Athana

5 AM. Twenty giant projectors fastened to the inside of the massive dome are slowly starting up. They emit sunlight-emulating light, giving those lucky enough to live above ground a healthy tan. Below, you settle for what light you can get. Seen from above, the city is quite beautiful at this time of day. Chrome-like skyscrapers and streets glistens in the light, technology brimming behind every reflective surface. It is an ideal time for morning strollers to take a walk, breathe the relatively fresh air provided by massive fans at each end of the city, as the morning noise of humming hover vehicles and human chatter rises up. But there is none this morning. There are few people out about in the city in general, most being Cytek officials.

It has been five days since the biggest surge incident in recent history. Eyewitnesses say they saw a presumably renegade surger being hunted by a guardian squad at ground level, followed by a massive crackle from the grid below the road, and a large, completely black mass appearing. The surge itself only lasted a couple of second and testimonies conflict on what exactly it did. According to the government, public surveillance have been of little help either, most knocked out by the electronic damage of the surge or showing little comprehendable detail. The after-effect was clear enough, however. Several smaller, middle class, housing complexes were severed near the base and crashed into the streets. Buildings as old as Athana itself, built to shrug off earthquakes and bombings, simply fell over from one moment to the next. The destruction was staggering, a small sector of the city collapsing on itself. While a final death toll has yet to be given, it is up in thousands as the last rescues are being made. The response from Cytek has in all ways been swift and efficient.

It has been four day since martial law was declared. The day after the incident, the current President of Cytek and thus, the government, Elias Torvald, appeared in a public address, broadcasted on every screen and receiver in the city. A man not much liked for his harsh rhetoric and policies, he spent only a token amount of time grieving the lost lives before drawing attention to the culprits:

“...We cannot tolerate this situation any longer. Surgers with unfathomable power run amok in the streets. They will tear our city apart should we let them. We promise to pool all our resources into saving as many lives as we can after this terrible tragedy and after that, make sure it never happens again. For that purpose, we are declaring a state of martial law. A curfew is instituted in the hours from 10 PM to 6 AM, effective immediately. Anyone not at home in the nightly hours will be arrested for creating public disorder. More information will be available through public channels. Remember, we are doing this to protect you, the rightful citizens of Athana. The coming weeks will be a trying time, but we cannot ignore this problem any longer. All unregistered surgers, consider this your final warning. Turn yourself in at your nearest police station, or be taken in by force.”

On this fourth day of martial law, the tension is thick in the air. As sector B-1:4, the one in which the incident occurred, have become more or less stable, Cytek is expected to move against the surgers soon, likely in the form of city wide raids. While official channels have yet to confirm if the perpetrator was a member of the terrorist group ‘Blue Sky’, they too are expected to make a move, having stood up for surger rights in the past. Public opinion is split on whether the situation warrants martial law and conspiracy theories about both Cytek and Blue Sky abound. It is a fact that the number of surgers and even the strength of their powers have been increasing in recent years. This incident was simply the culmination of the chaos growing within Athana, though the worst may yet be to come...

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~Cytek Barracks: Marx, Roland, Christopher~

The “Barracks” was perhaps the most secure place in all the city. Surrounding the massive tower that was the Cytek headquarters, it worked as an extra buffer of security for the most desirable terrorist target of all. It was the home to the Cytek military and a very busy place in the wake of martial law having been declared. Much combat-ready personnel from other divisions had been temporarily been transferred into the military, much like a draft from their own ranks. Already this early in the morning, the place was brimming with activity as people paced back and forth between secured bunkers, labs and administrative buildings, military vehicles constanly moving in and out of the base.

Four in particular individuals had, for their exemplary work for Cytek, been chosen to form a special anti-surge squad, meant to bring in some of the more resistant surgers. Or so the memo they had gotten fore hand claimed. They were to meet with Guardian Commander, J. Stavoris, at 0500 hours inside his office for briefing for their first mission. Stavoris was a well respected veteran of the military, having seen much action in his time, now holding the highest position in the guardian corps. He was recognizable by his stiff, grey moustache, large enough to hide his mouth underneath, and a standard issue blue uniform overdecorated by metallic pins marking his achievements.

