Legends

[Voyd]

Cat lunged at the men as he heard a cry come from Sarah; what had they done?!
“Let her go!” He yelled, feeling the wind whip around him as he faced the group of guards.
The men laughed loudly, their grip on Sarah’s arms tightening.
“Hey!” A voice came from over his shoulder, confident and commanding. “He said to let the lady go.”
The small band of strangely-clad rescuers stood threateningly before the hesitant guards, obviously ready to deal some very serious hurting.
“And we’d hate to break a sweat making you.” One of the group added, smirking.
When the guards remained silent, still intent on holding the Half-Fae captive, one stepped forward, a smirk planted firmly on her lips. Her bi-colored hair was in four tails going down past her hips, swaying lazily as she stepped forwards.
“Now, this might shock you at first,” She warned, reaching out a hand to clamp down on one of the guards arms. “But you won’t feel it for long.” She finished.
The man froze for a minute before the air crackled ominously, and he flew back several meters after strips of lightning had peeled themselves off the girl, striking almost directly at his heart. Which, after the stress of having to hold back a very angry Half Fae, promptly decided that going on was not worth it, and gave up.

Seeing this, the rest of the group sprang into action; one with blonde hair and a long dark red coat leapt up a tree to jump towards the tail of the helicopter circling above, another two started towards the jeep heading towards them, and the left over two went to work getting rid of the guards still stupidly trying to hold Sarah back.

The blonde girl flipped around the tail blade of the helicopter, the edge of the spinning blades barely missing her legs as she landed hard on the thick metal spoke, grabbing onto the freezing metal before she could slip off completely. Pulling herself up, she prepared for the next phase of her part.

As the helicopter swung madly to try to shake the attacker off its tail, the load suddenly lightened and the pilot breathed a sigh of relief. Very short relief, as she swung hard on the rail beneath the copter, flipping around and booting the two machine-gun-wielding guards in the back out of the chopper.
After quickly disposing of the pilot, the girl sat down in the pilot seat, slipped on the headphones and looked at the controls for a moment.
“Uhhh… go right?” She asked, gently pushing at the throttle (*cough* joystick), a strange grin flourishing on her face as the helicopter moved. “Big red button!” She squealed, stabbing down at said button.
Luckily, she missed.

The two heading towards the moving jeep, however, didn’t. One of them turned transparent while the other placed well-aimed fireballs on the guards, who quickly gave up on driving the jeep while on fire, abandoning the vehicle. The jeep swerved violently for a moment before the girl appeared behind the wheel, wrestling the vehicle under control as the curly-haired boy jumped in beside her.
“Smooth driving.” He commented as she steered towards the pair dealing with the guards.
“I don’t recall putting ‘can drive military truck’ on my resume.” The girl shot back, furrowing her brow in concentration and flicking back her long raven hair.
“I didn’t think you HAD a resume.” He muttered, holding onto the door and the back of the seat as she turned the jeep sharply.
“Well, if I had, I wouldn’t put anything about vehicles on there, would I?”

The guards were having about as much luck holding back the Faes, now combined in trying to finish them off, as an icicle in a microwave. After dispatching the two trying to hold Sarah back, the four teens now moved on to the guards holding the other designated ‘freaks’ back.
“Damn, this was a new coat.” The one with red and black hair commented, lifting her arm as she walked to show a few ripped stitches.
“I’m sure we’ll be able to fix that when we get back to base.” Her companion commented, stopping short when she saw the black muzzle of a machine gun aimed at them.
“What?” The first girl asked, taking a step forwards.
“Ebi, stop, he-” The second girl shouted, grabbing her comrade by the arm and jerking her back as a spray of bullets tore apart the ground where she had been standing.
“Now that’s just not cricket.” Ebi commented as the guard leveled the gun at them once more. “Miri…”
Said Fae cringed but brought up her hand the split second before the man pulled the trigger.
The man froze for a second, his eyes bulging, before he dropped to his knees on the wet grass, the gun falling from his grip as a blood-curdling scream tore itself from his lungs, making the girl in the jeep jump slightly and lose control of the vehicle that was already careening madly, its wheels spinning crazily in the mud.
The man, however, was paying no attention to any of this as every molecule of water in his body was being violently ripped out through his pores, soaking through his uniform.
“Nicely done, Miri.” Ebi commented, leaning down and kicking the gun away from the still man’s reach.
“Why couldn’t you do something?” Miri snapped, grimacing and wiping her webbed hands on her trousers. “You KNOW I hate doing that…”
“I had to take care of the guy behind us.” Ebi replied, looking smug as Miri glanced back and saw the second guard, now virtually unrecognizable in the charred state that he was, laying face down on the ground. “And Cat and Sarah were getting the others. You were coming?” She carried on, picking up the keys from one of the fallen guards.
“Yeah.” Miri said with a sigh, following Ebi to the chained ‘freaks’.

