Racing the Storm

[Pterano]

Vergil nodded, and sighed as well. "Why not? We just have to hope it's them." he murmured, and telepathically slid his bag across the floor to baggage check for the ship. Since his name was on the tag, he hoped they'd figure it out and get it to his cabin... which might be a problem right now because he didn't exactly have a cabin but... oh well. Details.

Pursuing Triste now, the gecko moved down the stairwell and made for what appeared to be passages leading into the power plant of the hotel. The guards were converging on a central point, and as Vergil could finally detect the rest of the group up ahead, he decided to act now. There were four guards ahead of them, none of which had noticed they were being followed yet.

Reaching out, he tripped two of them (the leftmost ones) and decided to let Triste handle the other two in whatever way she saw fit. As he was currently unarmed, he'd have to get in extremely close to do any real damage. The two guards he'd tripped both landed hard, as they hadn't been expecting their legs to be yanked out from under them, and as the floor down here was concrete, it wasn't a pretty sight the minute they smacked into the ground... blood spattered every which way, and at least one looked as if he'd dislocated his jaw..

[Serris]

Soren's heart raced as he looked around. All that was available was a toolbox someone had forgotten next to the door. He dumped out the toolbox's contents. Nothing except a large flathead screwdriver. Lacking any other options, he plunged the tool into the seam between thw reader and the wall. Grunting with exertion, he bore down on the tool.

Eventually, the keycard reader was torn from the wall, revealing a mass of wires. He turned to Axel. "Axel, See if you can reroute the wires to open the lock!" Soren threw the mangled screwdriver to the ground.

The Human rubbed his aching arms and drew his pistol and clicked off the safety.

[bushwacked]

Sprinting up the corridor, Triste reached the two guards Vergil had tripped. One of them was convulsing on the floor, blood streaming from his nose and a large gash in his forehead as his limbs flailed. The other one though... his jaw stuck out at an odd angle, and his face wasn't a pretty sight - but that didn't mean he couldn't be a risk to them. Passing him, Triste slammed her heel into the back of his neck, a loud pop accompanying the snapping of his vertebrae. Better safe than sorry...

From further up she heard yelling, and as she jerked her head Triste saw the two remaining guards approach a right hand turn and raise their guns at something out of sight. Swearing under her breath, she cloaked, disappearing from sight.

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

"Alright, I'm on it!" Axel flipped his vision and reached for the wires, attempting to control his breathing as the heavy footsteps got closer. He tried to concentrate, to focus his attention, but it was hard - if he couldn't open this door...

"Freeze! Get down on the floor! Now!"

Axel squeaked and jerked around. At the end of the corridor, two burly, hardened looking men were aiming assault rifles towards them, thick body armor protecting their torso. Can't go back to that room again... not again... "Soren, shoot them!" he gasped. "Fucking shoot th-"

The guard on the left suddenly bucked as if something had leaped on his back. He opened his mouth to shout out - but then his head snapped to the side with an audible crunch. As his body crumpled, the assault rifle he was still holding loosely in his right hand was forced down and opened fire, the hail of bullets tearing through the final remaining guard's knees in a mist of blood and gristle, and then sweeping up to rip through the security camera on the wall. Axel gaped as the shrieking man collapsed like a sack of meat onto his stomach and tried to crawl forwards, but was dragged back. A pistol, yanked from a strap attached to one of his ruined legs, floated up as if by magic and pressed down hard against his temple.

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

Triste, straddling the guard's back, pressed the pistol hard against the side of his head. "Call off the alarm," she hissed.

Sobbing, the guard tried to turn his head but Triste's fingers held him firmly by the hair, keeping him still. "Wha... what?!"

"Call. It. Off. Or you end up like your friends."

"No! Please... please don't. I'll do it..." The man fumbled weakly with his radio and pressed a button, taking a deep breath. "This is Ramirez, Bravo Team. Targets are down... I repeat, targets are down."

It crackled. "Copy that. Need a recovery team for the bodies?"

Triste wagged a finger in front of the guard's face. "No... no, we've got them. We'll bring them back through the boiler room. Over."

