Crow stood wide eyed. " Did that...bitch...just...call ..me.." He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath and the bellowed in rage " STUPID!? " His insane glared look at everyone in front of him. " Next person to talk..or even THINK about the Brotherhood will die! " The deep engraved anger spewed from his throat.

He could feel his fingers tightly grip the butt of his Bokken. The old wood creaking and groaning in his mighty grip. " I'll be god damned if I let some cheap puppet talk down to me! I'm the reason she got here in the first place. " He quickly turned around whipping his concealed sword in his Bokken out slashing a deep gash into the wall. " First person to step in my way...will die! "

His mind had slipped, again sending him into a fiery rage, devoid of any and all emotion except for rage. Towards the entrance he went letting the blade drag against the floor making a horrendous screeching. " I'm coming little insect...and I will be the one to fiery your soul to the other side. "

Again his anger made his sanity stop functioning. It was as if all was lost, until a faint memory hit him. His brother standing in front of him, speaking in a harsh tone about his rage. " No, no no no! " Crow stuck the sword into the wall right outside of the entrance to the HQ. " I don't want to hear it! Get out of my head! God damn you brother! " Falling to his knees Crow grabbed his head.

Crow could see it again, the fire that had crumpled the old building he use to live in with his brother. It was started by the Brotherhood of Steel to try and clear out an area to make camp. They hadn't even bothered to see if anyone was in the building. They just " didn't want to get dirty "

Crow grabbed his sword and stood up swinging it wildly and turning the area he was in to a more or less sliced up bit of rage. He staggered out the door, dazed and angry. " Where did you go puppet! I'll show you the folly for calling me ignorant! " With sword in hand Crow stood outside of the door blocking it. His eyes were dilated a pure sign of high pumping adrenalin, and his teeth were pressed together so hard blood began to leak from his mouth.

Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Capitol Wasteland.

*The repairs were coming along nicely, and Elder Cain smiled. This was the room that once housed the unmanned probes that had been used to explore the deepest reaches of space, and one of the probes had a replica set of golden plates on it, with directions and parts to make a small record player. The sounds of the record filled the hall, playing the noises of animals that had been extinct for almost a century now. He sat in wonder, taking it all in, but was interrupted when the new Elder Reynolds came in, clutching a handkerchief half-covered in blood.*

"Uhg, what is that noise Elder Caine?"

"Show some respect young Elder, that is the sound of a flock of geese, and it is glorious. Sit with me, I'd like to have a chat, if you've got a moment."

*Reynolds sat next to Caine, wondering what the wise leader would tell him.*

"Reynolds, there are some things we should talk about, and that's alright. I will be 23 soon, and as we all know, that is an amazingly long life these days. I need some one to continue my vision for the Brotherhood, to be my hand once I die. I want that person to be you, the High Council needs young people like you to help guide it. Ha ha ha...young people. It sounds like I am 80 and you are 14. But such are the times we live in. When I die, you will be given a document with my future plans on it, and I want you to implement them. Steel be with you, Elder."

"And also with you."

*Reynolds was in shock, the words of Elder Caine were very powerful, and all too true. He would do as commanded. And he had a melancholy smile on his face as Caine left the room, the mating songs of the Humpback Whale filling his ears...*

Inner Courtyard, Headquarters of the Thanatos Instinct, Capitol Wasteland.

*Tessa heard Crow coming, and picked up her pace. The gate was still open, and she quickly passed through it, ignoring the guard. She looked behind her as she passed through the gate and saw Crow standing in the hallway door frame. She leveled her Laser Rifle at him as she walked backwards, just in case he saw her. When she was satisfied that he hadn't she turned and began to head back to the Citadel. It was about a two-hour trip, if she didn't run into anymore Raiders, and once there she would prepare for her next journey, one that would hopefully be far more beneficial...

"NO!" Ulric froze as soon as he saw/heard Milan, terrified by her because she wasn't looking at him, but yet what was behind him, which was obviously more interesting. Hands reaching for his chest, Ulric began to have another asthma attack, something in which was usually triggered by a height of emotion. In moments notice, he slowly turned around, and gasped, squinting as soon as he heard a gun go off. In his mind, he was done for... what a shame that Milan had to be here to watch his life be taken.