The two commandeering the vehicle, however, were not having such a rosy time.
“I-am-so-glad-I-put-on-a-seatbelt!” The boy managed to shout in fragments as the jeep spun wildly, finally flipping over in the thick mire and coming to rest on its side.
“Well, that was graceful. Remind me to get you driving lessons when we get back.” He commented as the girl swore at great length, slamming her hands down on the wheel while trying not to fall out of her seat. Needless to say, she failed.
“Neo, if you say ANYTHING, I will PERSONALLY get Ebi to murder you extremely painfully right before dinner.” She growled, using him to stand on as she rose and pulled herself from the vehicle.
“And why would you think I would say anything?” Neo asked, mock-offended as he clambered out of the jeep, watching the wheels spin for a moment before stretching. “I think we may want to get Cat to get that the right way up again.” He commented, and the girl nodded her agreement.
“Because you’re male. And, definitely. Preferably before it sinks into the mud.”

There were only a few designated ‘freaks’ standing when they finally got the chains unlocked, after a lot of cursing and glancing around to make sure Truth wasn’t directly over their shoulders to chastise them on their language. She was, in fact, helping Dee, Dor and Tom signal to the helicopter to land, but that wasn’t exactly helping their cause at the moment.
After unlocking the manacles, only one didn’t immediately run away from the strangely attired group, which was quickly joined by Neo and the girl. She was about medium height, with vibrantly violet hair and deep hazel eyes, and a supremely confident air.
“So, I take it you’re the rescue attempt?” She asked, eyeing the helicopter as it came in to land, making Dor jump haphazardly out of the way and land face-first in the mud. “A bit ill-conceived, don’t you think?” She watched as a grinning blonde head emerged from within the chopper, apologizing to Dor while trying not to laugh too hard.
“Take it or leave it, we’re all that’s going to happen.” Ebi informed her, shooting a strange look at the chopper. “So… you in?”
“Do I really have a choice?”
“Not really.”
“Well then.”
“Well.”
“I’m NOT riding in that chopper.”
“Neither am I.”

“Hey Tom!” The girl shouted, waving to the blonde boy, who grinned and walked closer to the chopper, ducking the spinning blades. “Coming?”
“Sure thing, Voyd.” He replied, climbing in the back of the aircraft to make way for Truth and Dee.
“Aren’t you coming?” She asked as the Fae started to back away.
“Firstly, I don’t trust your piloting skills, secondly, I have heard WAY too much about you to trust you with my life, and thirdly, I’m going to help Cat.” Dor snapped, missing the hurt expression on the girls face.
She paused for a minute before sighing, pushing the microphone away from her mouth, taking up the controls and grumbling as the helicopter rose steadily, leaving the now decimated base behind. It was only going to get more decimated.

