Into the Black

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #1120 on:** February 13, 2014, 06:14:35 PM

Fifteen minutes later, the chill draft was what finally convinced Emilena to stop spinning over and over everything in her head to understand what had just happened. Slowly and painfully, she got onto her hands and knees, and finally staggered to a standing position, leaning against a nearby tree.

She coughed up blood. She'd never sustained nearly this many injuries at one time; no doctor would ever advise walking in her current state. But nobody would be arriving to assist her this time; she just knew it. She'd played all her cards, and that wound her up in the mafia's snuff room.

Now that she'd achieved standing up, she wanted only to lie back down. Her skull was pounding. Blood trickled down her arms, neck, and legs. She wasn't looking forward to the next time she had to hit the head. But the pain only served to remind her that she was miraculously alive.

My life wasn't saved so that I would die out here in the forest, she thought with determination. She tried to walk, and had to wrap her arms around the tree to stop from face-planting back into the fallen leaves. Her head swam with vertigo and she quickly vomited whatever remained in her stomach.

She compromised with gravity and assumed a kneeling position. She suspected she'd be crying if she wasn't lethally dehydrated. Everything was unbearable.

Where would I even go? she wondered to herself. She had nowhere. She can't even return to her apartment, Broadstreet will be watching it 24/7. She could find somewhere abandoned, maybe hide out alone in the slums...

...I can't be alone right now, she finally confessed to herself. In her state and her confusion, for once she needed someone to talk to, to help her recover and plan her next move. And with a sinking heart, she realized there was one place left for her; one couple she'd never turned to. A single household with an obligation to her that they'd never fulfilled, that she'd never visited despite learning their address within seconds of being granted access to the police databases.

The possibility of a destination was enough to get her back on her feet. One step at a time, she began the long hike to the house of Emile and Lena Kibagami.

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

Lily smiled reassuringly at him. She was doing a lot of that recently, but she hadn't really any other way of communicating; she hated the sounds her mouth made when she tried to talk.

She'd grown incredibly introspective recently. Having another conscience attempting to take her over at the slightest provocation will do that. If she'd been more focused on the outside world, she might have paid enough attention to realize that the others were driving towards an assault on the Purifier camp, probably the last place Lily would want to go. But for the time being she was content to trust their judgment and follow them wherever they deemed the proper next step on the road to recovery.

bushwacked · **Reply #1121 on:** February 13, 2014, 06:55:32 PM

Marcus inclined his head towards the Tesla as it crossed the parking lot in front of them. "There. That's him. Follow, but don't draw attention." The public would make things harder... but as long as the cyberneticist didn't try anything, getting through to the private section wouldn't be impossible.

A few minutes later, as the man was locking his car door, a shadow fell over him. "Altyn," Marcus rumbled as he turned around. "It's been a while. How's the hand?" He stepped closer, forcing Altyn to press himself against his car. A quick glance around told him nobody was looking. Turning his gaze back to the human, he bared his teeth. "Me and my associate here need a few things... and you're our way in." He loomed over Altyn. "Don't get any ideas, or it won't just be your fingers we cut off."

Nick22 · **Reply #1122 on:** February 13, 2014, 07:05:36 PM

marita had broken into the Purifiers website and running through some data.. ' ok.. i'm starting to download a schematic of the base.. theres schematics of several Purifiers bases on here but Pelvanida is the one we want' She said.. 'it should be about 3 minutes before everything is downloaded."
is there any place we can stop to get some lunch/' Marie asked.

Pterano · **Reply #1123 on:** February 13, 2014, 08:13:55 PM

Tony nodded at the rear view mirror as Marita explained a few things. "Oh wait! We aren't going to Pelvanida anymore, remember?" he asked. "Just the Purifier compound. No need to head to Pelvanida." he explained.

"Lunch? Well..." he glanced at the dashboard clock. "It's currently five in the morning... we just had breakfast." he joked, chortling. "I can get you something if you're really hungry though." he stated, the sun having not risen over the horizon yet. "Oh right... you might not have eaten your breakfast..." he trailed off, remembering Patrick Anderson.

"Anyway..." he responded to Axel now. "Yeah... I'm gonna try that. It's worth a shot, right?"

