Episode 90

Street lamps reflect off binocular lenses, and a man settles down prone in the tall grass. Under the cloudy night, another man crawls up, whispering quietly. "Anything new?"

Shaking his head, the man with binoculars grumbles. "No. But..."

He furrows his brow and barely shrugs. "No one has come out for a while. So, I guess that's new."

Nodding, the other man adjusts his face mask and helmet. "Well... Something is up with THAT barge. The more the head office pokes the paperwork, the more holes they make."

In relative quiet, the man lowers his binoculars and ponders out loud. "What do you think? Because I got my suspicions."

The other man mulls over a few thoughts, wrestling a grimace. "Smugglers. Always smugglers. But..."

He hums to himself and glances around his head. "What are they smuggling?"

Lifting up his binoculars, the first man peers down to the large barge along a concrete dock. "Yeah. That's always the question."

Loud, muffled clanks resonate out from the huge vessel. Large, armored men emerge from hatches on the deck, rip off a concealing tarp, and leap onto the dock. From under the cover, a metal ramp unfolds onto the pier walkway. With the roar of engines, a dozen armed soldiers in red logos and black outfits rush out around the barge, and military quads take off with troops. Quickly fetching his radio, the man with binoculars blinks in shock. "Guess it's fucking maniacs!"


Outside lights slip through the blinds into the two bed motel room. Echoing cracks vibrate through the window. Upon a pullout couch bed, Cideeda's furry ear flicks, a series of distant, sharp snaps drifting in. Turning her head of shorter multi-colored hair, she fights against sleep and groggily opens one of her emerald eyes. Another chain of muffled reports bleed into the room. Shooting up, Cideeda wakes abruptly. Her ears sort through the noises, and she hops to her feet, rushing over to the window. Peering cautiously through the blinds, she watches a flurry of activity. Cars and trucks speed off at panic paces down the main roads, heading straight to the highway away from town. Locals on foot hurriedly reach the streets and rush away from town. Noticing other motel patrons loading up, Cideeda freezes, the layered sounds of far off gunfire entering her furry ears.

Cideeda darts between the two single beds, shakes Dretphi awake by her shoulder, and grabs hold of Bach's forearm. "WAKE UP! Something is happening in town!"

Dretphi sits up sorting through her platinum braids. Bach rolls over and groggily props himself up. Cideeda leaps over to her bags and swiftly pulls up a pair of shorts under her nightshirt. Another volley of distant weapon fire alerts to full consciousness Dretphi. "Gunfire? Where?"

Cideeda steps over to the door, wrapping her laser pistol holsters around her waist. "Don't know. But, it sounds like a real fight. I'm going to see if I can find out where it's coming from."

Nodding, Bach listens to a chain of muffled gunfire and hops out of bed to his luggage. "Wake the others. We'll get ready."

With a quick acknowledgment, Cideeda carefully cracks the door open, peers out, and slips into the chorus of far off firefights. Swiftly slinking up against the motel walls, she pauses occasionally, the noise sifting through her furry ears. She reaches the corner of the building, peeks around the corner, quirking an ear, and narrows down the direction of an echoing barrage. Dipping back, she quickly darts towards her original room, halts a door short, and knocks firmly. Seconds later, Aristespha opens up and motions Cideeda inside with the traces of lingering sleep. "What is going on?!"

Cideeda points roughly in a direction, grimacing. "There's a huge gun fight going on towards the docks. Or, that's what it sounds like to me. A LOT of small arms fire and some big stuff, too."

A low rumble passes over the motel building. Sotalia exits the bathroom, adjusting her shirt, and sweeps up a remote from the nightstand. "OKAY. THE FUCK is going on here? There's GOT to be something on the local bulletins."

The television flips on, and Sotalia surfs through the channels. Aristespha sits down on the bed, picks up a tablet, and taps through menus. A few knocks sound out from the door. Cideeda peeks out the window nearby and opens up for Dretphi and Bach. Dretphi stands with her submachine gun slung down upon her pajama shirt and shorts. "People are evacuating. I think we should."

Glancing out through the window, Bach shakes his head. "Yeah. Something BAD is going down. The locals definitely don't think it's worth sticking around for."

Sebastian phases in from the ceiling and lands in the middle of the team. "You ain't kidding, bro. I can't quite make it out from there, but things are burning. People are just fleeing."

Sotalia halts her channel hunt upon a dark red screen with white text, and an emergency chime rings in through the speakers. Her golden eyes sort through the scrolling text, and she grimaces sharply in surprise. "Bandit attack?! They're telling everyone to clear out of Yazoo immediately and avoid the docks and surrounding areas."

In tense silence, Sebastian nods in agreement and frowns uncomfortably. "Well, I'm not one to argue there. Okay, everyone. Pack up, and let's get moving as soon as possible-"

A shrill, pulsing alert erupts from Aristespha's table, a guild emergency message popping up on the screen, and she taps the prompt. Reading the message, she draws in a breath and gazes up to the team. "It is a guild Emergency Broadcast for adventuring groups to assist in the Yazoo evacuation and containment of the threat."

Sebastian thinks, hovering silently with the rest of the team. Searching through the faces around him, he straightens his ethereal visage and proposes. "So... Head out? OR, see what we can do to assist?"

Some internal deliberation later, Bach shrugs his shoulders with an awkward grin. "I mean... I feel we should at least do SOMETHING to help out. Don't think it's smart to go into town, BUT..."

Dretphi smiles warmly at Bach and nods in agreement. "Agree. Defend this location? This seems to be a main route."

Peering out the window, Cideeda surveys the area outside and notices the growing traffic leading onto the highway. "Yeah, it'd be really bad if someone jammed this up. And, I don't see any police or PDF. Either they haven't gotten here, or are tied up in the fighting."

