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Cipher left his dojo, he started down the street, his red leather coat billowing in the wind. H elooked up, and smiled. "Another beuatiful day in paradise." He says to himself and walks down the street. He amde his way to an old woman's house. She always put a smile on his face when no one else could. he walked in. "Hey Nanna anyone else here yet?" he asks and puts his wet coat upp before sitting down in the a corner chair.

[[ Everyone I was with hasn't posted, so I'm just going to post again. xD; ]]

"Hurry guys," Xaelis said, pulling out her phone as it vibrated.
Zee was well, so it seemed, she knew the girl wouldn't drag her into a trap if it was one.

A smile fell across her face as Xaelis sprinted forward.
They weren't too far away, and it'd probably take all but five minutes to get the her car and drive another short distance to Zee's grandmothers, which Xaelis wasn't too far apart from as she'd been in the Old Rebellion.


See you there, she sent to Zee, looking back quickly before continuing a sprint, hoping the two others would follow.
Her car was already in view.

OOC: I hadn't posted in forever so thats why I had too, but how many times could I have said RAWR get down you little punks. In Cipher's little Dojo.

Mattox stopped when Zee said that they wouldn't be going to a restaurant and did a little two-step to a turn around, happy that he could prolong his return to the hospital a little more. He walked back towards Zee as she disappeared into a nearby electronics store.

He leaned on the building's exterior and stared off into space, relaxing for a brief moment. It was then that Mattox realized how wet his clothes were from the rain that had been falling earlier. There was now a cool breeze in the air that, however light, caused Mattox to shiver. He needed to start moving soon.

Where would they be going? Nothing came to his mind. Perhaps somewhere private to ... talk about the Rebellion? But where was there such a place in this day and age? Camera's were everywhere. No one could know who was watching them or when they were being watched. It was rather unpredictable, but he had faith in Zee's judgement, although he had only known her for a short period of time. She seemed trustworthy.

Finally, after what seemed to be forever, Zee exited the electronics store.

"So where to?" Mattox asked eagerly, hands in his sweater pockets as he continued to try and bring warmth into his body.

" Nanna. " Zee spoke simply, then jogged the few blocks to her lime green bug in the White House parking lot, because they were near there. Knowing how long it would take the people in the WH to get the system back up and running to the President's satisfaction, they ran little risk as being seen together or otherwise.

She ducked into the driver's seat, whipping out her new phone as it vibrated in another text message. Zee flipped it open as she waited for Mattoc to get in the shotgun.

From: Xealis
Message:
See you there.

After it was sent, Zee hit speed dial number one and put the phone to her ear. Nanna disliked texts. After a few rings, a sunny, cracked, and very granny-ish voice answered. Instantly, the vision of a greying, wrinkled woman with a tiny stature and almost anorexic slimness, and yet whose arms could give the most comforting hugs, filled Zee's head.

" Mousey? " Nanna had an odd way of naming the Rebellion leaders pet-names, in some cases names that were very ill-suited to themselves.

" Hey, Nanna, " Zee smiled to herself at the woman's voice. Even after one of the crappiest days in her entire life, Nanna made everything better. Whether it was her optimistic outlook or the wrinkled smile that always graced her face, Zee always felt like everything was going to be OK around Nanna.

" Mousey, what do you need? "

" Hey, we're gonna have a meeting. Don't... don't let Mr. Smith in, if he figures it out, " She hesitated, grimacing as the unfamiliar name rolled off her tongue. But why? Why was it so hard to call him by his real name, his proper name? Because he wasn't a Mister Smith. He was a Randy, bright-eyed and full of ideas, and always brimming with enthusiasm. Why was it so hard to understand that he wasn't Randy anymore?

" You mean my Big Man? " Nanna asked, surprised, and Zee grimaced to hear Randy's pet name.

" Nanna, he's with the Government cronies now. You knew that, didn't you? "

" Yes, Mousey, I did, but Big Man is still my Big Man, no matter how hard he tries to deny it. He's a Rebel at heart, Mousey. "

" Nanna, he's.... " Sighing, Zee gave up. " See ya soon, " She spoke flatly, then clicked the phone shut and honked the horn at Mattox, who was hesitating outside the passenger door.