"Click, click, click..." His entire life flashed before his eyes, and in a melodramatic fashion, Ulric fell to the ground, closing his eyes, and sticking his tongue out - hands still clutching his chest, and his breathing heavy.

"Are you hurt?" Groaning, Ulric weakly sat up, and opened his eyes, coughing. "I'm done for Milan..." Ulric whispered, leaning against Milan and putting his arms around her. "I feel so cold... and my chest..." Coughing again, still exaggerating, Ulric closed his eyes again, and started to play dead.

"Ulric... ? Ulric!" Silence... complete silence, the only sound heard being that of Anel's sobs. In a moments time, Ulric finally opened his eyes and tackled Milan to the floor, grinning. "I'm not hurt... just my chest, the usual..." Ulric whispered into one of Milan's ears, nuzzling his cheek against hers before pressing their lips together. "I think Anel is more hurt than I am though..." Ulric murmured, moving away from Milan and making his way to Anel, bending down in front of him just to lift the young boy up. Ulric also pulled the gun free from Anel's hands, dropping it carelessly on the floor.

"Anel... it's alright. There is no need to cry, you did a very brave thing protecting me, your leader... your friend. You are my friend, you do know that right? I thank you a lot for what you just did." Comforting the boy just a bit, Ulric made sure Anel no longer had to face the bloody mess that now filled the chapel. "Will someone please get that bloody thing out of here?!" Ulric ordered, turning to briefly face Milan with a frown upon his face. "Come Anel, let's go into the back room okay... ?" Ulric beckoned, walking the boy into the room where Milan and him were previously sleeping.

Placing Anel on the foot of the bed, Ulric took a seat next to him and pulled the boy against him, draping an arm over his shoulder. "It's okay Anel... he is dead, yes, but he deserved him, especially to pull a gun on me. Maybe shooting him in the knee wasn't the best punishment, but I don't want people hitting you. I'm not stupid, I know what people do, and have done to you." Ulric commented, rising back to his feet and sighing. "No one is going to hurt you again, and I'll make damn sure of that. I made a rather good example out there as it is. You spend as much time alone as you need okay? If you need me, I'll be around. If there won't be anything else, I'm going to go check on things."

Anel felt Ulric's hands lift him up but he was still in shock from the events that just took place. He was still sobbing lightly and rubbing his eyes. He had killed an actual person, a thing that he had always tried to steer away from. It didn't matter if he hated that person or that he almost killed Ulric. Killing was killing and he remembered too well what tim had to say about that act. His grieving was halted however when a particular phrase graced his ears.

You are my friend, you do know that right?

Anel stopped crying and looked up to Ulric. His eyes were a little sore and reflective streaks of tears coated his bruised cheek. The words had managed to slip through his shock and penetrate deep into his emotions. Has he really established something between him and Ulric. It was too good to be true for him and the notion of everything being a dream was getting plausible and plausible with each passing minute. Ulric gestured his hand, prompting Anel to take it. He wiped away the salty drops of water that still hung from his eyes and took the man's hand, walking with him silently towards his and Milan's quarters.

As Anel listened to the way Ulric tried to comfort him, he almost didn't seem like Ulric at all. Anel could see Tim in front of his eyes, trying his best to make sure that everything was okay for him. The heavy feeling brought by being mistreated and killing a person was instantaneously lifted as he listened to his gang leader.

"It's okay Ulric... I just... I just did what I had to do..." said Anel as he hung his head low.

Not entirely the words he was looking for but it served it's purpose. It was partly true but if an alternative was within quick reach, he wouldn't have resorted to shooting that man. He enjoyed the last minutes of feeling secured in Ulric's arms before he pulled away.

You spend as much time alone as you need okay? If you need me, I'll be around. If there won't be anything else, I'm going to go check on things.