His office was surprisingly small, monitors lining one wall and himself sitting behind a wooden desk in the middle, which was somewhat rare in a city where it was cheaper to synthesise plastics than grow a tree. An odd purple potted plant were placed on the desk as well. Stavoris himself just sat quietly by the desk, perusing information from a console integrated in it as he awaited the arrival of the soldiers now under his command.

As the clock rolled around to five, he looked up from the screen and addressed to no one in particular with a gruff voice: “Christopher Jacob, Roland Stenberg, and Marx Peterson? All present?”

~Erroll’s Apartment: Erroll, Tacey~

A horrendous buzzing suddenly filled the apartment. Rather jarringly, given the hour. The sound itself came from the Erroll Vander’s main computer. “Incoming video call from Rose” displayed on the screen. Rose was not someone Erroll knew, and the awful ringing tone was not something he had configured.

~Cytek Headquarters, Central: Samuel~

Central was the name of the main computer system administrating most of Athana. Much of it was decentralized, built into the very structure of the buildings of the City as well as the foundation, as to make it less vulnerable to attack. Nonetheless, the massive complex of mainframes and servers underneath Cytek Headquarters was the heart of it. Being chosen to work there could be considered a promotion and the pay raise was indeed rather hefty. Then again, Samuel had not been given much choice in the matter. The hours were also quite early, him having worked there since four o’clock, but it did give him the privilege of exemption from the curfew.

The main job at hand was, of course, tracking surgers. Central had access to the all information of the power grid of the entire city. While the degree varied, all surges caused disturbance within this grid, allowing a trained eye to track the ones using them. The grid itself was always in flux, so tracking them was more of an art than a science, though the curfew keeping legimate surgers indoors helped. Specifically, Samuel was assigned to assist some specific military team going hunting. For now, things were fairly quiet, with not much to do but shoot the breeze.

~The Underground, newly dug tunnel: Joseph, Gael, Louis~

From the surface of the main city of Athana various elevators and entry points takes one into the Underground. Compromised of hundreds of tunnels, dug out in search of resources for the city and since retrofitted to contain basic housing, it is a easy place to get lost whether accidentally or on purpose. More newly dug out regions of the Underground were specifically made for residency and are thus less maze-like, one such being the “Column”, a many kilometer deep whole with housing built into the sides with large platforms suspended in between, giving giving it numerous “levels”. At the bottom of the Column, expansion were still pending, and currently on halt given the crisis. Plans for a second column was in the works, but currently there was simply a bunch of connecting tunnels, not yet actually connected to anything. The curfew had so far barely been enforced in the lower levels of the Underground, so these were ideal places for meet-ups of a shadier nature.

Gael Malagan had been snooping around for a while about Surgers and rebel groups, but it was Blue Sky that had contacted him first, two days ago. While keeping a fairly thick facade of mystery, they had offered him a mission. A mission, they said would give him a chance of finding the one that had inflicted his condition upon him. A monetary incentive had also been put on the table, 10.000 credits, a rather substantial amount for an unemployed man.

Similarly, Louis Logic had also been contacted by Blue Sky quite recently. Here, the monetary incentive was the primary one, and it was very ample, even for his standards and with ten percent up front. It was an open secret that Blue Sky was rather adept at securing funds and did hire mercenary help from time to time, which would be Louis in this case. Much stroking of the ego had also taken place, ensuring him that his skills were absolutely vital and without compare for the purpose.

Joseph Maxwell had already been a member of Blue Sky for a while. Though he got a sense that they did not entirely trust him yet, his powers had already been shown to be invaluable for the organization. He too, had received little information about what the mission was about, only that it was of crucial importance.

All three were to meet with a Blue Sky member in one such newly dug tunnel at the bottom of the column. In these lower places, it was always quite cold and an unpleasant smell of rotten earth hanging in the air. The small tunnel had only a couple of metal plates integrated into the loft to stabilize it, the walls consisting otherwise of rock and dirt. The Blue Sky member himself was a tall, burly looking sort, with a big beard and hairy arms. He stood there, learning against the wall, waiting for the three to arrive.

~Mat’s Apartment: Mat~

A knock on the front door. Shortly followed by another one, quite insistent this time. More knocks followed by a muffled voice calling Mat’s name from outside. At this early hour. Inside curfew.

