Evelyn's Story

The facility had been quiet for a long time, its corridors devoid of life and scattered with the remains of equipment. A monument to decay was all that remained of a pioneering enterprise into the unknown for the betterment of mankind, or at least that had been the truth at the start. Rust and plant life had colonised what humans had abandoned years before, allowing their secrets to remain buried beneath the earth and forgotten about. Alas time wears away all things and nothing is ever truly buried. Especially when people start bringing down buildings on top of one another.

---

A figure moves in time with the sound of a small ornate music box, her movements almost as unnatural as those of the mechanised dancer as she hums the tune alongside the rather tinny recording. She twirls and dances as if born to it, an eerie grace accompanying her rather precise movements even as it seems somehow wrong. She begins to slow as the song winds down, almost folding in on herself as she mirrors that of the tiny ballerina. Once the final clicks of the music box have stopped she carefully picks it up and puts it away on a shelf nearby. The room itself is rather dusty and in a state of disrepair, though some of the workbenches and one of the side alcoves containing a sleeping chamber of some kind look to be in perfect working order at a glaring contrast with the room and the rest of the facility as a whole. The girl smiles a little to herself as she gently pats the wooden music box before walking back across towards the workbench, upon which a disassembled long range rifle rested. Her fingers lightly caressed some of the components as the lumen lights above flickered, the air clouding a little as dust descended from the ceiling. She turned to her side as one of the few projector systems that still functioned flickered into life and an almost exact double of her flashed into view, abet crisscrossed with static and viewed as an overall grainy image.

”What was that?”

She asked her double, her head tilting somewhat quizzically. To which the look she got was equal parts exasperation and contempt, but a hint of a smile accompanied her words.

”Something exploded, as far as I can tell. Though I don’t know what goes on up above since I’m always babysitting you.”

The projection’s words didn’t really seem to have registered with her audience as the girl had simply returned to the rifle on the desk, where she was slowly and gently cleaning and oiling the weapon before piecing it back together.

”I wonder why it exploded? Don’t you?”

Sighing a little to herself, or as much as she could given the fact she was currently made of images reflected through the air rather than an actual being like her ‘friend’, she faded again and tried to reactivate some of the other projectors in the facility, preferably ones closer to the surface. Though from what readings she’d managed to decipher using the rather unreliable detection means left it appeared to be from one of the neighbouring building complexes though the patchy remains of her database held little insight as to their purpose. Meanwhile down below the eerie sound of the music box had resumed.

The hologram was annoyed. It wasn't that she was lacking in preparation (which she most certainly was), nor that Evelyn hadn't taken any preparatory measures herself. Rather, she was annoyed that someone had come to the lab at all.

The security system around the facility had never been the best, even when it was first brought in, but it fell into a state of disrepair after years of neglect and firefights long past. Even she and Evelyn had been lethargic in keeping them running. As such, the hologram had to pool more resources into making multiple cameras perform the work of one, or pray that one of the flying drones was working. The result of the latter was now lying in a scrambled pile of metal and rust near her feet.

"I should have made her perform repairs on the drones. But no, I thought it too dangerous." The hologram muttered to herself. A distortion in her voice displayed her own frustration, but those were mistakes of years gone by in attempts to stay as safe as possible. The last time she remembered having the system maintained was the better half of a decade ago. Some fool had stumbled into the lab in attempts to salvage material, and the hologram had to shut everything down. With many of the doorways leading deeper being rusted tight the intruder had assumed them locked, and the odd collapsed ceiling blocked further exploration; he had finally given up after being unable to gain entry, and thankfully left. They never got around to dusting the cameras off again.

"Neppie, get in here!" It was the intruders she was trying to survey, making their way in through the main entrance with a creak to the door. Trailing them was the rising noise of helicopters in the distance. Rather than trying to coax a second wind into the security system, the hologram took to the floor with the invaders, finding cover behind the remains of a support pillar.

She soon sighed to herself in disappointment. She was an AI given form; this kind of self-serving cautiousness should have only been foreign to her. She didn't need to hide. Following equally cautious steps from her visitors as the main light flickered to life, the hologram slipped from the shadow of the pillar to face them.