" Are you coming or what?" Now here was some of the irritated, impatient Zee that everyonbe knew and most loved. Not the quiet, reserved girl who she was becoming more and more these days.

"What?" Sophie asked. The she shook her head. "Oh, yes. I'm fine, just a little wet." Sophie laughed hesitantly as she hauled herself off the road. She stood up, leaning on her car. "I'm Sophie." Sophie grabbed her hair with one hand and twisted it, water ran out of it into the street.

(I know, that was horribly short. I'm working on a role play right now and I don't want to make anyone wait for me. Sorry that it's so short.)

"Nanna?" Mattox wondered as Zee ran off to a little green car. "Seems ... pleasant."

He followed Zee to the car. He wasn't a fan of these cars. They were so small and compact and oddly shaped. Mattox had always voiced his dislike when he saw a Beetle being driven around and now he was to actually be a passenger in one?

Mattox was about to get in the car but hesitated upon seeing Zee on the phone. He didn't want to interrupt or 'eavesdrop' on the conversation, so he waited outside the passenger door for her to finish.

He had been looking out at the White House and the surrounding areas and admiring the architecture and landscaped of it all, when Zee honked the odd-sounding horn. Mattox jumped but quickly regained himself and got in the car.

"Sorry," he said simply as he buckled his seat belt and looked forward, ready to go.

((I would've wrote more, but I must leave for now))

[[ Short, I didn't want to arrive first and I still don't know what's up with Sunrielle and Amaya. ]]

Xaelis hopped in her car, her red Altima swerving off with slight screeching tires as she backed up quickly and rolled down the streets.
The red car seemed to not attract as much attention when it rained, Xaelis liked that.

Zee's grandmother's house wasn't far off, she remembered exactly where it was, so she drove there getting only a few red lights.

OOC: I'm at Nanna's you wouldn't be first hehehe.

Cipher sat impatiently waiting for the rest of the Rebellion to get here.

((Sorry for the short reply... I hate the fact that everytime I'm about to post here, something just horribly goes wrong... I suppose that's what I get for playing the role of a traitor... Haha. BTW, I thought your name was Sophie...))

"Oh..." Troy reacted as she watched the woman, Marie, as she introduced herself, get up. "I'm Troy." She instantly replied, still in her 'manly voice'.

An awkward pause followed. "Are you sure you're okay? If you need to fix up I live just across the street..." Troy's hand moved towards the direction of a small apartment building almost adjacent to where they currently stood, as she tried to offer, temporarily forgetting that the place she was about to go to was supposed to be 'as Gyny', not 'Troy'.

Zee roared the little engine to life, wasting no time as she backed quickly out of her reserved spot. She turned the wheel harshly, backing away and scooting forward onto the turnoff. Waiting patiently for an exit. She cut into a long line of drivers, recieving many cusses and birds on the way out.

Scenery in DC was no great thing. Recently built factories clogged up the landscape, filling the once-blue skies up with murky gray smoke. Even on a sunny day, the sky was always a grayish-blue, the clouds' color dulled. The air was tainted and smelled of plastic and huge processing machines. And on top of that, DC was rated one of the purest cities in America-- so imagine the pollution intake of the rest of the dilapidated country. Ever since the President had cut off employment with foreign countries, America had been left ot provide for herself, by herself. Now that no one could shop from foreign countries, they were stuck shopping in America-- causing booming industries, skyrocket pollution, and also many industries trading quality for quantity. It was hard to find a decent toystore anymore.

But even so, as Zee twisted and turned through the private districts of DC, it was noticably cleaner and more well-groomed. The Richies didn't want their precious air clogged up with undesirables-- even if their roads had to be. She ducked between mansions, until the crowded areas thinned and the houses diminished considerably in size. Soon there were no buildings in sight, just muddy, barren farmland-- no more nitrogen to replenish the soil.

