Genesis Crisis IC

Northern Forest

The twins followed the hulking figure, as they were able to get close enough behind it to see what it exactly looked like.  Compared to the other one, it looked absolutely normal, in fact it looked more like a human would look like if they took steroids expect a little bit more refined and less bulky.  The most frightening part of it all was that the solider was perfectly avoiding all of the wires set up almost like he had set them himself, moving with awareness of his surroundings.

“What are those oafs doing?  They need to protect me not go after some trap that went off!” A scrawny looking man compared to the super solider stated in an elevated voice, as he glared at the man with malice with him continuing to say “A stupid squirrel probably set it off or something…”

“My comrades said they found an injured human and killed him, we’ll need to scan the area just in case he had allies.”  The super solider replied in a dignified voice that put the researcher the shame, as he made a gesture to be quiet and continued walking with the researcher down the path with the researcher grudgingly agreeing.

The two continued to walk cautiously for some time until the two made a loop in the forest path that made them start walking back to where they came, until the super solider reached out for one of the wires that would cause one of the traps to go off that would end up being in range of Cash and Carrie if they didn’t move.

Mid Forest

The main squad dashed towards the super solider ahead of them, as Daemond found himself right in the super soldier’s face the moment he ran past a tree.  He didn’t make any sort of hostile action, as apparently he was just as surprised as they were.

However that didn’t last long, as the next moment he frowned in anger, as he swung an axe that he was holding at Daemond with all his force that was arcing down towards his head.

The spell that Aera had casted did have moderate effect on the super solider in the trees, but an arrow passing by her shoulder as it began to bleed soon showed that it wasn’t enough and was only going to get worse.  After the hama spell faded, the super solider quickly jumped down on a lower branches of the tree, as he pulled out thrown axes similar to Carrie’s fighting style.

A look of sadistic joy crossed his face, as he flung the axe towards Aera’s skull, not expecting her to dodge fast enough due to her faded eyesight with the second axe thrown at the back of the squad who was rushing the super solider in front of them.  Both of the axes were flying towards their targets at alarming speeds that seemed impossible for any normal to be physically capable of, almost like the axe was a speeding bullet.

Bunker

Lisa cracked an eye open and immediately shut it again when she saw Kokonoe. The sting in her arm told her that she'd been injected with something again, and the very thought of it made her skin crawl. God, she'd never take her vaccinations without a fight again.

The eye opened again, and when Kokonoe was still there, Lisa rolled from the bed, away from the researcher. Her hand reached for the first item she could possibly use to defend herself, which happened to be a hair brush that Rise had left on the night stand, but Lisa brandished it like a knife, holding it out between Kokonoe and herself.

"Who are you, and what the hell did you just inject me with?" She growled in a mixture of fear and outrage.

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Keynes shook his head at James' question. "I honestly can't say. Anything above a hangover is outside my usual bounds of diagnosis. Kokonoe should be able to fix her up though."

He jumped a little when James suddenly cheered at the computer screen, but his calm had returned when the man turned to hand him two small devices. "Good work James." He said, pocketing the device he would need to send to his source and handing the other back to James. "You hold onto that one. I'm gonna go get this one on its way."

Taking another pull of his cigarette, Keynes stepped out of the room, headed for his own, where he had a transmitter to send off the data.

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"Don't apologize." Alina scolded Alex, although she didn't really look angry with him. "It's not that I'm unhappy you told me. I just don't think I can handle many more sad stories right now." She said, giving him a sad smile.

"Oh, I like that line." She said after he made his second comment, and she scribbled it down quickly so she wouldn't forget it. "Thanks Alex. I think I can work out the rest now that I've got a general idea of where to go with it, but if I get stuck on anything, I'll come find you."

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Roy's Place

Lizzy throttled the engine as Snow took off, following only half a bike length behind him and just off to the side, so he could see her when he turned his head to the side. The route seemed fairly direct up until the last bit, where Snow seemed to drive around the same block three or four times, and Lizzy realized after the second round that he was looking for a tail. Knowing that he'd come around again, she pulled off to the side next to a news stand and watched the cars go by until he came around again.

Seeing him at the end of the street, she gave him a nod to tell him there was no one following them, and then she pulled back out onto the road, just as he passed her. It was only a few minutes later that they arrived at their destination, and Snow motioned for Lizzy to stash her bike in a shed next to the house. She did so silently, knowing that both of them were slightly edgy right now, but apparently, Snow got over it more quickly, as he pulled her into a kiss before they stepped up to the door.

"Tease..." She whispered as he pulled away to knock.

Before he had the chance to respond, Roy opened the door though. He didn't exactly look unhappy to see Snow, but clearly he expected him to need something. She would have to have a conversation with Snow later about how friendship wasn't just about asking for favors...

Roy seemed to soften a bit when he noticed her, and Lizzy gifted him with a smile. "Since you have the misfortune of knowing Snow, you'll probably see my quite often from now on." She responded as she stepped inside the house. "I'm afraid that I'm the one bringing the trouble this time instead of him though. Someone seems to think that I know too much."

Bunker

Kokonoe, who had sat back in a chair as she waited for Lisa to respond, watched with a mixture of annoyance, amusement, and incredulity as Lisa leaped up suddenly from the bed, wielding a hairbrush like a sword. Kokonoe watched her calmly, head cradled in her hands as her elbows propped her arms up on her knees.

"Stupid serum," she replied, deadpan. "Oh look, it's working!"

Rolling her eyes, she stood up and extended her hand demandingly for the hairbrush.

"Now give me that and sit down. What are you going to do anyway? Pull too hard on my roots?"

Although her bedside manner was about as tactful as Will's, the researcher decided to make an extra effort to difuse the situation and bring up Arya's status right away.

"Your sister is presumably alive and on the run, in case you were wondering," Kokonoe threw out casually, adjusting her glasses as she waited for Lisa to calm down.

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Safe House

Raidon felt distinctly uncomfortable as Arya began to wipe the blood, dirt, and grime from his body, starting with the closest arm. If spoon-feeding a meal was bad enough, being bathed was ten times worse. It wasn't that he was self-conscious about his body; no, it was the feeling of helplessness and vulnerability. If it was any consolation, at least she seemed equally uncomfortable. No, that wasn't really true. Perhaps if she had been more clinical and professional about it, he could bear it more easily.

As usual, Arya was more focused on his pain and discomfort than her own. Likewise, Raidon could easily bear with his injuries through force of will, but when she seemed so anxious..

"You don't need to do this," he said softly, keeping his eyes fixed on the ceiling. He was sure it would making things more difficult if he watched her.

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Army Squad

Cash and Carrie carefully shadowed the two targets for some time. Carrie began to look increasingly annoyed as they appeared to have moved in what seemed like a large loop. In an instant, however, Cash's eyes caught sight of the larger figure's hand moving to snag the wire. With a brief glance, the male twin was able to ascertain the wire's explosion radius, which would catch them in it. With nothing else for it, he grabbed Carrie's arm and sprinted forward, diving as the explosion went off behind them. Unfortunately, they were now out in the open for their quarry to see.

"Well, so much for that," Cash muttered, standing up and dusting himself off. "Looks like you'll get your wish though."

"Finally," Carrie huffed, releasing the chain with the axes on both ends. She had been itching for a fight.

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The sound of the enemy leaping from the tree at Aera alarmed Lancar a moment before Sasha shouted a warning through the com. He had been expecting Aera's Hama spell to disable the supersoldier, at least temporarily, but this did not appear to be the case. With the sound of something spinning through the air like death on the wind, Lancar whirled about, lashing with his whip-sword without knowing quite what he was doing. His instinctual response had been fortunate, as the blade ensnared the axe not a moment too soon and deflected it aside.

"Aera!" he called, sliding to a halt before dashing back toward the blind ensign. With Xennox rushing to help Daemond, Lancar couldn't leave Aera to find for herself.

Bunker

"I will," he said, grabbing the black device. He watched a little surprised when Keynes left the room and he jumped up, hurrying after him. "Hey wait," he said and grabbed Keynes by the arm. "Shouldn't we wait until our own message is ready? What if they broadcast before we have our own message done? Then all this work would be for nothing…" he trailed off.

Letting go of Keynes he took a step back when the man stopped. Damn, that haircut did make him look quite intimidating. "At least check with Alina and Alex," he suggested in a more careful tone.