~Upper city: Lucy~

As the buildings of Athana rose up high, the city had developed ‘layers’. Huge platforms stretched out and connected many of the sky-scrapers. These buildings had developed specialized purposes, industry, shopping, residential, so instead of going all the way to ground level when going from one’s job to the mall, you could simply walk or fly from one building to the next. There was a regular web-way of bridges and platforms between building in the mid-city and they tended to be as full of people and lively as the street below. But not today.

Lucy was standing on one such platform, a walkway and a road for earth-bound vehicles. It had not been much trouble getting up here, security being surprisingly low, despite the curfew. The place was completely empty aside from her. This was where her sister had died.

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*Tunnels*

Joseph clicked the 'play' button on his newly-made recorder once more, listening to the speech. "Blah, blah, blah... man, he really wants to get us. I wonder who that was..." He frowned while walking through the tunnels and tapped his fingers against the device. It looked suspiciously like a Walkman, though Joseph had no idea what a Walkman would look like. He had just created it with the following quality: able to replay the sounds that it recorded. "Hmm... if it was one of the Blue Sky... I might have to distance myself. It wouldn't be like them to do something so drastic for one lone surger..." He fiddled with the device, listened to the speech once more, then reversed his power. The Walkman and headphones turned to dust as he turned the corner. He was getting closer to where he needed to go but there was still a long fall to deal with. "This isn't safe..." He looked behind him, then concentrated, his eyes turning dark. A tall, thin, spiral staircase appeared. It was made out of metal and Joseph took it to the level he needed to be. He wandered about, looking for his contact.

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Final Fantasy IX was the best Final Fantasy game ever and if you think otherwise you are WRONG!

My fanfiction account. Comments and criticisms are very welcome.

~The Underground, newly dug tunnel~

Louis checked his phone. He was a little early, but that was fine with him. A little waiting couldn't kill you - in most circumstances. Criminal types were usually the type to be late to these sort of things, it added to their mystique, Louis supposed. They were also the most to despise being kept waiting and so Louis preferred being as unmystical and as early as possible.

He checked his phone again and made sure all its devices were working. It was a digital swiss army knife, his main hacking tool compatible with most every security console. It was also a physical swiss army knife as it carried all of his lock-picking tools. It was fairly small and very expensive. He put it away in the inside of his jacket and made his way into the tunnel.

A man in a suit and tie, his jacket buttoned to the collar. It was an uncommon sight this far down below, but Louis would not have shown up in any other clothing. This was his business suit.

"Hello!" Louis called out when he caught sight of the Blue Sky member, "Hope I haven't kept you waiting. My apologies if I have."

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~The Underground~

"Oh, no trouble." the man said in a rather boisterous manner as he straightened up and turned to the newcomer, a grin on his face. "Ya're fairly early on it."

He had a notable manner of speaking not uncommon in some parts of the Underground. The way he eyed Louis' suit pretty much confirmed his background.

"I'm Bross, by tha way." he said, extending a big palm towards Louis. "Welcome to the team. Oh, and I see we got Joseph a' coming too!" Bross continued as he saw Joseph descending from above.

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*Meeting Spot*

Joseph nodded. "Yes, hello, I'm here." When he got to the bottom, he grasped the rail tightly for a moment, getting his breath back. "Crazy stuff happening, eh?" He grinned and walked over to them. "Going to the surface has been even harder these past days. I've managed it but only for the briefest moments. I'd like a word with whoever thought it would be a great idea to destroy part of the city."

_________________
Final Fantasy IX was the best Final Fantasy game ever and if you think otherwise you are WRONG!

My fanfiction account. Comments and criticisms are very welcome.

~ Mat Calthorne: His Apartment ~

*tap tap tap*

Mat mumbled and turned over pulling the blanket over his head. The woman beside him stirred, irritably pulling a pillow over her head, and trying to yank some blanket back.

*Tack Tack Tack*

The red head beside him nudged him with her elbow less than gently. Mat grunted, frowning and rolled over. He was partially awake, he had been as soon as he heard the first knocks, but he really didn't care to get up yet.

*BAM BAM BAM*

Mat was launched from the bed by the foot of his sleeping partner. He looked up from his hands and knees, giving her form a withering look. She was back asleep now, the sheet wrapped around her. Reddish gold hair cascaded down her back, covering shoulder that were only slightly less pale than the sheet. Mat's eye left her and sought about for his pants, which he found crumpled on the floor. He pulled them on, hopping across the floor as he searched for his shirt. As he reached the door he was roughly tucking his shirt into his pants with one hand. Mat tucked his blaster into the back of his pants. He started speaking as he reached for the door.