Tony began fiddling with a bluetooth console on the dash that his father had installed, and which was definitely not vintage. Fortunately, it was only attached to the dash, and not grafted in. Pushing a few buttons, he opened up a digital HUD that had his contacts, and began paging through them, swiping his claw upwards until Marcus Hayton appeared. Taking a deep breath, the ferret pushed the name, and then inserted a headset into his ear as he let the phone ring.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #1124 on:** February 14, 2014, 03:05:59 AM

After god-knows-how-long of walking, Emilena managed to relate her location in the forest to a known landmark. The abandoned robotics factory loomed through the trees, the place where she was originally kidnapped after the disastrous attempt to get ahold of a Purifier. Looking back, that was probably where things started going downhill for her.

Every step was a bit harder than the last, but she took a detour to the site because she'd lost something very important there.

It took over an hour but finally she found it in the underground passages; her heirloom katana, gleaming in the moonlight from the katana-shaped hole above it. Feeling it buzz to life in her hand stirred something in her heart; finally, there was something in her life she could count on.

She continued her journey.

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

At Tony's words, Nairda cockily wiped his long strands of thin hair out of his eyes and grinned at the notion of finally getting his long-overdo vengeance on Marcus. "That contemptuous charlatan will finally breathe his last on this day...I look forward to the opportunity to watch the life drain from his eyes while I stand triumphantly over his still corpse...this'll be a piece of cake~" he chuckled...

Nick22 · **Reply #1125 on:** February 14, 2014, 09:18:35 AM

only 5 in the morning? geez i've really lost track of time' Marie said shaking her head.' perhaps you and Rose should get some sleep. i'll wake you if Tony stiops somewhere for breakfast' Marita said. ' she had stopped downloading pelvanida i' she said to tony as he put on his heasddphones. ' so we'll need id to get in..nformation and moved to downloading purifier information. ' the bases track who goes in and out.' she said. ' for security purposes. id is required.

bushwacked · **Reply #1126 on:** February 14, 2014, 02:03:47 PM

A beeping in his jacket pocket interrupted Marcus. Seizing Altyn's shirt, he shoved him in away from his car in the direction of Pelvanida's staff entrance. "Get us into the storage area. We need 18-G12VX amplifiers. If someone tries to stop us, I'm sure you can think of something. Move." He turned and gestured to Aaron. "Stay close to him."

Lagging behind, Marcus pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and flicked it open. His brow furrowed at the name blinking on the screen. He's still alive? He hit the answer button. "Tony? Where the hell are you? Are you hurt?"

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Axel drummed his fingers on the tabletop, trying not to think about the knife edge the group was balancing on. Though he was trying to keep optimistic, the fact that they were dealing with some very dangerous people kept twisting his stomach in knots. If we screw this up... Axel shook his head to try to rid himself of the doubts. We won't. We can't.

After a while, he looked across at Soren, who was still snoring, and smiled at Lily. "Sounds like a broken lawnmower." Then he snapped his fingers and jumped up. "Hey, I just had an idea! I know talking isn't that... easy for you right now, but..." He started opening the cupboards and drawers, rifling through their contents. Eventually, he whooped triumphantly and pulled a slightly worn notepad out from one of the drawers, with a pencil hooked through the wire binding. Turning back to Lily, he passed them across and sat back down. "Here. Should make your life a little easier. Not that there's anything wrong with your miming..." he grinned.

Pterano · **Reply #1127 on:** February 14, 2014, 04:08:55 PM

Tony actually felt his heart stop for a moment when Marcus answered. He was there! OK... focus... calm... do this. He steeled himself, gripping the wheel of the Pierce-Arrow tightly for strength. He gritted his teeth, then responded.

"Hey! Marcus! How ya been?" Tony asked, grinning. Smiles can be heard. "No, I'm fine! In fact, I got some presents for ya! Where are you now? Back at base? I can meet you there if you aren't there already." the ferret offered, letting the optimism drip from his voice. "It's just great to hear you, ya know? Thought I was a goner several times, but I pulled through."

bushwacked · **Reply #1128 on:** February 14, 2014, 07:23:15 PM

"No, I'm not at base," Marcus muttered, frowning. "We'll be back soon. What are you talking about?" He picked up his pace, catching up to Aaron and Altyn and looking around to make sure they still hadn't attracted any attention. Still in the clear.

He turned his attention back to the call. "What do you have? The last time I saw you, we were under heavy fire..."