"Alright. Make it quick. Over." The guard let go of the button and the radio went silent.

"Good. Thank you." Triste lifted the man's head back and pulled the trigger, his body jerking once then going limp. Letting his head drop wetly to the concrete, she stood up and de-cloaked, wiping a few spatters of blood off the side of her face disinterestedly as she faced the group. "Ready to get going? I wouldn't recommend staying - the room service is terrible."

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

Rio turned to look back at Emilena as Flora led him away. On one hand, they really should be trying to help her out. On the other hand... he could be getting drunk. "Alright then!" he said cheerily as they moved further into the crowd.

A short distance away, there was a clothing stall selling an assortment of tacky items that only a tourist would consider buying. As they passed, he noticed the vendor was deep in a heated argument with one of his customers... and in the corner of the stall, out of the vendor's sight, a row of bright, cheerful T-Shirts were left unattended. Seeing one that seemed about Emilena's size, Rio sidled over, slid it off the hanger and melted back into the crowd. Grinning at the printed message on its front, he tied it around his waist then rejoined Flora. "Are we gonna get wasted or what?"

[Nick22]

Marita stepped forward, relieved that the guards had been dispatched ' Good to see you guys again. we were trying to locate you, but it appears you found us first. We've been looking for you two for awhile now. someone spiked our drinks when we went out to eat..' Marita said to them. " my drink, along with Marie's and Rose's, had biproxytol in it, and Sorens had some sort of a hallucinogen , in any event we're all quite lucky to be alive, the doctors in this hotel  are quite skilled and professional.' Marita said.

- why dont we catch up with them once we are safely out of here? I've had enough adventure for one day ' Marie said " i just want to get out of this place, get back on terra firma, and well, enjoy myself for a bit. i mean, how often do you get to go on a trip to South America..

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

Lily winced when she saw what had happened to the first set of guards. "Hold on..." she said hesitantly; she knew that time was of the essence and she was in no way responsible for their pain, but she couldn't bear to leave a human being in such a state. Then Triste mercy-killed them, relieving Lily's responsibility in the least comforting way possible.

"You're alive!" she exclaimed, eyes lighting up as Vergil and Triste revealed themselves. "Do either of you need healing?"

She glanced at the way they'd come. "I'm sure you've heard the lockdown in progress. Are we hoping to reach the docks, or do you know of an easier way out?"

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

Flora half-dragged Rio over to the nearest pub. "Just make sure to lift somebody's wallet or we won't be able to pay," she whispered. "Hey bartender! What's the strongest stuff you got?"

He looked disparagingly at Rio. "Get your kid out of here," he demanded.

"What?" exclaimed Flora. "That's bullshit! That's the only reason we left America!"

"Allow me," said a deep voice behind her. A heavyset businessman sat down next to her and smiled. "I recognize your ceremonial fur color. You two are Sapaar missionaries on your holy pilgrimage, are you not?"

Flora blinked. So did the bartender. "What?"

The man fished a book out of his suitcase. "Article 59 of the National Liquor Act states: "The parent or adult guardian of a minor or a person responsible for administering a religious sacrament, may on occasion supply to that minor a moderate quantity of liquor to be consumed by the minor in the presence and under the supervision of that parent, guardian or other person."

The light bulb clicked. "Oh yeah!" Flora beamed. "We're part of...that religion you said. It's customary for our young boys when they come of age to travel the world with a female guardian and sample the drinks in as many countries as possible!"

"You're dangerously close to infringing on an individual's religious rights," the businessman threatened the barkeep.

The bartender picked up the official lawbook. "Well, I'll be. Guess you are allowed to be in here...vodka's probably the strongest stuff we got, to answer your question ma'am."

"Three Saharan martinis please, and put in on my tab," the businessman ordered.

Flora swooned as the bartender stepped away to prepare the drinks. "Well. To whom do I owe this pleasure?"

The businessman eyed her shirtless chest. "Just here on company business. Work things you wouldn't care about. I'm much more interested in hearing more about you."