Sebastian lances over at Sotalia, lifting an inquisitive brow. Sotalia gazes back, cracking an eager grin, and rests her hands at her hips. "Let one of those bandit fuckers TRY to get past me. Yeah... I'm all for holding the fort. That much we do."

She eyes the growing din of vehicle traffic and flickers of light outside the motel window. "And it's not like we'll be getting out of here that quickly. Might as well help out until it clears up."

Smirking confidently, Aristespha taps through the guild program interface, opening up the information block of the emergency request. "I will contact the local police and PDF office, and let them know our location."

She gazes up lovingly to Sebastian, and Sebastian nods with a bold grin toward the rest of the team. "Okay! I'll watch over from above. Bach and Dretphi, get geared up first. Cideeda and Sotalia, keep a watch of the main road and highway. Aristespha will contact the authorities..."

He glances down at Aristespha and sighs ethereally with a tense tone. "Dear, you will probably need to be ready to treat some injuries."

With a simple nod, Aristespha acknowledges. Sebastian gradually hovers up to the ceiling. "Okay. After we're all geared up. Let's rotate watches to free one of us to help load up the humvee."

He pauses a moment and stares at the team. "Let's help... But, let's not stick around long enough to need it."


Behind large wooden crates on the dock, a muscular man, cybernetic giant, and grungy woman stay in cover during the chaotic battle. The woman snarls her scarred up lip and aims her cybernetic optics into an angry glare at the muscular man. "Okay, Boss, what's the plan NOW?! The damned grunts aren't making any fucking headway past the docks."

Aiming a smug smirk at the woman, Boss flexes his shoulders, cracking his neck, and chuckles darkly. "Still working to my plan. I didn't really expect these thugs to get that far anyway. The grunts distract, and the interceptors go and shut down the main routes into town."

Pivoting his heavily scarred, gray face to Boss, the cybernetic giant growls. "So, the fuck are we supposed to do? Watch these idiots get fucked? I like a good show, but we could do that on the other barges far from this cluster fuck."

Boss points sternly at the metal plated man, cracking an evil, sinister grin. "Mech... OH, I did NOT forget about YOU, my fine Red Gear veteran."

Glancing around the corner of the crate, he smiles menacingly. "Right now, all the defense this town has got is concentrated right on these morons."

He motions to himself, Mech, and the woman. "WE are going to cause a few more distractions and divide their attention. Then, when the interceptors do their job, our reinforcements roll on in."

The grungy woman inspects her rifle and spits off to the side, snorting. "Hope those interceptors of yours pull this shit off. Doesn't help us if everyone in the town runs off and PDF swarms in."

Rolling his eyes, Boss nonchalantly shrugs his shoulders, chuckling. "Well, Snipe, THAT is why we have backup plans. The interceptors fuck up? We don't bring in the reinforcements. We three get away while the fodder keeps the locals occupied. Wait a week or two, and hit them when they're weakened and unexpecting."

He alternates an eager gaze between Mech and Snipe and grins maniacally. "Either way, we're going to accomplish far more than what our dipshit leaders could manage here. Am I right?"

Mech nods, pulling a cruel smile across his scarred face. He hosts up his hydraulic claw and snaps the sharpened blades shut. Snipe draws an evil tinged smirk, her cybernetic eye optics lighting up, and tightens her grasp on her rifle. With the sound of the servos in his legs, Boss slowly rises up and dramatically waves a hand towards the town. "Let's give these fine people something other than the docks to worry about."

Snipe slinks away into the shadows. Mech hoists up his steel plated body, stabs his opened claw into a metal container, and stomps into the fray, with the crate as a shield. Rolling his eyes with an amused smile, Boss surveys the area and spots a place on a dock meters away. He sprints ahead, kneels down fluidly, and springs up, launching into a powerful long jump. Landing on the remote dock, he deftly pivots, shifts his momentum, and speeds off into the town.


Standing just to the side of the main roadway in her red plated armor, Dretphi motions another truck towards the highway. Bach stands nearby at the corner of the motel building and searches down the night filled street, holding his plasma pistol at the ready against paranoia. Dretphi walks back into the shadow of the building and settles next to Bach. "Anything?"

Bach shakes his head and sighs. "I think that truck was the last of the batch, for now. Gods almighty... Half the dock area must be on fire right now. You can see the smoke rising in all that glow."

Dretphi stares out towards the coastal horizon, watching the reddish orange haze in the distance, and follows the contrasting plumes of black smoke. Shaking her head with a heavy exhale, she side steps in front of the motel and waves towards Sotalia at the opposite motel building corner. Dretphi focuses her voice at her helmet radio. "Anything?"

Sotalia shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head, her voice echoing out on the team's radio units. "No. We haven't seen many coming down. But, I think this leads to another part of the town away from the docks. People are probably escaping a different way."

Searching in the inky haze behind the street lamp light, Bach reaches his hand back and taps Dretphi on the shoulder plate. "Something is coming."

Sebastian's ethereal voice calls out from the roof above and motions toward a small group of people. "It looks like a few are escaping from the fight. One might need help."

A trio of people rush down the street towards the motel, a man and woman support either side of a wounded evuukian man limping. Both Bach and Dretphi wave at the people, signaling them over. With the trio getting close, Dretphi and Bach rush over and help carry the wounded evuukian man. Bach assures the people. "Don't worry. We've got a medical mage. She should be able to patch him up, and we'll see about getting you all transport out of here."

The human man and woman and the evuukian man express their genuine relief. Aristespha steps out of the motel room door and directs Bach and Dretphi to lay the evuukian down on the motel bed. Immediately noticing the dried blood drenching the leg, she quickly examines the wounds with glowing violet eyes. "Definitely gunshot wounds. And, thankfully, they have missed any major veins or arteries."