The helicopter landed once more in a conveniently empty parking lot – except for a tour bus that looked very out of place.
But not half as out of place as the girl who stepped from it. She was relatively short and slim, with pale skin, dirty blonde hair and deep hazel eyes. That is, however, where the ‘relatively normal’ part ended. Growing out of her head were two dark brown furry cat ears, matched by a tail of the same color and texture. The irises of her eyes were larger than normal, giving her a slightly shocked-distracted look. This appearance was intensified by the fact that she kept eyeing a bird a few meters away strangely.
“Took your time, Voyd.” She commented as the blonde climbed out of the helicopter.
“Ah, stuff it Harper. How am I supposed to know how to drive those things?!” Voyd shot back, climbing into the bus and disappearing up the stairs (yep it’s one of those cool ones with two levels ^^).
“Was it really that bad?” Harper asked as Tom climbed from the back seat.
“That and a bit worse. Why don’t any of you know how to drive?” Tom replied, shaking his head slightly as if to clear it.
“Mostly because we all look too young and can’t get decent IDs.” Harper glanced back towards the bus, where a boy wearing a grey cap that covered his azure blue hair, casting a shadow over almost matching cobalt eyes, climbed out, grinning as if he had just heard a particularly amusing joke. Other than the blue hair, there was definitely something…different about him. Namely, his black-and-white striped skin, small black fuzzy ears sticking out of his cap, and the striped tail that was in constant motion behind him.
“So, who ticked off Voyd?” He asked, jerking his thumb back towards the bus as he joined Harper and Tom.
“Dunno – does she need any more reason than she already has?” Tom asked in reply, shrugging his shoulders.
“True.” The boy answered, shading his eyes as he looked at the helicopter. “So, who are the other victims?”
“Oh, I forgot you didn’t know them.” Tom perked up almost immediately, gesturing for a very unsure Dee and an unusually pale Truth to get out of the helicopter. “Guys, this is Will,” He gestured to the Lemur Fae, “And Harper.” He pointed to the girl, who smiled and waved slightly. “And this is Dee and Truth.” The two said humans nodded, seemingly glad to be out in the fresh air.
“And as soon as the others join us we can go. But first, let me show you around what will be your mode of transportation for the next two days!” Harper said, pulling Dee and Truth towards the bus.
“And to your right you will be able to see my workstation. Never touch it if you value your life. And on your left we have the refrigerator – always a useful thing. Now, if you would turn your gaze to the…” Harper’s voice faded into the bus as she went deeper, talking very quickly and animatedly.
“How did the rescue go?” Will asked, leaning against the helicopter.
“Honestly? I’ll be surprised if everyone gets back here completely intact. Especially after seeing what they did to the jeep…” Tom shook his head. “Heck, I’m surprised the helicopter didn’t crash into a tree with the way Voyd was piloting.” He rubbed the back of his head, closing his eyes for a minute. “They should get here soon – let’s go in and get ready, eh?”
Will nodded, following the blonde inside the bus in time to hear the end of the ‘Tour de Grande’ by Harper.
“And if you have any questions, feel free to ask anyone else.”

After watching Cat get the jeep right side up once more, and watching Ebi try to shock the engine back to life with Miri adding a little water for better conduction, the group finally piled into the jeep, with Ebi throwing a rock at the only guard still standing up for good measure.
Leaving the base suitably torn up, they managed to get about five hundred meters down the road before they realized they were on the wrong side of the road.
“Bloody HELL, Snowy! That was a fricken TWENTY WHEELER!!” Neo yelled as they swerved just in time, the horn blasting all the way.
“He still should have moved for a military vehicle.” Snowy grumbled, putting on a sulking face.
“We should have taken a tank.” Ebi observed from the back seat, where they were all crowded in, Cat, Miri and Sarah having to sit on laps instead of seats.
“Tanks wouldn’t go very fast.” The purple-haired girl replied, looking supremely bored.
“Neither will we when we plough into the biggest truck Snowy can find on this road.” Neo grumbled, his eyes bulging when the jeep slammed to a stop. “Why’d you do that?!” He yelled, and Snowy turned to him, glaring hard.
“YOU drive if it’s so easy!” She yelled, opening her door and climbing out.
“Can I drive?” Ebi asked eagerly, almost dislodging Cat from her lap.
“I somehow think it would be safer for all of us if you don’t.” Miri said quickly , sighing.
After the quick driver change, they managed to get the jeep moving once more.
“There are speed limits for a REASON, Neo!!!!” Snowy shouted above the whine of the engine, which was protesting the attempt to make it go faster than the speed of sound.
“We’re already late, and we wouldn’t want to keep them waiting!” Neo yelled back, taking a corner hard and ignoring the muffled screams coming from the back seat.
“Remind me to never let you near a vehicle again!” Snowy shrieked as they narrowly missed a very bewildered hiker.
“Come on! You gotta live life to it’s fullest every day! Feel the adrenaline! Appreciate the moment!” Neo replied loudly, swerving around a signpost.
“Right now I’d appreciate being alive at the end of this!”