"Fucking hell," he growled "WHAT?"

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Erroll Vander, Apartment

The ringing emitting from his computer was at first just a soft background noise, he just rolled over and placed his arm around Tacey before trying to fall back to sleep but slowly it became an annoyance to Erroll eventually he forced himself to roll away from Tacey and push the blanket off him before slowly get out of bed. His head ached from from several difficult days of work, on the one hand he was a ubiquitous repairmen, one of few in fact yet on the other hand he was also the messenger for Tacey for her 'part time job'.

As he stumble to the desk Erroll took note of the fact the name; Rose did not ring any bells. Not to mention the fact that this tone was not something he had added to his system's configuration. Meaning that someone hacked into his computer. A pretty difficult feat by itself... this did not suite Erroll in the slightest. Either this was Leaf or this a member of Cytek. Still he had to answer it or else this ringing would never end.
"R.F.H inc, representative and repairmen Erroll Vanders speaking. How can I help you?" Erroll said with an overly sleepy tone, trying to down play his mental alertness and suspicion, "We are able to work with our clients from 6am till 10pm due to the new curfews."

~The Underground~

"Says the guy who can destroy thing with his MIND, or however it a' works!" Bross said, cocking a hairy eyebrow at Joseph, but his mood suddenly turned glum. "But seriously, all this martial law business, it ain't no good. Cytek sure is having a field day with this one."

Realizing Louis was also present, and might not share their viewpoints, he quickly perked up again. "Anyways, that's kinda what this mission alla about!" he said, eyeing the two of them. "Before we get all into that, we're still missing a guy, though. He's a new one, so who knows if he'll show up."


~Mat's Apartment~

"Oi, Mat, it's Kenneth." the voiced shouted enthusiastically. Kenneth was one of Mat's contacts in the, figurative, underground. He had found him many good jobs in the past. He was also often more than a bit annoying. "Care to let me in, buddy?"


~Erroll's Apartment~

"Hey 'Harvard'." a tired voice replied. An image of a woman somewhere in her thirties came up on the screen. She was a bit scraggy looking, a few bruises on her face and a couple of slightly grimy bangs hanging down in front of her face. She looked very tired, but not just from being up early. She was also wearing a hood over her head, and judging by the light, was calling from somewhere outside in the city.

"I don't think we've spoken before." she continued, slowly. "I'm Rose, the de factor leader of Leaf, if I may say so herself." She smiled weakly and made a pause to breathe a short sigh. "Tacey there?"

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~ Mat Calthorne: Apartment ~

"Great" Mat muttered, looking through the eye hole in the door.

Mat meant that in two ways. One was sarcastic, Ken could be annoying as shit. On the other hand, he usually found him some good jobs. He sighed slowly and loudly. Walking over to the bed, he sat down and rolled the vixen over, kissing her thoroughly. She perked up, rising to a sitting position and smiling, her sapphire eyes gleaming dully in the halflight of the apartment. She still tasted like rum.

"Go hit the shower, sweet cheeks. I got company." He jerked his thumb towards the bathroom and she scampered off giggling. Mat's head tilted to one side to watch her retreating bottom; he grinned.

Yawning he ran a hand through his hair as he trudged back to the door, undoing the bolts and opening it for Kenneth.

"Heya Ken, come inside before one of those government types sees ya."

_________________

Erroll Vanders

The young man let out a sleepy sigh contemplating if this was a legitimate call or not but after a few quick checks to see if the link was secure on his end he spoke again in a more hushed voice, "Leaf business eh? Just make sure the link is secure and I'll wake her up. Just try not to call so early in the morning next time, we do need some sleep to operate... and by the looks of it, you could also do with a couple good nights but hey, that's your life."

Getting off the chair, Erroll made his way to Tacey's side of the bed and gently shook her awake, whispering into her ear, "Sorry to disturb your beauty sleep but it looks like your boss wants to have a word with you Tay, I think she said her name was Rose. Ring any bells?" Rubbing his eyes, he sat back down on the bed sleep was beginning to pull at his mind again but unfortunately their caller probably wouldn't want to be put on hold.
In private Erroll hoped that Leaf wouldn't make this a habit, he liked the old system better but since the recent incident it was understandable... Or so he figured anyway.