She sits down in a chair next to the bed and pulls an end table loaded with medical instruments over. "We will worry about proper removal of the slugs later. Right now, we shall stabilize the wounds and give you something for the pain. Then, we will radio emergency services to send an ambulance."

Pausing a moment, she twists a frustrated frown on her ivory face and draws in a long breath. "Or whatever they can manage at the moment."

Both the human man and woman nod understandingly and wait on the other side of bed, calming their friend. Bach and Dretphi quickly depart, rushing back over to the corner of the motel. The two stepping over, Sebastian drops down from the roof in front of them and holds his hands up with concern. "Hold up."

Bach and Dretphi press against the wall of the motel, and Sebastian points around the corner, whispers with a ghostly resonance. "I backtracked a little to where those people came from, and I heard a few people on an ATV. Seems like they were following the blood trail from that one guy."

Furrowing his brow, Sebastian grits his teeth worried, punctuating with his hand. "They DO NOT sound friendly."

Dretphi nods resolutely and readies her submachine gun. Mustering his courage, Bach raises his plasma pistol. "So... What's the plan?"

Sebastian glances over his shoulder, the engine sounds of an off-road quad growing louder. "I'll go up, and we'll see how they react. You two watch and be ready to... Return the favor."

Bach and Dretphi nod. Bach speaks into his helmet microphone. "Sotalia, Cideeda. We got trouble probably coming up on our side. We're checking it out. So, be ready."

Cideeda's voice faintly crackles over the comm units of the team. "We'll be ready."

The roar of a small engine echoes out from an alleyway, and a quad with three armored people skids out in a hard turn onto the main street. One points towards the sidewalk. The driver nods and revs the ATV up. Sebastian casually walks out into the middle of the street. Holding his hand up, he stares at the trio on the quad and waits. The quad slows down. Dretphi and Bach peer out from cover near the corner of the motel building. Bach tenses, tightly grips his plasma pistol, and whispers to Dretphi. "How do we proceed?"

Narrowing her cool, collected stare ahead, Dretphi scrutinizes the scene, calmly explaining. "If they attack, shoot the vehicle. Aim for weapon wielding arms. Attempt to capture from range-"

An armored man hops off the quad and walks up cautiously to Sebastian, passing underneath a street lamp. In the downwards light, the red and black Red Gear logo tattoo reflects brightly upon the man's exposed forearms along with the traces of cybernetic enhancements. Dretphi's steely gray eyes spring wide open under her visor, and her glare chills. Her stare searches and spots similar logos upon the other two and the ATV. The Red Gear slowly approaches Sebastian's visage. Snapping up her sub machine, Dretphi levels her aim and flips the weapon to fully automatic. The Red Gear begins to lift his arm up with weapon in hand towards Sebastian.

Burst after burst of rounds roar out from Dretphi's submachine gun. Projectiles rip through the outer layers of armor upon the Red Gears, sprays of blood mingling with cascades of sparks. Slugs pound solidly into the heads and chests of the three armored men. Barrages burrow through protective plating into flesh. The driver slumps off the quad into a wet flop, spilling crimson onto the dirty asphalt. The passenger stumbles onto the ground, rolling into a motionless heap. The man in front stands against the onslaught of lead, sparks and plating fragments spewing out. Staggering back in the eerie lull of gunfire, he struggles for comprehension in the last moments of projectile peppering. Dretphi methodically ejects the magazine from her submachine gun, swiftly draws, and deftly locks fresh ammunition into her weapon with cold precision. Regaining enough composure to lift his head up, the remaining Red Gear receives repeated controlled bursts into his face and chest. He topples over onto the roadway with a crunchy thud.

Sebastian blinks blankly in utter shock. Bach remains frozen in place with his plasma pistol at the ready. Dretphi grips Bach's shoulder tightly with a stern voice. "Follow me. Cover me."

Dretphi keeps her weapon trained upon the downed Red Gear troops. Steeling his facade, Bach summons his courage and maintains the overwatch. Sebastian regains his senses, snaps his head over to Dretphi, and loudly whispers. "WHY?"

Pointing out the logos upon the perforated people, Dretphi coldly explains. "Red Gears."

Shuddering his head, Sebastian pivots sharply, stares at the bodies, and spots the emblems, dropping his jaw. "THE FUCK?! OUT HERE?! In force?"

Dretphi pauses near the bodies, drawing in a careful breath, and calls back towards Bach. "Need to confirm. Red Gears are tough. Tricky. I will secure each. Watch over me."

Bach nods and alternates his aim between the fallen Red Gears. Cideeda's voice crackles over the radios. "Is everyone okay?!"

Staring hard at the downed troops, Bach nods, swallowing hard. "Yeah... Um... But, head over here just to be safe."

Dretphi kneels down and cautiously inspects the body in front of Sebastian. Tossing aside pistols, knives, and a submachine gun, Dretphi confirms the kill. She walks over and checks the driver's body. Bach trains his plasma pistol upon the remaining heaped over Red Gear. Loud gunfire echoes sharper and less muffled in the distance, and Bach glances around briefly to search for the source. The Red Gear heap slowly moves. The man gradually positions his transforming mechanical arm at Dretphi, blue white light emitting from the opening end. Sebastian's visage stiffens, and his eyes widen. "BACH! LOOK!"

Snapping his head down, Bach locks onto the charging arm cannon and leaps onto the Red Gear. He quickly wraps his hands around the weapon and strains his muscles against the groan of cybernetic hardware, wrenching the aim clear of Dretphi. A blast of plasma jets out and soars off into the night sky. The Red Gear growls out in a digital hybrid of anger, and Bach wrestles with the man. With a flash of blue in his eyes, Bach tightens his grip on the arm cannon, and a swarm of magical flow embeds into the weapon. Twisting his body, Bach slams the arm cannon upon the asphalt. With the contact, tendrils of magical energy sink into the ground, constrict around the cybernetic device, and securely root into the roadway.

