New Moscow

Emilia woke up with a crack of sunlight shining through the hole in the brick. It has been a while since she was in a normal house. "What a crazy night." She rubbed her head as she sat up. Last night she had to fight some other Vice's. It was hard, but she managed. Grabbing her headphones she walked out of the doorless room, and saw that everyone else was sleep. She walked downstairs and grabbed an apple off the counter. Wiping it on her shirt she took a bite before looking outside. It was dark as usual in the slums. Emilia had become accustomed to it though. It used to bother her, but it doesn't anymore. She went to the other side of the house where there was no one sleeping. Taking a shower she walked out in fresh clothes. "I'll go for a walk." Emilia walked out the door and down the street quite a ways.

It was a peaceful walk until she spotted more Vices. It wasn't hard to spot them, they always had their headphones with them including herself. From their attire she could tell they were working for Viktor. Emilia jumped behind a fallen tree and looked over it. Unlucky for her they spotted her right away. They turned their headphones on and charged at her. "Crap not now!" She jumped up and started running away from the house. It didn't make sense to have everyone in danger because she led the guys there. As she ran she turned on her headphones, giving herself an extra boost. One of her favorite songs, Till the World Ends came on. Now she was pumped and ready to go. Emilia came to a stop and slid because she was running so fast. As she was sliding, she turned so she was going backwards. One of the men gained on her, so she took the chance to attack.

"Ready!" She taunted him to get a little closer to her. Once she stopped sliding the man took a swing at her. Ducking out of the way she spun around him and kicked him in the back. The other one came at her and she punched him in the face. As he fell to the ground the one she first kicked charged again. Both men charged at the same time, trying to corner her. To no avail, she jumped over them and they ran into each other. Emilia kicked off their heads and landed on one knee. "Come on guys you're going to have to try harder than that." She smiled at them trying to make them have a conniption. That was the usual tactic she used; make your opponent mad so their actions will become predictable. One charged and jumped behind her, while the other came from the front and punched her in the stomach. She wasn't expecting them to do that at all.

Before the man could punch again, Emilia kicked the man behind her and blocked the other ones punch. He hit her forearm so hard it pushed her back into a fallen building. As she coughed a little from the dust, she looked at them both as she charged. The next song came on, Blow, and it energized her more. Her movements became faster and she managed to hit them both knocking them into another building. With a smirk it was time to get the final blow on them. Emilia wasn't a violent person, but sometimes she had to be to stay alive. As they came at her again, she kicked them with all she had, in their faces. With a kick as powerful as that it would kill them almost instantly. With a slight smile she turned her music off. Emilia lifted her shirt a little to see a nasty bruise from the one guy kicking her. Sighing she began to walk back to the house.

It was obvious that they would have to leave the house soon. Finally she made it back and she pushed the door open. Grabbing ice, she sat it on her stomach, and sat on a dusty couch. Sighing again she waited for the others. It would be a hard thing to take down Viktor, but it needed to be done. Emilia had to find her parents, and get Viktor back. It wasn't going to be an easy task though, seeing as she struggled a little with just those two Vices. As she sat there and thought she looked at her headphones and they had a crack in them. "Great." Lucky for her though she was good at fixing the headphones, or anything dealing with technology. She figured she got it from her parents. They were the ones helping with the Vice making, which it was okay with her because she knows they didn't want to. Emilia went upstairs and grabbed her kit.

Coming back she sat the headphones on the coffee table in front of her. Pulling out some tools she opened up the headphones. She was relieved to see that only some of the wiring was messed up. It would be a much bigger problem if they were completely severed. Pushing a button on the side a holographic picture came up of the controls for the headphones. She entered in her password to enter the main controls, and messed around with some of the coding. It was a tedious process, but it was well worth it. She wouldn't be able to access her fool Vice abilities without her headphones. While she was in the settings she decided to add a new feature to her headphones. Now with a little bit more code changing, her headphones will glow when they are in use. With a light smile, she closed out the headphones.

With relief she put them around her neck. It was important to take care of your headphones. Each headset was made exactly for it's user. So if you ever broke them you would be powerless. That was the last thing she needed right now. Emilia needed her Vice abilities to get her parents back. She could only do that though with the help of her being a Vice and her friends. They all had their on reasons for wanting to get Viktor, but they all agreed on one thing. Viktor had to die.

Patrick watched silently from the rooftops. He was working his way through a cigarette. He watched amusingly as the young girl tried to fend of the bosses goons. He loved seeing them get there `arses` kicked so to speak. They reminded him of mindless drones serving their slave master. Then he realised maybe the newer models did exactly that? This girl fighting was obviously not the same model as them she apparently, had a mind of her own.

As she stylishly executed two of them he applauded her from above. Silently of course but the none the less he considered it sincere. He was playing a running commentary in his head like a sports game. He had to admit this girl had skills but what worried him was her age. He atleast was twenty when he received his vice status maybe that was why he went wrong? This girl though he was disgusted and appaled. "She cant be more than eighteen, this is ridiculous" he cried.

Then he noticed they had her up against the wall. He sighed and contemplated what he should do. "To help her or not to help her" "arggh" he knew he had to help her these two men where making it personal and going overboard with a beating, aswell she was just a kid. How could he let that happen to a young kid? Patrick hated guilt... with a passion.