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Roy's Place

"A misfortune it is sometimes indeed," Roy replied with a light smile and lead them upstairs. "I see, that's troublesome." There was a slightly look of concern on his face and threw Snow another look. His house was surprisingly neat for whatever shady business he dealt with and upstairs was a comfortable living room. Snow grumbled something unintelligible at his comment.

After they sat down, Snow leaned back on the couch and explained their situation. "Can we stay the night here while you find out how deep the sh*t runs?" he asked Roy. "Check with your army contacts and depending on how hot the situation is, we'll leave as soon as we can."

Even though the friendship between Snow and Roy appeared to be based on usefulness, there was a look in Snow's eyes that showed, he didn't wan to trouble his old friend more than necessary.

Contemplating for a few seconds, Roy finally nodded. "Okay, I will check it out. Just stay here, upstairs has the best vantage point. I'll send my wife up to bring you something to eat in a little while." He got up with a nod for Snow and another smile for Lizzy. "I usually call things right," he said to her with a wink.

When Roy left the room, Snow's arm curled around Lizzy. "It looks like we have bit of time now," he said huskily. Even though his eyes were wandering up and down her body, his voice sounded serious when he spoke again. "Are you worried?"

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Safe House

"Yes I do," she said firmly. "Who else is going to take care of you?" she asked and look him in the eyes for a second. "Did you think those wounds would clean themselves up?" Arya shook her head, unsure whether she should be upset or not. He could be so stubborn sometimes.

"What makes you think I would abandon what I started?" she asked with a softer voice. After a moment, she continued, removing the bandages of the wounds as she went along cleaning his body with warm water. Some already looked pretty good, the stitches holding up well and no swelling or redness indicated an infection. Arya left the stitched up wounds open for now to give them some air.

Her brows narrowed when she undid the bandage around his leg. "I'm sorry, I will have to open the stitches again," she said, looking apologetic. Carefully she cut the stitches open and cleaned the wound again. She applied some healing paste before she stichted it up again. "I hope this wasn't too bad. It should heal fine now," she said with a reassuring smile.

Her hand reached for the sponge again and she finished wiping down his muscular body. She couldn't help but admire every part of it, even though she tried not to show it too much.

Eventually she was done and went over to the first aid kit to get some more bandages. Wrapping the deeper wounds again with fresh gauze, she nodded satisfied and took a step back, collecting all the towels. "Doesn't this feel better?" she asked with a smile.

Aera (Mid Forest)

The burning sensation of an axe hitting Aera’s shoulder was hard to ignore, as he clutched it out of habit her eyes filled with surprise.  So much so, that her gaze further grew tensed when she heard the sound of the air being sliced by a large object flying at her like the speed of the bullet.

“I need to dodge…” Aera thought to herself, as she quickly used her left foot to begin to push herself away from the axe, but for some reason she wouldn’t move, as the sound of another axe flying towards the group behind her roared inside of her mind.

She had waited too long, and the axe shouldn’t have hit her if it wasn’t for the sound of metal clashing that seemed to have an odd sound to it, like a whip of sort.  It was Lancar, and he was concerned about her!

“Thanks.. I didn’t expect..” Aera began to baffle quickly, but she quickly realized there was no time for pleasantries.  The hulking menace was still in front of her that had more strength then any human should have.

“Cover me sir, I have an idea…” Aera stated, as she quickly ran off behind a nearby tree, but she was no longer clutching her wound, instead she was holding her shield in front of her face almost like she was reading it like a book.

Daemond (Mid Forest)

“I don’t think so!” Daemond yelled, as he quickly parried the sword using the enemy’s weight against him as his axe went flying towards the ground with the super solider going with it.  However, his 2 handed sword wasn’t easy to maneuvers with.

Still Daemond needed to make as much of an impact as he could, so he quickly swung the sword cut a slight wound in the super soldiers neck, as the blade ran across the durable skin that the man had with Daemond nimbly back stepping away from the giant man before he could make a counter attack.  But the wound wasn't deep enough to wound the solider badly, he needed someone’s help and with Lancar's yell directed at Aera... he might not get it.

“Xennox, tell me you’re still here.” Daemond roared, as he waited for Xennox to make a move so Daemond can go in for a second attack.  Because he couldn’t handle another encounter like before, even though it was in his favor it was only due to the fact he had an element of surprise.

Bunker

Lisa blinked in confusion at Kokonoe's answer, not quite comprehending the implications of it in her half-awake state of mind. Stupid serum? What the hell was that supposed to do? Well, to be fair, she was holding a hairbrush like a sword... That could qualify as stupid in some crowds.

She didn't think about it too hard though. Kokonoe's next words were far more important. "Arya got away?" The words were somewhere between a question and a moment of realization. That meant she wasn't dead... Yet... That was all the more reason to search for her though.

"I've got to find her." Lisa said, lowering the hairbrush to her side. She seemed to deflate almost immediately afterwards though, sinking back to the mattress, where she sat on her knees. "Where do I even start though?"

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Keynes regarded James for a moment after being stopped before putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. He gave it a pat and then moved on past. "It'll take a few hours for this to get to Legion, and then, a few more before they have a message ready. So, to prevent us from waiting around all day, I'm gonna go ahead and send it off. Alina and Alex are both capable individuals. So, I don't think they'll have any trouble preparing a proper speech before Legion decides to try and air something."

He smiled over his shoulder, although he wasn't sure how he could force himself to do it today. "Have a little faith in them."

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Roy's Place

Lizzy reached out for Roy's hand as he was leaving, and she gave it a gentle squeeze, thanking him for opening his home to them. She knew it couldn't be easy to harbor fugitives, especially not in times like these, and by doing so, Roy was really going out on a limb for them, putting himself, and possibly his family, at risk.

After he had gone, she leaned into Snow's hold, needing to feel his solid form up against her. Her entire life was in shambles now, even though the reality of it hadn't quite set in. The only thing she had left from the day before was Snow, and his presence in close proximity to her was probably the only thing keeping her from losing her mind.

"Worried doesn't quite cover it..." She whispered against his chest, allowing her head to rest just below his chin. "I'm honestly not sure where to go from here..." She paused for a moment, just listening to him breathe. "We can't stay long though. I don't want to put them in any more danger than we already have by showing up in the first place."

Xennox Xylon

Hearing Daemond's cry, a dagger under Xennox' sleeve was fired at the super soldier that Daemond was going against; the dagger flew directly at the super soldier's head. The super soldier was taller than Daemond and surprised attack from Daemond definitely caught him off guard, so Xennox hoped it would prevent the super soldier from attacking Daemond again. Soon he fired another dagger in the same way.

Xennox, however, being aware of his opponent capabilities from the first encounter. He decided to do go beyond than just being a distraction. As soon as both of his dagger left his sleeve to attack the super soldier's head, Xennox hand was launched to mid air and crushed the invisible heart of his enemy in his hand. "Mudoon!" A fierce cry left his dry lips, underneath super soldier, black circle was formed and dark tendril pierced its target waist, immobilizing the target.

Xennox could only hope such surprise attack would catch the foe off guard and enable Daemond to finish the job. But to make clear opening, he quickly muttered. "Initiating Range mode" said Xennox and fired his dark arrows at the super soldier, aiming for its eyes. It would definitely make a move to block it, or do something that quick thinking Daemond could use as opportunity.

'Come on, Daemond! Let's kill this guy and get over with this. Aera is in danger!' Xennox wanted to shout out loud, cheer Deamond to finish the job. So he could help his sister. Then again, he couldn't.

Xennox quickly moved to the front, Daemond needed back up if something goes wrong and Xennox was still not close enough for Daemond to feel secured. And Xennox was not going to let Daemond pay the price for his mistake. Being distracted during the mission? Come on, Xennox. You can do better than that!'

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Bunker
-Alexander Dranos

Alex nodded, "No problem and yeah just let me know if I can help you out in anything."

It was then Alex started questioning himself, 'Will the people of Kaddath listen to us?' he thought. However, he answered his own question with determination. 'They have to, they must.' Alex eyes drifted and stared at the ground aimlessly. 'Legion and Army, I won't let you do whatever you want with people's life. When I fall, I will make sure I bring both of you with me.' Thought Alex and his jaws were tightened. This promise, he was going to make it happen, no matter what happens...