Bach glances up and meets Dretphi over him with her machete drawn. In a surge of experience and instinct, he blinks in surprise and rolls quickly off the Red Gear, tumbling meters away. With a glint of red ire in her steely eyes, Dretphi raises the machete high into the glow of street lamp light, and slams the glittering blade down upon the upper arm of the Red Gear. The blade digs partially into the metal reinforced limb, electrical arcs erupting within sprays of oily fluid. The Red Gear screams in spiteful rage. The machete slams down again and fully severs. Bach wills forth cords of magical energy out from his arms and ties up the Red Gear entirely.

From around the motel corner, Cideeda and Sotalia sprint out at the ready. Cideeda trains her laser pistols at the two motionless bodies and scans between everyone else. "Situation?!"

Sebastian ponders a summary out loud. "Three bandits on a quad. Bandits are Red Gears. Dretphi took them down. Upon confirming the kills, one tried to blast Dretphi. Bach stopped it and subdued it. Dretphi severed its cybernetic arm."

Holding her hand out with forming electrical energy cracking, Sotalia levels her aim at the bound up, struggling Red Gear. "Keep that shit up, metal man, and I'll fry every circuit you got."

Dretphi steps over to Bach, reaches her hand down with a warm smile, and softly speaks. "Thank you."

Bach holds onto Dretphi's hand, and she hoists him up. Brushing himself off, Bach releases a tension filled sigh. "Thank Sebastian... He let me know. So, uh, yeah, what now?"

Dretphi takes a moment and exhales through her flurry of thoughts. Surveying the post battle scene, she collects herself. "I need to contact my house. They will know who to contact further."

Turning her machete up, she rotates the blade and sternly stares, the lamp light reflecting off the roughened edge. "Time for the flow blade."


The muscular form of Boss lands solidly from the top of the brick wall, his cybernetic legs dampening the impact into a slow crouch. Springing up back, he surveys the darkened alley between shore side buildings. His radio chirps from a series of repeated key ups. Lifting the device up from his belt, he turns the dial and listens to the familiar, angry growls of a woman.

"Boss?! Gods damn it, BOSS! Answer your fuckin' radio you bastard, we got PDF rolling in from somewhere!"

Boss grimaces in a surge of annoyance and presses the button on the radio. "Snipe, how the fuck is that happening? There shouldn't be any PDF this far out to reinforce this town this quickly. AND..."

Sneering his upper lip, he growls out. "How the fuck are they getting in so easy?"

Upon an audible backdrop of gunfire, Snipe yells out through the static. "WELL! One of YOUR interceptor teams didn't do their damned jobs. OBVIOUSLY!"

Shaking his head with a frustrated roll of his eyes, Boss paces next to the alley dividing wall toward the white sand beach. "Well, I guess YOU and Mech will need to pick up the slack, then! Call the psycho, and the two of you figure out what the fuck is going on! I'll make my way over after I find a landing site for the reinforcements."

Releasing his finger from the call button, he snorts out an infuriated growl. "Fuck me... How the hell can they fuck up this much..."

Seconds later, Snipe's voice crackles out from the radio. "Fucking fine! If he answers his radio, and we'll go finish what your losers couldn't. Over and out!"

Boss disdainfully eyes the device, lowering his hand, and sighs out his overwhelming frustration. "Gods damned unstable dipshits. If you weren't useful for these things, I would..."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he pivots his gaze out towards the shore and distantly stares out at the churning waters. Slowly breathing and relaxing his shoulders, he opens his eyes. Glancing up, he spots fast moving aircraft flying low overhead. His eyes emit faint hints of electrical light, and he watches jets sharply bank, circling back of the bay area. A surge of dread spreads out upon Boss's tan, scarred face, and he grits his teeth. "Fuck... How the... Why are..."

Gazing out towards the open sea, he hoists up his radio and dials in frequency. He keys up the device and sternly states. "Abort. Abort. Abort. THE WOLVES are here. I repeat, the wolves are here. Send single pick up to evac location two. Full radio silence. Run dark."

A roar of jet engines echoes out faintly over the water in the distance. Two military jets fly across the water, slowing their speeds. Clipping the radio back onto his belt, Boss turns the device off completely and sighs, disappointment venting out from him. Glancing over his shoulder at the panic in the far off streets, he reaches into a large pants pocket and pulls out a crude bandage. He ties the cloth around his arm tightly, conceals his Red Gear logo tattoo. Hopping out onto the beach, he orientates himself, pivoting southwards, and halts a moment. He places his hand on his radio with a frown. Sorting through the possibilities, he removes his grip from the device, furrowing his brow, and smirks with ill humor. "Good luck you two. Keep them busy for us."

Walking over to a hastily abandoned beach attire stall, he sweeps up a few articles of clothing. Boss scans the sand scattered walkway in front of him and sprints down the empty beaches under the cloudy night sky above, speeding away from the town.


In the motel room, Sotalia brushes off a pile torn open medical wrappers and drops off new supplies next to Aristespha. "This is all I could find in the way of bandages."

Glancing over her shoulder, Aristespha nods at Sotalia with a stern appreciation and snatches a roll of gauze. "Thank you. That should be enough to finish up."

Wandering her eyes over the scene of first aid disarray, Sotalia motions towards the door, hiding a bit of her unease. "Should I tell the truck to hold on?"

Aristespha assesses an older emin woman's heavily bandaged arm, shoulder, and neck, nodding firmly. "Yes. She needs to leave as soon as possible. We can not risk waiting for another truck trip."