When the vehicle eventually trundled into the car park, the first person to burst out of the metal confines was Snowy, who launched herself onto the ground and seeming to try to hug it.
“Land!” She exclaimed, earning a strange look from Tom and an understanding one from Will.
“Neo introduce you to his style of operating a vehicular mode of transport?” He asked as the others escaped the jeep.
“Never make me go back!” Snowy whined as she was picked up by Tom.
“Um, right.” He said, steering her towards the bus.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be driving most of the way back.” Will reassured Miri, who was looking edgily between the bus and Neo.
“I see we have a new face.” Will said as the purple-haired girl climbed from the jeep, looking around and seeming slightly surprised at the intact helicopter. “I’m Will.” He introduced himself, grinning.
“Moss. Who ARE you people?” She asked suspiciously, folding her arms.
“Well, we like to call ourselves ‘Legends’. If you’ll join me in our… not-so-horse-drawn carriage, I shall explain further.” He gestured at the bus, where Tom was herding everyone inside.
She raised an eyebrow but followed the Lemur Fae towards the bus.
“So, why ‘Legends’?”
“Well, according to the Government and the general population, we aren’t meant to exist. We’re classified as urban legends. But that was too long for the logo, so we shortened it.”

[Voyd]

“You forgot that it was better than ‘Freaks’, and ‘X-Men’ was already taken.” Tom shouted from the top of the stairs, his shoes disappearing from view as he retreated.
“And what he said.” Will grinned, jabbing his thumb up the stairs.
Moss quirked one eyebrow before shaking her head and sighing, moving to a table stationed by the wall, sliding into a seat and promptly ignoring the sound of the engine starting.

As the bus moved out of the parking lot, the helicopter burst into flames, igniting the fuel tank and exploding, sending fire showering over the jeep, which followed the example of the helicopter a few minutes later. Both of these events were accompanied by a squeal of delight from the bus, followed by Harper exclaiming: “And you thought my remote-detonation wouldn’t work!”

A few hours and several repetitions of ‘Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina’ mixed in with a few attempts at ‘Auld Lang Sine’ sung very badly from the back of the bus, most of the passengers were sleeping or had resorted to playing various card games in the more shady parts of the bus.
One of which had most of the male passengers slapping each others foreheads hard and laughing.
The other one, featuring all female passengers, who sometimes paused to watch whenever the other group descended into a rough tussle over the fact that they had thought a Queen was a Jack, which was more often than expected, was accompanied by cries of ‘Uno!’ and groans as several cards were played in quick succession, resulting in the deck having to be reshuffled several times.

Eventually, getting bored of card games, the two groups merged and had decided to play ‘Truth or Dare’. This swiftly deteriorated into getting yelled at by people who had previously been sleeping. And other such things.
Getting tried of being abused by various people, the majority of the people wandered off to sleep themselves, leaving only Tom, Dor and Ebi awake, but forced downstairs, to the back of the bus, where they couldn’t annoy anyone to a large extent.

“So… you’ve told me about these… ‘Legends’, but why are they HERE? We don’t need their assistance.” Dor asked Tom, deciding to ignore Ebi as she raised her hand to answer. Tom glanced at Ebi and grinned, gesturing for her to answer.
“Would you prefer it if we weren’t?” She demanded, smirking. “I mean, we sure saved your ungrateful – but quite cute, if I do day so myself – butt.” She looked supremely smug while Dor fought for words, slightly thrown by the reference to his ‘butt’, as Ebi had put it.
“While I’m sure seeing Dor try to answer you would be most amusing, I don’t think that’s quite what he meant.” Tom smiled widely, his bright blue eyes sparkling in the dim lights. “They’re here because I had informed them previously of what we planned through Voyd – who usually acts as messenger as she’s not on any serious hit lists yet – and Harper and Will planned their intervention, as they had had… previous experience with that place. I think quite a few of them has been through there, actually.”
“That’s why we were so glad to help! Well, that and we needed to get our contact in there out…” Ebi added under her breath, shifting to sit cross-legged on a cushion.
“Especially Voyd – the girl you offended so deeply in the helicopter.” Tom winked, still grinning. “She doesn’t like it when we have to send someone into a place like that.”
“What is HER problem?” Dor asked, deciding to dig for information while he could.
“That’s…complicated. Harper could probably explain it better than either of us.” Tom reasoned, glancing around to make sure that no one had heard them.
“I can try! I asked Harper once and I THINK I remembered most of it…” Ebi thought to herself for a minute before continuing. “It was something to do with genetics – I think she explained it as a ‘family problem’.” Ebi frowned, trying to dredge up more facts.
“Basically, no one you see in Legends is who they appear to be; it’s… a lot more complicated than it appears. This is perhaps why they work together so well; kind of like a focus group.” Tom analysed, pausing for a moment before speaking again. “I wouldn’t keep up this line of questioning if I was you – they’ll tell you when they’re ready.” He rose, stretching and making his way towards a couch before stopping suddenly and turning back to Dor and Ebi. “And never, EVER ask why Voyd, Kel and Harper disappear about once a month. If, that is, you value your being male.” He added before settling onto the couch and falling asleep almost instantly.
“So,” Ebi started, smiling evilly. “Get out much?”