Serris · **Reply #1129 on:** February 15, 2014, 02:38:51 AM

Mr. Altyn gulped as the two burly canines approached him.

Aaron glared at Altyn. "Move," he growled.

"Give me a moment!" he snapped as he got his keys and work materials.

Aaron raised a fist to punch him, but he thought better of it. He looked around and noticed that the parking lot was pretty quiet.

The Human locked his car and looked at the two. "Okay, I can pass you off as guests or even new employees. But don't make a scene or else your asses will be on the line."

-----------

Kojuuro sighed as he drank another bottle of sake at Club Tyrell. His girlfriend from a one-night stand from a while back, was on thr barstool next to the Wolf and busy flirting with him. The images from his previous military service had surfaced with a vengeance and he turned back into his preferred drug – hard liquor.

"Man," the Gypsy Vanner stallion said as he wiped down the bartop. "It's five in the fucking morning and this is like your third bottle. Isn't that enough?"

"Gimme my fucking liquor!" Kojuuro snapped. His ears splayed back as the Pomeranian bitch licked him on the cheek. He turned to the woman. "Sorry about that."

"'S cool. 'S cool," he said. "Here you go." The stallion passed another bottle of sake to him."

A hulking Brown Bear wearing a lab coat walked in. On his lab coat, a badge reading "Bytis Industrial Electronics – Piotr Kozlov" could be seen.

"Ah, Kozlov, how was work?" the bartender asked.

Kozlov sighed. "I had argument with coworker. I need drink! Get me cosmopolitan!" he ordered in his thick Russian accent.

The bartender mixed the cocktail and passed it to the Brown Bear. He sighed as he looked around the bar. Mostly empty and frankly put, kinda gross with thin layer of grease covering the floors and furnishings. A TV playing footage of some low grav hockey game blared from the corner.

As he looked around the bar, he accidentally laid eyes on the Pomeranian bitch. Kojuuro immediately turned to the Brown Bear. "Hey asshole! Why are you looking at my girl!?"

Kozlov's eye twitched. "I was not looking at woman. I was looking at TV. She was in way."

Kojuuro got up from his seat and went over to Kozlov and shoved him. Thanks to his enhanced strength, the shove knocked the hulking Bear over.

"Sweetie, Ió" the Pomeranian began.

"Don't worry, I got this." Kojuuro assumed a fighting stance.

"You make big mistake!" Kozlov boomed.

"Why? You're just a nerd! I on the other hand, amó"

Kojuuro was unable to finish his sentence as Kozlov belted him across the face with the barstool he had ripped out of the floor. Kojuuro grunted as he slammed into a wall containing some of the bar's decorations. "So that's how it's gonna be..." He cracked his neck and howled to psyche himself up.

Pterano · **Reply #1130 on:** February 15, 2014, 02:43:45 AM

"Yeah, we were..." Tony agreed, smiling to himself. "I've got them, Marcus. The ones giving us so much trouble at the factory... the ones putting us under heavy fire. I don't have... all of them." he said now. "But I've got a few. Unfortunately I don't have the one you were after. But... maybe her friends will suffice? If she hears we have them... you never know what could happen." Tony said suggestively.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #1131 on:** February 15, 2014, 03:32:19 AM

Lily smiled and wrote Thanks. She paused and kept writing.

Thanks for doing all this for me. Standing up for me even now.

She was never a very eloquent writer. She couldn't think of what else to say at the moment. Pushing the macaroni bowl away, she hugged Axel and tried to let him understand just how much his support meant to her.

Nearby, Nairda saw them and suddenly put the pieces together. "Huh. I always thought Kojurro would be a better fit for her..." he muttered to himself, watching them with barely-hidden voyeuristic pleasure.

bushwacked · **Reply #1132 on:** February 15, 2014, 06:35:55 AM

Axel suddenly felt a slight chill creep up his spine, as though they were being spied on... but that was probably just the nerves of the situation.

He hugged her back and kissed her lightly on the cheek, feeling the roughness of her skin under his lips. When they broke apart, he gave her a dumb grin. "Well, I guess I did promise..." Axel held her hand. "Someday, we'll be looking back on this and... well, probably having nightmares. But it'll be over, and we'll be looking back on it. That's what matters."