Bunker

"Yes, she got away," Kokonoe reaffirmed, watching Lisa deflate as the information sank in. "Unfortunately, there's zero information to go off, so the chances of you finding her are pretty much non-existent."

Yes, bedside manner was not one of Kokonoe's strong-points. The researcher stood up, heading to the door.

"Look, she's alive. That should be good enough for the moment. If you really want to help, let's take down the Army so she doesn't need to hide any longer."

With that, she shut the door to Lisa's room and headed back to the communication room where Keynes and James were.

"So, what's the status?" she asked, adjusting her glasses as she moved over to the laptop.

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Safe House

Arya did not seem to appreciate his words, despite his intention to spare her from discomfort. Since it seemed she would not relent, Raidon allowed her to continue her work uninterrupted. The treatment to his leg - the only place that had been pierced, rather than cut - was particularly painful, and he had to clench his teeth and will himself to remain calm. When she had finally finished, however, the former chief felt better than he had in days.

"Thank you.." he spoke quietly, unable to face her bright, smiling face for too long. Something had been weighing on his mind for during the whole treatment, and he finally had to say it.

"You're more stubborn than I am, you know," Raidon said, looking up at her after a few moments. There was something unusual in his face.. was it almost.. a hint of amusement?

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Army Squad

Lancar was horrified to see the wound Aera had received, and the current battle situation went out the window as he moved to hold her.

"Aera, are you.." he began, but she had already moved away, asking him to cover her. The lieutenant nodded, forcing his personal feelings aside to deal with the situation. He brought his right hand in front of his body, two fingers extended upward. Then he brought them slashing at the circle, releasing his spell.

"Bufudyne!" Lancar called, sending a shower of huge icicles down on the supersoldier.

Bunker

Feeling reassured, James nodded when Keynes walked away. Feeling for the black device in his pocket, he returned to the others.

Because there was nothing else to do, he sat down again on the computer and scanned the message Kokonoe had found about Lisa's sister. He tried to find out as much as he could, remembering the desperate look on her face, however, it seemed the army didn't quite know where al the prisoners escaped to either.

He did read with surprise that someone freed them, but even his or her name was kept under wraps for now as no chatter explained who was involved in this miracle escape. Shaking his head when he couldn't find anything else, he turned the computer off and leaned back in the chair when Kokonoe came back.

"We're ready to go as soon as Alex and Alina are done. Keynes already went off to send the codes to his contact," he told her. Politely he stood up to let her sit down in front of the laptop.

"How is Lisa?" he asked.

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Roy's Place

"It's gonna be okay," he said with a light smile and kissed the top of her head. He moved around a little so she could lean more comfortable against his chest and the arm he curled around her gently moved up and down her right shoulder, comforting her.

"Don't worry about him. And don't let this place fool you even though it looks very nice," he said huskily. "This house probably has more exits and secret rooms than any army safe house. Nobody saw us coming in, so if they don't plan to swarm the city to find us, we can safely spent the night here."

Snow ran his hand through his hair and pulled out his cigarettes. He looked at them for a second and then threw the pack on the coffee table. Feeling Lizzy close was too enjoyable to disturb the moment now with a cigarette break. It would just have to wait. "And Roy… well let's say if I'm the courier, he's the cleaner." A smile played around Snow's lips when he said the words, clearly accentuating the other meaning.

He softly took her left hand into his and squeezed it lightly. "Plus, I'd do anything to keep you safe," he whispered in her ear. He was just leaning in to kiss her neck when suddenly the door opened.

Snow cleared his throat and straightened up slightly. An neat looking woman in her mid-fourties entered the room and placed a tray with food on the table with a kind smile. "You look better since the last time I saw you, Snow," she said and scowled at the cigarettes. "And I see you're still pursuing this horrid habit." She turned to Lizzy. "Maybe he will listen to you and stop trying to kill himself with those disgusting things," she said to her not unfriendly.

"It's good to see you too, Mary," he said and rolled his eyes at her comment.

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Safe House

"I…" Arya said, perplexed. Her whole expression conveyed only surprise for a few seconds and she actually had to think about what he said just now. Then she laughed, her melodic voice filling the room for a few seconds.

She shook her head slightly. "I have been called many things in my life. Stubborn is not one that I hear very often," she said, still a note of amusement in her voice. Arya tilted her head and look at him, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly at his expression. He did look better, but she could not quite pinpoint why exactly that was.

"You, however, I have no doubt, are very stubborn," she added and adjusted the blanket around him. "There is no other way you could've survived all this." Her voice became a little softer at the memory.

After Arya collected all the dirty bandages and the towels, she knocked on the floor three times. She felt a little bad because she was just increasing Cecilia's workload, but at the same time she knew the woman wouldn't accept any help. It was too dangerous for them to be outside this room.

When she looked about the room to see if she forgot anything else, she remembered that she wanted to ask Cecilia for a few blankets to make it more comfortable on the floors. It was not a prospect she looked forward to, but at least it was warm here and there was a soft carpet. Together with some blankets she was willing to bear with the situation for a few nights.

"Is there anything else I can do?" she asked. "You should really try to rest if you can."

Bunker

Lisa continued to sit on the bed after the woman left her room. Her mind was locked somewhere between relief that Arya had gotten away and fear of what could happen if she was caught again, but she couldn't allow it to stay that way for long. No, there was too much to be done, and worrying wouldn't do the job.

Extracting herself from the bed, Lisa found that her legs were still a little unsteady, but she used the wall to make her way out of the room and down the hall. At the entrance to the kitchen, she took a turn, hoping to find either Jane or Rise there. She needed to know what had happened in her absence.

At first, she thought that Jane was the one digging through the cabinets, but the hair color was wrong. "Rise?" She called out as she leaned against the counter.

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"Of course." Alina reassured him before turning her attention back to the paper pad. She seemed to glare at it for several minutes before finally sitting it aside. "Done. I need to get some exercise after that..." Massaging her temples, Alina got up and moved towards the training room. Maybe she could get Jax to spar with her or something. Writing speeches had never been one of her strong points, and she needed something to refocus her attention on.

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Keynes finished punching in the numbers on his keypad and inserted the device James had given him, letting it run its course to finish the message. Satisfied that it was sent, he removed the device and snapped it between his fingers so that it couldn't be used again. No sense in having those codes floating around where anyone could find them...

He tossed the keypad on the bed and sat there, staring at the little book it had fallen next to for a moment. His hand moved to the book, almost unconsciously, and he picked it up rubbing his fingers over the spine. "I can't make things right for you anymore... But I will try to make them right for the rest of us." He whispered before slipping the book back under his pillow and heading down the hall to tell everyone the codes were on their way.

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Roy's Place

Lizzy snuggled deeper into Snow's chest as he rubbed a hand over her shoulder. She hadn't realized how close she was to falling apart until just now, and she needed this comfort like a flower needed sunshine. "Thank you." She whispered into his chest. "For not hating me like I once hated you, for taking care of me, even when I'm too stubborn to ask for it... There are a dozen things I could thank you for."

She laid there like that for several more moments before speaking again. "I'll try not to worry about anything for the rest of the night." Her eyes traveled up to his, letting him see the dim fires that burned beneath the surface. "Maybe we could do something to take my mind off of it?"

He seemed to have taken the hint, but right before he could kiss her, the door opened, and Snow pulled back. On any other day, that would have cost him...

Lizzy turned to look at the woman who had entered, and she couldn't help but laugh at her complaining about Snow's smoking habit. "I think he would stop if I told him to." She responded, reaching up to cup her hand under Snow's chin and slowly rubbing downward until her fingers brushed over his neck. "But I don't think he would appreciate it as much if he didn't decide to stop for himself."

Northern Forest

The super solider emerged from the scorched forest completely unscathed from the fire, as he looked rather annoyed, patting off the various burns from the trap like it was almost nothing.  The impatient researcher, while obviously frightened from the sudden explosion, remained silent as he looked at the two twins with a scowl of malice that lasted for a few seconds.

“Hurry up and deal with them!  I don’t want to be held up!” The researcher demanded, as he swung his arms in front of him in a viscous manner with the super solider quickly complying, dashing forward at an astounding speed towards the twins with his fists braced for combat, as he specifically went after Cash aiming for the ensigns neck.