Creeping through the entrance was a pair of girls—teenagers at best. One of them, sporting heterochromatic hair and eyes, was carrying a smaller child upon her back, as well, who appeared to have fallen unconscious at some point beforehand. Needless to say, what the Hologram expected is far from what she got, and it left her speechless. Unable to discern a proper course of action, she simply stayed still.

The teenagers seemed quicker on the uptake, believing her to be hostile as well. The raven-haired girl in the lead brandished a pair of knives, and poised herself to strike at any moment.

Collecting her thoughts into coherency the hologram unhesitantly asked, "Who are you? Why are you here?"

As soon as the humanoid form had stood before her Ember had immediately been on the defensive. This was no mere human. Not if it lived in this place. Ember's eyes narrowed as she glared at the female, carefully assessing her. Cyborg was the one recurrent thought and it concerned her. Evidently she would be physically out matched and there was no promise that her knives would make a dint.

Neppie was not far behind her, carrying the little add on to their party. Ember had been glad to lose everyone else behind but it seemed that fate would ensure there would always be unwanted company around. That or dangerous company she thought darkly once again keeping her focus fixed on the humanoid before her.

"Who are you? Why are you here?"

The sounds of gunshots were heard in the far off distance, but not far enough for Ember's comfort. Therefore she did not want to retreat and be forced out into the open. The other question was she didn't know exactly how many things she was dealing with. Ordinarily she could sense breathing but she could not sense this beings breaths and therefore there could by many waiting around the corners. Best to seem like someone seeking help than an enemy.

Carefully she slipped her knives back into her belt though she subtly left her hands on their hilt.

"I am Ember." She began clearly, her voice carefully neutral.

"This is Neppie and she-" she said pointing at the little girl "can introduce herself. The nearby scientific facility has been destroyed and so we…"

She paused for a moment. What if this machine was working for the scientists? It was possible, however given the receding helicopter sounds and the fact that the humanoid had not recaptured or attacked at once made it unlikely. Besides this place was rundown.

[b]"Escaped." She finished. "We won't be going back to the scientists."[/b]

This last sentence was said tersely as though the cyborg had suggested that it would be reasonable. This whole situation was only increasing Ember's panic. They needed to get moving. They couldn't stay here and argue with this creature if they meant to keep their freedom. The guards would be checking out the facility now she was sure of it as the helicopters were no longer creating their normal rhythm and an unnatural silence had sunk over the area.

"We need to keep moving." This time there was desperation in her voice. "If the guards come here they'll take all of us back….even you."

This last bit was said as an afterthought. Perhaps if she could convince the female, if indeed she was somewhat human, that it was all of them at risk perhaps they could leave this place without suffering harm. They needed to leave, find food and water and then run as fast as they could to increase as much distance between them and the facility as possible. How the hell was she going to do this on her own? They now had the kid to think about, and from the looks of it Neppie wasn't that strong in combat. Mind you she did better than Ember the last time.

For a second Ember wished Xandre was with them. She couldn't care less for him as a person, nor did she trust him 100% even if he had got them out…but Sam was afraid of him. She knew it. The way Sam had not bothered to goad Xandre in the past only using him as a distant threat and always avoiding meeting the man in person. Sam would surely track her and the rest of them down with no regard but with Xandres ability and strength even he might take a few precautions and be slower due to needed preparation. Now that was out of the question, as he had either escaped after them and left or had been killed in the collapse.

Despite the destroyed facility Ember could not shake the terrible feeling that this was all part of some big plan that Sam had constructed. The only thing that she was banking on was that something had gone wrong because Xandre had escaped and Sam wouldn't have risked having someone so powerful to contend with. As much as she was loathe to admit it, she was no match for Sam. Sure she was known as one of the deadliest in the facility but Sam understood her far too well.


And despite all her well thought out ideas she was now at the mercy of a being that had presented itself as neither friend nor foe.

BABBLE

"Both."

Much to his displeasure there were dangers spread all across the forest. The escapees of the facility were numerous and littered the neighboring areas while helicopters beared down on this particular region of theirs. A number of the people who he was directly responsible for releasing were in close proximity, much too close for his comfort. They'd need to make themselves scarce in order to get through without detection lest more unfortunate things happen.

"You'll need to stay close. I'll keep everything quiet starting... Now."

And like that all sound in their immediate vicinity cut out. He was now playing the golden sound, a sound which overpowered all other sounds yet had no sound of it's own. A loud silence. Even the sound of their own breathing was absent. There was a complete and utter void of sound save for the sound of silence.