Flora's eyes lit up. "Mmmm. Well, keep the drinks coming and I'll see what I can spill..."

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

It was twilight when Foley returned to Emilena. "Hey. So we can stay around here for the night, hotel prices are pretty standard for tourist traps, or we have several choices for flights out of a small airport down the road. Earliest flight is in two hours but has like eleven layovers and three transfers; I'd recommend the first direct flight to Cornova at 6 am."

He held out a sweater emblazoned with the hotel logo. "Also bought you this; looked like you're freezing your tits off."

"Why didn't you give me that first?" Emilena snatched it urgently and slipped it on. With a final glower at the guard, she finally marched unhindered into the heated hotel lobby. "I am not waiting until 6 am; book us on that crappy one with all the layovers. In thirty minutes if those two idiots haven't returned we'll go grab them and start our hike to the airport."

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


Nairda crash-landed the plane into the cliffside of the Yungas Road; Nairda had used a combination of extensive gliding periods and over-reliance on thermals to fly the plane much further than its gas tank would normally allow. Climbing up the cliffside was an arduous ordeal but his augments downgraded the struggle from "impossible" to "strenuous." He was always better than Emilena at climbing and endurance, though only now did he reflect on how many times he'd neglected to point this out or rub it in her face.

After some hiking down the road, he eventually came across the site where his gang had encountered their old friends from Lanthae. He paused for a moment looking for the blood stains from when that white gecko had slashed Emilena's legs open, but rain and weather had completely removed all traces of the encounter.

Still, he was able to reach the spot where they'd hidden the Mexican tow truck. Slashing vines and fronds out of his way, he turned the thin sliver of metal jammed through the exposed steering column like he'd always seen Foley do, and to his amazement it started the truck. Inching it onto the road, he began driving back the way they'd first come.

Things were quite perilous as he slowly started realizing just how high up he was on the "road of death." He'd never obtained a driver's license, and slowly the perpetual drizzle evolved into a torrential tropical storm, shaking the car with otherworldly howling and hurricane winds.

As Nairda attempted to navigate turns he could barely register through a rain-blasted windshield looking out into almost complete darkness, for the first time he found himself missing Flora more than Emilena.

[Pterano]

Vergil winced as Triste executed the final guard after promising him he wouldn't follow the same fate as his his comrades. She'd also killed the survivor from his group... and it left his stomach reeling. Killing in the heat of battle was one thing but... killing opponents who could no longer fight back... it was excessive. It wasn't right...

His eyes shifted to Lily as his face fell. "No... thank you." he replied simply. He knew Triste would justify her actions to him... but it didn't mean he'd agree with her. In fact... he wasn't sure he agreed with any of this... if they were just as bad as Kalis... what separated them from him? It was something he'd argued with her over before... but she hadn't changed...

He replied to Lily's question. "The docks are the only way off this station. They blow anything else out of the water or the sky. We have to leave in an authorized fashion." he answered. "If you're all ready... I suggest we not waste any time in checking out." He turned to head back to the stairwell now, thoroughly disgusted with everything.

Now of course... he wasn't sure if this group could check out... he and Triste were probably fine but... the rest had been recognized. Still... maybe he could pull one final trick out of his sleeve in the event they were to be stopped.

[Nick22]

then we'd better get moving then' Rose said iin reply : frankly I'm sstarving, when we get out of here I'm stopping at the first pizza place i see..
_ so long as its under 10 credits a pizza right/ Marie smirked " girl you dont need to be so cheap all the time.. " Nlot the time for it Marie' Rose replied.
_
 lets just get to the docks first ' maritas interrupted, preventing the girls from arguing, time was of the essence here. She moved towards the stairwell and Vergil ' whats the quickest way to the Docks from here? ' she asked Vergil. " so we can beat it out of here once we check out. ' Marita was dreading checking out, as the camera had caught them in the boiler room, where visitors were not supposed to be. Hopefully the clerks manning the front desk werent linked to the security system.  Still playing it cool, was the best choice, she decided.