He took out one of his pistols and loaded it. He took aim turned on the laser sights. Then though the young kid fought back and he was surprised with the ferosity that she vented her anger. "Well what do you know, kids got spunk". He put away his gun and followed her along the rooftops until she dissapeared inside a building. He decided he would wait outside and watch the house for a few days.

It was a damp, dreary day for New Moscow. The sun hadn't come out in days, and idly, the female wondered if it ever would again. It wouldn't be a surprise, considering everything that he'd already done, if Viktor somehow managed to block out the sunshine permanently. Just the thought of his name made her blood boil. When she was still a little human girl, she never would have thought it was possible to despise someone so much, especially her own father. But here she was, perched on top of a black, narrow building-using her hawk-like vision to spy on the office of the man who helped give her life. If luck was on her side, she would've seen him standing in front of a large tinted window, that smug smile on his face, and sniped him from her very spot. Of course that would be too easy, and she did want him killed-very much so, but not so quickly like that. He had to suffer for all of the pain and agony he had caused others, for all of the lives that he ruined. A smile of her own spread across Ari's lips at the thought of strangling the man to death. Yes, that would suffice. If only she could get the proper chance to do so, that would complete her life and she would satisfied, at least for a little while.

"Just you wait, I'll tear you and your entire company down." Her black-gloved hands clenched into fist so hard that if they weren't covered in leather she would have drawn blood. She hoped the others didn't think she was insane too, possibly obsessive about the task at hand, but not crazy. She was aggravated about everything, about how her life turned out, about how so many people were suffering, about how her power-crazed father was at the root of all those problems. Sometimes she struggled to stay focused on her mission, but whenever she pictured the man's face she snapped back to reality and became determined again. It was going to be a dangerous, and maybe even suicidal job. She knew well that her father kept the best of security around him, top-of-the-line Vices, other agents ready to spring at any moment should someone attack, and her father was no weak man himself.

That wasn't any concern to her, she was actually hoping there would be a struggle, that would only make their victory that much better. It wouldn't be right if they could just waltz in, toss Viktor off the roof, and watch him become a red splatter on the ground. Maybe that would be nice after a big fight. Sure his security was numerous and undoubtedly strong, but Ari and her group were by no means powerless. The fact that they had free-will gave them an advantage, they could plan and if it failed, ditch the idea and wing it. Others Vices seemed to be pre-programmed and they couldn't adapt to changes as easily.

Ari could tell her energy was running low, her keen vision started blurring and her body felt heavy. She leaned back against the cold black metal of her perch and slid her headphones over her ears. Instantly she could feel herself recharging as Christina Aguilera's Fighter flooded her senses. It wasn't long before she was up and running across the roof, her view of Viktor's office obscured as she flung herself over the edge. Now sure, a normal human would have to be a suicidal maniac to willingly toss themselves off of a seventy-story building; Ari wasn't a normal girl so she could do things like that and survive without breaking any bones. The air rushed past the female and her eyes caught sight of a tall streetlight getting closer and closer. She shot her arms out in front of her body and grabbed hold of the steel.

The metal bent a little from the power behind her grip, but it was able to support her weight. She swung around once, stopping so that she could perch on top of the light. About another five stories below neon cars zoomed below faster than one hundred miles per hour. It was the new standard speed limit, but of course no one went that slow anymore. Ari picked an especially bright purple car and dove for it, landing soundlessly atop the vehicle. She crouched down as it sped over a bridge, where below the beginning of the slums could be seen, and once again she lept over the edge. Thirty feet below she made another successful landing on a raggedy roof, being extra careful not to fall through one of the already existing holes.

Ever since they had ran away from the termination plant, Ari and the group had been living in a shabby house in the slums. It wasn't too bad if you didn't mind the occasional burglar-which was always dealt with, or a leak in the roof. They were alive and able to change the outcome of the future, that was all that mattered. Ari wouldn't be picky since it always could be worse, they could've been living on the streets, hungry and exposed to the elements. Sometimes Vices patrolled certain sections of the slums, and having a roof over their heads made it easier to stay hidden from them. She was extra careful to look out for them now, she didn't want to risk being followed and them finding their hideout. Instead of continuing her roof-to-roof routine she landed noiselessly on the wet ground and frowned when a murky puddle splashed on her tight-fitting, black leather pants. "I seriously need to invest in more clothes." Ari quickly darted through the maze of alleys and back to her temporary home. She hadn't seen any Vices nearby so it looked like she would have a rare fight-free morning. It was a shame she couldn't say the same thing for Emilia.

"Get in a fight? I guess you won considering you're still alive and all." She grinned at the black-haired female on the couch, eying her bruise. "Oh, would you mind taking a look at my headphones? Sometimes the music stops for a few seconds and I have to tap them to get it back playing." She knew if she ever needed anything done to her gear, Emilia was the perfect girl to ask. "We need to come up with a plan," she huffed and sat down on the edge of the couch, "here we are hiding while Viktor is out just destroying what's left of the world." She sat back and closed her eyes, they had a lot of work to do.