He was happy. He always loved making this sound as it served to cushion him from the pounding of noises upon his mind. Of course while others nearby him would think themselves deaf despite not actually having lost their hearing he could still hear beyond it. While he could hear sounds normally using his ears the sound he could hear beyond them entered not into his ears but into his thoughts directly. He could feel the sound as an extension of himself, the nature of the sound along with everything it touched mapped out inside his head. As far as he was concerned he was sound itself.

And yet despite being closer to sound than he was to himself there was no better sound than it's absence. It was a strange love/hate relationship he had with this fundamental aspect of himself that he wielded like the thunder of the gods.


They approached the facility but he knew not to draw too close. Remaining behind the treeline he skirted the borders of view from the abandoned ruin of yet another facility. He only had to worry about being detected through sight as he produced no sounds by which they could be heard. Even beyond the curtain of silence he could still hear them talking, both the living guests and their illusory host it seemed. He knew the figure they spoke to was a projection from some machine, it's sound was not natural. While the facsimile could fool normal people which it's synthetic voice but he could literally feel the static rolling off it's tongue.

As much as he was curious about meeting this false human he couldn't risk Scarlet's safety by bringing her close to the mistakes he sprung. He simply continued to stay secluded to the shadowy cover of the foliage whilst circling around the large tomb of concrete and steel.

Hector observed the surroundings. It was clear that they were now free, but for how long? Would they be able to survive in the wilderness, or be able to find shelter with other humans? For now, however, what Ember spoke of was the truth. If anyone needed food, Hector could cook it. He closed his eyes, and looked around as everyone dispersed.

There were bio-electricity signatures everywhere, of varying shape and form. Animals, birds, running water in the distance, but there was a matter Hector had been very concerned with. The rest of the anomalies had escaped, as well. Hector would have been happy, if he knew that many of these anomalies wouldn't use their powers for revenge, revolution, or any of the like. Unfortunately, the facility, despite having it's positives, was not kind to most, and Hector himself only managed to avoid the worst of it by his compliance, and gentle nature.

Hector turned back, to see everyone going off in different directions. He contemplated on who to follow, but eventually, he settled on following Wraith. He would bring up the rear, and guard it.

Hector was used to taking orders from others. In the military, it had always been a voice behind a screen, or a letter, or the like. It had never been personal, but it was never personal for Hector, either. Just a job, and a belief that by following it, he was doing the right thing. With Ember, however, he decided to follow her lead. For now. He didn't think she was particularly horrid. She had been through a lot, but she was not that bad. Besides that, he still had to make it up to her, somehow, for taking that captain's life.

Hector stopped scanning the scenery as he silently followed behind Ember and Neptune. It was the appearance of the girl ahead that made Hector uneasy. Hector was farther from her than Ember or Neptune were, but he could feel his own powers beginning to be affected. He found it difficult to retain control of the energy in his body. For once, Hector was beginning to become nervous. When it came to an anomaly's powers, one could only guess at what they would be. For Hector, he began to assess the situation.

Hector's eyes began to glow a gentle blue as he took a deep breath in, and exhaled. What he could gather was that there were a large concentration of electronics, both working and damaged, in the distance, and the little girl did not affect Hector's powers when she was making physical contact with someone.

Neptune picked the girl up and carried her, while they continued onward. Hector was beginning to wonder about everyone else. If necessary, it would be easy to find them, again. Hector could use his powers to sense them, Ember could use the wind, and Xandre, wherever he is, could use his mind to relay messages to and from each other.

Ember seemed to be interested in the concentration of electronics ahead. Ember looked past her as he followed her, and began to make out concrete, as if there was a building here. And there was, a facility similar to the one everyone escaped from. Hector approached, before he attained an odd sense of foreboding.

From the inside of the facility, Hector was able to make out the electrical pulses, and the way the machinery was operating. The energy was moving, more or less, as if it was an organism's brain. Or a very complicated computer. When the figure of Evelyn appeared in front of everyone, Hector had no doubt that this facility was used to house research on robots and cyborgs.

Hector was about to begin reading the files, but thought better of it. When an A.I. is left alone, in a damaged facility, there was no telling what it thought, or if it followed basic guidelines, or any of the like. For all Hector knew, it was developing new technology down here. Possibly even advanced enough that Hector would not be able to look into it's inner workings without it being aware of his presence. For now, he had to be cautious.