[bushwacked]

Triste glanced over her shoulder as Vergil made his way back towards the staircase with Marita, Rose and Marie trailing behind. She didn't need mental powers to tell that he was upset. Sighing, she looked back at Soren, Lily and Axel and gestured. "Come on, let's go. Unless you want to be here when the clean up crew finds the bodies." Triste turned and stepped over one of the bodies. "I wouldn't recommend that."

Axel blinked, his fur still standing up on end. As Triste started to walk away, he shook his head and went after her. "No, wait. Wait! Where the hell have you two been?! We -" His foot caught on the foot of one of the guard's corpses and he almost fell flat on his face. "Son of a bitch... The only reason this happened is because we had no idea where you were!"

"Later," Triste said flatly, barely sparing him a glance.

Axel's mouth opened and closed. He looked back at the other two, brow furrowed. "What the hell..."

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

As the sun started to set, the pub began to fill with loud, brash tourists looking to get drunk. Above the heads of the drinking patrons, a small shape swung amongst the wooden rafters. Still clutching the remains of his third Saharan martini, Rio drained it then flopped down on one of the beams above the bartender. "Get me another one. Put it on... that guy's tab again." Rio still didn't know who the man in the suit was, but as long as he was buying drinks Rio didn't care.

"You really shouldn't be up there you know," the bartender warned.

"It's part of my holy pilgrimage." As the bartender started to prepare another, Rio stared through the fog that was just starting to creep across his vision at Flora and the businessman who were still together. He smirked. If the guy wanted some of that from her, he was in for a surprise. Shrugging, Rio reached down and plucked the new drink from the bartender, then started moving across the rafters again, looking down to spot any potential targets he could steal from.

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

"Let's not bug them, dear," Lily added hastily. It didn't take empathic powers to tell they weren't interested in small talk. "We can share what we've all learned once we're off this station."

She double-timed it in order to keep up with Vergil and Triste, who weren't slowing down in the slightest for their wounded and battered teammates. Having had to rely on far too much improvisation to survive up till now, she was content to let the professionals take control of the situation.

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

Thirty minutes later Foley was still surfing the internet and snacking on a bag of trail mix he'd purchased from the gift shop. Emilena had been sleeping on the couch in the lobby, and finally the cashier walked over and shook her gently. "Ma'am? I apologize, but we can't let you..."

Emilena brushed her off rudely. "I get it. Go away." She groggily stumbled over to Foley. "What time is it?"

"You were asleep for about an hour and a half. Our flight was delayed so I didn't feel the need to wake you." Foley held out his trail mix but Emilena pushed it aside. "Flora and Rio aren't back yet," he continued. "Where are they, anyway?"

Emilena groaned. "Looking for booze, from what I overheard before they left."

"What? exclaimed Foley. "And I wasn't invited?" He thought for a few seconds. "You know, I'm okay with that. I've been thinking...that mermaid gave us an opportunity most don't get. A second chance. I've decided I'm not going to drink and I'm not going to do drugs anymore."

Emilena rolled her eyes. "Stupid."

"Of course you'd say that." Foley frowned. "What I'm trying to say is...when we get back to Cornova I think I'm out." He couldn't look her in the eye when whipped her head around. "I want to go into a legitimate field, actually make something of myself. Not to say you guys weren't fun and all, but...you can't run cheap drugs forever, you know?"

Emilena didn't say anything. She gave herself a minute, mulling her potential responses carefully. Ultimately she just sighed. "Fine. It's your choice. Probably the smarter and less life-threatening option, really. At least you're handling your departure better than Nairda did."

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

Nairda screamed as he barreled off the side of the cavernous mountain of death.

Drawing his katana to slice the seatbelt off, he kicked the door to the truck open and fired his grappling hook in the direction of the road. Several stomach-churning seconds of free-fall ended abruptly as he smashed into the thick foliage of the sheer cliff.

He was thoroughly soaked to the bone in chilled mud by the time he next hoisted himself back onto the road. Shivering and weeping Byronic tears of bitterness, he stumbled his way through the stinging rain towards civilization.

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

Flora was getting increasingly touchy-feely with the businessman; after her third martini she was listening raptly as he explained the logistics of South African class action suites and the case a hypothetical one would have against a multinational conglomerate's alleged use of unreported advertising fees.