Candice woke up to darkness, laying on her back and looking straight up where there should be ceiling. All Candice could see at the moment was the dark that enveloped the room. As she lay on her back, she folded her hands above her flat stomach, and tapped her index finger against her knuckles. For at least 10 minutes, Candice lay there, looking up into the nothingness. Finally, she rolled over onto her right side, and reached over to turn on the small light by her bed. The light spilled across the room, illuminating all the things that were nothing but members of the darkness. Candice gripped the top of her blue comforter, and pushed it down to her mid thighs. She sat up and slowly kicked her legs off of the side, stretching slightly before huffing and letting herself relax into a crouched sitting position. She placed her hands on the right edge of the bed, and pushed off of the soft and warm bed. Candice yawned and involuntarily picked up the headphones placed on her nightstand. She scrolled through all the songs, starting from the very beginning of her 400 song playlist. Candice then reached over and yanked the blinds open.

"New day, no sun. Typical." Candice said as she looked out of the window from the corner of her eye. She sighed and collected a few clothes for after her morning shower. She tucked the v-neck and skinny jeans underneath her arm, and reached over her bed to close the blinds once more. She turned away from the window, her bed, and the nightstand, and began to walk towards the bathroom. Her feet made no sound against the carpet, and when she arrived in the bathroom, she silently pressed the door close. She placed her clothes and her headphones on the bathroom counter, before turning the water on. The shower cleansed her mind, and she almost forgot all of the dangers that could be waiting for her outside. When she was finished, she wrapped a white towel around her frame, and left her hair to drip and air dry. Candice quickly dressed herself in the clothes, and made sure the floor was dry so no one would slip and injure themselves. On her way out, Candice looked in the mirror at herself, looked down at the floor, and walked out, shutting the light off behind her.

Once Candice left the bathroom after her shower, she re-entered her room. She grabbed a pair of silver flip flops, and then looked around her room, feeling as if she was forgetting something. She looked in her closet, and saw her large grey hoodie. She quickly tossed it ontop of her v-neck; she wore it because it would cover her headphones. When other Vices would see those and recognize her face, she knew she would be attacked. Once Candice had her outfit complete, she placed her headphones over each of her ears, and began to leave her bedroom.

When Candice arrived outside, she placed her hands in the front pouch of her large hoodie, and nodded her head to the beat of the music. She looked up evey now and then, and would look right back down when she saw that no one was there. She had noticed that Emilia was gone when she woke up, and if she ran into her, that would be the least of Candice's worries. Candice walked down the sidewalk, smiling to herself. She looked up once more, but into the eyes of a man far too close to her face. In fact, the person seemed to be walking the opposite way she was, and they had almost bunked heads. Candice halted to a stop, and then looked up at the face.

"Sorry, excuse me." She said, starting to move around them. They blocked her way, and Candice knew her mistake. She had looked back at their face, and they had recognized her. "Look, I'm trying to be nice, just move." Candice said, trying once more to move around him. This time he pushed her away roughly by pushing her with his chest. Candice stumbled backwards a few steps. She had a short temper when it came to people annoying her for no reason. Her cheeks heated to a rose pink and she frowned deeply.

"I said, move." Candice said, stepping forward and pushing him back. He grabbed her arms and tried to push her on the sidewalk, but when he grabbed her up, she kicked him in the stomach. He fell backward and dropped Candice, and she jumped back up when she fell down. When he was getting back up, Candice stepped up and pushed him over once more, kicking him in the face this time. "You don't listen!" Candice yelled. Her temper was rising quickly, and it didn't help that 'I Need A Doctor' came on. Candice was kicking him at a blurring pace, and she realized she had pummeled the man to almost a pulp. She sighed from the effort, and began to jog, not coming off of the energy high since the song was still on.

Candice pulled her hood up over her long multi-brown hair after that, not wanting anyone to even see her face anymore. She couldn't stop thinking about what she had done, but she comforted herself with the simple fact that it was plain self defense. Thinking that Viktor had probably sent that person out to find Vices like herself, that rebelled against him and his rule, made her even angrier. She ran harder, and it felt like her feet were making indents in the hard cement. They were.

Candice was still coming off of her high when she saw the house in sight. She came down to a slow walk, and walked up to the front door. Her body was still tingling from the attack and her run. She dug her key out of her pocket, and turned it in the door. She saw Emilia and Ari, and she smiled at them and settled on the couch.

"Good morning." She said.

Lance like usual woke up hot and sweating from a bad dream. New Moscow was a great place. But the slums weren't a light rain building in the sky. It was going to be a day alright. He could tell. His earphones were already in as he step out the shower and began putting close on. He wondered what the others were doing at that time. They all had different reasons for wanting the crazy mad man of a dictator died. But as long as he died Lance didn't Are. As long as it was buy his own to hands. No gun. No blade. Not even a drug or poison could kill him, just Lance's bare hands.

He didn't know the motivation of others. He didn't really care but he did wonder sometimes. He was usually not very kind and cold around them. Just like he liked it. After a little while of hard thinking he finally got his long sleeve on and put his knifes there. Then put a knife in his shoe and walked out almost slamming door. But he didn't care at all. He would always be alone. So he neVer worried about any else around him. They were just people in the moment. Soon they would be gone like the wind. Gone like the essence of happy memory's.