Tacey

She had always been a light sleeper, came with her previous life style and all. So when the computer first started wailing that annoying buzz, she was awake before Errol even was. There was little point for her to pick up the call though, so she just rolled over and tried to drown out the noise. Errol would get it, which he did.

The moment Errol got out of bed, she quickly seized the opportunity to gather the sheet into a big comfortable pile. Content that she wasn't the one getting up, she tried to fall asleep again. Seriously, who calls at this hour? Sadly, she could hear what the conversation was about. Leaf business. The woman even specifically asked for her. Great.

Stubbornly she remained still, maybe if Errol saw she was still asleep, he'd just take a message. But such luck was not granted to her today, as she heard Errol say he was going to get her. Justlaystilljustlaystilljustlaystilljustla- Errol probably knew her better by now, and knew perfectly well that the alarm had awoken her well before him. He shook her and told her that Rose was calling for her. Which was unusual. Even though Rose was her boss, she'd never actually met her. Grudgingly Tacey managed to tear herself away from her comfy sheet fortress and moved to the computer. Her hair was standing in all directions and her face didn't exactly spell joy. Why would Rose want to call her? Well, actually, it wasn't that hard to figure out. The new martial law was impeding their business pretty hard. Still, why couldn't Rose just leave a message with Errol? It's not like she could respond.

_________________

Christopher

A heavy sigh escaped the young doctors lips as he forced himself out of the bunk. It had been five days since the incident and Cytek was still laboring to pick up all the pieces left behind in the rogue surger's wake. During the last few days he had been forced to use his surge more times than he had ever done before in his life; the shear amount of destruction had left thousands dead and almost as many close to it. He had been able to get very little sleep between treating the wounded and aiding in rescue attempts, but luckily it seemed like things were beginning to settle down in the city.

As he cleaned himself up, he couldn't help but wonder if this was all just the calm before the storm; and from what he had heard around the base, it seemed to be the likeliest outcome. Still, the young man hoped things would get better; if only to avoid the bloodshed that would probably happen. Surely groups such as Blue Sky would realize that the measures Cytek was taking were necessary in the wake of this attack.

He couldn't help but laugh at his reflection; the groups would probably just blind themselves with their hatred for Cytek and act as if this were being done as an attack on all of them. After which they would probably do something incredibly stupid and risky; screwing everyone over and fleaving Cytek to pick up the pieces and take the blame. Only to bitch and wine immediately afterward because they don't like how we're doing it; the thought of helping Cytek fix things, never even crossing their minds. "Enough of that, time to focus on the job," he told himself as he finished and headed off to grab an early breakfast at the cafeteria before heading out to his morning meeting with the commander.

At around a quarter to five he arrived at the commanders office, who appeared to be busy at work at the moment; no doubt rereading the specifics regarding his new units first assignment. After finding himself a spot to wait for the briefing to commence he pondered upon the commander. He remembered having served on a few occasions with the now Guardian- Commander Stavoris in different units during his younger days. The man was a living legend and with good reason; he was a grand soldier and an even better leader. Though his presence as direct commander of this new unit only served to further enforce the importance of their future assignments.

It wasn't long before the others arrived and the briefing began and the commander began his roll call. Upon being called Christopher swiftly responded, "Lieutenant Christopher Jacob, present,"

Lucy Amethyst Wilkinson: Dead Memories in my Heart

Lucy had come to this spot often, mostly to talk to her dead sister, asking for advice when it was needed, other similar things. She would have gone to her grave except for 2 things: first, she hated cemeteries, and second, she had no idea where she'd been buried. She was glad nobody was around to see her cry. She finished talking for the night and stood, wiping away her tears. "I miss you." she finished as she did every night before walking away, still trying to stop crying.

_________________
They taped over your mouth, scribbled out the truth with their lies, you little spies - You will release your life, joining with the god-damned world of the dead and the lonely. - Я сошла с ума, Mне нужна она
Innuendo Squad's Resident Lesbian
Mother of darkness, mother of light, earth beneath us, soul in flight, songs of love and love of life, guide us to our heart.
We all come from the Goddess and to her we shall return like a drop of rain flowing to the ocean.

