Neku shook his head.
"Yurei's clean.  Josef and I made sure of that once things got settled in.  Plus... these guys aren't geared enough to be a capture unit.   Too few, besides.  My guess is that they're dragnet fishing for us.  Send out a bunch of teams along likely routes, and we'd be bound to run into them."
He said, electricity coiling along his arms and torso...   

Yurei chuckled at Flora's enthusiastic questioning, playfully patting her arm.
"Well, Flora, those first batch of Josef's golems wouldn't make great conversational partners.  In fact,  they won't do much of anything.   But I'm sure with a little time and a bit more familiarity with you, he could craft a nearly-identical copy of you.  Plus any...tweaks you'd like.   He's quite talented like that."
He teased, then playfully gave her butt a quick grope.
"Besides, why would you need another you... when you've got me here~?"
He whispered coyly...

As the group made their way towards their next destination,  Neku paused, tensing up and holding a hand out tongue flicking a bit.
"Hey, hold up guys.   There's something ahead of us.   Sartoric, in fact..."
He said nervously, sparks flicking across his arms...

Neku smirked, raising an eye ridge.
"Tentacles, huh?  Well, then I think you'd get a kick out of that room, then.  C'mon, we'll show you, eh Riv?"
He teased, as Riv's tail stiffened straight out behind him.
"Y-yeah, sure!"
He stammered awkwardly...
____________________________________________________________

Yurei smiled and kissed Flora's cheek as Josef took the sample container.
"Something of the sort.  Though far less flawed by comparison.  You will see soon enough. Suffice it to say it will impress you."
He said smugly, tucking the container into his smock.
"Now, if the rest of you could provide samples as well, then my project can be completed before you set out again"

Neku chuckled at Sharal'tar's question, dancing a spark across his fingers like a coin.
"Me?  Nah, i'm nowhere near strong enough for that!  Riv and Yurei figured out how to get us hooked back up to an old solar field not far off.  My guess is that whoever used to live here left in a hurry, and everything was left hooked up when it got buried.  Hell, they even still have TVs that're hooked up.  Signal's crap, but hey."
He said with a smirk, absently tossing the spark in the air as Riv nodded.
"Um... thanks for sticking up for me, Sharal'tar.  And uh... yeah, I guess I did help with getting the place hooked back up.  A little.  Mostly just fixing up wires and stuff"
He said, grinning sheepishly.
__________________________________________________________

As he was pulled to the couch, Yurei smiled shyly, kissing Flora back each time.
"Heh, of course I was worried!  Knowing that the loves of my life were out there on the run from Sartoric?  I mean...I know you guys can take care of yourselves, but still..."
He smiled and hugged Flora close.
"Next time you do that,  how about you just bring me along for the ride, instead?"
He smiled, leaning in closer before a calm cough interrupted whatever he was about to say.
"Ah.  I see that our guests have arrived then.  I presume you must be Flora, yes?  Hm... fur color slightly different.  Must make corrections to it... regardless, though.  I would like to request a small biological sample from you, before you set out again."
From a hallway, an older-looking maned wolf stepped into the common area, wiping his hands on some sort of smock and adjusting his large glasses...

Riv smiled a bit and chuckled.
"Admittedly, my power could be useful, I guess.  But yeah, honestly wasn't a fan of being stuck in a lab."
He said softly.  Meanwhile, Taga smiled at Flora and Yurei.
"Well, then.  Come along upstairs.  I took the liberty of making sure you've got rooms set up!  Oh, and don't mind Josef.  He's a bit...odd... but a good sort!"  She said warmly...

Riven smiled, taking Sharal'tar's hand and shaking it warmly, the glow from his hands fading.
"A real pleasure to meet you!  Yu's told me a lot about you, so it's nice to finally meet you in person!  And yeah, I'm ex-Sartoric.  Ex-Containment ward, to be exact."  He said with a shy chuckle.  Yurei, meanwhile, smiled over at Kora.
"Oh, there's quite a few of us!  Me, Riv, Josef..."  Whatever he was about to say was cut off, though, by a gentle, grandmotherly voice from up a flight of stairs.
"Oh!  Yurei!  Is that you I hear?  And Flora, as well?  How lovely!"
Somewhat slowly, an old cat made her way into the garage, smiling warmly.
"Welcome to our little home, everyone.  It's good to see you all safe!"
She said earnestly, as another voice chimed in from a corner.
"So...Flora, is it?  We found this old apartment complex pretty much buried after that storm hit ol' Sartoric.  Yurei and Riv helped get us in here, and we've been hiding out since.  Turns out, the place is still hooked up to the grid, so we've made ourselves at home."
The speaker said, stepping into the light, and revealing a dark-scaled reptile, though one with hair.  He flicked one hand idly dispelling a few crackling arcs of electricity, and ran his hand through his hair.
"And, since Tagaso interrupted before he could finish... my name's Neku.  Neku Sakuraba.  Nice to meet ya"

Yurei smirked under the mask he was wearing.
"I can do us one better!  Everyone, over here!"
He yelled, pulling a small metal object out of one of his pockets, using a small pin to stick it to one of the stone structures, tapping the mark engraved on it.  On the third tap, a bright, glowing rectangle appeared to tear itself into existence, big enough for the caravan to pass through.
"Through here, everyone!  C'mon!"

Yurei smiled, helping Flora get onto her camel, and giving her butt an appreciative grope as he did so.
"Hmmm... here's hoping I can ride one of these guys."
He chuckled, hopping onto a horse with ease, patting the beast gently...

As Yurei's radio crackled to life, he started a bit, then pulled out a phone and flicked open a messaging app.
I'm tailing our marks at the moment.  Maintain radio silence.  Sounds like they're headed out of town.  I may lose contact for some time.   I'll try to get in good with them as an escapee.  Find out what they're after, and if there's anyone else working with them.
After sending the message, he flipped the phone shut, chuckling a bit under his breath.
"Okay, now to set the rest of the plan in motion once we're out of town."
He said quietly to no-one in particular...

Yurei smirked as he stirred, grinning at Sharal'tar as she went to change.
"Oh, I remember that all too well~.  Heh, fun times~."
He chuckled a bit before smiling over at Flora and leaning in to kiss lightly at her neck...