When he was outside he steered clear of anyone not wanting to seem suspicious or any vice he didn't notice to see his earphones and attack. He noticed two vice men coming and a vice lady behind him. Almost shielding her self so no one would notice her. But he did. He turned and walked into an ally way with another street across it. When he was mid way through he saw the three line up in single file and tail him. He turned and smiled."Want a fight guys".

Right then the largest of the men cam at him. He put on Pushing me away at the last second. Making him a lot faster and easily dodged the tackle. The next man a little slower but stronger ran at him. He jumped above him and kicked him in the back of the head all in one swift motion. He was out already. The women being much quicker almost hit him. He grabbed her outstretched arm and twisted it. Making pain seep through her arm and making her cry in pain. The first man who had attacked him then came.

He kicked at his leg and Lance easily moved it out of the way. Making the man kick the women he was still holding. The man surprised at how he kicked his own partner got very mad. He tackled Lance into a building. Ah just great now it would be easier for Lance. The man got up and charged at him. Lance laughed at his foolish attempt. He took the mans he'd and pit into his knee and he was out blood spilling out if his nose. He sparred the men for the had never even touched him. But the women he would just tell her to leave.

Well that was before she cut his cheek with a knife almost killing him. He laughed and flicked out his switchblade like knifes in his shirt sleeve. She came at him hard almost knocking him over. But he recovered and put his foot under hers and lifted up sending her into a wall hard. She got up quickly and threw the knife missing by mere inches after Lance moved slightly. She pulled a big knife on him now it was time to get to work. He lifted his arms in a "x" formation and waited for her to come.she flung herself of the nearest wall. He jumped back and she landed behind him.

She got even angrier after that stabbing her knife into the air around him as he easily dogged each one with ease and grace. That obviously made her madder and she began stabbing harder and faster. Still not getting more than Lances slight attention in the least. He got tired of going easy and decided to end this. He kicked at he knee breaking her leg instantly. She cried and perched herself on a wall still standing. He ran to her putting up his arms to begin to stab her when she lurched forward to kill him in a last ditch effort. Well her efforts failed and his knifes went directly into her stomach. He chuckled. Wouldn't be the last person he killed. He put his knifes away and walked out the whole the earlier man made and began walking down the street again. It was his life and he had to except it. It was a normal life to him. But yet he hated it. The killing. But the one death by his hand he would not mourn or regret is gonna be the death of Viktor.

Patrick had grown tired of watching the shanty house. He had seen atleast two people walk in there, all about the same age. After which he saw nothing, he had decided to take a nap so whatever happened then was something he wouldnt find out. He came to the conclusion that he was not going to get any more information on the residents of this building, he knew where they were and if he felt the need he would go in. For now though, well it was mid-day and that meant he needed a drink.

His walk took him down dark side alleys that caused him to grow ever cautious of his surroundings. He walked past two shady looking characters. He lowered his hand slowly towards his hip. His hand clasped the leather holster that held one of his pistols in place and he slowly unfastened the button at the top. He wanted to avoid confrontation, attention was really not his style. He preffered to be a shadow that way he was safer.

He passed through the alley without incident and his muscles became less tense, however he kept his hand down by his hip. Now he was entering the seedier part of New Moscow, "The Underground". This was where all of the cities criminals gathered in a safe haven. He wasnt quite sure if the security forces either didnt know about this place or whether they simply did not have the man power to shut the operation down. He didnt hazard a guess, it could have been either of the two. After all it was well hidden from the public. For a criminal hideout the place was pretty well laid out. Everything was organised so you could easily find what you want, probably so people who didnt want to be seen down there wouldnt have to spend to long.

Patrick sat down at a gritty bar deep in the heart of the underground. from here he could watch everything. Wherever he was Patrick liked to analyse the situation he was in. Where were the best exit points. What his success ratio, things like that. It was then that a poster caught his attention.



Underneath was a very crude drawing of his face. "Well now thats just insulting. Im not that ugly surely, and the bloody fools spelt my name wrong. They forgot the apostrophe."

Patrick laughed he had accrued quite a rap sheet. Although the wanted poster did not list in detail all his crimes against Sync Corporation, he kept a rap sheet in his pocket which listed every crime he had committed. He didnt have any bad conscience over this. The way he saw it he was the good guy here, Sync Corporation where the enemies and one day he hoped to cut the heart out of the world leadership.

Eric rarely slept when he was out of the city. There was some sort of thought to him that he always had something to do when he was sent out of town, and had more to do than just simply relax. He wasn't a workaholic, he just liked to make the best of what he was put in, and he figured the best way to keep the job he had was to take a few times, trips mostly, to go beyond the call of duty.

What was the work he was getting back from this time? In this case, he was going through some records in the Australia dead-zone. Some random revolt attacked the border, failed drastically, but still took some hits to the Vice count defending the victim section. His job was mostly to redirect some border patrol over to the weaker area, and send some forces in to calm down any chance at a second strike (which included an opportunity to break out an antique sniper and try out his aim). He found a way to do something the whole time, and he was satisfied with the trip, but he was glad to be on a plane home. Besides, weather in dead-zones was really awful, by most standards, even if Moscow was constantly dark.