"That is so interesting!" she exclaimed truthfully, reaching over to unsubtly brush her hands across his chest and almost knocking her glass over in the process. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to change the subject, but..." Her hands shook as they brushed the pleated collar of his travel coat. "Has everyone ever told you...how handsome your suit is?"

The businessman grinned and urged her to finish her drink. "You want to come back to my hotel room? I have several suits even nicer than this one..."

Flora hiccuped and excitedly stood up, grabbing him for support. "You'll have to model all of them for me!" She'd regained her balance but didn't stop clutching onto him. She stared with glazed awe at his unbuttoned cufflinks.

"Yeah, before you two go anywhere you owe me for like, eleven drinks," the bartender piped up. He'd been impatiently polishing the same glass for the past thirty minutes; they were taking up valuable bar space from the regular evening clientele.

As the businessmen took out his wallet, he glanced at Rio. "What about your kid?"

"Oh, don't worry about him! He'll be fine!" Flora fake stumbled so she could press her body up against his. "Oops...I think I *hic* may have overdid it..." she giggled.

The businessman became more concerned about what he felt pressing up against his leg. He pushed her away and stared in horror at the massive bulge under her bathing suit. "That's...a purse or something, right?" he stammered.

Flora batted her eyes. "Sure, if you want." She stepped forward, but he pushed her into the bar and staggered backwards in disgust. "Ow!" she protested, clutching her head. "Come on, I thought we had a thing going!"

The businessman made a bolt for the door, but at a signal from the barkeep a bouncer stepped in his way. The businessman rammed him and sent him stumbling.

Flora ran forward. "Wait!" She grabbed his arm. "Look, don't worry about my flytrap, that just means I'm really good at pleasuring one! Please don't--"

He brutally slapped her to free his arm and sprinted in a panic out the door. The bouncer got to his feet, enraged, and chased after the man, drawing a pistol.

Flora was lying stunned on the floor, nursing her cheek. "I...I..." Tears welled in her eyes. Before she could say anything else, the bartender silently grabbed her and Rio and threw both of them out the door, slamming it shut behind them.

[Serris]

Soren loped after the two. His scowl and clenched fists said it all. His pistol slapped uncomfortably against his stomach as he ran. Luckily, the hallways were deserted. But knowing that an alarm had undoubtly been tripped, he did not want to press his luck.

"Those two get lost. We nearly all got our asses killed trying to find them and they don't even talk to us!?" he fumed.

"Axel," he whispered as he jogged alongside his friend. "I really hope those two don't lead us into another clusteróFuck!"

Soren fell to the floor as he slipped on a recently washed patch of floor. His heart rate spiked as he heard distant shouts that seemed to be coming from the other branch of the y-junction tha Triste had led them to.

He staggered to his feet, trembling slightly. Luckily, nothing was too badly damaged. He looked around the hallway. Just a bunch of pipes and wires lined the ceiling. An alarm box that was labeled specifically for non-security related issues was on the right fork of the y-junction. He smiled; he now had an idea.

"Axel, Marita, I need you to help me cause some problems. If we do that, we should be able to clog up the station's staff," Soren said. He shot a glance at the wires and pipes that crisscrossed the metal ceiling.

[Pterano]

Vergil by now had neared the top of the steps. He'd mostly recovered his strength from before, though didn't want to test his limits right now to find out. He opened the door leading out into the civilian areas of the hotel, poking his head out and narrowing his eyes to scan for any hostiles. He didn't see any, but he did pick up on the conversation behind him. Sighing, he closed the door.

"It's clear and no... we're not wasting any further time. You want to stay here and dick around, that's your prerogative. Me? I'm getting off this station. The docks are 100 paces away to our right... I'm not causing any more problems and I'm not staying around to risk security bagging my ass." he chided Soren. "They're already on to us... so I'm leaving."

Opening the door with a shove, the gecko strode out into the hallway and made for the front desk to his right. "I'm checking out. The Somerset party I believe it was. Two of us. I believe you had a weapon of mine on hold." Vergil informed the receptionist.

