ice, the Star's all around the HQ, you'll need to go through the backdoors to get around them."

Doc gives her a stern look again. Man I'm really digging this ditch deep, I'll be lucky if I only get grounded for a week.. looking up at Doc again and seeing his face ... or a month. Wyrm sighs, This is not getting any better...