“Mr. Liftin” Eric heard in his head. It wasn’t unusual for him to be interrupted, especially when he’s on the bullet train home, but a voice calling your surname wasn’t usually something Eric could feel comfortable with every time. “Was the trip fine?”, it asked.

“It was business, not some vacation. What do you want?”, Eric thought. He didn’t even care to ask who it was. The voice transmitting via the chip sounded very stressed, bordering on a stutter, and youthful; most likely, a secretary.

“Mr. Vasiliev wanted me to forward a message…he says to be careful where you go when you get back”. This made little sense; a suggestion to take caution wasn’t common, and in New Moscow, Eric had NEVER been told it before.

“Careful? Of what, where?”, he asked. “He doesn’t say in the message. Also, don’t take your own car; you have a ride waiting at the station”. Eric tried not to think, since it’d just go to the secretary. He just said “Thank you” and the voice dropped out. He tried to recline in his cushy chair in his private bullet-train car, but he felt somewhat nervous of it. Viktor wasn’t one to get worried, and there wasn’t usually anything to get worried about in Moscow. Fun, he thought to himself, I’m not going to be able to completely relax for an entire hour’s trip. Instead of sleeping, he started sitting upright and closed his eyes. He turned on some music with a simple drum beat, and started tapping his hands and feet to it. He didn’t feel relaxed, but it helped him try to forget about it. Nothing bad had come his way in his city before, he doubted anything would happen at all. Besides, he couldn't possibly be at risk of anything; not while there are people still ahead of him in his business ladder.

The darkness struggled to become focused as Devon opened his eyes, rubbing them blearily. He felt around him, and stood up unsteadily, which was a bad idea because he bumped his head on the sloping steel roof that was over him. "Bloody hell." He muttered under his breath, his voice crackling metallically as usual. "Every day. I do that every freaking day.." He lowered himself down slightly and made his way out of the tiny shack he called "home." It was constructed loosely out of rusting metal scraps. Yeah, so he wasn't a good architect. His eyes adjusted to the less-than bright daytime quickly. As he walked through the slums he pulled the hood of his dark red sweater over his head, glancing around. Devon kicked an empty can of soda with his foot and suddenly stopped abruptly, listening. He brought his arms up as slow as possible, the sharp blades in his metal wrists slipping out with a soft click. A few other Vices were coming toward him, but they didn't look up for another fight, he noticed, and jumped up nimbly, hoisting himself up a concrete wall and making himself as unnoticeable as possible as they limped by, unaware of him. He grinned devilishly from under his mask, biting down on the wires that connected to his vocal chords. He jumped down as soon as they were gone. He turned to the concrete wall behind him and traced a finger lazily over the faded graffiti. He stopped and stared at the word carved into the stone, narrowing his silvery eyes.Victor.He snorted and turned around again, slouching and tilting his head upwards. "Victor, eh." He said out loud. Suddenly, he whipped around. A blade slid out of his arm again, and he carved an X over the name, white dust raining down from the concrete. He stared at his work, and added a bit more."Rotter." He added an arrow to Viktor's name and the phrase. He giggled, and frowned. Great, he thought. Now I feel stupid.

Emilia looked at Ari and winked. "Yeah it was a good fight though." She smiled at her friend then picked up Ari's headphones. "I'll see what I can do, I will also add something extra." She smiled again and started to open Ari's headphones. "Yeah I figured as much...there broken." She looked at the girl trying to hold back a chuckle. "No I'm kidding, just some of your coding id messed that's all." She started to recode some things and add some extra stuff. "Good morning." She greeted Candice as she came in. "Here you go Ari. When your headphones are on now they will light up."

Emilia gave her a triumphant smile. "Hey Candice do you want any tweaks done to your headphones?" She asked the girl with a grin. Standing up she walked back into the kitchen and changed her ice out. "This is a nasty bruise." She whispered to herself as she sat back down again. "So guys I've been thinking. What if we go to some Dead zones and get some rebels on our side. It will surely help take down Viktor." Emilia has been thinking of this for a while now, and she just remembered the idea. It would help a lot to have some extra hands on their side.

"So what do you guys think?" Asking her friends as she handed Ari her headphones. She put her own around her neck again. It was their rightful place. "Let me show you your new addition." Emilia looked at Ari and Candice, before turning her headphones on. As one of the songs came on her headphones turned powder blue. Taking them off she looked at the girls. "Cool right?" Emilia was proud of her new invention on her headphones. Blue was one of her favorite colors.

Jordan Jetsworth Basclionavi hated the cold. When he lived in Italy, he'd lived so close to Sicily he could take a ferry out. He was reminded of his hatred of cold when he woke up and he shivered. When wearing a gigantic comforter and jacket with long sleep pants to bed didn't help him. That's what he gets for being moved to Moscow, Russia. He groaned, hopping off his bed stuffed into the corner of the room. It wasn't very safe, but all his swords and pisols hung on the wall and stood on stands. He trudged his way to the bathroom, taking a hot steamy shower. He sighed as the steaming water hit his cold back, contemplating the major events of his life. His father being murdered, his mother moving to the COLDEST place of Earth (For Jet anyways), marrying the WORST man alive, meeting Ari, being turned into a Vice, and finally running away to the Slums.