However, the sole weaker super solider wasn’t the odd part, the oddest part being how the scientist was standing.  He held hand out in front of him with his palm open and facing up, as he continued to look forward that had been that way ever since he swung his arm.

Mid Forest (Aera and Lancar)

The super solider battling Lancar quickly sidestepped behind the tree he was standing by, to avoid the attack, as the tree began to freeze from the giant icicle, and become brittle.  The super solider appearing to the left of the tree, as he glared at the lieutenant.

The solider began to dash towards the lieutenant wanting to end the fight before this man could cast any more powerful bufu spells, but was cut off as he heard the sound of a spell in the distance.

“Absolution Axis!” Aera yelled, as the sound of magnified light came down from the distance with the super solider naturally reacting by rolling away from his current location, trying to dodge the light ray before he had the chance to cast it.

However, he soon realized the target wasn’t him, the sound of a tree cracking under heat soon could be heard.  The tree that Aera had hid behind began to fall towards him, and smashed into the tree that Lancar had hit was the bufu spell from earlier.

The super soldier quickly jumped forward to get out of the way of the tree, but since he had already rolled out of the way, he had lost his momentum from the dash, causing the force of the tree falling behind him to knock him on his stomach.  The brittle ice from the tree that was smacked into shattered under the weight as giant icicles began to impale the super soldier’s legs, restricting his movement.

Mid Forest (Daemond and Xennox)

The tendrils pieced the super solider, but the creature seemed too powerful for the weakening dart matter to hold him down, as his tantrum broke the hold, leaving tiny wounds all over his body that began to heal almost instantly.

Daemond who had begun to charge the man, quickly hesitated as he saw the demonstration of power before him, as the super solider took this chance and smashed the poor ensign into a nearby tree, knocking the air out of him.

“Delin, fire now!” an unknown voice called out, as a unknown older man with back hair jumped out of the trees, holding a rather large 2 handed sword that he brought down on the super soldier’s neck.  However, even with the attack the solider still began to heal, as it knocked the old man away from its neck causing him to roll down the forest out of sight.

However, a large wound of the back of its neck remained from the devastating blow, as the creature reached back to clutch its wound in pain before it began to turn its infuriated gaze towards the nearest army member, Daemond.

The Forest (all)

The large tree that Aera had burned had more of an effect than she had realized.  The numerous wired traps that had been set up throughout the forest were triggered by such a large tree, as numerous ones began to go off under the trees weight.

The combined inferno actually started a forest fire, as it began to spread like wildfire in the distance.  Spreading from the over various traps it set off, due to the burning branches that fell off trees and triggered even more traps.

While Cash and Carrie would be safe for the time being, only being able to detect the fire due to the smell and smoke, the other group in the mid forest were in much more dire situation, as the fire quickly began to approach them, blocking off their path back to the airship.

That was until a red haired woman that was holding the injuried Aera emerged from the forest, it was hard to get an exact read on her temperance due to the smoke, but it was obvious she gestured Lancar to follow her before the fire burned them alive.

Bunker

Rise turned in surprise, not expecting to see Lisa up and about so soon.

"Hey, are you doing all right?" she said, hurrying over to help Lisa to a chair. Although Lisa no longer appeared drugged, she was still pale and shaky.

"How long has it been since you last ate?" Rise asked worriedly. It had to have been a while. Biting her lip, the brunette hurried over to the stove, where she'd fortunately begun cooking soup. That would be easy on the other girl's stomach.

"Here, have some of this," Rise told her, bringing over a steaming, warm bowl of soup and some crackers.

--------------------

Jax had already begun to work up a sweat, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he pounded his fists into the punching bag. After executing a particularly impressive combination of punches and kicks, he took a few steps back and wiped the back of his forehead with a gloved hand. At the sight of it, he pulled back the glove to inspect the small band beneath it.

Kokonoe's little invention to help with his synth seraph problem. It had been a miracle-worker so far. He'd nearly forgotten he even had such an issue.

To his surprise, Alina suddenly entered the room, looking a bit worn.

"Hey, done with the speech writing?" he asked, smiling. It faltered immediately as he saw how much worry and doubt were in her eyes.

"Hey, you're going to be great," the Red Rider said warmly, putting a hand reassuringly on her arm. "I have faith in you. You're one of the strongest, most passionate woman I've ever known. That's-"

He paused for a moment before retracting his hand and attempting a smile.

"One of the reasons why I admire you," he finished softly.

--------------------

Kokone waved away James' question, looking unconcerned.

"Oh, she's fine. As good as can be expected anyway," she replied, turning back to the screen. "So, are we set to go then? I hope they're ready with the speech then."

For a moment, she almost regretted being with Aegis. Now she wouldn't get a chance to see the Army's reaction to Legion's broadcast and their subsequent override.

"They're gonna flip," she mumbled, smirking to herself.

--------------------

Safe House

Arya didn't seem to agree with Raidon's observation that she was stubborn, but readily agreed that he was. There was no doubt that she was, however. He'd never encountered anyone who could manage to overpower his will over and over again. She hadn't seemed that way before though that he'd observed.

"Perhaps it's only where I'm concerned," he commented, not intending to say it aloud.

After Arya's knock, Cecilia came up a few minutes later. Upon Arya's request, she returned with the blankets, smiling as she handed them off.

"Yes, I was going to suggest you get some sleep early. It seems like you two have had a rough time," the young woman said, eyes moving from Arya to Raidon. "Sorry again about only having one bed."

As she headed out, Raidon watched Arya with a frown on his face. He didn't like the idea of her sleeping on the cold, hard floor because of him. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any other alternative..

--------------------

Army Squad

Even with Cash's natural speed, he wouldn't be able to keep up with the super-soldier's speed. Fortunately, he suddenly felt a burst of adrenaline and speed flood his body as Carrie - unnoticed by the supersoldier - was able to cast the buffing spell over him.

At the last possible moment, Cash dived aside, rolling through the dirt toward the researcher. He sprang to his feet and quickly brought up his hand to conjure

"Enervate!" he called, casting the curse on the supersoldier. Immediately, however, Carrie was there to stand between the supersoldier and her brother.

"Get him," she said replied, jerking her head back toward the researcher. "I'll take care of this."

Cash didn't bother arguing and dashed toward the researcher, hurling a handful of daggers at the man.

--------------------

Lancar felt relief that Aera's spell had intervened in time to trap the super-soldier. The lieutenant moved in for the attack, but he stopped short at the sight of a strange woman holding Aera. His heart froze immediately, feeling panic at how vulnerable Aera was. The woman motioned for him, and, after realizing the sudden predicament they were in, Lancar hurried after them, hoping Aera would be all right.

Bunker

James watched Alina leave, apparently done with her work. "Well it looks like they're done now," he replied. "The camera is plugged and charged and all we need to do is start the transmission from the camera and then insert this," he held the small black device up, "And we'll interrupt their signal with ours."

Once again he pocketed the device. There was no sense in letting it lay around for anyone to grab it.

He was relieved to hear that Lisa was up and decided to go to the kitchen to give Rise the news. Upon his arrival he found that Lisa already made her way over, a bowl of soup in her hands.

Suddenly he felt like he interrupted something and his eyes went from Lisa to Rise and back. 'i"m glad your finally up. I tried to find out more about your sister, but no one knows where she is." He paused, letting a silence hang in the air. "Well, I just wanted to give you a heads-up. We're ready to transmit our signal as soon as the Legion send their message."

__________________________________________

Safe House

"You do not know me enough to say that," she said and emphasized each word with a finger point towards Raidon. At the same time she was unsure whether he could be right. She only wanted what was best for him, she wanted him to be happy and if that included overlooking his will sometimes, she was willing to do that. Maybe he was right, maybe she was stubborn when it concerned him.

"Thanks, we'll try," she said to Cecilia and watched her leave. After she left, Arya spread the blankets on the carpet to give herself at least a little cushion. When she was done, she sat down in the chair again and noticed his expression.

"You know, if you keep frowning, eventually your face will stay like that," she commented lightly while she checked his temperature again. From the nightstand she took the glass with water and offered it to him, lifting it to his lips so he could drink. "And it does not hurt to smile every now and then," she added.