As Ember explained their predicament, Hector turned behind him to the noise of gunfire and helicopter blades. Backup had arrived. Hector became concerned with the others, but he knew that he could not leave Ember and Neptune alone with the cyborg. Hector's ability to manipulate energy may be the only viable way of damaging it, if it was hostile.

But, fighting was a last resort. As a soldier, Hector knew that. Diplomacy was the best option, for now.

Hector, although not sure if he was able to convey that he meant no harm to the cyborg, decided to approach Ember and Neptune. He stopped when he got to their side, and listened intently to Ember's words as she spoke to the cyborg.

She looked uncertainly between the three strangers as the one who called herself Ember, presumably the leader, introduced them each by name with the exception of the small child. The manner in which she spoke of the girl intrigued the Hologram as there didn’t appear to be anything unusual about her yet there seems a hint of something she couldn’t quite place in Ember’s voice when mentioning her.

Behind the group a shadow appeared in the doorway as a fourth addition to her facility entered but given the way the others didn’t react, or at least badly to his appearance she assumed that he was known to them and presumably a friendly target. Despite this the Hologram was concerned due to the situation having now expanded from three targets who could result in harm for her and her physical form below to another and perhaps more after that.
She had ran through her concerns in the space it had taken Ember to draw a breath before starting her next sentence regarding Listening to Ember explain about the destruction of the nearby facility, leading her to believe that had been the source of the disturbance that had brought her out of hiding.

"They are uncertain about this place. They stay clear of it after it collapsed. But your arrival may upset that balance." She paused for a moment before continuing, her glance shifting from their supposed leader to the new arrival before continuing, her eyes returning back to Ember. "Are you alone or is there more of you? Already I can hear them gathering."

The longer they remained in the unearthly husk of a building, the more Ember's anxiety grew. Unconsciously she shifted uncomfortably, her feet itching to move. She considered using the air to move them all out the entrance quick enough that the cyborg wouldn't react, but she'd never attempted using her abilities to affect others in such a way. She doubted they would be able keep their balance and she would not be able to keep them upright without practice.

That was when there was an uncomfortable tugging in her head and a strange type of pressure. She stiffened, immediately gathering all her will to remove the presence from her mind. In that instant Xandre was gone and she had no need to force him out. Nevertheless she gritted her teeth at his intrusion even as her plans began to be rewoven. If he was still around, she wanted to find him. If there was any chance to throw Sam off, it was to make allies with his only threat. At the moment Xandre meant no harm to her, otherwise he would have killed or controlled her then and there. However she was unsure if he intended to meet up with them or if he was merely keeping tabs on those in the area. Either way, she would have to find him as she was not going to rely on him revealing himself to them.

The rhythmic pattern of yet another's breaths entered the facility, and for a moment Ember went cold thinking they had been found out. She was pleasantly surprised to find Hector had moved just behind her. Her relief was still not enough to make her forgive him for his previous, untimely interruption to her plans. Coolly she ignored him, neither driving him nor acknowledging his presence.


"They are uncertain about this place. They stay clear of it after it collapsed. But your arrival may upset that balance."

Ember inwardly rolled her eyes. Obviously they had upset that balance- they'd destroyed the whole bloody facility. She was careful not to reveal her feelings though, not wanting the female to have any reason to side against them.

"Are you alone or is there more of you? Already I can hear them gathering."

She ground her teeth slightly, wishing that she did not have to answer to this thing. Again she replaced her blank mask, and responded civilly.

"I would prefer to remain alone, however there are many more Anomalies now roaming the forest that may decide to add their presence to our group. There is one other that I am determined to find. If there is anyone that can help us avoid the guards it would be him."

She hated to acknowledge it, however Neppie also needed to know of her plans. She had also managed to send a fairly clear message that she was only interested in teaming up with people who would make themselves useful. She carefully scrutinised the cyborg in front of her again. The thing hadn't moved nor made any suggestions of hostility. Did she dare make a move? Either option was a risk. The longer they stayed her and did not find food nor water the weaker they made themselves and also made it far easier for them to be found. However she did not need to open herself up to being attacked. Her growing headache and hollow stomach decided for her.