“Hey, you! Quit loitering around my store!” The old man shouted, shaking his fist at the scowling teen.
“If I had somewhere else to be, gramps, you can be sure I’d be there!” He yelled back, kicking a stone and glaring at the empty road.
“If you don’t get away I’ll call the cops! You’re scaring away my customers!” The man shouted again before retreating back into the building.
“WHAT customers, you senile old coot?” The boy grumbled, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets. “Damn, where are they?”

“Yes, officer. Right over there, he is. Loitering! Scaring away my customers!” The man croaked, pointing his gnarly finger towards the teen in uniform.
The policeman looked at the boy for a moment before speaking hastily into his radio, walking swiftly back to the squad car as the reply came.

“Sir, an escapee has been spotted at a gas station a few miles away from the base, sir.”
“How far?” A cold voice answered, stern and orderly. Only interested in cold, hard, factual evidence.
“Err… about twenty miles, sir.”
“And the speed limit down that road is ten?”
“Yessir.”
“What is the escapee doing?”
“He… appears to be waiting for something, sir.”
“How do you know he’s an escapee?”
“He-he’s in uniform, sir.”
And uneasy silence came after this last statement before being shattered by a command.
“Block off the road. I want that boy and whoever is coming to get him. Alive or dead.”

“What the-” Will started, squinting through the windshield of the bus. “Helos!” He yelled, swearing as the road was suddenly blocked up ahead by black military trucks. “They found us!”
“What?!” Harper shouted, falling halfway down the stairs as the bus stopped very suddenly.
“Who did we run over?” A sleepy Voyd asked, yawning and following Harper down the stairs.
“Oi!” Will shouted over the PA system, jolting everyone who wasn’t already awake very awake. “Worst-case scenario, people! Go!”
The was a sudden burst of movement as everyone found out that they did not, in fact, need caffeine to make sure they were conscious.
“Miri, Voyd – get out there now! Get the Helos away! Ebi, you and Snowy go ahead and pick up the contact! Neo, you… go cause trouble. And everyone else, keep down and out of the way!” Will’s voice carried through the bus without the help of the PA – all else was deathly silent.
“No problem – ‘trouble’ is my middle name.” Neo joked, shattering the tension.
“You know, Kel would be really useful around now.” Voyd said as she peered out through the windscreen. Will smirked, pressing a button by the wheel that sent the windows pitch black.
“Well, we don’t have Kel right now, so go out there and deal with it.” He ordered, and Voyd rolled her eyes in response, opening the window, dropping out and sprinting away as Miri did the same on the other side out of the door.

“You better not have put on any weight, Snowy.” Ebi muttered as the sunroof opened.
“Same back at you, Ebi.” Snowy replied, watching the Fae sprout orange wings, moving underneath the open roof.
“Bleeding-” Ebi screamed as a hail of bullets rained down where she had stood a few seconds before.
“Hey! Would be nice if the Helos were OUT OF THE WAY!!!” Snowy shouted down the stairs, ignoring the reply when it came.
When the whirring of the helicopter blades finally faded away, Ebi hooked her arms underneath Snowy’s, hoisting both of them into the air as her wings buzzed into life.

Miri sprinted up the hill, trying to ignore the ominous sound coming from the helicopter above her as she ran.
This proved rather difficult, however, when the ground around her started to rip apart with bullets, several only barely missing her.
‘This might have been ok if I was anyone else.’ She thought as one bullet missed her right foot by a few millimetres. Seeing a thick cover of trees ahead, Miri put on a fresh burst of speed, trying to jump down an embankment by a dry creek.
Landing off balance, Miri cursed as her ankle was twisted sharply, shooting a furtive glance at the helicopter that waited above before pushing away from the earth mound, staggering into the copse moments before bullets tore up the ground once more.