Anel nodded and crawled towards the center of the bed and laid his head down the soft mattress. As Ulric stepped out of the room, Anel immersed himself once more in a reflective state. he hadn't noticed that he had drifted off into a light nap. The realization of the need to restock the pantry quickly jolted Anel back into consciousness. He frantically ran to the kitchen to pick up his shopping list and hoped that Roldan had returned.

"Is Roldan here yet?" asked Anel to one of the children.

"Not yet." replied the child.

Anel looked back at the spot where he had shot the man. The corpse has been moved out and most of the blood had been mopped out though there were still vague traces of the stuff on the floor. Anel looked around aimlessly to find someone who could replace Roldan.

"Ulric... ? Ulric!" There was no answer. Milan stared at the body in front of her, with wide shocked eyes. No .. He can't be dead. And sure enough, Ulric finally opened his eyes and tackled Milan to the floor, grinning. "I'm not hurt... just my chest, the usual..." Ulric whispered into one of Milan's ears, nuzzling his cheek against hers before pressing their lips together. "I think Anel is more hurt than I am though..." Ulric murmured, moving away from Milan and making his way to Anel. Milan closed her eyes and sighed in relief. So he wasn't dead ...

She opened her eyes and pushed her upper body upwards. She stopped and looked towards Ulric and Anel. He was talking to him and she could tell that it would enlighten Anel's mood. A tender smile reached her lips before getting to her feet and glancing to the lifeless body on the floor, the pool of blood still reaching outwards. "Will someone please get that bloody thing out of here?!" Ulric ordered, turning to briefly face Milan with a frown upon his face. She answered it with the same frown. She disliked killing people and with it, she hated bloody bodies.

Soon enough, she saw a few people start emerging, no doubt wondering if someone was killed. The hall was soon filled with murmurs and quiet gasps. She turned her back on them and headed toward the kitchen to see what happened to Anel and Ulric. She saw a lot of kids there and saw Nerissa near them. She scrambled over to her and said, "Mister Ulric is in the room.." Milan nodded at her and looked up, seeing the door knob turn and Ulric come out of the room.

Mac took Laea's revolver and fired. "I'm being a retard, Laea, that's what's going on." He missed. He reloaded, took aim, and fired again, this time hitting the man. The man cried out, and fell over. "Laea, Kaed, I'm sorry for this, I guess."

He handed the revolver back over to Laea, and walked purposefully over to the man who had been trying to kill him.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he growled, drawing the knife out of its sheath. "I ought to kill you right here and now."

"No... please...wait..." the man sputtered. "Don't kill me, I can he- help you. To get the K- Key."

Mac considered for a second, then noticed a hole through his chest. This man wouldn't live long anyway. "Okay, I won't kill you. What do you know?" He beckoned Kaed and Laea over.

Meg's eyes grew wide upon Crow and Teletha's exchange of words. She watched in disappointment as the giant exited the Lab, taking her hopes for the ammo increase with her. Meg brought her hands to her eyes, covering them, shaking her head in disappointment at their leader. Regardless of how intelligent he was, when his emotions grew rampant, all was lost. She merely shared clueless glances with her colleagues while he slashed about with his sword, a headache forming from the noise.

"This is ridiculous!" At Crow's disappearance, she let her own emotions take hold. "I'm so fucking tired of sitting around doing nothing while the rest of this piece of shit planet recovers! It's bullshit! How the hell are we ever going to advance if our psychotic leader can't get a hold of himself long enough to negotiate with what could be a powerful ally. Two heads are always better than one! You see it," she motioned towards the others, "and I see it. So why the hell can't he? Oh that's right, because he can't see past his fucking nose!" Meg's hands were raised above her head at this point, she was off of her stool, and walking around.

She stopped herself before she got to the door, her hand on her gun. With her eyes forward and the room behind her, she managed to hold her tears of aggravation back, "We've all lost the ones closest to us because of ADV. We'll never find the key with the bullshit equipment we have around here. So here's to spending the next three years dying peacefully in the crapped out camp." With the she disappeared up the stairs, and to her room. Along the way, she pulled her radio out and turned it off. Those that requested her would have to seek her out, for the day she was done.