All at once, they came upon a tiny two-story house, brick-fronted and with a loved lawn. It had a dark roof, with various sized windows scattered around the house. The wooden door was falling off its hinges, due to years of steady work.

No one-- besides Cipher, of course-- had arrived yet, but they would come. Zee pulled into the long driveway and was half-out of the car before she could set it in brake. She jogged up to the worn door, spirits already lifting, and rang the bell. A wrinkly, friendly face appeared, accompanied by a slight frame and coils of gray hair, tied back loosely in a bun. And of course, the sunny disposition and smile on the woman's face.

" Nanna!! " Zee embraced the old woman, who was several inches shorter than herself.

" Mousey!!" The cracked voice responded. " But... who's this? " She asked, eyebrows inclining as she nodded towards Mattox.

" Nanna!! It's not like that, you old hag!! He's just... ahm, a new recruit, " Zee went bright red, but stepped around Nanna into the house. " Hey, Cipher, " she called to the man, and sat down at the table where cookies waited, fresh and hot.

" Well, Doc-boy, better get your patooties inside, don't be standing there all day, " Nanna laughed. Oh great, she already had a pet-name for him. Doc-boy? Oh yeah, Mattox was still in his uniform. Of course, Nanna was deliberately trying to embarass Zee, come on. Patooties? What? The 1950's? She groaned inwardly and waited for Mattox to come in.

Cipher nodded to Zee. "Good to see you aren't dead yet from either them or your driving." He gives her a half-smile. "Of course I'm not one to talk." He chuckles a bit reminded of the recent accident he had been in, he cracked his neck as he got up. "And this...doesn't look like much." He says inclining his gaze towards Mattox. "You can do better." He says to Zee sitting back in his seat and taking a cookie from the plate.

Nervous, Mattox held on tightly to his seatbelt as Zee drove -- something that he never saw as a death sentence until that particular incident had occurred. Eventually, he became accustomed to Zee's driving style and closed his eyes, not wanting to see the world around him, as there wasn't really anything to see, and he kept them closed until they came to a stop in front of a tiny, stingy looking house.

Quickly, Zee had exited the car and got to the front door. Mattox wasn't so quick, and he wasn't too graceful either. He stumbled out of the car, somehow hooking his foot on the seatbelt and had to slow down a moment to gather himself. He then, too, went up to the old door that was falling off its hinges and saw Nanna - a very old lady who looked surprisingly sweet in contrast to most of the elderly that he had encountered throughout his life, who were pretty much all very rude and senial.

Mattox wasn't introduced as such, but as a 'new recruit'. Not to say that being thought of as such wasn't a good feeling, but he would have appreciated a little more. Then 'Nanna' called him Doc-boy. Out of all the possible things, he was named after what he detested most. Fantastic.

He entered the house when told to, although, he was unsure of what she meant by his 'patooties'. Mattox followed Zee and immediately sat by the cookies, realizing how hungry he was, and stuffed a whole one in his mouth, no longer caring about how he came off towards other people (as if he did a lot to prevent people thinking ill of him earlier).

A thin smile fell across her face as Xaelis made her way to Zee's grandmother's house.
The green car that Xaelis immediately saw made her smile broaden, as she knew it was Zee's.
All was well, that was all that mattered.

The woman wondered what Nanna would think of her after the three years, give or take some, that it'd been since she last saw her.

Not before long, Xaelis was walking out of her car, locking it and sneakily catching the door that Mattox had almost just closed.

Xaelis looked around the house, nothing had changed, she loved this place.
After everyone had stopped speaking, Xaelis finally did, emerging from behind Mattox.

"N--..Nans?" She said, giving the Nanna her own nickname with a smile, her own gentle voice seemingly loud in the smaller house.

It seemed everyone, or mostly everyone made it safely, even a few familiar, and un-familiar faces were there. Xaelis just hoped the traitor wasn't amongst them, she hoped there wouldn't be a new one.