__________________________________________

Roy's Place

Snow swallowed dryly when Lizzy's hand ran along his neck. Clearly he remembered what happened before.

"You better listen to her," Mary said and with another smile, she left the room and Snow returned his attention to Lizzy. His hand ran up her leg and towards her back and he began playing with her hair while he leaned in close. However before he could even say a word, the door opened again.

More annoyed than before, Snow looked up and saw Roy standing in the doorway. "Perfect timing," he grumbled and leaned back on the couch.

"That's a lot of trouble you've gotten yourselves into," Roy chuckled at Snow's reaction and stepped closer. "I just came to say that you can stay the night. I'll arrange a route to the outskirts of the city for next morning. That's all I can do and you're on your own after that. There are blankets in the chest over there and I'm sure Snow will be the perfect gentleman and let you sleep on the couch while he sleeps on the floor," Roy grinned and winked at Lizzy.

"Thanks Roy," Snow said even though he didn't appreciate the cheap humor at his expense. "Oh I didn't do it for a loser like you. I did it for your nice girlfriend, at least she has some manners." His eyes fell on the cigarette pack on the table. "And if I smell a trace of these in here next morning, I won't ever let you enter my house again," he threatened, though with a voice that showed he was not completely serious.

Snow groaned and covered his face with his hands. Apparently tonight everyone decided to pick on him.

He waited until Roy left the room and then leaned over a little to kiss the tip of Lizzy's nose. Rather abruptly he go up and swiped his cigarettes from the table. After opening a window and leaning out, he lit one and puffed a cloud of grey smoke in the air outside. He noticed Lizzy's frown. "Even if you asked nicely, love," he said and exhaled more smoke. "I don't think I could get rid of this addiction."

Northern Forest

“You dolt, you missed him!” The researcher yelled in a rage, as he snapped his fingers with a magic circle appearing in response.  However, his expression became frightened, as he noticed the daggers flying in his direction that was approaching quickly.

“Uh…. Tentarafoo” The researcher managed to utter, as a stream of dazzling light were sent towards Cash’s face.  However, the light had no effects on the daggers that have already been thrown, as the blade went flying into the man’s shoulder with his him clashing into the ground in an awkward manner.

Soon his face turned pale, as he looked at his own blood pouring out of his body with him quickly turning towards the super solider in a plea for help, but only garbled noises came from his mouth.

--

The super solider glanced back and forth between the twins, as he seemed rather confused due to their perfect sync between their spells and movements, making him get hit by one attack the moment he focused on the other.

He tried to dodge the enervate spell, but he had been so annoyed at the girl buffing her friend that he had left a critical opening, and now his strength was beginning to fade from him.

“How the hell….” The super solider muttered, as he held his left hand balled into a first until he smashed his right foot into the ground, causing a magic circle to appear before him.

“Agi!” The solider yelled in desperation, as he quickly followed up the fire ball attack with a charge towards Carrie, but at a much slower speed this time, making him seem less threatening until he pulled out the wire that was attached to a wooden stick to weigh it down used as a trap for the various trees, as he tossed the wire towards Carrie's feet.

Bunker

Lisa practically collapsed into the chair Rise guided her to, and she tried not to think too hard about how long it had been since her last meal. "That looks wonderful..." She said, taking the bowl of soup from Rise and just holding onto it for a moment. The warmth spread over her fingertips, giving some color back to her hands before she sat it down on the table. "I honestly don't know how long it's been since my last meal. They kept me under for most of the last day or two because they knew I had magic."

Her eyes wandered around the kitchen for a moment before she put the first spoonful of soup into her mouth. After swallowing it, she asked the obvious questions though. "So, since when did you become such a good cook? Where's Jane?"

Before Rise had a chance to respond, James stepped into the kitchen though, and she diverted her attention to him. "It's okay." She responded to him, trying not to sound as disappointed as she felt. "For now, I'm just glad she's alive." There was a momentary pause, and she cleared her throat. "And I'm sorry about earlier... I didn't mean to say anything about..." Her gaze traveled from him to Rise and back again.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alina tried to give Jax a smile when he asked about the speech writing, but apparently, she must have failed, because he immediately tried to offer her comfort and support.

"Thank you." She said, reaching up to cover his hand with her own and giving it a gentle squeeze. "You've done nothing but support me since the start of all this, despite everything I've done to you, and I just want you to know how grateful I am for it all."

She raised an eyebrow when he retracted his hand though, and if she didn't imagine it, there was a slight blush running up his neck. Suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable herself, Alina took a step back towards the door. Before, she'd wanted some exercise to take things off her mind, but now, she just wanted to refocus on the speech. It now seemed somehow less stressful than the alternative.

"I guess I should go get ready then. Can't be giving a speech looking like this." She remarked, referring to how worn she still looked from the long night before.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Greetings, people of Kaddath."

A man dressed in white stood in an empty room, which was broadcast over the entire country. He didn't appear to be frightening in any way, but you couldn't help but have a certain respect for him, just from the way he held himself. He was clearly the type of man that expected attention, even if he didn't openly demand it.

"Long has the current regime held too much sway over its people, and I'm sure all of you can agree to th--"

The broadcast suddenly faded to static, and Alina sat at a conference table on the screen now. She looked worn down, but there was still an air of confidence about her as she silently regarded the camera, and the people watching her on the other end.

"Friends. Neighbors. Families. Communities all over. Let me begin by saying I am terribly sorry. You are all aware of who I am, and I will be the first to admit that I have failed you, that the current administration has failed you. For that, you have my deepest apologies."

"A government exists to serve the people, not vice versa, and the current administration has lost sight of that, but the people who ask you to rise up against them, this Legion, are no better. They are only a different group of oppressors, hoping to gain power from a situation in which we, the people, have none."

"It pains me to say that I can no longer aid any of you from my seat amongst the nobles, for I have lost that title. However, in losing it, I have gained my freedom, to aid you by other means. You may feel alone right now, and all hope may seem lost, but know that there are those of us that are with you always. You may not see us. You may not even know we're there, but until all the wrongs are righted, we will remain, ever on watch."

"I'm sure you will shortly be told by someone you trust that I've gone crazy, that I've abandoned the people, and all other manner of horrible things. The current administration is very good at accusing people of things. Perhaps it's time they learned that after accusing someone of something for long enough, that person will actually start to do some of the things they're accused of. They marked me a traitor and a revolutionary when I was neither. Now, I mark them traitors, not to their ideals, but to the people who they were sworn to serve. And if that makes me a revolutionary, then so be it. For I will stand by my principles. I will stand by the people of Kaddath..."

The transmission ended just as quickly as it had begun, but the message had been sent. Now, it was up to the people what they should believe...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roy's Place

Lizzy gifted Mary with a smile of her own before the other woman left the room, and then she turned her attention back to Snow as he ran his fingers through her hair. Did he have any idea how good that felt? She'd sit here like this all night if he'd keep massaging her scalp like that. Her moment of bliss was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Roy though, and she forced herself to focus on his words.

"Thank you Roy." She said, giving him a knowing smile, even though her cheeks colored at the mention of her being Snow's girlfriend. "For everything. You've been very kind to me, and whether that's for Snow's sake or my own, I appreciate it."

As the man left the room, Snow gave her a quick kiss on the nose, and then he pulled away to light up a cigarette. Apparently, he must have noticed her frown because he suddenly apologized for his habit. As if that was going to satisfy her...

With an impassive face, Lizzy pushed herself from the couch and stepped over to the window. Reaching up, she plucked the smoking cigarette from Snow's hand and held it to her lips, taking a quick puff of it. "I wouldn't ask you to, nicely or otherwise. It's a decision you have to make for yourself." Rocking forward onto her toes, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before handing him the cigarette back. "Just like you chose to have a quick light instead of giving me that kiss you kept leaning in for."

She gave him a soft pat on the shoulder before moving towards the chest where Roy had indicated the blankets were. "Enjoy sleeping on the floor..."

Bunker

Rise looked away uncomfortably at Lisa's question. She'd forgotten that with Lisa out this whole time, she hadn't realized that...

Fortunately, James entered the room and distracted Lisa. Rise turned back to the stove to keep working while James was able to fill her in on the circumstances. Lisa attempted to apologize for her earlier indiscretion, but Rise wouldn't hear of it.