He got out, blow-drying his naturally straight chocolate hair. He pulled on a crew neck and skinny jeans, grabbing his band jacket and black headphones. The actual band that kept the earphones on was clear, and it fit comfortably around his neck. He walked over to his window and looked out the window before walking downstairs to greet the three lovely ladies already up. They knew he always got up late. He grabbed a grapefruit, sitting next to Ari. "Hey Emilia, what's up with your stomach?" He asked, noticing the nast bruise. He was about to pay attention to the answer when S.C.A.R.E.C.R.O.W. came on.

He smiled devilishly, stepping outside. He now felt in the mood to fight someone. Or something. He walked through the Slums, noticing a girl with neon headphones in a small tussle with five Vices. Okay, maybe a big tussle. He ran over, lashing out a roundhouse kick to one of unlucky Vice head. She looked over, smirking before pulling out a knife and shanking three of the Vices. He knocked out the other two Vices, taking the headphones. "They won't last long." He murmured, smiling at the girl before walking off. "Wait, what's your name?" She asked, a strong grip on his arm. "Jet, now can I go?" He asked, a little annoyed. He wanted to get home before any of Viktor's men came. Viktor would have him and a way to find Ari. And how did he know that she wasn't working for Viktor. "Yeah, sure. See you 'round?" She asked, pulling off her headphones. "Maybe, bye." Jet answered, walking away. He bumped into a muscular guy, murmuring an apology before trying to pass.

"Hey, aren't you Viktor's kid?" He asked, looking at Jet angrily. "Step-kid, now-" He grunted as the man punched him in the stomach, turning on Brick by Boring Brick. He swung at the man, catching him in the eye. He got a roundhouse kick in, knocking Jet into the wall. He groaned, kicking the man so he fell. He regained his composure as the man tripped him and start to kick at his back. He winced, grabbing his knife and sticking it in the man's leg after two swift, painful blows to his head. He got up as the man cried in pain, taking his headphones as well. Only one pair had music he would actually listen to. It was the skinny Vice when he was fighting with the girl. He felt at the back of his head, and sighed as the blood dripped from his fingers.

He started his walk home, only running into one more Vice. She was female, and kicked at his head and back. Even though he had his headphones, the music was faulty and he was starting to get light-headed. He stumbled the rest of the way home, walking back into the house. He smiled at the three girls as best he could, grabbing a towel. He wet it, putting it to the back of his head. "Hey Emilia, can you fix my headphones? The music is faulty." He stated, wincing greatly as his back hit the leather couch. He'd forgotten the abuse to his back, but shrugged it off.

This meant one thing: Viktor was going to pay.

"Do your thing Baby doll." Ari let Emilia work on her headphones, knowing the girl would not only fix the glitch but make them ten times better. In the mean time she looked up and regarded Candice with a smile. "'Morning Candy." She herself yawned afterwards, wishing she was able to sleep like the others. Even a coma sounded nice right about now, but she didn't have time to lay around and sleep all day, there was too much work to be done. She brightened up a bit when she saw Jet make his late-appearance as always. He was her half-brother but she always saw him as her blood-brother. He was one of the very few things good that came from Viktor being her father. She was about to do her usual sisterly greeting when he decided to go outside. She didn't bother following him, there were only two years between them and she knew well that he was capable of taking care of himself. They all were.

Emilia's plan had Ari thinking, it did sound like a good idea. They definitely could use help if they were going to take down all of Sync Corporation, the world's largest company that just so happened to be controlling the entire world. She herself had never been to a dead zone before, but she did hear stories about the places. Radiation-which she was pretty sure they were immune to-, rampant crime, and crazed Vices that killed anything that moved. It all definitely sounded dangerous, but positively doable. Despite the perilous journey, it sure would be nice to get out of Russia for a while. The female nodded to herself as if making up her mind and looked back at Emilia, then to Candice. "I bet the rebels hate us, considering there are others just like us trying to take them out, but it might be crazy enough to work." For just a second Ari forgot about the new plan and grabbed her headphones. She tested them out and gasped when, not only the music played perfectly with an even greater sound than before, but the headphones themselves lit up a vibrant, neon purple.

"Way awesome, you're a genius you know that?" Jet seized her attention when she came back, and instantly her eyes scanned him for any sign that he might be hurt. All of his limbs were still attached, nothing looked broken. He would live, but she could tell he was in pain. "Let me take a wild guess, you ran into some trouble during your morning stroll? I bet you kicked their asses though." Ari grinned, nothing but proud of her brother's abilities. They were all built to fight, but still, even with that knowledge, none of them ever ceased to amaze her. She went back to talking about the plan a moment later, picking up where she left off. "The easiest one to get to would be at the Chinese border. We'll have to fight like hell to get there, and probably more once we actually arrive, but something tells me we can get some of the outcast on our side." She stood up with interest in the new plan and walked halfway to the stairs before turning around to look at the others. "Well what are you waiting for? The world to end? Let's get packing people!"

Ari went upstairs taking two at a time, and made a sharp right into her room. It wouldn't take her any time to pack considering she owned little besides the clothes on her back.