Crow stood there looking forward. His body had grew numb from the adrenalin. He had let his emotions rage again, but it couldn't be helped. How dare those bastards expect them to bow down and kiss their ass for no bringing them their supplies when they needed them. " Ugh...fuck me side ways.." Crow turned, spat out a glob of blood and started to make his way to the Lab. When he started walking he didn't bother picking his sword up, no instead he just dropped it.

The sun felt so warm on his back for once. He could feel the hate and disappointment ooze from HQ, and it made him hesitate to even go back in. " No..calm down.." He shook the hesitation off of him and walked through the door peering around to see if anyone had walked out. " No one..." He walked in a bit further and walked through the room he had torn up " Did I...really do this? " He stopped and placed his head in his hands trying to take in a deep breath, but only getting shot ragged bursts of air. " D-damn.." He leaned against a wall and spit a bit more blood from his mouth. He felt..sick...

He took a few minutes to catch the remainder of his breath and then made his way down to the lab, leaning on the wall the whole way. Upon reaching the door he dropped to one knee and let out a long gasp for air. " T-Terra..meh..." He sat down fully and grabbed his chest. " Raaaah! " He took a deep breath and sighed " Terra..go and explain that things have been rough. I mean..go after that woman from the Brotherhood of Steel. I don't care if you start today or tomorrow, but I need you to go after her and try and explain how everything is right now. Without their help...we'll never be able to reach what we need. "

After speaking Crow slowly started to dooze off sitting there in the door way.

"but the greedy toad soon found that he could no longer bare the weight or the burden. The rest of the land - although angered by his carelessness - forgave the creature for drinking all of the water, and seeing his distress they decided to help. The water gushed from the toad's bulging belly and flowed for miles, returning at last to the barren land. With their thirst finally quenched, they all lived happily ever after."

A deep sigh broke the silence that had settled in for the past few hours. Her knees were close to her chest, and her head was resting atop her kneecaps. Jay shut the notepad softly and placed it by her side, saddened that her story time had to end so soon. After she had stumbled across the girl and the man, her thoughts had been overruled by memories. The only comfort she had in this house was the stories that Evan had written, but even that had led her to heart ache.

The smell in the house was nearing the unbearable stage, but she refused to move the corpse. It was heavy, it stank, and she really just couldn't be bothered. Although she was stuck with it until she moved on to the next man. Reluctantly, she ascended the stairs.

"Damn it..." She growled under her breath, "Why did you have to die here?" The man had succumbed to the virus upstairs in the bedroom. He was sprawled out across the floor, laying face down. Her gaze narrowed as she checked him over, grimacing when a small mouse emerged from his clothing. It spotted her and darted away immediately. "Vermin." She hissed after it, sickened by the creature's presence. Soon the entire place would be crawling with them.

Her previous caretaker's name was Jonothan. He had been an unstable, paranoid man. Always mumbling something about 'the key', or cursing the gangs. Jay had picked up on bits and pieces of his history, but it was never enough to complete the puzzle. He seemed grateful at least, for her company. Something told her that he assumed he was going to die prematurely. But he had been wrong. It was indeed the virus that had claimed him. "Jonothan..." She repeated wistfully, a strange sort of melancholy washing over her.

Several minutes passed, and eventually she returned to the couch that awaited her downstairs. She shrugged off her jacket and covered her head with it. It was pleasing to think that when she rested like this, it were as if the rest of the world did not exist. It was just her. How she wished things could remain like this. Just... her.

Watching Anel curl up on the bed, Ulric sufficed a smile and shut the door behind him before turning to face Milan with a warm, inviting smile. "I love you." Ulric lipped, blowing Milan a kiss, and grinning afterwards. He couldn't help but just stand there, staring Milan in the eye, smiling... oh how he could just watch her forever. Everything she did was perfect, the way she walked, and talked... her looks. It really was a shame that Ulric couldn't devote his entire day to Milan like he had wanted, but as long as she knew he loved her, that's all that mattered.