She bit her lip and pulled up his reservation. "It seems you canceled your stay with us this morning sir... when you arrived."

"So I did." Vergil responded, having temporarily forgotten that detail.

"Your weapon will be inserted into your luggage, provided it isn't locked. Have you already checked your bag?" she asked.

"Yes." he curtly replied.

"Good... then in that case... I'll book you a room on board and you'll be on your way. Any class preference?" she asked, looking across at him.

"First." Vergil stated, staring at her.

"Very well... printing a boarding pass for you and your wife now." she tapped on a few keys and the passes were printed.

Taking his, he handed Triste her own, and moved to go stand in line for the security scanners now. The ones leaving the station were to ensure nothing suspicious was being smuggled out, as Judaken was certainly the target of its share of corporate espionage. He turned slightly to see what the others had been doing, uncomfortably noting the location of cameras overhead. Still... he and Triste weren't inherently suspicious on their own... and their DNA was in the system... which might help out if they couldn't in fact leave this place.

[Nick22]

Marita strode to the counter and handed in her room key ' checking out mam " she said politely to the receptionist "The Jones party.  all 3 of us ' she added as Rose and Marie put their keys on the counter " we'd like to book second class passage on the next flight out of here. We've had a wonderful time and we  will certainly recommend this hotel to our friends and family' Marita said keeping a straight face.
-
Rose wore a smile, inwardly she was hoping that checkout and boarding would be quick and uneventful so they could relax and unwind, and get caught up with what Vergil and Trieste had been doing. "Likely having lots of 'private' time she thought to herself and chuckled slightly '
_ Marie  waited for the receptionist to take her key and check her out, alphabetically she was the first name on the group, but marita was the one whose name was in the system.

[bushwacked]

"Thank you, dear." Triste smiled warmly at Vergil, taking the pass he handed her. Slipping it away, she looked at the receptionist and shrugged, offering her an expression of sincere disappointment. "I'm so sorry we had to cut our visit short. This really is a lovely hotel." Shrugging again, she joined Vergil at the queue for the scanners.

Behind, waiting with Lily and Soren, Axel was busy trying to keep his face straight. They were so close to getting out, but if a member of staff recognised them somehow... He looked up for a second, and caught Triste's eyes from the line in front. She locked gaze with him briefly, glanced upwards then turned around as if nothing had happened. Tilting his head slightly to see what she'd been trying to tell him, he caught a glimpse of the security cameras watching over them. "Shit... cameras, guys. Keep it cool." The receptionist beckoned him forwards, and forcing a pleasant expression on his face Axel approached, holding Lily's hand and keeping his face angled away from the cameras. "Hello! We're the, ah... the Whents. We'd like to, ah, check out."

"Of course, sir." The woman clicked around on her computer. After a moment, she frowned. "It says here you were booked in to stay just earlier today... Was there a problem?"

"Oh, no! There was, ah.. just some family trouble back home. Can't be ignored. You know how it is."

"I'm sure." The receptionist looked over at Vergil and Triste, and Marita and her girlfriends, then turned her inquisitive eyes to Axel. "Seems to have been happening a lot recently..." She shook her head. "Well, I'm very sorry your stay had to be cut short. I hope you'll be able to enjoy your visit to the fullest the next time. Will that be a First Class return?"

Axel nodded. "Thanks." He took the two tickets she printed out, then turned to walk with Lily to the security scanner that Vergil and Triste were just passing through. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the receptionist pick up the phone on the desk next to her and start speaking into it. About them... or something completely unrelated? His tail twitched nervously. "I'm really, really not going to miss this place..." He whispered to Lily.

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

"Hey! What the hell did I do, man?!" Rio yelled indignantly through the door.

"Hey... where'd my cash go?!"

He stiffened at the muffled voice that drifted across from inside, and turned to Flora. "Yeah, let's get going." Looking at her face, he paused when a dim streetlight revealed the tears in her eyes. "Hey, it's alright... someday you'll find someone who likes your co... your flytrap."