Sotalia confirms and sprints off into the parking lot outside the motel, pulling in a deep breath of fresh air. Waving her arms in the air, she calls out to Bach helping a wounded man up into a large medical transport. "Bach! Tell them to hold up! We have one more."

Bach snaps his head over, nods understandingly, and finishes assisting the man into the vehicle. Quickly stepping around the truck, he gets the driver's attention. A minute later, Bach and Sotalia carefully carry the emin woman to the awaiting medical transport in a crude gurney. With assistance from civilians onboard, they secure her in the vehicle and signal the driver to drive off. Sotalia glances over to Bach and cracks a weary smile. "How are you holding up?"

Bach shudders his head, shakes a shiver down body "I don't really know. I'm here and all. But..."

He glances over his shoulder at the eerie fire glowing in the distance, sounds of battle echoing through. "I think we're pushing our luck at this point. These have to be the last few people evacuating... I mean, fuck, I have no clue. It just feels like the calm before something bad happens."

Drawing in a long, uneasy breath, Sotalia stretches her arms out nervously, squirming. "Yeah. I know. I hope this was the last group, so we can get out of here finally."

In the motel room, Sebastian drifts down from the ceiling, landing next to Aristespha, and gazes at her with concern. "How are things holding up, dear?"

Aristespha surveys the chaotic mess of used medical supplies and blood spattered trash and shakes her head. "Sebastian... I am about out of everything. I do NOT think we can handle anything else. We may be endangering people by directing them here rather than somewhere else at this point."

Sebastian calmly nods and smiles understandingly with a hint of encouragement. "Yeah. I'm not seeing any more people coming this way. What fighting I heard is getting louder. We probably need to head out."

With a slight bow of the head, Aristespha sighs deeply, stiffens her upper lip, and straightens her posture. "I agree. I hate to abandon the post. But, by all logic, we are spent."

Sebastian's ethereal visage frowns, and he gazes lovingly at Aristespha. "I know. Well, call the officials and let them know that we're clearing out. I'll round everyone up."

Standing near the motel corner along the main road, Cideeda glances around, her furry ears perking up. An armored PDF transport rolls down the road and speeds into the town, engines roaring at full power. Sebastian's ghostly visage flies next to Cideeda. "Load up. We're getting out of here. Nothing more we can do."

Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, Bach, and Sotalia gather around the humvee. The group quickly goes through last minute checks and ready up the last few into the vehicle. Aristespha methodically gathers up remaining supplies and systematically packs up a large satchel.

Her aetherphone rings out upon the nightstand, and Aristespha taps the speakerphone on. "Mage Orienden speaking."

A female voice sounds out from the speaker. "Yazoo dispatch. I know you are leaving your position. Is it still possible for you to handle a medical emergency?"

Pausing, Aristespha slowly faces her phone and sternly answers. "Nature of the emergency?"

The dispatch officer sounds out into the room. "An officer and fvalian woman are assisting a seriously injured grath man. From what the officer has said, the grath man has suffered a traumatic amputation of the right arm."

Widening her violet eyes in surprise, Aristespha blinks through the swell of dread and grits her teeth. "The patient is still mobile?"

The dispatcher's grave tone resonates into the room, trembling. "Yes. But... I don't think for much longer. Your last reported location is very close to where they said they were. Can I-"

With a sharp intake of breath, she states. "I direct them your way? PLEASE? They're being pursued by a bandit, and your group was able to handle some. I don't know who else can handle both the injury and the bandit nearby."

Aristespha slowly stands up, wrapping her fingers around her aetherphone, and wrestles with her mind, gritting her teeth. Glancing out to the humvee, she fights against a flurry of emotions upon ivory face. She winces in pain and draws a sharp breath through her nose. A cold, neutral mood coats her, and she starts to open her mouth. Her words halt short of leaving her lips. A pained cringes squeezes tears out of her regretful eyes. Mustering up her composure, she blurts out. "One moment."

Rushing through the motel doors, she opens the humvee door to her seat, and addresses the team within. "I am so sorry to ask this of you all, but can we hold here for one more emergency. We are the closest, and I do not think the patient will make it to another location. The patient and people aiding him are being chased."

The team quickly exchange glances and settle their gazes upon Aristespha, each offering their support. Sebastian smiles confidently, reassuring. "What do you need, dear?"

A thankful smile appears through a wave of relief, and Aristespha directs her voice to her aetherphone. "We will assist. Direct them to our last location. Dispatch a medical transport."


Lucida frantically glances around the intersection, darting her panicked stare around, and points a claw tip down a long alleyway. "This way! It's close."

Slowly rounding the corner, a police officer supports a young grath man under his remaining arm. "Hang in there, Ralthinen. We'll get you patched up, and get the hell out here."

Ralthinen winces, fighting for each step, and grunts into a nod during the struggle. Lucida's furry ears perk, and she glances down the path behind, terror looming around. She shudders out of the trance and rushes up in front of the officer and Ralthinen, resting her hand upon Ralthinen's chest. "We're almost there, Ralthie. Stay with me."

Lifting up his head slightly, Ralthinen dons a stoic smirk and nods to Lucida. "I will."

Lucida musters up some warmth against her overwhelming fear. Glancing over to the bloody towel bound by belt around Ralthinen's right shoulder, she faces his blood splattered purple shirt. She diverts her attention from the empty space right of his chest and quickly scouts forward. She slinks halfway up the road when Cideeda's voice calls out. "Over here!"

Shifting her attention, she notices Cideeda waving from a building corner and Dretphi standing next to the motel. A wave of recognition and overwhelming relief washes over her, and she frantically waves them over. Cideeda trains her shotgun down the street behind the group, maintaining a vigilant watch. Dretphi hoists the weight of Ralthinen off the worn, tired human policeman. The officer stops next to Cideeda and points his pistol down the dark road, panting. "Some fuckin' cyber freak has been hunting us down this whole time. Gods, I hope you all have some fire power. My pistol does nothing to it."