"Don't apologize," Rise said softly, smiling as she turned the stove off. "It's okay. I don't want her name to become some kind of taboo."

Jax entered the kitchen then, informing them that Alina's speech would be beginning soon.

"We'd better get over there to watch," Rise said, taking Lisa's now empty bowl to the sink before helping her up to walk to the communication room.

--------------------

"We're clear," Kokonoe said, ending the transmission with a symbol of an ornate shield with the word Aegis above it before cutting to black.

The members of Aegis clapped as the speech ended, and Jax in particular smiled as Alina walked over to them.

"You're a natural," he said approvingly. Rise swallowed before stepping over and attempting a smile at the other woman.

"That was really good, Alina," she said, a bit awkwardly. "I'm.. glad we had you for this."

--------------------

Safe House

Raidon raised an eyebrow ever so slightly at Arya's suggestion that frowning too much would permanently marr his features.

"It's a little late for that, don't you think?" he said in a surprisingly dry voice after she finished giving him a sip of water. Again, he distinctly felt his powerlessness in even being able to take a drink of water.

"Besides, I don't..." the former chief began before sealing his lips tightly. She was penetrating his defenses, and he didn't like it. He would never have even thought of responding to that before, much less admitting what he had been about to. But..

"I don't remember how," he finished a few moments later, turning his eyes away from her.

--------------------

Army Squad

Cash easily dodged the spell from the reseacher, who didn't seem to really know what he was doing. The next moment, the man was down, a few daggers embedded in his body. Cash reached him in the next moment, pulling out another dagger to press against the man's throat.

"Let's talk. But first, call of your guard dog."

Meanwhile, Carrie had seen the fire spell coming easily and leaped over it, bringing her axe swinging up high into the air. However, the next moment her legs had become ensnared, causing her to crash into the ground. That wasn't enough to stop her, however. Using the downward momentum, she'd yanked hard on the chain, bringing the axe on the one end plummeting downward toward the supersoldier's head.

--------------------

Imperial Palace, Caltha

Spoiler:

Commander Julius Lecarde stood on the balcony of the palace, overlooking the grand imperial city. His face maintained its usual placid smile, though it didn't seem to quite reach his eyes.

"Well, it appears our former comrade Alina Grey has decided to move her faction to the forefront," High General Adalia said, approaching from behind. Lecarde nodded, having seen the transmission himself. There were few, he suspected, that hadn't.

"I don't think this should be much of an issue, however," Arzei continued, standing beside the younger Commander. "They have no public backing as of now. We'd do better to focus on Legion."

Lecarde did not reply. His expression did not waver.

"And Commander Chastenay?" Arzei asked, glancing at Lecarde for the first time. The young man smiled slightly, though it was distinctly cold.

"Hiding with his tail between his legs. He underestimated this Aegis group, and they've thoroughly shamed him and his police force," the Commander replied. "But it's no issue. I'm more than capable of taking up his load."

The High General smiled and placed a hand on the other man's shoulder in a fatherly sort of way.

"They would be very proud of you, Julius," he said quietly before turning and leaving the balcony. Lecarde did not reply, though his hands tightened their grip on the balcony, the cold white marble digging into his fingers.

No, they couldn't be proud of him. Not while one of those rebels out there still drew breath.

--------------------

Legion HQ

Spoiler:

A shadowy room. A cradle of darkness.

A lone figure stood in the center, clothed in white. A lone figure who was not alone.



At the edge of his vision, in the creeping shadows of the room, a hazy apparition hid, the glowing, venomous yellow eye visible beneath its hand mocking and condemning him.

"Pitiful. So easily and shamefully deceived by their ruse. Such a disappointment."

It seemed to say this, though its mouth made no visible movement. Was it simply conveyed by the derisive twist of its mouth or the ridiculing gaze of its eye?

"If you wish to succeed in your role, harbinger of death, you'll have to try harder than that."

With a turn of the man's head, the spectre seemed to vanish. Or had it ever really been there?

Bunker

James waved if off dismissively. "Don't waste another thought on it," he said and sat down across from her. "We're just glad you're okay," he shook his head. "You had us quite worried."

Rise turned back to the stove and left him to explain things to Lisa. He sighed uncomfortably and tried to be as sensitive as possible about it, knowing Lisa was probably still quite in a loose state of mind. For a guy, he actually did a decent job.

A little while later, Jax came in, letting them know that the transmission was about to begin. James nodded and got up, following behind the two girls.

He stood in the back, watching while Alina held her speech. Yes, the others were right, she was quite good at it and her air of confidence made her appear natural. "Very nice," he commented and gave her a nod.

____________________________________________

Safe House

Arya looked at him, clearly distraught by his confession. She set the water glass aside and sat down on the bed. He looked away from her, trying to hide whatever it was he felt.

Slowly Arya reached over and put her hand under his chin, forcing him gently to look at her. Her eyes were kind, letting him see the compassion she felt.

"Do not deceive yourself," she said. "Even if it feels like you have forgotten, your body has not. There is always something to smile about, even if it is just a kind word or a beautiful sunrise."

She moved her hand down and lightly tapped his chest where his heart was. "The problem is here. Closing your heart from the beauty and happiness of this world, because you feel there is no hope it can exist, will only bring frustration and sadness," she paused to let it sink in. "All that will only weigh you down while you pursue your own dreams."

She gave him a stern look. "And do not try to tell me you don't have dreams and goals. Everyone wishes for something even if it is just temporarily." She was a little more upset about what he said than she let on. During her life, she had faced hard and tough times, even hopeless times, but even then, in the face of absolute nothingness, she could never bring herself to give up. Resigning to a world of frustration and dullness never even seemed like an option. To find Raidon, the person she cared about most at the moment, in such a state of mind without being able to do anything about it, greatly alarmed her and she was determined to help him.

____________________________________________

Roy's Place

Snow sat on the window sill, watching her perplexed. Wondering what she was up to now, he didn't even resist when she took the cigarette from his fingers. Her words slowly made it through to his mind and he sighed. This was not ideal. She was annoyed and the worst thing was, he could even understand why. Who else would want to be second to a cigarette? Snow felt he would have to work extra hard to make up for this mistake.

"C'mon you can't be serious, Lizzy," he said, surprise and astonishment at her reaction still obvious in his voice and he crushed the remains of the cigarette on the rim. Quickly, he stood up and followed her. His arms wrapped around her body from behind and he pulled her in. "Tell me there's a way I can change your mind," he said huskily in her ear. "I can think of a few more enjoyable things for us to do than letting me sleep on the floor."

While one of his hands kept a gentle grip around her body, his other hand moved down, tracing over her ribs and down her thigh. "Maybe you still want that kiss…"

Xennox Xylon
-With Daemond

Xennox ears twitched as he heard his old name, 'Delin' And he didn't know what made him do it, but Xennox's hand trusted the voice that told him to fire his arrows again.

"It's about time you drop dead." Xennox said it quiet and coldly at the super soldier. How many shots would it be enough to drop its head off, that was the question he wanted to take time and calculate. But as the super soldier's movement was fast, Xennox had no time to waste.

Xennox blindly followed man's order and fired his arrows at its neck. The arrows were fired in numbers as much as Xennox could fire from his bow. Several dark arrows headed its way to super soldier's neck where it had received an attack of the stranger who knew Xennox's real name.
====================================================
Bunker
-Alexander Dranos

Alex sighed in relief as the transmission ended, "Great job, it's now up to the people to believe us or not. But I have a feeling you have convinced many people out there."

Alex entered where others were, with a care free smile. Then Alex eyes started to count heads who were there, his eyes stopped at one particular individual. "Hey, Lisa! Good to see you that you are feeling better." He said, then his eyes started to look around, as if he was trying to find someone. "Where's Keynes?" Alex asked the group.

Roy's Place

She wasn't surprised to hear anguish in Snow's voice, but Lizzy couldn't help but smile when he wrapped his arms around her from behind. Oh yes, she was sure there were a lot more enjoyable ways to spend the night than having him sleep on the floor, but that would mean letting him off the hook, and that totally wasn't happening.

As one of his hands moved down her thigh, Lizzy's own covered it, holding it in place. At the same time, she reached up with her other hand to grip the wrist of his other arm. It was actually a fairly comfortable position, just standing there like that, but the moment ended suddenly when Lizzy twisted to the side and leaned forward, catapulting Snow over her back and and onto the couch, where he landed on his back.