When he got to the house he didn't acknowledge anyone. He never did. He wondered why Ari went to pack up. He noticed jet and the blood from his head. He went to his room and gathered his medical things. He walked over casually without saying a word and moved Jets hand and looked at the wound. It needed stitches not a wet rag. He cleaned the wound and and stitched then put all his things in a book bag. His book bag contained the very little clothes he had and medical material just in case one of them git hurt. He put the bag down and stared coldly at jet for neglecting his injury. Even though he would take the stitches out in one day because of the fact he was vice. He also put a cold glance at Emily for no apparent reason.

"DEVON!?"

Devon froze. Every muscle in his entire body stopped. He stood there for a long time, waiting. Waiting for another voice. It was like his brain was a TV losing connection, switching from static to the show you're watching repeatedly. That was exactly what it felt like, and it was annoying the hell out of Devon. "Look. This isn't you, mate. Ignore it." He whispered to himself, drawing a hand over his mask. "Never forget this, Dev-" He gasped. There it was again. He smiled peacefully from under his mask, because it was kind of a nervous habit for him to do that when he was uncomfortable. Happy thoughts, idiot. He sighed long and hard, leaning on the wall behind him. He tilted his head upwards and squeezed his eyes shut. Soon the headaches would kick in. He opened his eyes and looming over him was a house. It was a nice house, too. And for some reason, it was giving Devon a horrible prickling feeling from his spine all the way up to his scalp. He narrowed his eyes and reached a hand to his headphones carefully, and suddenly a ringing, heavy pain struck his head violently. Devon cried out, his voice choking from his damaged throat, and he clenched his head in his hands, breathing heavily. Blurry red spots swam in front of him as the pain slowly faded out gradually. He closed his eyes, sliding down. He smoothed his hair back, pressing his hand down tightly to his skull. He wondered why these visions always came to him. He really hoped that they weren't his own.

Emilia laughed at her friends. "Of course I can!" She smiled at Jordan and began to work on his headphones. Once she was done she looked at Candice and Jordan before standing up. "Well here you go. And we should get packing too." She was a bit more serious this time in speaking. Emilia went upstairs and started packing. She looked at Lance. "Don't be that way. Come on lighten up a bit!" She yelled as she went the rest of the way of the stairs. Getting into her room, she pulled out a bag and threw what clothes she had at the time in it.

"I'll see you guys soon." Her eyes lowered on a bracelet her mother gave her. She put it around her wrist and zipped the bag closed. Emilia put the bag on her shoulder and headed towards Ari's room. "Hey are you ready?!" She barged into her room without any form of consent. Emilia new Ari like she was her sister so it didn't matter. "Hey we should leave soon." She told her as she leaned up against the wall. "I have a good feeling about this. I think I'm going to find what I'm looking for." She knew that Ari knew what she was talking about. It was the most thing she wanted in her life. If she could find them she wouldn't care as much what would happen to Viktor. Of course she cared for Ari, but it would be a tremendous help if her parents were there. They were the ones who helped create the Vice's. How could that not be a help?

Patrick had sat at the bar for about 15 minutes. More then enough time to finish his drink. He got up slowly and walked over to the wanted poster and carefully tore it down. He laughed at it again and folded it gently placing it inside his coat pocket. It was getting colder now. More than it already was. Patrick pulled up his coat and took a box of cigarettes and a lighter out from underneath the coat. He placed a cigarette up to his lips and lit it with the lighter. The end of the cigarette began to glow and he withdrew the lighter and put it, along with the box, back into a pocket underneath his coat.

He walked out of the underground clasping the holster of his gun once more. He felt like he was at home in the seedier parts of the city but he was very cautious nonetheless. He walked back towards the house where he saw the two vices walk in earlier. It took him another thirty minutes to find it. His memory wasn't that good when it came to locations but he found it eventually. He waited outside for a few minutes he wanted to make sure no one had followed him and no one was watching him. He looked on the rooftops and down the alley he had just come from. There was no one there. He walked slowly up to the door and knocked. He paused for a few seconds and then said "I know theres someone in there, come on now open the door up im freezing" his Irish accent stuck out a mile in Moscow.

Lance almost laughed at Emily's comment. Almost that is. He just gave her a hard to do bleak smile. It ws pretty empty. He just put his earphones and put on 6 foot 7 foot and jut nodded his head and thought. He did that when he was troubled. Whichhappened a lot. Everything around him vanished. He got up and jumped ot the window and left. He 'd be back be fore they left. That's all he knew. As far as where he was going he didn't know. No one cared enough to follow he already knew. He was the most bitter of all of them and welcomed the loneliness he would always feel. He had a heart that only beated because of hatred. Well that's what he thought at least. Because knew no one cared for him anymore. He walked across and street and blackout. He was probably going to kill someone again. Like he always did when blackout like that....

Ricky sighed, lounging in her office. She'd have to talk to the English chairman, the one that always called her by her full name. As did Viktor and the Vices, but those were less important to her. Eric was a human, and unlike Viktor she could actually talk to him. She smiled at her young secretary and gave him a hug before leaving. She dialed the other chairman, answering with. "Erickson Liftin, good to talk to you again." She got onto the limo, checking the driver twice before letting him take off. She tucked a piece of her curly orange hair behind her ear and straightened the skirt of her Kimichi Blue strapless dress. She poured a glass of champange before continuing. "Listen Erickson," She started, taking a sip of her drink.