Nodding, Cideeda directs her voice into her vest mounted microphone, calling out. "Did you all hear that? Something bad is coming this way."

Stepping through the motel room door, Dretphi eases Ralthinen down upon a single bed and inquires in grath. Aristespha diagnoses the remains of his right arm, and Lucida holds onto his left hand. A defiant, proud smirk cracks across Ralthinen's face, and he stoically states a few grath phrases with a nod. Dretphi returns the gesture, a bit of pride slipping out from under her stern facade.

Above the alley, Sebastian hovers, searching the area. "Not seeing anything, yet..."

Cideeda's furry ears twitch, and she pivots her head, scanning the air. "I HEAR it. And... It's close."

Bach and Sotalia settle behind piled up garbage cans and debris. The ambient sounds of distant gunfire wane. The background noises fade away. And, a heavy silence presses down upon the team. A growing cacophony of heavy ground impacts, hydraulic strain, and electronic mechanisms echo forth. From the intersection, an enraged Mech stomps out, slamming his regular cybernetic arm into shattering brickwork. He turns his freshly bloodied, clawed up face, and hatefully glares with his remaining cybernetic eye. Faint sparkles of shorting circuitry illuminate an ooze of dark red from the combat knife embedded into his other eye socket. The fluid coats over the exposed metal work underneath his torn open face. Underneath the scars, a twisted, evil grin warps his face. In the dim street light, he slowly hoists up his powerful hydraulic arm and rotates the blood soaked, bladed claw. Street lamp light reflects off the slick sheen and contrasts the red soaked purple fabric shred hanging off. Drawing in a large breath into his massive, cybernetic frame, Mech bellows out. "WHERE ARE YOU HIDING GRATH BOY!? YOU STILL GOT ONE ARM LEFT TO FIGHT WITH!"

Bach, Cideeda, Sebastian, and Sotalia exchange glances, shifting their full attention upon Mech. Bach and Cideeda open fire. Sotalia quickly gestures through a complicated series of incantations. Sebastian dives down and zips around Mech. Blue laser beams drag across the cyborg's metal shell, and plasma bolts burst open upon reinforced joints. Mech stomps ahead, wielding his large claw arm up as a shield, and smirks, darkly amused. A loud hum resonates from within and nodes upon his cybernetic frame illuminate a blue-white glow, an enveloping haze projecting out. The laser beams and bolts dissipate upon the surface of the barrier, and Mech cackles loud from the throat. "HA! Must be fuckin' amateur night!"

Narrowing a hateful glare upon Mech, Sotalia thrusts her arms forward, sneering. "If you're fuckin' here, it is!"

Swift flows of energy swirl around Sotalia's arms and condense into a crackling vortex of power. Filling the dark streets with light, a massive arc of lightning threads out and explodes into a web of electricity upon Mech's barrier. Seconds of chaotic sparks streak over the energy shield and sink violently into the rough pavement below. Cutting off the spell, Sotalia watches uneasily, Mech simply smiling back. Bach, Cideeda, Sebastian, and Sotalia watch in fearful awe. Mech resumes his march forward. From the back of Bach's mind a surge of determination and stubbornness erupts forth, and he grits his teeth. "FUCK. THIS. GUY."

He calls out the rest of the team, grinning. "Keep him busy for a moment... I got something for that shield."

Placing his hands close together, a torrent of prismatic energy swarms off his body and swirls into layering, tightening ball of energy, spinning rings whining out into a high-pitched roar. Mech slowly stomps forward, slamming each foot into the crumbling pavement, and flexes his claw menacingly towards Sotalia. "HAHA! You're next, magic bitch! Love it when they volunteer!"

Smirking defiantly, Sotalia quickly gestures out an incantation and swings her arms forward. "Next to kick your beer can ass!"

A warping wave of energy erupts, impacting the barrier surrounding Mech, and envelops the shield tightly. Fighting against the forces, Mech slowly trudges ahead with a chuckle. "That's a neat trick."

Narrowing a hateful glare from his remaining cybernetic eye, he pulls a blood smeared grin. "How long can you last, little girl?!"

Sebastian drops down in front of Mech and jumps around him mockingly, grinning derisively. "Longer than you can, rust nuts!"

Mech glares at Sebastian, struggles swatting at him with his power claw arm, and closes his eyes against the bright diffusion of blue laser light upon his barrier. Carefully aiming, Cideeda alternates laser pistol pulses towards his face. Mech holds position at the junction between the side street and back building alleys, sorting through the forces upon and distractions around him. "GODS DAMN... You're some annoying little shits! Fuck, it's going to feel that much better when I slaughter you all!"

Standing up from cover, Bach narrows his bright blue glowing eyes and positions the D-Ball in his hand at the ready. He summons up a surge of flow and flings the prismatic orb of destructive energy ahead. Faint threads of magical energy trail behind the ball. Sebastian darts out of the way, Cideeda halts her attacks, and Sotalia eases her hold. The D-Ball zips down the street, flying straight towards Mech.

Cocking his head curiously, Mech dismissively furrows his brow and pulls his power claw arm back across his chest, smirking. The ball gets close, and he swings his arm out powerfully against the orb of energy. The energy shield encased limb and orb collide into a violent deadlock. The spinning vortex of energy rings carves into the barrier, sloughing off jets of plasma and magic. Glowing blue-white nodes flicker and spark upon Mech. With the D-Ball diminishing in size, it shreds through the barrier. Bach draws in a breath, tensing his body. A wave of prismatic energy swirls down the magical threads, contacting the D-Ball, and spreads through and into Mech's shielding.