Before he had the chance to get back up, or react at all for that matter, Lizzy straddled him just above the waist, pinning him to the couch. "Maybe I do still want that kiss." She whispered, leaning forward to rest her elbows on his chest. Her chin rested in between her palms, and she simply laid there, looking down at him while he got over the shock of being thrown. "But I'm not going to take it for myself." She continued playfully. "You're going to have to give it to me."

The gauntlet had been thrown...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bunker

"Don't make such a fuss over it." Alina said as she walked over to the others. "Anyone can stumble over a script if they know what they're going to say and focus on the camera instead of all the people watching it." She couldn't help but feel a little relieved though. Everything had gone off without a hitch from either Legion of the Army. Honestly, she'd been expecting at least one kind of interference, possibly more.

Her eyes traveled to the girl sitting against the wall, and she moved over to her, extending a hand. "You're Lisa, right? The others have been worried about you."

Lisa looked up at her for a moment before taking the hand and shaking it as best she could in her current condition. "Yeah. It's nice to meet you." She was silent for a moment before speaking again. "You're a lot less intimidating up close..."

Alina couldn't help but laugh at that, and it wasn't until then that she realized how much she'd needed it. "Maybe I'm not." She said with a wink. "Or, it could just be that today was a bad hair day."

It was Lisa's turn to chuckle, but only briefly before she responded to Alex. "I'm honestly not sure how I feel..." She said with a pained smile. "Physically, I'm fine. Mentally... I don't know..."

A weight suddenly rested on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Will standing there. He smirked and gave the shoulder a pat before withdrawing silently, but she got the message. In time, she'd be fine. For now, she'd just have to survive it, and it wasn't something she hadn't already done before.

She looked around at everyone present, and Alex's second question registered in her mind. He was right. Keynes wasn't here...

"He probably went to the freezer..." Alina said, sounding far more shaky than she had only a few moments before while giving her speech before the people of Kaddath. "He may have decided to move on, but it's not always that easy to make peace. We should probably leave him alone."

Bunker

Jax detected the change in Alina's tone more than anyone else. He understood exactly what that meant to her, and he immediately put an arm around her.

"Come on, let's go celebrate the success of our speech," he said, smiling and attempting to lighten up the mood.

"Dinner's ready in the kitchen if you guys want to start," Rise said, backing away from the others. "I have something to do first."

Jax frowned but decided not to press the issue. Leading the way, he and the others headed to the kitchen while Rise turned and made her way to the freezer.

"Keynes.. you here?" she asked, gingerly easing the door open.

--------------------

Safe House

The feeling of Arya's hand on his chin forced Raidon to look up, locking his smoky grey orbs with her vivid green ones. When her hand moved down to his chest, over his heart, it seemed to thump more intently.

Her words touched him more intently than anyone else's had, but he still wasn't sure how to bring them about in his life. He'd spent years.. decades.. building up defenses from his own feelings. It wasn't so easy to tear them all down.

"What do you wish for?" Raidon whispered, his voice coming out huskily as he watched her intently, suddenly very aware of her presence so close to him.

Safe House

His eyes seemed to stare right into her soul and Arya was lost in the depth of them, sub-consciously moving  closer and closer towards Raidon's face. Then he asked his question and she realized where she was. As if awakening from a dream, she straightened up slightly and moved back a little.

Arya cleared her throat nervously. "Well…there was a long time where I wished I could have my parents back and reunite my family. The sadness of their loss still hurts, but I learned to cope with it. It was a dark time, a time where I thought I would never be happy again," she said and cast her eyes to the floor. "But over time, I realized, I cannot live my life in the past and my parents would not have wanted me to be unhappy. That realization gave me the strength to start over."

She paused and glanced up for a second, a smile playing around her lips. "Now I just wish for a happy ending," her voice was full of emotion and she could feel her eyes tear up again. "And that starts by making sure you get well again, because I cannot bear to lose another person I care about." Her heart was still beating fast and she could feel a light flush across her cheeks when she looked up again, gazing into Raidon's eyes.

Letting a few more moments pass, Arya finally got up from the bed and dimmed the lights. Then she pulled up her blanket and laid down on her makeshift bed. It was not too uncomfortable and would certainly afford her with enough rest for tonight.

___________________________________________

Roy's Place

Snow exhaled sharply when he suddenly found himself on the couch. Even though he expected some sort of reaction, this seemed a little over the top. Why then did he think she was still hot as hell when Lizzy leaned over his chest, her eyes watching him with a playful smile around her lips.

He didn't even attempt to get up for the moment. "You know I'd give you anything," he said huskily and then a grin spread across his face.

With a sudden movement he sat up, lifting her up by the waist and pushed her against the back of the couch. He leaned over her upright and was quite a bit taller even in a sitting position. His spread legs pinned Lizzy's to the couch and he took her wrists in one hand, pulling them gently up while he came closer. His eyes looked hungrily over her body. Lips almost touching, he pulled back a little. "Just for telling me to do something, I should refuse to do it…" he voice sounded teasing and he pulled away even further. "…however, I'm only a man and I love you, so I'll make an exception today," he admitted playfully.

Looking at her for a few more seconds, he kissed her. It wasn't a soft kiss like usual, but harder and more passionate and Snow tightened his grip around her wrists slightly to feel her body even closer to his own. He parted her lips and locked his eyes into hers, feeling himself melt away while they both sat on the couch, bodies intertwined. With his free hand, he began to move up her back and into her hair, trying to have his fingers everywhere at once to touch her body.

Mid-Forest (Daemond and Xennox)

The forest around him began to roar with more and more fire, as the super solider fell over from the amount of damage that had been done to his neck as he began to choke on his own blood.  Even though this would normally prove fatal, it was obvious that it would begin to heal after a while as the gruesome and bloodied muscles began to move around in his neck.

“Xennox, we have to go now…” Daemond muttered, as he slowly got up holding his stomach with a stronger dia spell healing it with a tall and older man standing next to him that looked very similar to Xennox if it wasn’t for his grayer hairs.

“Your pilot is already relocating due to the fire, so he should be picking you up on the southern end shortly.” The man stated in a rushed tone as he hastily gestured to the southern forest, as he ran west, not saying another word.  He Looked back at the group and nudging them to go south and not follow him.

Southern Forest (Aera and Lancar)

“I can stand, but thanks for your help.” Aera muttered, as she brushed off the woman after they ran a certain distance, still clutching her shoulder from the wound that had been inflicted earlier, as they ran out of the burning forest with the airship landing a good distance ahead of them shortly after they came outside.

And at the same time, the smoke had cleared revealing a red haired woman with pale skin that looked almost exactly like Aera if it wasn’t for the fact for her older age and the various slight wrinkles with the perfectly clear blue eyes being her one defining feature due to Aera’s blindness.

“My teammate should be here with your other teammates shortly.” The woman stated with a sigh of relief, as she looked at Aera for a couple seconds longer with the strangest of expressions that was something between shock and joy, but it was hard to tell as she was concealing it with an overly formal guise.  But before anyone could respond, she turned around and ran off towards the burning forest before the airship could spot her.

Northern Forest

The smell of fire became painfully obvious now, as smoke and fire began to come closer and closer by the second.  However, in the heat of battle neither the researcher nor the super solider had noticed this fire due to their dire predicaments.

“Help me, you fool!” The researcher yelled in whatever he could muster towards the super solider, as the solider turned to the researcher to see what the problem was.  Cash was threatening him with a knife, but the solider didn’t seem that concerned about the situation of the researcher, however there was something off about him.

The axe plunged into the super soldiers head, but it wasn’t deep enough.  The solider only looked at Carrie with deep hatred in his eyes, as he grabbed her smaller body by the chest with both his arms as he began to crush the poor ensign.

“I won’t go down….” The solider muttered, as his grip lightened and fell to the ground a moment after as apparently the sudden movement caused the axe to dig deeper in his head before the healing could take place, killing the solider.

The radio of the solider soon landed on the ground soon after, as it was full of nothing but lifeless static even though it the other two points had the transmission button held down which was indicated by a red light.

The researcher looked over at the super solider speechless, as he feared to turn his gaze back towards the man who was holding him down at knife point, as he shivered slightly afraid of what might happen to him.