"We need a plan to target and capture these free-willed Vices. They are cuasing too much trouble, and from what I've attained information on New Moscow is already sending more guards on patrol for these Vices." She continued, annother beep coming in. "Hold on a sec'" She said to Eric, changing to the other call. "German Chairwoman Oritz speaking?" She answered, slightly annoyed. "Ms. Oritz, the streets are not safe-" "I don't care if the streets are safe or not I just want to get to my loft and go to sleep." She interrupted, glowering as the driver stopped. "Ms. Oritz, you-" "That's it, i'm walking." She growled, stepping out onto the wet sidewalk. Her black strap-on heels clicked against the pavement as she pulled her big umbrella out which shielded her hair from the German rain.

I hate rain! she thought to herself, looking incredibly out of place on the grimy streets of downtown Berlin. "Are you lost?" A young man asked, smiling. "No, thank you." She answered, trying to walk on. "Are you sure, 'cause this is the wrong way to my place." He slurred, obviously drunk. She turned on her heel and tried to walk away again before he grabbed her wrist. She kicked him hard in his personal space, stepping over his body and moving on.

"Now what were you saying Erickson?"

Ari was busy shoving her few pieces of clothing into a black bag when she heard the door open. She knew almost instantly that it was Emilia by the sound of her light footsteps. "I'm almost ready to go, chill out, we'll be in China before you can even blink." She laughed at herself, then the expression on her face changed to a much more serious one. She knew Emilia missed her parents and hoped that some day she would be able to find them. Maybe after, not if, but after they got rid of Viktor, her friend and her parents would be able to live like a normal family.

The girl didn't dwell on the thought for too long, she didn't want to risk distracting herself from the task at hand. "I'm sure they're out there somewhere, we'll find them, don't worry." Ari patted Emilia's shoulder and slung her bag over her own shoulder. "Now lets get going, the sooner the better." She wondered if they would actually be able to get out of New Moscow without a hassle, and if so, what was waiting for them on the way to the dead zone? She was excitedly anticipating a good fight.

All the way from upstairs in her room she could hear an unfamiliar voice at the door and her muscles tensed up, ready for a fight should one break out. She looked at Emilia, her expression giving no emotion away. "Get ready to run, if it's an attack and more than we can handle, go out the back window and meet me under the bridge." Ari instructed the girl carefully then went back downstairs, poised to fight back if needed. She opened the door, halfway expecting for a swarm of Vices to barge in and start throwing punches, but she was surprised to see just one standing there. Eyes narrowed she examined him with scrutinizing eyes, her hands placed on her hips. "Can I help you?"

Eric was somewhat confused by the constant pauses, but chose not to concern himself with. Being told his life was in danger, he didn't really think too much further on the subject. He just wanted to find out why, and if possible, stop it from happening. He managed to stress himself out enough that he was pacing in his train car.

"Now, what were you saying, Ericson?", she said angrily. This somewhat tensed up Eric.

"Well, Richarda-"

"UGH!" she interjected. He just moved on.

"I just want to know why someone or something's after us. You've been called to be warned, haven't you? 'To be careful', or something or other? I know we've had Vices get out and cause trouble in the slums, but to be honest, I'm somewhat worried this time". Eric was bizarre like that; he seemed to treat everyone like a friend, despite him not knowing that, at the moment, Richarda was multi-tasking enough that it didn't matter to her what he said.

"I told you already, we're sending more patrol in to deal with them. Thing'll be perfectly fine"

"Yes but we've never gotten death warnings! We've put more Moscow patrol in several times, last I checked my safety was looking better every day, not worse!" Eric sighed and tried to calm himself down. A PA in his train car went off loudly; "We will be arriving in New Moscow station in fifteen minutes. Eric used the interruption as a chance to sit down in a chair for a change.

"Well its about time somebody opened the door" he replied stiffly clenching his coat together "My name is Patrick O'halloran. Ive seen one or two of you fight the other vices. I saw enough to know that ye are not like the other vices, the mindless drones serving their master." "I have a proposition for you. I am skilled at what I do, in fact i dare say I am one of the best. I know how to break into almost every sync corporation facility and get out without being noticed." He took out the wanted poster that he tore down earlier from his pocket. His fingers were freezing cold and stumbled to unfold the wanted poster. They where so stiff it was never normally this cold in Moscow. He handed it to the girl at the door hoping she would be able to unfold it.

He stood there looking her up and down trying to figure out what they where doing here in Moscow anyway. Silly to hide in the capitol city he thought. He also found that she didn't seem to be unnerved by a stranger walking up and knocking on the door. After all they where on the run weren't they? "Basically my proposition is that let me stick around with you guys for a while. Ye seem to know what ye are doing, i will just tag along for a while and when i get what i need I will bother ye no more." Then he managed to get a glimpse inside the door, it wasnt the best of living conditions it seemed. They must have been scheduled for termination he thought if they were this desperate to hide.