In a surge of light and loud, the barrier blows out, the nodes on Mech's frame darkening and erupting smoke. Mech's eye widens in utter shock, and the D-Ball grinds into his power claw arm, rending solid metal into a billowing cloud of dust. Reflexively side steps out of the way, Mech dodges out of the path of the destructive ball. The orb curves after him, missing, and drills through a concrete power pole behind the cyborg. Blinking bewildered, Mech mutters loudly. "The. Fuck. Was. THAT?!"

Crackles seize Mech's attention. A bolt of lightning contacts Mech's cybernetic chassis, violent electrical arcs cascading chaotically across his metal frame. Flashes of blue-white light, bursts of yellow-orange fire, and shadows of smolder light up the night around the intersection. Moments later, the lightning halts, and Mech drops down to a knee. Steam and smoke vent out from him. Bach leans against the nearby brick wall, Sotalia braces herself along the motel corner, Cideeda readies her pistols, and Sebastian carefully approaches. Sebastian's ethereal form nears Mech, and the cybernetic monster stirs, cackling. "N-n-not bad. But... It'll take a little more than THAT to take me down. Just give me a moment... I

’ ll kill you all soon enough."

Grimacing sharply, Sebastian stares down the alleyway. Over radios and out from the alley, Dretphi's voice sounds out calmly. "Keep your distance. Cover me. I will subdue him."

Sebastian nods understandingly. Pivoting his head around, Mech snarls up his upper lip confused. "The fuck-"

From the alleyway, a red glow swiftly pours through the flow channels of a large blade, the long edge brilliantly illuminating into a bright crimson. In a split second, red ethereal fire erupts and blazes out, highlighting the tall, red plated form of Dretphi. Stepping forward, Dretphi drives a cold, calculating stare through the cyborg. Mech's eye springs open in abject terror, recognition choking his words. "Y-y-you! WHY ARE YOU HERE?! YOU'RE RETIRED- There's NO WAY!"

The optics of his cybernetic focus upon Dretphi, and Mech stammers. "W-W-Wait- You're not... OH..."

Swift sweeps of blazing crimson precisely, effortlessly slice through shoulder joints and upper legs. Mechanical limbs flop upon the ground, smoking from their molten incisions. Coldly staring upon the mix of machine and man, Dretphi kicks over the dismembered torso of Mech of his lower legs. She glowers down upon his horror, backing away carefully, blade at the ready.

The team in the alley regroups and keep their weaponry trained upon the crippled Red Gear from a distance.

Inside the motel room, Aristespha maintains a cool exterior, her brightly glowing violet eyes darting around the severed end of Ralthinen's right arm. Her gloved hand flows stabilizing magical energies against torn major arteries and veins, and she glances into her medical kit. Sifting through the contents with her free hand, she grabs hold of a bright neon orange box. Popping open the metal box, she sorts through the empty wrappers and finds one remaining film covered, treated wax sheet with a familiar sheet of magical medical fabric. She pauses a moment, thinks briefly with a slight smile, and takes it. In seconds, she extracts material, prepping it, and seals torn veins and arteries with it. Concentrating powerful flows upon the wounds, she carefully dresses the injuries and secures protective bandages. Blinking out the violet illumination in her eyes, Aristespha draws in a long breath and addresses both Lucida and Ralthinen. "I have stabilized everything for now. You should be out of immediate danger. Wait here for the medical transport."

With tears welling in her yellow eyes, Lucida smiles thankfully and grips Ralthinen's left forearm tightly. "Gods... THANK YOU so much."

Ralthinen musters up an appreciative nod through his mental haze. The police officer glances out the motel door. In sheer astonishment, he calls out to Aristespha. "I think your group actually took down that bastard... HOLY. SHIT."

Aristespha stands up, taking off her gloves, and quickly casts a cleansing incantation, walking to the door. "Good. One less thing to worry about. Stay here. I will check on them and see if I can find some other supplies in the humvee."

Slipping cautiously through the door, Aristespha darts over to the humvee. Noticing Aristespha around the vehicle, Sebastian flies over to her. "Everyone good, dear? We managed to drop that cyberpsycho."

Aristespha nods and sighs out her tension, in the moment of quiet. "Yes, Sebastian. I am just waiting on the medical transport. Then, we can get out of here."

Pulling in a long breath, she closes her eyes in the brief peace. "Thank you."

Sebastian smiles lovingly at Aristespha, chuckling ethereally. "Well, I don't think any of us would have felt right ditching anyone in this mess."

From a nearby rooftop, a grungy woman pops up from behind a low wall, resting her rifle upon the brick top. Searching the vicinity, she peers through her cybernetic optics and rifle scope. The crosshairs scan around between obstructing buildings towards the front of the motel and halt near the humvee. A wry grin cracks across Snipe's face, and she shifts her aim between two targets "Medic... Or stealth guy... I guess... Must be some new cloaking field. Yeah... Better take you out, so I don't have to hunt you later."

Aristespha brushes back her silvery blue hair, smiling. "Well, I will get everything loaded up. Gods knowing, I have gone against my more logical judgment enough for today."

Sebastian's visage briefly distorts around his head. A hard metal impact shatters out. Aristespha's head bobs down. A loud report echoes into the area.

Sebastian glances over to buildings. He snaps his head forward in horror, hearing Aristespha panicked pants. Watching her clutch a jetting flow of crimson from her under her left jaw, Sebastian's transparent visage pales and he screams out. "SNIPER! ARISTESPHA GOT HIT!"

Dretphi charges out with her energy shield up and sub machine gun at the ready. With her hands out projecting a magical barrier, Sotalia swiftly side steps out, Cideeda and Bach following behind. Aristespha clambers onto the humvee and drags herself into cover in front of the vehicle, red soaking her entire shoulder. Bach and Cideeda get into cover. Sotalia slips down, releasing the barrier, and immediately checks on Aristespha. "OH GODS! SHIT! What do you need me to do?!"