Taking a deep breath, Ulric made his way back into the kitchen, and lifted the mug off the counter, putting it to his lips... Nothing like a good "cup of joe" to overcome a buzz - drinking half a bottle of wine would do that to you. In a matter of seconds he finished the now-warm beverage and placed it in the sink, turning around only to find Milan standing in front of him rather than across the room.

Gasping, and falling backwards, Ulric hit his back against the counter with a wince. "Ow!" He roared, "Watch it Milan... going to give me a heart attack." Ulric mused, shaking his head to the side and clutching Milan's hand firmly. "It looks like Anel will be alright, hes just taking a small nap now, so hopefully he'll be okay when he wakes up. But now that everything has calmed down, we have more time for the 'us' factor." Ulric teased, kissing Milan on the cheek and chuckling when all the kids stared at them, disgusted.

"Eww!" Nerissa commented sickly, running behind Milan and clutching her leg.

Smiling, Ulric broke away from Milan and lifted Nerissa up, smirking. "Oh, what are you so grossed out about... ? In a few years, I imagine you'll find someone... You'll probably be doing much more than kissing too." Raising an eyebrow, Nerissa squirmed in his arms, causing Ulric to drop her; before he could catch her, Nerissa immediately scurried off, giggling.

"She'll be the lucky one... not even I get more than 'kissing'." Ulric grumbled, looking up at Milan out from the corner of his eye. "Did you say something... ?" Looking away shyly, Ulric bobbed his head to the side, "Nope, didn't say a thing." Ulric lied, lifting Milan up, and placing her on the counter top only to join her.

Comfortably Ulric laid on her lap, and for the longest time, the two sat their, chatting... but as they, "all good things come to an end".

Feeling something tugging on his pants, Ulric looked down only to find Anel.

GK061490 wrote:"Umm... Ulric... Can you umm... help me with something...?" asked Anel with a shaky and unsure voice. "Umm... Roldan is nowhere to be found and I really need to restock the pantry. I was wondering if... it could be possible... that you could drive the supply truck to the market?" asked Anel, his voice gradually getting weaker and weaker with each syllable. He couldn't count how many times he used "umm" whenever he was interfacing with Ulric. "B-But, if you're busy I'll ask somebody else and umm... sorry to bother you and... uhmm... bye!" said Anel, not even waiting for an answer from Ulric

Looking from Anel to Milan, and back, Ulric sighed and jumped down, pulling back on Anel's shoulder before he could get away. "Now, now, I hadn't answered yet... it's rude to simply run away like that. I have no problem helping you Anel, anything for a friend. However, there is one condition... you have to come along!"

Anel gasped as he felt a hand tug him back. He swallowed his throat and looked at Ulric, eyes a little shaky and uneasy. He listened as Ulric gave his reply and a faint smile appeared on his face. It was rare to see Anel smile as he was almost always distracted with work or depressed from being mistreated.

"Thanks Ulric... I'll get the truck ready..." told Anel before scooting off to the garage behind the chapel.

Friend... It had an unbelievably nice ring to it. Every time Ulric professed that Anel was his friend, the young boy would be filled with giddy energy. He grabbed the ring of keys that he kept in his room before heading to the garage. The smell of axle grease and oil filled the air as he stepped into the dark room. The garage door was broken so Anel had to open it manually, costing a little effort from the young boy. Anel climbed onto the front seat of the supply truck and slipped in the ignition key into it's receptacle. He noticed that that dried humidity had fogged up the glass.

"I thought I asked Drake to clean this..." sighed Anel. Then again, most of the things he asked to people are ignored and he almost always ended up doing it himself.

Grabbing a plastic bucket and filling it with tap water, he grabbed one of the rags laying around the garage and started wiping off the muck encrusted glass. He grabbed the squeegee afterwards and began wiping off the slight foaming formed by the water.

While Toby was glad to see the Brotherhood woman shown the door, Crow's manner had definitely worried him. After he had threatened her, he had readied his chain blade. In armor, it was about the only thing in the entire gang capable of penetrating power armor, as it was designed to do so, and he would only get one shot with it. As she left and he saw Crow's reaction, he was really worried. The entire Brotherhood could wipe this gang off the face of the burned out husk that was the planet. He wasn't about to challenge her, much as he hated them.