" Oh my goodness! My Chickadee, my beautiful little Chickadee! Where's my pretty gal been all this time, Nanna's missed you!! " The old woman put a hand over her heart and stood back, taking in the full height of Xealis, who was undoubtedly much taller than herself. Then she pulled her "Chickadee" into a hug, tight as she could manage, then separated and gave her shoulders a sleeve.

" Everyone!! " Nanna cooed, as she stepped into the house, pulling Xealis with her, " My Chickadee is here. My my, haven't seen any of you in... well, quite some time, " Nanna paused in mid-step to give a funny look to the people gathered around at the table, then smiled warmly. " And my Doc-boy over there's a newbie, so you kids be nice. "

" Hey, Xealis. And Nanna, we're not five-year-olds anymore. We're not babies; I think we can manage to not start pulling eachothers' hair, " Zee sighed, rolling her eyes as she propped up her head with a gloved hand. But she couldn't stop the smile from creeping up her face; she turned away to "look at the scenery". Even though she wasn't a child, it felt good to be babied a little. A nice change from the weary indifference from her father most of the time.

" Oh, Mousey, you'll always be MY babies. All of you. Even my Big Man, so don't you forget it, " Nanna tsked warmly, then added, " And you'd do good to remember that you're all welcome here. "

Zee flinched at the mention of Randall, but since Nanna sensed the discomfort of that particular subject, she didn't go into a rant about how her Big Man had to come visit her more often, and how was he doing, and that Randall was her favorite baby boy. For that, she was grateful. But, now Nanna ranted on about other things-- the chatty old woman could get annoying.

" Oooh, and remember the time that Mousey.... and when I first met... and those cookies I made with the butter..."

Ignoring the insistent babble, like usual, Zee got down to business.
" Mattox-- I think you know why you're here. I think we all do. So now's your chance-- tell us, who exactly are you? What do you want with us-- and by us, I think you know I mean the Rebellion. "

OOC: Guessin big man be Cipher?
Cipher just chuckled a bit Nanna always had that effect on him. "So I'm guessing no one here has heard then, my dojo is now a part of the military. I am now training their new recruits. That puts all of us in greater danger but don't worry, they couldn't break me even in a million years if tehy found out." Cipher gave each Rebel there a nod he hoped they trusted his word still. "Although one good thing has come of it, we'll be making more money, I'm good at bitching about thier lack of discipline and they hear me and send me money to work twice as hard...so you may not see me at some meetings."

Mattox, cookies in his mouth, rolled his eyes intensely and dramatically at the second mention of his newly-obtained nickname. He would never get used to it, but Nanna didn't seem like some one who would give up her created nicknames easily, so he let it be. It would just be something he would have to live with.

He continued to scarf down the cookies, one after another. So what if he looked like a hog? Mattox was hungry, and even the disgusted glances his way by some of the individuals could phase him. It's not like they were forced to look at him.

Mattox stuffed another cookie in his mouth just a moment before Zee started up a conversation, asking him questions. He choked a little as he tried to swallow the cookies before he talked and had to slow down a tad. Mattox held up his forefinger to say 'one moment.'

Upon finishing, he thought for a minute, momentarily forgetting the first question asked. Mattox cleared his throat and began, "who exactly am I? I'm Mattox Leung, cardiothoraic surgeon, which, by the way, is the worst occupation ever to exist." He wiped any remaining crumbs of his mouth with his fingers and added, "another little tidbit of information you may find interesting is that I'm a wuss when it comes to the sight of blood. Go figure."

He leaned forward, both arms on the table, folded. "What I want, to be blunt, is freedom. I can't stand the life I lead. I hate doing what I do and I hate the people I do it with. I mean, I want to travel and do things that don't make me sick to my stomach (if it's not for the sake of fun). I particularly hate the dullness of it all. The United States has become boring. And the government is corrupted; change is more than necessary.

Besides, surgery isn't really helping the world, or at least I'm not, and I feel that the only way that I can help is by joining the Rebellion; I also believe that joining is the only way that America can have a chance at changing and being the way it was when my grandmother was my age. And really, who doesn't want to be able to be a strip club DJ if they so wish? Not that that one's on my list of ambitions or anything," he added with a small smile as he leaned back in his chair and grabbed another cookie, this time taking only a single bite.