Bunker
-Alexander Dranos

Alex silently followed others to the kitchen; a name strike his head hard, 'Jane'. It seems like that name became a name that everyone must avoid in mentioning. What Jane did for them, how her life ended... Alex eyes drifted to the floor, remembering what he told Jane and how he failed to do so. His life was still intact, Jane wasn't. 'You miserable...' Alex couldn't continue his thought process and shook his head. 'I should not bring myself down. I can be loser after everything is done.' thought Alex.

Alex entered the kitchen and commented, "It smell nice." Alex gently smiled, "Rise learnt well."

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Xennox Xylon

Xennox soon reached where Daemond and Stranger were, however, he quickly make a side step and sprang where super soldier was lying down, "I am not going to take any chances!" shouted Xennox and swung his sword at his foe's neck, with the force of everything he got. Trying to remove its head for good. As the damage done to its neck was quite fatal, the sharp blade of Xennox sword would be enough to remove its head if the attack get connected.

However, Xennox would leave the soldier if his attack fails as he soon realized what kind of environment they were in. Fire was spreading through the forest quickly and somehow the scenery was familiar to Xennox. Suddenly as if bell was ringing right inside his head, it ached painfully. then he spotted the stranger. "Dad!?" he muttered weakly as his eyes drifted to the stranger's who stood beside Daemond.

Unfortunately, it seems like the stranger and Daemond didn't hear what he said as the fire started to make louder cracking noises. The headache was becoming painful, but as Xennox understood, this wasn't a time for him to be a burden to his squad. So he try his best not to slow them down.

The stranger, who Xennox somehow thought as his 'Dad', quickly told where they have to go. "Where are you going?" Xennox asked loud but the man disappeared quickly to the west side.

"Come on, Daemond. Let's get out from here." said Xennox, as he quickly made his way to the south. But it was obvious that Xennox was not in top form. For some reason he couldn't get his left hand to leave his head alone. "Stupid headache, aching at the worse moment" He commented.

Roy's Place

Damn, but the man could kiss. Lizzy thought to herself as she drowned in the sensation of his lips on hers. She should be struggling to get free from the position where he'd pinned her, but the thought of being held captive like this actually sent a delicious shiver up her spine. Yeah, she wanted to fight back, but she didn't want to escape, just make capturing her a little more difficult.

As his hand ran up her back, she exhaled a feminine sound into his mouth, and despite the grip he had on her wrists, she pushed her arms down behind him, so that she could thread her fingers together behind his neck and hold him in place. At the same time, she pressed deeper into the kiss, ignoring the need for oxygen as she tasted him, and when she finally moved her lips aside, she bit down on the side of his mouth, keeping him from retreating and sending a message. They were both captives of the other right now.

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Bunker

Alina registered the feeling of Jax's arm around her shoulders, but she didn't comment on it. Right now, that small contact was welcomed balm on her tattered soul. Maybe he'd noticed just how hard she was trying to keep it all together. "Dinner sounds wonderful." She said softly.

"Oh, it was." Lisa said with a smile. "I hope you all didn't want any. I hadn't eaten in a few days, and I kinda helped myself." She continued jokingly as she pushed herself to her feet to follow them.

"Better be careful. You'll get fat." Will responded, earning him a kick in the shin, which caused him to take a sharp breath.

"I'm weak right now, but I'm not incapable." Lisa growled, pushing past him.

When they reached the kitchen, Lisa moved to a chair, and despite having eaten only a few hours before, she looked ready for another round. Will sat down as well, and Alina shrugged out of Jax's hold to pluck Rise's apron from the back of the chair where she'd hung it.

With a playful smile, she threw it over Jax's head and stepped behind him to pull the strings tight before he could protest. Taking a step back, she surveyed her work for a moment and then kicked back in her own chair with a chuckle.

"It doesn't look bad on you." She said jokingly. "Care to serve up dinner while you're dressed for the occasion?"

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Keynes looked up as Rise entered. His features didn't seem outwardly distressed. More than anything, he just looked a little lost, but he waved for her to come to him. "C'mere missy." He said, reaching out to pull her into his arms, which easily engulfed her.

For several seconds, he stood there in silence, just holding onto her. "I'm so proud of you for coming out of this so strong." He said before letting her escape from his grip. "It makes me feel ashamed for not being able to do the same, especially since she wouldn't have wanted us to waver."

Bunker

Rise was surprised to feel Keynes pull her into a tender hug. Considering how gruff and unaffectionate he tended to be, this really spoke volumes about his current emotional state.

"Oh, Keynes," she said softly, burying her face in the coarse material of his shirt. When he finally released her, she looked up tenderly at him, smiling through glistening tears in her eyes.

"You've always been so strong for us," Rise said, giving his hand a squeeze. "The least we can do is be strong for you now."

She let go and looked into the freezer, at the beautiful ice sculpture of a woman sleeping peacefully.

"She died with a smile.." Rise whispered, turning her gaze back to Keynes. "So we should try to smile too."

Taking his arm, she led him out of the freezer and toward the kitchen to join the others.

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Jax had to laugh at Lisa and Will's bickering, but that was cut short in a bewildered grunt as Rise's frilly apron was suddenly thrown over him and tied by Alina before he quite knew what was happening.

"That's not funny," he said, flushing as she admired him with a teasing gaze. He tried to fumble with the knot behind his back, but she'd tied it rather tightly. Just then, Rise entered the room, stopping short at the sight of it. Jax paused as well, staring back at her.

"It's not.." he began, but one glance at Alina and she had it pretty well figured out. Moving over to Jax, she grabbed his shoulders and turned him about so she could get at the apron knot. For several moments, she had an exquisitely close-up view of Jax's broad, muscular back, and she had to suppress the urge to glide her hands up the length of it.

"Rise, you got it?" Jax asked, sounding a bit awkward. Rise jumped a little before finishing pulling out the string and stepping back.

"Yep, got it," she said, giving a breathy laugh before hurrying to the stove. "Go ahead and sit down. I've got it."

Shrugging, Jax took his place as Rise grabbed the entrees from the stove and set them on the table, unable to resist giving Alina a reproachful look before taking her own seat.

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Safe House

"I cannot bear to lose another person I care about."

Raidon's chest constricted for a moment as he gazed at her. She cared about him... She cared about him after all the things he'd done to her and her sister.

"Why? Why would you care about me? Why do you make me.."

When Arya pulled away suddenly, it felt as if light and warmth had suddenly been pulled from the air around Raidon. He blinked, confused, for a few moments before he turned his head to watch Arya prepare her make-shift bed on the floor. There were certainly not enough blankets there to keep her from feeling the hard wood beneath.

In the dim light, Arya appeared positively angelic. Raidon found himself simply gazing at her for several long minutes. Internally, he was waging a very intense battle between his own comfort and guilt over allowing Arya to suffer for his sake. Allowing her to care for him was difficult enough, but this..

"Arya.." he said quietly, his deep voice vibrating in the silence. "There's..."

He swallowed thickly, closing his eyes as he forced himself to continue.

"There's enough space in the bed for two people," he finished, grunting in pain as he slid himself over to make room for her.

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Army Squad

Carrie fell unceremoniously to her butt as the soldier keeled over, idiotically embedding the axe even further into his head due to his exertions. Feeling distinctly ruffled after being manhandled that way, she grumpily retrieved her axe and stalked over to Cash, who was pulling the researcher up.

"Nicely done, sis," Cash said, prodding the man forward. Carrie grunted noncommittally before following after him.

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Lancar caught up to Aera just in time to catch a brief glimpse of the woman before she ran off. He froze, staring after her as the words seemed to trickle over his lips.

"But.. you're.. her.."

Shaking his head, he grabbed Aera's hand and led her toward the airship. Cash and Carrie were just arriving, hauling a wounded man with them.

"We brought back a present," Cash said, indicating the man before dragging him back to the hold and tossing him in.

"You all right?" the lieutenant asked Carrie, who looked a bit roughed up. Carrie waved him off, as though annoyed at being coddled that way, before heading in after Cash. Shrugging, Lancar helped Aera inside before immediately looking at her wounded shoulder.

"Daemond should be able to look after it when he gets here," Lancar said, brow creased in worry as he inspected the injury. "But Aera, that woman..."