[Nick22]

Marita took the Ticket print outs for herself Marie And Rose and the three of them  headed to the line of passengers waiting to have their tickets scanned to board. Marie was first of the three girls in line  just behind Trieste and Vergil. a young lizard couple stood in-between them and the geckos. Rose kept her expression neutral as the line slowly moved. Marie looked at her pass, seemingly interested in what seat she had been given. Marita  stared ahead at the scanner in front of them, and  the escalator beyond which lead to the ship that would take them from this ghastly miserable hotel.

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

Lily shivered nervously as she walked as fast as she could to reach the others.

"Hey!" She nearly leaped out of her skin as a supervisor marched up to her. "Your uniform is a mess!" he exclaimed. "You can't be seen in public looking like this!"

"I--I..my shift is up...I was actually just going home..." she stammered wide-eyed.

The supervisor glanced at her, clearly suspicious at her behavior. Then noticed the bloodstain on the underside of her sleeve. "Did you injure yourself?" he asked, alarmed.

"Yes...it's why I'm not on duty now! But I'd rather make my boat than go to the infirmary!"

His eyes narrowed as he noticed her yellow-tinged eyes and dilated pupils, both indications of drug use. "I think I want to speak with you in my office."

Lily looked in a panic at her allies, silently begging them to help her out.

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

Flora was so intoxicated she could barely walk; she relied heavily on Rio as they made their way back to the hotel. "Why won't anyone sleep with me Rio?" she sobbed drunkenly. "What am I doing wrong? Am I ugly? Do I not show enough interest in what they say? In who they are?"

She hiccuped and stumbled off the curb. "I just want...just want someone to..." she buried her head in her hands. "Why did I choose to do this to me?" she cried. "I bet my old ugly self could have gotten laid by now...but I don't understand why..."

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

Emilena noticed them approaching from a distant street lamp. "Oh for god's sake, they can barely walk. How'd she even get alcohol, aren't they both underage?" She stood up to go buy a sweater for the night guard's sake, but noticed the gift shop was closed. "Drat. Guess we're starting our hike now. Hope you're looking forward to being a drunkcrutch the entire time."

Foley groaned. "This is why I didn't go to college..."

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

Nairda raced out of the rain and into the locked door of the airport terminal. He was starving, but all the shops were closed and the airport was completely shut down until morning. Narida wasn't aware airports did that, but admittedly his only experience was with huge bustling metropolitan airports, not backwash jungle airports.

This still meant he'd have to wait until morning to take his flight. Finding an empty spot behind a dumpster, he turned on his sensor augments that would warn him of any unwanted activity in his immediate vicinity, and fell into a fitful sleep.

[Serris]

Soren stepped up to the supervisor. "Excuse me, but I saw her slip and fall previously," he said. Before he had regrouped with everyone else, he had snuck off to a control room inside the industrial area of Voltaic Station. Exploiting the tiny bit of knowledge he had learned from Anne about industrial computer control, he shut down the main coolant pumps for the distillation columns that purified the solvent used in ore extraction, shut down the output valves and fed false data into the sensors. All he had to do was wait until the reaction inevitably ran away.

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

A Golden Retriever worker scowled as she looked at the temperature gauge on the nearby pipe. The readings from her tablet and the gauge failed to match up. Not to mention, the distillation column was making some rather unusual burbling noises.

She held up her radio. "Hey, can we get someone down here? I'm getting some fucked up readings for Distillation Column No. 2. It'só"

The worker was abruptly cut off as a massive blast rocked the area. 2,000 liters of the solvent inside the ten meter high distillation column had finally reached its thermal decomposition point ans detonated, reducing the ten meter high column to shrapnel. Rivulets of burning solvent mixed with the silvery puddles of the liquid metal coolant as workers frantically tried to contain the mess and aid the wounded. All as alarms blared through the area.