Marx Peterson

_ Base_ Welcome Back_

In cold storage of the base, one of the storage room labelled Charlie 42 sprung to life with activity. The door opened releasing cold vapors from the darken room. Various mechanical noise were heard as it sounded like something was being lifted. Inside the room, were flashes of lights from computer screen, which had schematics, video feeds of earlier dates from a first person point of view, and a percentage of completion. In the center of the room was a lifeless body connected to a series of tubes to various machines in the room seating in a chair. The other machines soon started to run, forcing through the tubes, various colored fluids went into the mechanical body. Suddenly the eyes of the lifeless lit an electric blue as the machines finished.

Thud, Thud, were the footsteps of the metal giant as it echoed down the hallway as it walked. Soldiers in its way, moved or were shoved aside as it walked. It had a height of 6 feet, top of its head looked like a helmet with a octagonal shape with two antennas where the ears should be, and its eyes were electric blue. Apparently it had a human shape mouth with metallic looking facial hair, a black moustache and pointy beard to be exact. Its forearms were huge and oval shaped with long and thin fingers, and its legs were long and pointed like scythes. A visor slowly slid down over its eyes, it had a serious expression while it walked freely in the base.

Around 5 or so, it entered one of the rooms, it came to a stop next one of the soldiers in the room and faced the man behind the desk. " Marx Peterson, reporting for duty, Sir." It responded with a cold computerized voice to the other mustache person. For such an inhuman figure, its surprising it had such a human name. " What are your orders, Sir?" Marx questioned to them.

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"Fate smiles on the strange. So its a good thing, I'm the strangest of all." - William Livingstone, Cirque de la Nuit

~Tunnel~

"I'm sure our friend has a perfectly good reason for his lack of timing." Louis smiled pleasantly and turned to his other partner-in-crime, "And besides, this allows us to get to know one another before we begin our mission proper." He stuck out a hand, "You can call me Benjamin - or Ben for short. I'm a professional thief, here's my card."

Louis held out a business card. It did not carry his name - as he often made one up for jobs like these - but it did have his phone number (untraceable, also very expensive) and the humble title, "Gentleman Thief".

_________________

~Mat’s Apartment~

“Heh, thanks, buddy.” Kenneth’s freckled face greeted Mat with a big grin. His blue hair was messy as always and did not complement his paleness very well, but that had never deterred him, apparently. There was something odd about the way he was standing however, and his smile did not seem entirely sincere.

“You should know though... I’ve got someone with me.” Kenneth said in a more downbeat voice and stepped into the apartment, revealing a girl that had stood behind him. She was around six or seven years old, long, black hair and brown eyes and looked more than a little scared. She clung to Kenneth’s clothing and he patted her on the head. “She’s the reason I’m here.”

~Erroll’s Apartment~

“Hey, Tacey. I’m really sorry about waking both of you up like that.” Rose said in a friendly manner, determined to create a good atmosphere, despite looking about ready to keel over.

“Oh, and Erroll, the line’s perfectly secure. Keep in mind, I changed the buzz just to be sure I’d get your attention, really, you should be the worried, I can see you’ve tinkered with it, but your security system has some serious holes, I’m kinda into that stuff, and I could recommend you some open code dynamics if you’re interested...” Rose was speaking faster and faster until she stopped herself, realizing she had brought herself off topic. She breathed a deep sigh before starting again, deeply serious. “Anyways, I have a job for you guys. And it’s... An important one. And a dangerous one. That’s why I called you in person. I didn’t want to send you guys into this before talking to you first.”

_________________

*Tunnel*

Joseph took the card and the hand. He shook while looking at the card. "A thief, huh?" He frowned. "Sorry, but that doesn't really interest me. After all, you simply rearrange where things are, right? You hide and take while others create. Not really my favorite idea." He smiled "It's good to meet you anyway. What's with the 'gentleman' bit on here? What makes you so special?"

_________________
Final Fantasy IX was the best Final Fantasy game ever and if you think otherwise you are WRONG!

My fanfiction account. Comments and criticisms are very welcome.

~Upper City~

As she headed home, Lucy heard a voice. A figure, concealed in the shadow of one of the buildings, stood learned up against a wall. He was wrapped in a large, black trenchcoat and a hood concealed his face. He positively had not been there just a moment ago.

"What are you doing out, girl?" the voice growled in a very deep voice voice. "Don't you know you ain't supposed to be out at this hour?"