When Crow had followed and Meg had ranted, he had stopped and taken pause on it all. He was all for curing ADV-423, but the Brotherhood was... not interested in that, and allying with them... well, it wasn't in the cards. Crow needed to be see the problems of this, but he couldn't fault him for WHO he had snapped at.

When Crow returned, well, that just made him more confused. He decided to ignore it all. Someone else could be the damn runner. He was going to go out and hunt down a new water source, over at the cemetery. And if he manged to bring back a deer or two, so much the better. He would go over to the armory and grab a hunting knife to break down any kills, his chain blade not made to break down meat, or really anything smaller than a power armored soldier. And it would let him clear his head. Or maybe he should escort Terra? Either way, he needed out of this place. He went over to a cabinet and added oil to the chain blade. He would do what people needed of him, it was just who he was. Even if it meant dealing with the damned Brotherhood.

Terra Roshni - Thanatos Instinct, Labs

Terra stood there, clutching the helmet as Crow left, she did not understand it. She couldn't comprehend the sheer brutality of these savage people, I don't belong here. Meg covered her eyes as Terra looked down, Even Meg can't stand it. She's shaking with fury, with disappointment, with pain and all because of 'him'. Meg was up and yelling, and Terra jumped, taken aback by her behavior, she always seemed to have a cool head on her shoulders she was the person that brought stability to the gang.

"I'm so fucking tired of sitting around doing nothing while the rest of this piece of shit planet recovers! It's bullshit..." Her voice trailed off, and Terra was lost in her own world. She originally joined to cure this thing and without the proper equipment it would never become a reality, Tessa could have been the key to her success... The Key! Could she really?.. No what am I saying, I'm blowing things out of proportion again. Terra snapped back fast as Tessa emphasized on her swearing.

"...because he can't see past his fucking nose!" Meg finished. She leaned against the door and calmed her breath, she was clutching her gun fiercely with her right hand but she loosened her grip when she began talking.

"We've all lost the ones closest to us because of ADV. We'll never find the key with the bullshit equipment we have around here. So here's to spending the next three years dying peacefully in the crapped out camp." And with that she left the lab, leaving only Terra and Toby standing there.

Terra placed the helmet down next to her, making a loud clunk noise as it met the thin sheet of metal they used as a table. Crow entered the room, looking strange and paler, paler then usual that is, some blood trickled down his lips. He mentioned her name and gave a loud disturbing sound, his hand was on his chest and he was on one knee. Terra didn't move, her eyes were wide and a million things were running through her mind, even though she respected him and valued his opinions he could become a very scary person.

"Terra..go and explain that things have been rough. I mean..go after that woman from the Brotherhood of Steel. I don't care if you start today or tomorrow, but I need you to go after her and try and explain how everything is right now. Without their help...we'll never be able to reach what we need. "

Terra ran over to him, bringing an ugly maroon colored bottle to him, she crouched down and lifted his head and made him swallow the exotic liquor in one gulp, making sure that he got every last drop. A fire had been lightened within her and her hidden desire came forth, it was time to take action. Finally, Crow was thinking clearly. She looked at her watch and then at Toby, who was working on his chain blade, not seeming to care or notice what was happening.

She felt like a different person, the world was changing all of the sudden, she didn't feel awkward around people... Or at least not these people. She had the ability to change something, to make history. She grabbed a dozen little bottles of various color and looked back at Toby.

"Can you come with me? I have to get to her before night time and you're the best stalker we have. It's getting really late so we don't have much time. Will you do it?"

Kaed grinned as Laea approached, motioning her motorcycle. "Like it?" She yipped enthusiastically, darting her head over to whomever shot them. Her hand darted into her jacket and latching onto the fully-loaded gun tucked neatly into the inside pocket. Her eyes narrowed as Mac ran over to him, and raised an eyebrow once he backed off his dagger.

"What the hell..." she frowned in frustration, setting her bike against the wall and walking toward the men, her hand retrieving the pistol and aiming at the bleeding man laying on the ground. "What is it, Mac?"