Fighting against panic and for consciousness, Aristespha concentrates on her instructions. "Shrapnel. Feel it... Find hematologic sealing agent... apply... stabilize."

With Sotalia scrambling past the motel room door, Aristespha shifts her fading gaze at Bach, struggling with each of her words. "Out of tissue bonding... sheets... make... one..."

Sebastian stares in horror, the life draining from Aristespha ivory face, his visage warps and shudders. Waving for Sebastian

; s attention, Cideeda glares at him sternly and commands. "Help us find the sniper."

Fluttering her eyes, Aristespha drifts off into unconsciousness. Bach swiftly applies pressure on the crimson flow behind her slipping hands. Gawking in shock, Bach overhears Sotalia cursing, rummaging around inside the motel room. He feels the crimson warmth drain through his fingers. The fear upon his face solidifies into resolve. A bright flash of blue erupts into his eyes, and he positions both hands around the gushing injury. A surge of magical flows and threads swirls around Bach's body, and rush into the palms of his hands. Energy condenses. Thin conduits sink into the site of the wound. The flows of red slow into gentle oozes, golden layers surrounding a pulsating copper shard. Drawing a long breath, Bach drives his full focus and winces with the strain, magical mechanisms materializing off to the side. The energy machinery operates sluggishly, and a fine magical mesh forms row by row at a ponderous pace. Gritting his teeth, Bach pants with the dimming of blue in his eyes and curses under his breath. "Fuck... Not now... I got to have a little more somewhere..."

With the fading blue in his eyes, courage from within pushes a determined, distant stare onto Bach's face. Closing eyes, he grimaces and reopens them with points of white spreading out from the centers.

Cideeda crawls under the humvee, and Dretphi orbits carefully around. Calling over to Sebastian, Dretphi searches the horizon. "Stand where you were."

Cideeda adds to the instruction. "Act like you are looking for the sniper."

Filtering out all other thoughts, Sebastian steps cautiously over, pretending to search around. He stops at a spot. "Here. I felt it go through my head. I think it hit the humvee. They're probably trying to figure out why I'm still up."

Dretphi notes the spot, glances up to Sebastian, and pivots her stare towards a fresh dent on the vehicle's body. Calculating, she glares through her full face visor. "Third building south from east road? Flat roof. Likely location."

Training her emerald eyes out, Cideeda pricks her furry ears forward. In the lull of surrounding background noise, her furry ears flick towards a noise. A pair of reflective glints sparkle in the distance. Cideeda curls a sneer upon her light brown face. "Confirmed."

Opening the motel door, the officer peeks out. Slipping out low to the ground, Sotalia scrambles quickly over to Bach and Aristespha. "I found some, but I don't know if it's-"

Around Aristespha's injury and between Bach's hands, a magical medical fabric materializes rapidly, increasing in size, threads of flow connect to thin golden barriers, and the copper shard slowly backs out of the wound. The freshly made tissue bonding sheet floats into the injury, surrounding the damage within. Bach's fingers constantly twitch, his hands tremble, and his white glowing eyes dart rapidly around into distant places within his mind, white magic flow splinters out upon his face. Blinking in utter disbelief, Sotalia remains quiet and hopeful.

Sebastian grits his teeth, readies himself, and calls out. "One... Two... Three!"

Sprinting out into the open, Sebastian yells out and pantomimes rudely into the surrounding area. "FUCK YOU! YOU MISSED ME! CAN'T HIT ME!"

A glint from the street lights reflects out. Dretphi spots movement on the rooftop. She squints towards the target, leveling the aim of her sub machine, and sprays a burst of rounds. In the flurry of suppressing fire, Cideeda aims her shotgun, places her finger on the secondary fire trigger, and squeezes. A projectile launches out the under barrel of her weapon, coasting through the night sky, and drops down on a business building rooftop. Fiery orange bursts out, lighting the top of the structure. Cideeda deftly reloads another round, takes aim, and fires again. Another blast of flames bellows out upon the rooftop. Cideeda's furry ears flick forward, tracing a distant scream. A fire coated figure tumbles off the top of the building and falls to the pavement, out of sight.

Bach focuses upon the task between his hands. A sheet of tissue bonding material closes up the cut in Aristespha's ivory skin. Shakily resting his hands down upon the ground, he sways unsteadily in place and stares blankly at the ground. He manages to mutter with a strained, weak tone. "hope... that... works... Don't know. I... tried..."

Sotalia feels the other side of Aristespha's neck with her fingers and listens closely. "She's g-got a good pulse and breathing... S-s-so, that's really good. Y-yeah..."

Fluttering her violet eyes open, Aristespha groggily mumbles back into consciousness, searching around sluggishly. "...then allow me to-"

With a surge of conscious thought cascading back into Aristespha's mind, she blinks her eyes hard and glances around between worry and bewilderment, struggling through her confusion. "W-w-what happened? I- Uh- How am I alive?"

Sotalia smiles happily and holds onto Aristespha's shoulder. "Bach. He patched you up with the stuff you asked him to make."

Sorting through the probabilities and feasibly, Aristespha squints through her drowsy haze and springs her violet eyes wide open in surprise. Her stare finds the faint traces of elder energy flow surrounding Bach's eyes and the fading pinpoints of white in his dim blue pupils. Reaching her hand out, she tightly grasps Bach's trembling arm and calmly asks. "Bach? How do you feel?"

Bach barely lifts up his head and cringes sharply, weakly muttering. "Not... good..."

His arms buckle. Curling up upon the dirty parking lot, he clutches the sides of his head, painfully gasping. Aristespha winces, carefully lifting herself up with Sotalia's help, and tends to the pain overwhelmed, whimpering Bach.