"If you'll excuse us, we need to keep moving." Her tone was respectful but firm, and gritting her teeth she started to turn back through the exit hoping not to get shot in the back.

BABBLE

Couldn't things just be simple again?

If dimes were wishes he'd still not have a dime. He waited behind the bush, listening through the bubble but not really in the sense that he could hear them. Their words were all but canceled out but he could still identify the noise coming from the facility. They were still in there. As much as having a roof over their heads sounded alright jeopardizing Scarlet's safety was not a risk he could take. Honestly at this point he was at a bit of a crossroad.

On one hand he could continue forth until they reached the city where he might be able to find shelter and a grocery to pilfer but she was quite slow and he was quite hungry. The energy he'd spend getting to a city quickly would threaten to eat him up before he could get a meal for himself and he couldn't just leave Scarlet behind either. What to do... Hm...


He turned to Scarlet before noticing she was offering some miscellaneous items to him, three cigarettes and a packet of cinnamon gum. Gum wasn't his favorite snack by far as it starts off hard and crunchy before getting all squishy sounding, like chewing on soft flesh like some sort of cannibal. In addition it was also cinnamon, the flavour equivalent of getting shot in the mouth. He had no real desire to try that gum any time soon. Cigarettes were just grody, he'd have no part.

With a simple shake of his head he declined the offer. He did have an idea though. When in doubt of how to best lead Scarlet he figured he could just ask her, present her the options and let her pick her destiny. Either which way she could pick he'd guide her to the best of his abilities, it wasn't like he was presenting any choices that seemed like bad ideas to him. With that intent he lowered the intensity of his sound dampening field so that basic conversation volume was no louder than a faint whisper. It was quiet but just loud enough for her to be able to speak to him.


"I-it seems that the people inside are starting to leave. We could stay hidden back here and wait for them to leave or we c-could move away before they have a chance to see us and continue through the forest. What d-do you think we should do?"

The Hologram emitted a strange hum of disapproval, tinged with static that lasted a second or two before speaking again as the leader of the group made to take her leave.

"Others are seeking you. They will bring danger to us. You have brought danger to us by coming here, but also by escaping. They will seek you here. I-I"

Her voice faltered as she cast her gaze across Ember and the others with her, a little unsure if what she was doing was the best choice but she was without much in the way of alternative options as it was. Her hand reached out a little as she stepped forward, her movement making no sound save that of her voice as she continued.

"I cannot just let you go… You’ve endangered us, and you are already in danger. There are weapons below, tools and food. Old Storage that was never emptied, if you will help us we will help you."

She’d moved towards the group as she spoke, her body language doing its best to convey a sense of trust and honesty in her words but the movement was jerky at best and broken at worst due to the malfunctioning imagers.

"I don’t trust you but because of you this place is no longer safe for her so I need her to be safe."

---

Several floors below in the room she’d spent much of her life in Eve was lying down on one of the beds that had served as repair stations for the technicians to operate. She stared unblinking up at the ceiling above, looking at the faded cracks and dents that still marred its once pristine surface. Turning her head she looked over at the wall where she’d placed the weapon she’d been repairing with the others, though for the most part they were a mismatch of equipment and even though she’d fixed them they had little to accompany them to make them functional for very long.

At first Ember thought that would actually get away with it and manage to escape outside. However her movement was cut short as quick burst of static sounded the cyborgs displeasure. Ember froze, carefully turning herself back around lest this sound was followed by an attack.

"Others are seeking you. They will bring danger to us. You have brought danger to us by coming here, but also by escaping. They will seek you here. I-I"

Immediately fear tugged at Ember again. She'd made the wrong move telling this creature the truth. It was evidently making her more wary of them and less hospitable. Suddenly it stepped forward. Horrified Ember immediately took two faltering steps backward. Something wasn't quite right in the way the machine moved. She cocked her head to the side slightly her eyes narrowing in concentration. Despite her best efforts the source of her unease was not found before the cyborg continued.

"I cannot just let you go… You’ve endangered us, and you are already in danger. There are weapons below, tools and food. Old Storage that was never emptied, if you will help us we will help you."