Her eyes were narrowed, not trusting whomever Mac decided to trust. She didn't trust anybody - she barely even trusted her own gang, much less a random stranger that attempted to kill either her, Mac, or Laea. Her grip tightened on the handle, lightly tapping the trigger with her finger.

Mac heard Kaed come up behind him and said, "This man says he can help us find the Key. I thought you may want to hear what he has to say." He took the wounded man's gun and aimed it at the guy's head.... No, he would hear what the man had to say before wasting him. "Talk."

The man coughed up a bit of blood, then began speaking. "I'm an assassin hired to kill you." At this he pointed at both of them.

Mac felt a bit of fury, and struggled HARD not to put a hole through the SOB's head. "Who hired you?"

"I'm not supposed to say, but..." he cut off as Mac pointed the gun at a... private area and squeezed the trigger threateningly. "Okay! Okay! It was someone out of the North! Don't shoot me! Please!" Mac pointed the gun back at his head. The man looked at it rather pathetically, then kept talking. "I'm not sure of the name, but I think it was-" And at this the man punched Mac in the face.Mac, who had not seriously expected the idiot to tell him, was ready for an attack, was still caught rather offguard. Mac was sent reeling, and dropped the gun. The man dove for it, but Mac was much faster, even WITHOUT the man having a bullet in his chest, got to it almost lazily, and with a cold but controlled fury, he sent a bullet through the man's chin. Mac swore, and put the gun into his pocket

Thanatos Instinct Labs

Toby frowned. He nodded his assent, however, and readied his rifle and pistol, making sure his chain blade was secured at his hip. He could go out hunting later. He would be able to find that Brotherhood Paladin, but it would be hard and take a while, especially of she was running. Power Armor made her ridiculously fast. 'Besides, maybe if I show Terra she can trust me, I'll finally be on the tech Team, doing more than just scrounging for parts.'

"If we go now, we have better odds of catching her. Not that she'll be hard to find out there, she's the size of a small car. C'mon." He shouldered his rifle, and shifted the weapons on his belt. Toby had 2 spare clips for the pistol, the chain blade had enough energy for 2 hours of continuous use, and he had spare rifle rounds in his chest pocket, though reloading it would take a lot of time if there was trouble. He pulled Crow further into the labs, laying him down in a more comfortable position so he wouldn't wake up with a sore neck or sleeping limbs. Toby just hoped that when Crow DID wake, he was in a better mood, or better yet, would rescind those orders about finding that Brotherhood Bitch. He opened the door for Terra, already noting any of the heavy power-armor foot prints that had left deep impressions in the floor.

Laea saw as Mac killed the man, and cursed. What a waste. Sure, a punch in the face was humiliating, but the man had information. Real information that could help them, and he lay dead now.

Great. Just an amazing ending to her already crappy day. What with finding no new leads, and being pursued by a pack of goddamn wolves that sprang up from no where, she was angry. Furious. Frustrated. And this wasn't making things any better, it was just making them ten times worse. Laea wanted to hurl something.

Disgusted, she bent down to check his vitals, although she knew that there was no way he survived. There was no pulse, he was dead.

"My revolver please," she asked Mac, her voice showing barely suppressed anger. "And why did you have to kill him? He had clues! He knew something! He could have helped us get to the key and destroy it. His life is now totally wasted!"

Enraged, she turned to Kaed. Her anger was making her irrational.

"And don't make me do maintainence on that bike!" she yelled and stalked away.

Her hands were shaking, ad she was muttering under her breath. When she finally calmed down, she knew that she would have to go apologize to them both. But right now, she just wanted to sulk.

Though the boy stared, Church paid it no mind, having become used to the staring when he was younger. Ezra, after all, had been one of few to see him shirtless each time he was injured since the older boy often nursed the wounds. He’d become used to the feeling of someone’s eyes upon him. He merely spooned a bit more of the food into his mouth, then nodded slightly.