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~ Mat Calthorne: Apartment ~

"No problem, man. Make yourself at home."

He said, noting that Ken was standing a bit awkwardly. Maybe he just needed to take a load off. Mat listened as the sounds of the shower drifted down the hall into the common area. It reminded him that he probably needed a wash, his face at least. He walked a short ways over to the kitchen (which was only separated from the common area by a bar and stools) and turned on the tap.

“You should know though... I’ve got someone with me.”

Mat turned slowly, hand reaching for his blaster, only to stop short when he saw the girl. He fluidly changed the movement into simply scratching his back. Why the hell did Ken have a kid out with him at this hour? She looked terrified to boot. He went back to the sink, his face contorting incredulously, before he began splashing water on it. Turning back to Ken he dried his face on a handkerchief.

He pulled out a bottle of rum from a cupboard and took a swig before putting it back and opening the fridge. Mat rummaged around before finding a fruit and shining it on his shirt. He began munching on it contentedly, one arm folded across his chest as he leaned against the bar.

“She’s the reason I’m here.”

"Cute kid. What is this? Take your daughter to work day? These streets are no place for a little girl, Ken."

_________________

Gael Malagan
The Underground
5:10 AM
Of Unpleasant Mornings

One foot before the other, they always say.
Did he have to let his feet clang against the newly cut floor as he plodded down it, grumbling?
No, not really. But this was a man who had gone for weeks without coffee.
He felt more like a grizzly than a man right now, his eyes only half open in the dim light. Glad to be alone when he left, at least, he was able to express his own emotion without fear of repercussions.
He instinctively raised his wrist to look...but then, upon looking, remembered his horrific mutation that prevented any reasonable watch from being worn.
More grumbling. Not so much words as dis-satisfied grunts.
He was sure he had left early, or at least early-ish.
With a sigh, he noted how grateful he was at this moment for his equipment to be functional- he never was a morning person, and if not for the hoverarmor he had acquired from friends in the news industry with questionable ties, he would be hard-pressed to get anywhere.
He hated it- owing anything to anyone.
With that, he remembered the message that had been on his kitchen counter yesterday.
10,000 credits was nothing to sneeze at. Especially for a man down on his luck.
But it was....very strange. He felt some hesitation in his gut when he had read it.
He'd have to put some major risk in if he was getting this much out of it.
He was sure of it.

Snapping back to the present, he straightened his posture as he went down the tunnel- his likely employers may be watching him through some surveillance.
His gut kept telling him to make sure it wasn't a sting- Cytek might just want his head after all.
A grumble of frustration.
No, he couldn't think that right now. He needed to be optimistic.
He was going to get answers.
And he was going to kick that surger who did this to him in the teeth.
The teeth, blast it all.

Looking up, he realized...he was a bit late.
Nervousness shot through the giant's system as he turned his head to avoid the redness of embarrassment being too visible. He coughed a moment and folded his arms, comical as it may have looked.
He straightened again once more and put on a smile as he closed his eyes seemingly confidently.
"Ah, ah, good morning, gentlemen. It seems I've found the right place then?"
He had to keep up appearances- at least until he was exactly sure what these people were.
When traveling with a pack of wolves- don't be a sheep.

Erroll Vanders

The young man shrugged Rose's words off as if they meant very little to him, "Would like to point out that if I did have a highly secure system Cytek would start wondering about what I'd be hiding in my files, rather not risk that chance. Besides a middle class man like me wouldn't normally have access to this kind of programming, even as a repairman." He paused for a moment to check up on Tacey, she was always a light sleeper and was normally the woke who convinced him to either wake up or go to sleep when the days grew too long.

Still right now he had to get his head in game, "Regardless, what is this mission and how dangerous is it? I've got lots of questions but I figured I should be a sport and let you speak first before letting loose a string of questions as well as translating for Tacey." He looked at his girl to see if she was ready before giving her a slight smile.

~Tunnel~

Louis laughed, "A man who minces no words!" He smiled at Joseph, "Not many people are impressed with my line of work, but the 'Gentleman' bit is to let them know that I hold myself above the sort of common thievery that only petty crooks stoop to." He placed a hand on his chest proudly, "You won't see me holding up any people at gunpoint for their jewelery or ransacking the home of some poor family. No, no, no. I have standards."