This time Ember's reaction was one of alarm. Not only was she now stuck here temporarily but the crazed piece of machinery wanted to attack the guards? She made a strange noise of disagreement unintentionally before quickly silencing herself. There was no way to win a battle with the guards. Their weaponry would far be superior considering how long this old facility had been rusting away. The cyborg continued to step forward sounding more welcoming, but her movements again put Ember ill at ease. That's when it hit her- there was no sound. No noise to suggest the slight grinding of metal nor the transfer of weight onto the concrete floor. And the movements were jerky and uncoordinated. [Perhaps a hologram?[/i] she thought wistfully, as the cyborg continued.

The was when the cyborg mentioned a 'her'.

"You don't need to trust us." Ember started in a neutral tone. "But we can leave you and thereby keep whoever it is you want safe. Fighting the guards is a sure way to get all of us killed. There is no way I am going up against them, I'm in enough trouble already."

In her panic Ember failed to notice the breathing entering on the peripherals. When the breaths suddenly got within one meter, she let out an exclamation of horror and spun around preparing to grab her knives.

She’d moved towards the group as she spoke, her body language doing its best to convey a sense of trust and honesty in her words but the movement was jerky at best and broken at worst due to the malfunctioning imagers. Her hand never touched the hilts. The nozzles of seven guns were pointing at her companions and her own heads.

"Don't move or we'll be forced to shoot." The man in the lead said evenly, carefully staring down the viewpoint at Ember. "Despite what it looks like, it would do you good to trust us. The names Zac, and these are a few of my men. We are not aligned with the facility, on the contrary we oppose. We'll help you get out of this predicament, however we are not stupid. Unfortunately the use of the weaponry here is a necessary evil, as we are all away not all Anomalies are peaceful."

He cocked his head slightly in Ember's direction at the end.

"Now lay down any weapons you have for Ammon to collect."

A strange ringing sound was echoing in Ember's ears as the blood began to rush to her head. She had failed to listen to Zac's little speech, and even if she had there was no way she would trust a human. Her eyes were mere pin pricks surrounded by white iris in her terror and all she could think of was being taken back to the facility. Her frame began shaking violently once again, her small body no longer coping with the intense stress of the last few hours. All of a sudden she felt very cold.

"The wraiths going into shock." Zac's voice was devoid of emotion. He glanced over at Hector, his gun remained aimed at Ember. "Disarm her."

"We're not treating her until I'm sure she won't kill of one of our men. Ammon, once she's disarmed, approach from behind and cover her mouth."

It seemed by the girls’ reaction to her offer of tools she had made a rather significant miscalculation of the stranger; her motives and her resolve foremost among her margin of error. She seemed more inclined to leave, without issue but alas her being here was dangerous enough. Before the Hologram was able to formulate another plan with which to best deal with the intruders she saw the girl cry out before spinning on her heels, her knives flicking into her grasp.

Within moments the doorway was filled with moving figures, well-armed with the barrels pointed directly at the intruders to the facility. Though in classification both groups could be counted as such despite there existing an uncertain animosity between the two, though, if his words were to be believed only on this side of the weaponry.

The sight of the other girl, who had muttered ‘Neppy’ which was to be assumed a shortened version of her actual name and would require additional intel to process, cradling the slowly stilling form of Ember in her arms was unsettling to the Hologram. Though overall the fact that these strangers had not only brought more to the facility but those who seemed to not be their allies deeply infuriated the Hologram. She flickered on the border between the darkened corridor and the light from remaining sources as well as the now opened doorway, unsure of how to proceed.

"You have been found." She whispered as quietly and sombrely as she could while standing there, helpless and unsure as her eyes locked on the armed guards. The moment the words had been uttered, laced and distorted by static she knew she had made a grave error. The guards had now surrounded the four, but as her unnatural voice echoed in the darkness the two nearest swung round and traced their guns towards her.

“Who said that? Show yourself. Step forward slowly or we open fire.” The man who spoke glanced towards Zac for a moment to clarify before returning his attention to the hall from which the flickering form of the Hologram moved jerkily into sight, her arms shimmering above her head.

"I want to hide. To be left alone. Leave us alone." Now her voice was distorting more as the imagers struggled to accommodate her commands, in addition to her rising uncertainty and desperation. At first she had seemed afraid but by the time her last words had completed she radiated fury, to the point that her body seemed to be wreathed in fire. The effect was only made worse by the loud pops accompanied by sparks as the four or five imagers she was linking together exploded simultaneously. The result was her image winking out of existence and her final three words echoing from the speakers for a few moments as if a badly kept record was stuck on repeat. At last it faded to a dull hum before a final crackle silenced even that.