Xaelis was almost shocked at Nanna, though smiled anyway before loosening up to her old self.
Chickadee, It made her laugh again, the names Nanna came up with were wild, though one couldn't help but to love the old woman.

"Oh I missed you too, Nans," Xaelis said, having to look down to the shorter woman before bending down to embrace the petiteness in one.

"It's been so long, it's good to see you well," Xaelis spoke, almost as a professional.
Nanna was one of the few, if the only who knew that Xaelis was the one who wrote in the anonymous section of the propaganda-filled newspapers as a writer to defend the Rebellion whether it be the Old or the New.
Zee may have known, though Xaelis wasn't even sure of it. One thing she did know, though, Zee definitely could hold a secret.
In that instant, Xaelis was able to remind herself that it was impossible for such a young one, as she was thinking of the Old Rebellion, to have betrayed anyone.

Xaelis finally stepped into the house and sat next to Zee.
"Hey," She replied to her friend before looking around the room and noticing Mattox, a new face.
The woman couldn't help but to grin when he said he grimmaced at the sight of blood, but overall, what he spoke of seemed genuine, it seemed to be what everyone in that house wanted.

"...Amen," Xaelis said with a slight chuckle. She really had no religion, she didn't believe in religion if that made any sense, but what Mattox said seemed to be a proper time to say the word.

OOC: No, Big Man is Randall. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

Zee listened to the doctor confess; at least he was honest. And willing... but did he have the guts? He was bored of his life here? Was that a joke?

" Listen, Doc, " Zee spoke softly but sternly, voice hardening. " This is no game you can quit at any time. It's not a game you play because your bored of your dull life. Honestly, I have a hard time believing that you're serious. You're treating this like a game, Leung; it is far from a gang. But it is farther from a game than you could ever imagine. It is never a matter of whether you're bored enough to play. People die for this, Leung, trying to change the country. You're not going to make any impact whatsoever if you don't have the guts.

" So do you have the guts? Are you brave enough? Loyal enough? Willing to put your life on the line for this cause, that you just discovered existed a few minutes ago?! It all boils down to one question, really. Can you do it? " Zee slapped a hand down on the table, hard. She always got a little over-motivated about the Rebellion; a little over-cautious. They couldn't afford to have another traitor. Not again. She couldn't afford to be betrayed like that once again.

" Zee, " Nanna spoke softly over the awkward silence, using the real name of the fiery girl only because she needed to calm down. " It's not the same as last time, sweetie. It won't happen again."

" And just how do you know that, Nanna?! " Zee spun on her heel to face the woman, who wore a look of uncharacteristic weariness on her face as she looked pleadingly towards Zee.

" Do you not have any trust left, kiddo? " she asked quietly, looking Zee in the eye. The girl looked away, out the window.

" Maybe. I just don't know anymore, Nanna, " she sighed. She turned back to Mattox, but now she was calmer, wearier-- more like a middle-aged woman than a seventeen-year-old girl. " Sorry. But we can't afford anyone who's gonna do this half way. So can you do it? "

"I know it sounds as if I'm not seriously ready to commit to the Rebellion. I joke a lot and sometimes not at the most oppurtune times, but I am dedicated to the cause one hundred percent," Mattox said, trying to convince Zee of his worthiness to the Rebellion as much as he possibly could.

"I mean, I can remember the stories and articles in the newspaper about the old Rebellion and all the trouble it was causing. My parents were so against what you were doing and I was so amazed. I actually had to take the newspapers into my own room to read them because I was afraid of becoming too excited, thus being shunned from my family, so-to-speak. You don't realize how long I have waited to be this close to the Rebellion."

Up until now, Mattox had been speaking rather loudly and now he calmed down a tad, speaking in his regular voice, "there is no chance I would blow this oppurtunity and I want to be able to help. I know I can do what's necessary of me, even if it does mean my life because I know that it will mean change, and freedom, for everyone."