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

"You have them?" Something in the ferret's upbeat tone set him ill at ease... but the kid had always been cocky. And he is one of us. Maybe he's actually done something to back up his words this time... "Alright. We'll talk about how you managed it later." Especially if Naidra was one of his prisoners... "Bring them. We'll be back soon."

He snapped the cell phone shut and moved to join Aaron and Altyn. "Move it," Marcus grunted, shoving the human forwards. "I want this done quickly." He had a bad feeling... but he couldn't think of a reason why Tony would betray them. He knew what happened to traitors.

Pterano · **Reply #1133 on:** February 15, 2014, 05:56:46 PM

"Will do! I'll see ya soon!" Tony responded right before Marcus hung up. Pulling the ear bud out of his ear, he grinned. "Well, that went well!" He turned the Pierce-Arrow onto another highway that led to the Purifiers' base. He remembered it from here, and no longer needed directions.

Pushing the button to the trailer's comm, he began speaking to Axel. "Hey Axel! I think they bought it! We're about 20 minutes away I'd say, in current traffic. So I figure we'll leave the car and trailer a ways away from the base, and I bring you in on foot. Maybe a block or two away? This way, we can keep Lily out of it, and make it seem like you're more my prisoners than my guests. Now they've got some security measures in place, but I think we could still manage to smuggle some guns in all the same, or better yet, take what they have at the base. Maybe Marita could even take a few of their defense systems offline too in a timed fashion before we get there?" he suggested.

"At any rate, I might have to place binders on your wrists to make this look legit." he warned him. "When we get there, I'm gonna try and find out where Lupis is, and we'll make our way to him after I either conveniently forget to lead you to your cells, or we simply overpower the guys taking you to your cells. Sound good?" he asked.

Nick22 · **Reply #1134 on:** February 15, 2014, 06:46:03 PM

Don;t worry Tony I'll take care of the defenses. but be warned, even if i do, they have backup controls which go online in a matter of minutes after they go down . so our window for action is very small' Marita warned.
' you will have to do this very quickly, if we want a real shot at him.. figure 2-3 minutes at most' She added.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #1135 on:** February 15, 2014, 07:12:55 PM

Nairda stirred at Tony's words. "We're leaving Lily behind?" He looked at Axel, wide-eyed. "Are you to leave the sight of your true love?"

He grabbed Axel's arm with pleading vigor. "I sure wish I'd never let my true love alone...for my folly i have been punished by never seeing her again..."

His eyes bored into Axel's soul. "Do not make the same mistake that keeps me up in slumberless nights..."
---------------------------------

Many miles away, a young fox was tending to his bioluminescent algae fields outside a respectable, if remote, adobe farmhouse. His particular crop was used as a garnish for specialty dinners, and one of the few nocturnal bloomers. As such it required nighttime tending.

Because of the night, and the general lack of visitors to such a distant place from the city, he didn't see the figure staggering towards him until it was less than fifteen feet away.

In a split second he'd pulled a Kriss Vector SMG off his back and had it readied at the intruder. "Don't move!" he yelled, voice commanding authority. "Identify yourself!"

The figure collapsed. Inching forward cautiously, the fox kept his safety cocked and his muscles tense, ready for an ambush. You could never be too careful...

The light flicked on in his farmhouse and a young female dashed outside, throwing on a bathrobe. She was the same age as him, and looked strikingly similar in appearance. "Emile?" she gasped, worry tinging her voice. "Who is--?"

"Stay back!" he warned her. "I'm not sure!"

Clicking a thin light on the barrel of his SMG, Emile saw an incredibly battered and bleeding woman passed out among his crops. "I...uh...don't recognize her," he reported to Lena, who had ignored his command and was rushing forward to see. "No clothing or possessions...might be a victim of sexual assault, if I had to--"

Lena suddenly gasped; her vision had always been better than Emile's. "Honey..." she knelt down and picked up the katana. "This is..."

Emile's eyes went wide. "Let's get her inside. Quickly."

bushwacked · **Reply #1136 on:** February 15, 2014, 08:35:55 PM

Axel recoiled slightly as Nairda grasped his arm, gasping in surprise. Where did he come from?! Looking across at Lily, he felt his mouth go dry. He desperately wanted to go with the others... as much as the thought scared him, Axel felt he had to help them - if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to shake the feeling that he was abandoning them. But, in his flowery, confusing way of talking, Nairda had hit the nail on the head. Leaving Lily alone, unprotected, for however long it took them to do what they had to do...