"Ember! Don't touch her! Move back! I said move!"

The sound came as though from behind a closed door; muffled and altogether distant. Through her hazy sight Ember saw one of the men fall and suddenly someone was holding her. The touch was gentle but she was not in her right mind and her nerves automatically went on fire causing her to convulse in panic.

"Ember it's alright, it's me. It's just Neppy,"

She froze. Her tremors subsiding as her sister held her. For a moment Embers whole frame relaxed, collapsing in Neptune's arms.

Zac watched the proceedings with his eyebrows raised before turning to Ammon.

"I thought I told you to dart em if they came even close to hurting one of our men." he said in a low voice. His eyes accused Ammon as he stared him down.

Ammon just gave him a crooked grin.

"What was she going to do? Throw us into an illusion? She couldn't kill us." He paused, his expression suddenly lighting up to something cheeky. "…Besides she's rather pretty."

Zac appeared to ignore his last comment, instead turning his attention to Neptune, his expression puzzled.

"We need to get moving."

This had an immediate reaction on Ember with the girl once again going rigid. She clung to Neptune.

"They're taking us back, they're taking us back!"

"They're not with the facility, no one is taking you back. No one is taking us back, we're free."

Ember just went glassy eyed and gave up, once again just falling back into Neptune's embrace. She felt herself being rocked and finding herself having no energy to react she just let it all happen, staring unseeing at the ceiling.

"You need to give her space! When someone is having an anxiety attack you don't rush towards them! That just makes it worse!....Hey, you gonna be alright? Do you need me to carry you?"

Ember couldn't force herself to respond. As far she was concerned shutting down was her only option. Abruptly she felt Xandres presence on her mind. In desperation she immediately started mentally calling out to him. She wasn't even aware if he could hear her, but she figured she didn't have much to lose. She begged him to come help them for a few seconds before she felt herself slipping away. She accepted the unconsciousness gratefully allowing it to suck her in to its darkness.

"Do you have proof? Show me something that says I can trust you."

Zac paused for a moment, assessing Neptune carefully before he opened his mouth.

"And how would we prove it? Technically anything could be an act. However think for a moment, really you have two options. One: You fight us off, wander around on your own until Sam picks you all up and takes you to the second facility. Or Two: You risk coming with us.

"We're not your enemies Neppy. We're around here trying to pick up Anomalies to get them away to safe houses before the facility finds them. The guns are a precaution. Due to our moles in the facility we are well aware of the dangerous Anomalies. If it wasn't for your sisters bloody past, all the guns would have darts in them. As it is- darts aren't enough of a deterrent for the more deadly. We found that out the hard way."

His voice quietened at the end.

"We need you to come with us." He said with a sense of urgency. "If we take too long now, the facility will take all of us too and then who will stop them?"

“Who said that? Show yourself. Step forward slowly or we open fire.”

Zac glanced over to see one of his men aiming at a figure in the dark. Suddenly it came towards them, arms raised in surrender.

"I want to hide. To be left alone. Leave us alone."

The voice was distorted and difficult to understand. And then the tone changed. The figure seemed to explode in a rage before the hall was empty.

"Damn." Zac breathed out for a second. "Who is she?"

Ammon shrugged.

"Never heard of her…she doesn't live here does she?"

Zac ignored Ammon, and gestured to two of the men to follow him down the tunnel, calling back to Ammon as he did so.

"Get the rest to the safe house. We can't leave this one here, Sam will find her otherwise."

As soon as Zac disappeared, Ammon chucked his dart gun to the ground. He ignored the sound of a disapproval of the man behind him instead grabbing the bag the man had been carrying behind the group. Walking up to Neptune he held out a wrapped bar of some sort out to her.

"Take it. I know you mustn't have eaten for a while. Sorry 'bout Zac an 'is guns. He lost one of his men a few months back and now he's just cautious." The blonde carefully peered over Neptune's shoulder to glance at the Wraith.

"Yer sister's passed out" He commented, before his eyes narrowed in scrutiny. "She's not really what I expected. Them moles described her as a right terror."

He laughed suddenly, seemingly unaware that perhaps his comments were not particularly wanted. Suddenly his whole expression changed. It held a strong sense of sincerity.


"Are you goin' to come with us?"