The large young man stood from the table since Ezra had regained his breathing and was speaking with the two. He moved towards the counter, the pot he used for cooking still half full of the soup they ate. He dug into a cabinet, Church far more prone to cleaning than Ezra, who was by far one of the messiest leaders in his memory. Church had met a few of the other leaders before their passing and not a one had kept their plans in such disarray as he was used to finding Ezra’s. Then again, however, no one else quite had the mind Ezra had. The boy had a memory for chaos. That was for sure.

The young man shook off the thoughts, though, pulling out two bowls and then wiping them clean with a hand towel. He took great care to ensure that each bowl was even in amount, then nodded again when satisfied. It was as he searched for spoons that Ezra smiled a bit, speaking quietly, the strain not quite so prevalent in his voice. As he spoke, his left hand brought the napkin to the corner of his mouth, having to clean up a bit of soup left there.

“Thank you, Trys. I’m sure they may. After all…we aren’t hostile to everyone. I’d prefer it if all hostilities would one day come to an end, but it seems that a chaotic few would rather the fighting never end. The Key…I’m still working on what it could be. I’ve got…got pages and pages of things and they’ve never been right. None of them. I just…I can’t figure it out…”

The young man trailed off when he realized he was rambling again, shaking his head and then looking down into his soup. He stirred it with his spoon for a moment, then took a bit more into the small bowl of his utensil. He jerked a bit, spilling the soup back into the bowl when Church’s return surprised him, making him place a hand over his heart. He hated how quiet the boy could be sometimes, surprised someone so large could get around without making a sound.

The darker young man slid into the booth seat once more, pushing the bowls of food across the smooth tabletop with the tips of his fingers. He smiled just slightly, then went back to his eating, eyes occasionally flicking up to watch the boy with Trys look around. He found it rather cute that the boy seemed quite impressed by his collection of artifacts kept from ruin. He thought on giving the boy something from his collection. It wasn’t as if he needed all this. He paused, though, when Ezra spoke up once more, though a smile made its way to his face at what the young boy had said.

“Trys is right…you’re too young for that yet. And…if you don’t take me with you, Trys…I want you to bring Church with you. You know I don’t like it when anyone goes out alone. Just…come get one of us when you wish to leave, if you will.”

Milan sat on top of the counter, with Ulric's head in her lap. She played with his white hair while they talked, not really on anything important. It was nice though, it had been awhile since they had spent time so carefreely .. it was very peaceful. Ulric looked up and Milan turned also to see what was up. Anel was standing there, the look on his face told them he had something to say. "Umm... Ulric... Can you umm... help me with something...?" asked Anel with a shaky and unsure voice. "Umm... Roldan is nowhere to be found and I really need to restock the pantry. I was wondering if... it could be possible... that you could drive the supply truck to the market?" asked Anel, his voice gradually getting weaker and weaker with each syllable.

"B-But, if you're busy I'll ask somebody else and umm... sorry to bother you and... uhmm... bye!" said Anel, not even waiting for an answer from Ulric. Looking from Anel to Milan, and back, Ulric sighed and jumped down, pulling back on Anel's shoulder before he could get away. "Now, now, I hadn't answered yet... it's rude to simply run away like that. I have no problem helping you Anel, anything for a friend. However, there is one condition... you have to come along!"

She smiled, putting her hood on so she could hide her smile. It was interesting to watch Anel and Ulric. Anel liked that Ulric called him a friend, she could tell. She looked up so she could see the boy reply. "Thanks Ulric... I'll get the truck ready..." told Anel before scooting off to the garage behind the chapel. Milan smiled again and gracefully slipped back down onto flat ground. "We're going somewhere else, aren't we?" she asked, squeezing his hand. "Are you sure you're healthy enough to go? You seem to be having chest troubles more frequently the past few days .. I could go in your place."

She knew that no matter what she said, Ulric would be too stubborn to step down and stay back. Although maybe it would be best for him to go, he being the leader and all. Maybe he had more plans than he had let on ... Whatever the reason, she would be there. It was hard to separate from him, that was why she only parted with him for short amounts of time or only if it was absolutely vital. She loved him more than anything else, he was her air to breathe, her guiding light, her reason to live ... he was her everything.