He grimaced and turned back to the speaker. "Yeah, Tony, that... that sounds like a good plan. Look, I was thinking..." He pressed closer and lowered his voice. "I... I don't know if leaving Lily alone is such a good idea. I mean, you saw what she did back when Emilena.... well, you know. If she got scared again, this trailer couldn't hold her, and if she got out into the open..." Axel swallowed. "But if I was here to keep her calm... I'm sorry Tony, I don't want you or the others to think I'm backing out, but..." he trailed off, fearing what the ferret's reply would be.

Serris · **Reply #1137 on:** February 16, 2014, 01:09:29 AM

(En route to Purifier Base)

"Okay, so what do I do?" Anne asked as she leaned back. "By the way, if it helps, I can shoot a gun. I'm not a super shooter or anything but I know enough to defend myself."

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(Pelvanida)

Mr. Altyn grunted as Marcus shoved him. "Easy!"

He then led the two to the main entrance. By now, other employees had arrived and were busy scanning their work IDs to be let in. "Ah, Mr. Altyn," the Augment Iguana said as he saw the Human.

Mr. Altyn gulped as he looked at the two thugs next to him. "Um, these two are visitors and I am taking them to my office for an introduction to cybernetics manufacturing for uh, a TV program."

The Iguana narrowed his cybernetic eyes. "Mr. Altyn, I need to have a word with you."

The two Canines didn't know it but the Iguana had implants that allowed him to discern subtle physiological changes that signaled fear.

Mr. Alytn nodded and followed the guard.

Pterano · **Reply #1138 on:** February 16, 2014, 01:50:04 PM

Tony listened to Axel's voice, and could detect the rat's feelings even without being able to see him. "Hey... that's fine." he said now. "We'll adapt. Don't worry. Just... be careful, OK? I'll try to park far enough away from the base that you won't be in danger but... if Lily really did do something to Emelina... yeah, it's probably a good idea to keep her calmed." the ferret admitted.

He accelerated a little bit once the lane in front of him opened up somewhat. The Pierce-Arrow was certainly providing one of the smoothest rides he could remember. "Anne... shooting is fine." Tony said, looking over at her. "OK... I think we should go with this. When I stop, I'll bring a certain number of you over to the base. I'm not sure if Soren should go or remain behind in his exoskeleton as backup for when our assault starts. We can decide that when we get there. We get shown in, and if we time things right, we can hit them when they're at their weakest in terms of having the most manpower spread out. I memorized the movements of some of their guards, and know that in the cell block, they have a gun gallery up above the cells that's caged. A guard usually patrols that but has to move between the two cell blocks. He typically spends about fifteen minutes in each one. Once we get to the cell blocks, there will be another guard on duty at the entrance. He'll frisk me, even though I'm one of them. That'll be our cue to strike. I'm gonna time it so that we show up when the second guard in the gallery is in the other cell block and can't see what's going on. As I'm being frisked, one of you will attack him from behind. and we'll overpower him."

Tony kept the speaker to the trailer on so the others could hear his plan as well. "Then, either myself or someone else will climb up to the gallery... I'm pretty thin, so maybe I should do this. Before we get there, we should fashion together a makeshift bar spreader, which is easy enough to cobble together with just a nut and some pipes. We'll use this to spread the bars, and squeeze through. Since I'm thin... I should probably be the one to do this." he reiterated. "I'll then wait for the other guard to start coming back, kick the door back on him as he opens it, and subdue him. Once subdued, I have access to all the guns kept up in the gallery and can start handing them out. With weapons secured, we'll be good to go. We have Marita disable the defense systems, make straight for Lupis, and try and capture him as quickly as possible. How's that sound?" he concluded, looking at everyone present in the car.

bushwacked · **Reply #1139 on:** February 16, 2014, 06:02:01 PM

Marcus' expression hardened, his eyes narrowing. Dammit, he could ruin everything... Gesturing for Aaron to follow, he stalked after Altyn and the Iguana as they walked away, his long strides rapidly catching up to them.

"Is there a problem?" he rasped as he drew even. "I was told we'd be let straight through - we're already running behind schedule." The employees who'd arrived were a problem... but if the Iguana led them to a slightly more secluded area...