The second surger of the little group had arrived just then and Louis looked up at him brightly, "Ah! Hello, good sir. I suppose we'll be working together? My name is Benjamin - just Ben is fine. Here's my card." He held out another one of the business cards.

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Luna Amethyst Wilkinson: Strange Man

"What's it to you?" she asked, walking away from the man, ready to fight if necessary. She didn't like the man for some reason and hated fighting but would do anything to protect herself. She only hoped he wouldn't attack. She continued walking back to her house, hoping to leave this man behind.

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They taped over your mouth, scribbled out the truth with their lies, you little spies - You will release your life, joining with the god-damned world of the dead and the lonely. - Я сошла с ума, Mне нужна она
Innuendo Squad's Resident Lesbian
Mother of darkness, mother of light, earth beneath us, soul in flight, songs of love and love of life, guide us to our heart.
We all come from the Goddess and to her we shall return like a drop of rain flowing to the ocean.

~Mat's Apartment~

"Yeah, I know." Kenneth answered, completely serious for a change. "She's not mine. I just know her parents, is all."

They both wandered into the apartment, Kenneth lifting the girl into a chair and whispering something to her to get her to calm down, before he once again faced Mat, determined to get his attention.

"You know how it is. I'm a crook. You're a crook. Everyone I know are crooks, it's how I make my living." Kenneth said with a wry smile. "Still, I was hoping you could do me a favor. She's a surger, Mat."

~Erroll's Apartment~

"Well, it's a delivery mission, as always. And as always, I can't reveal what it is you're delivering. It would compromise the mission." Rose said and looked over her shoulder nervously before continuing. "The danger is... More related to the current circumstances than the delivery itself."

Rose looked at the both of them in turn. Despite claiming she had never met any of them before, she seemed quite concerned on their behalf.

"I... We need it delivered now. Before the curfew ends." she spoke slowly and deliberately. "And I know Tacey's unregistered. They'll be looking for people like her. And if they catch her..."

Rose trailed off. It almost seemed as if she did not want them taking up the mission, as bad as selling it that she was.

"All I can say is that I know it's a big risk, but it really is important, and I can't trust this mission to anybody else." she spoke, still with the heavy sense of empathy. "Oh, and, our organizations not doing to good at the moment, but we're able to pay you double the usual amount, for what it's worth."

~The Underground~

"Oh good, you came!" Bross said heartily, and glanced at Gael's body in manner that implied admiration instead of being freaked out.

"You boys can talk more as we walk, but the basic idea for this'a mission is, Gael here is the muscle, Joseph is one of our top Surgers, and Louis is the security expert." Bross exclaimed, pointing to each of them in turn. He then turned around, and waved for them to follow as he made his way deeper into the tunnel.

"I'm sure you guys hav' heard of Central, the computer that Cytek uses to control every damn thing in this city." Bross swung his arms widely in front of him as he talked, having a fairly expressive body language. "It's supposedly completely inhack-able from the outside. At least, we've never succeeded at it. But from the inside..."

Bross paused for dramatic effect, hoping someone would exclaim deep shock, and stopped in front of a dirt wall and began fiddling around with it, apparently searching for something.

~Upper City~

"Oh, it's nothing to me." the man replied coldly. "You should just know it's very dangerous at this hour."

He stood completely still as she passed him. Only once she had distanced herself could she hear light footsteps, indicating he was trailing her.

"You might be arrested, you know." He said, the voice thick with implications and rising in volume. "It's for your own good, you know."

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~ Mat Calthorne: Apartment ~

Mat's enthusiastic munching slowed and then stopped as he look at Ken. He glanced down the hall, making sure the sound of water could still be heard. He looked back, first at the girl, then at Ken. A surger? A surger!? What was the man trying to do?"If I had any sense I'd hustle them out right now. Those government types are looking for her kind right now," he thought, running a hand through his hair"But when has sense ever stopped me from making a few bucks? Plus, she's just a kid, how harmful could she be? It's not like she could be the one that demolished several blocks a few days ago."

"A what? Sonuva bitch, Ken. That's just perfect. She didn't blow something up on your way over here did she?" he asked, pointing at the girl. Mat came around the bar taking Ken by the arm and pulling him to the portion of the common area farthest from the kitchen. He bent close to Ken, shooting a glance at the girl who now sitting at the bar. "What do you want me to do, Ken? You want me to get her out of here? Is that it?"

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