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

Soren staggered as the blast was felt on the surface. "The fuck was that?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

[Pterano]

Vergil was waved forward into the scanner, even as Lily was accosted by a supervisor. The scanner was clear for Vergil, and he proceeded on towards the ship, but stopped as he wondered how he'd assist Lily. As he was about to open his mouth, an explosion rumbled from somewhere deep within the station. Briefly wondering on it, his brow furrowed as he sensed further needless pain. Soren hadn't joined them right away... and the gecko now suspected this latest disturbance had something to do with him... or maybe not, it was hard to tell.

Still... it was needless. And it made him wince as he sensed it, but he figured the situation would at least distract the supervisor... but just in case not... he'd stick around... see what he could do.

[bushwacked]

As the explosion far beneath them shook the floor, Axel stumbled and threw out a hand to steady himself, his palm slapping against the chest of a woman also queuing to leave the hotel. "Ah... sorry! I'm sorry!" he stammered, ears reddening, but the woman was far too distracted by the panic around them as members of staff rushed around and guests looked around in confusion, trying to understand what had just happened.

"What the hell..." Were they responsible for... whatever that was? Axel didn't think so, but he didn't think sticking around to find out was a good idea. Turning back to Lily, he saw that the supervisor who'd been questioning her was facing the other way, distracted by the terse instructions that he was barking into his earpiece. "We need to go now," Axel said under his breath, pulling Lily away and towards the scanner. Stepping through, he half expected alarms to start squealing, given how their luck had turned out so far... but he emerged on the other side with no problems. "Alright... okay..." he breathed, glancing back to make sure Lily and Soren weren't having any problems. He was looking forward to never, ever having to see this hotel again.

"Not the holiday you were expecting, Whent?" Triste said behind him.

Clenching his jaw, Axel didn't reply.

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

"What the hell are you talking about?" Rio muttered, not understanding Flora. How much has she had? His knees shook as Flora put her full weight on him, which wasn't helping his alcohol impaired balance, and as he guided her down the road they almost buckled. "That... that guy was an asshole," he grunted. "But, you know, if... if you looked for people who liked getting screwed by dongs, you'd get laid more..."

Glancing up, Rio saw two familiar figures approaching. "Hey, you missed out!" he announced. "Some guy, he... he bought us, like, drinks!" In the gloom, he didn't see the puddle of sick in front of them, and with a squelch his foot slipped, sending him and Flora crashing into the chunky mess.

[Nick22]

Marita Marie and Rose quickly filed through the  scanner without problems, and joined the others on the other side ' lets get going, and take our seats ' Marie said as she put one foot on the escalator " We have second class seats so we'll be a section behind the first class. anyone else buy second class?"

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

Lily was quite grateful to find the supervisor suddenly had more important things to worry about. Allowing Axel to drag her through the security checkpoint she should have bee-lined to in the first place, she did a quick headcount to make sure the team all there. "Yes, let's go," she agreed hastily. "Thank god for that...whatever just happened. I hope these people run up millions of dollars in repairs..."

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

"You're right!" Flora agreed with nothing Rio had said in particular. "It wasn't fair of him, or Emilena, or any of them!" On a dime her countenance had flashed from drunken sorrow to rage. "I'm selfless, and understanding, and gorgeous, and they're just...just...assholes! Who the fuck cares what they think???"

And then Rio tripped and sent her sprawling into a puddle of vomit.

Clicking her tongue with annoyance, Emilena hoisted the folf to her feet. "Where in god's name have you both--?"

SLAP!

A piercing crack broke the dead silence that immediately befell the team. Emilena massaged her jaw and stared silently at Flora, who began quaking uncontrollably as she realized what she had just done.

"I'm sorry! I--I don't know what came over me, I don't...please don't kill me!"

Emilena firmly grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her over to the women's bathroom. Flora's yelps and cries echoed back out.

"You don't think she's actually killing her, do you?" muttered Foley, looking slightly concerned.

After a few minutes, Flora emerged spluttering and soaked. "I was just washing her off," Emilena crossed her arms, noticing Foley's expression. "With freezing water. We've got a long hike ahead of us, she needed a pick-me-up."

She threw Rio a large wad of damp paper towels. "Don't get tired yet; we need to make the airport in under two hours. Next time you sleep, we'll finally be on the way home."