“Sir, The second target has entered the trees.”
“Make sure it’s one of ‘them’.”
“Yessir.”

Miri froze at the sound coming from above her.
“Please don’t let that be what I think that is…”


Voyd was having a similarly pleasant time. While there were quite a few trees on the downward slope, they were dry, quite spaced and probably not very healthy, not to mention definitely not very good as cover.
Taking a moment to pause under what seemed to be the only healthy tree within a five mile radius; Voyd glanced up, covering her eyes and ducking her head just in time as she was covered in a disgusting brown liquid, leaving her coughing and spluttering and trying to keep it out of her eyes as the helicopter circled above.
“What the-” She muttered before turning her gaze upwards once more, frozen to the spot when she saw the thick stick fall to her feet through the branches, a spark rapidly eating through the fuse towards it.
A cold laugh from above snapped her out of her trance, and she bolted away from the explosive, stumbling over hidden tree roots and almost running into several trees in her haste.
She had just reached the edge of the tree line when the explosion rocked the earth, throwing her to the ground and sending fiery debris shooting out of the mockery of a forest.
Unsteadily getting to her feet, Voyd saw the helicopter approaching over the top of the burning crowns of trees, and the fire speeding along the ground, the dry grass and fallen leaves combusting easily.
Glancing around, Voyd immediately sprinted towards the river behind her, plunging into the freezing water just as the flames started to lick at her gas-soaked clothes (a.k.a. petrol). The current spun her head over heels for several minutes before she finally found the bottom, kicking away from it violently and gasping for air as soon as she surfaced.
The helicopter was instantly above her, and she swore inwardly as the machine guns clattered into life, turning the water into a churning mess.
Duck-diving down, Voyd swam towards one of the upcoming boulders awkwardly situated in the middle of the river, slamming into it as she twisted around, a stray bullet digging at her arm, sending unexpected waves of pain through her head.


The fire had completely encircled Miri, the black smoke billowing up into the air.
‘At last – something I can deal with.’ Miri thought to herself, quickly calling all the water molecules in the air together before they disappeared.
The roaring inferno was swiftly tamed, and before the smoke cleared, Miri was off and running once more, leaving the helicopter circling for several minutes.

“Affirmative, sir. Both targets are…”
“Good. Bring them in.”

“Sir, the first target has gone over the waterfall, repeat; the blonde has gone over the waterfall.”
“Check to see that she went the whole way. How’s the other one?”
“Heading towards the cliff as planned.”
“Good. And the initial?”
“He… he disappeared, sir.”
“Check again. He’s there.”

The ‘initial’ had, in fact, not disappeared. When the army jeeps had first pulled into the car park, he had simply… shifted form. So now he was on the roof, currently appearing to be a cicada. Suddenly, two voices came from above him, sounding very annoyed.
“So, where is he?” One demanded, sounding tired.
“Well, he’s supposed to be directly below us…” An answering voice came, clearly frustrated.
“Well he ISN’T, is he?!” The first voice snapped, and the ‘initial’ decided that now would probably be the best time to reveal himself. Carefully. And preferably before World War Five broke out.
“What the-”

Snowy stared at the squirrel that she could have sworn was not there a few minutes beforehand.
“You idiot!” Ebi crowed, and Snowy was sorely tempted to release the shield of air around them that caused their ‘invisibility’. “He’s a shifter!”
“I knew that, Ebi.” She replied dryly, dropping from Ebi’s grip onto the rooftop. “The shield must have encompassed him when we dropped our altitude.” She mused, looking sceptically at the squirrel. “If you don’t mind, could you change back? We need to verify who you are.”
The squirrel immediately shifted back into a teenage boy, and Ebi immediately pounced on him, squealing.
“Ebi!” Snowy yelled, frowning. “That’s not safe – screw it.” Snowy abandoned her own dignity, jumping on the boy herself. “It’s been too long!”
“Ummm… can’t…breathe…” The boy managed to get out, staggering slightly.
“Yeah, yeah, not that you need to, FG.” Ebi grinned, releasing him and slapping him on the back. “Now come on, shift back into something small so we can get you out of here and get Miri and Voyd away from those Helos.”
“Uwaah..?”
“Less talky, more shifty, FanGuy.”

Miri froze in her tracks as the edge came into sight, leaving…nothing on the other side.
“Why do I feel like I could empathise perfectly with a mouse being cornered by a cat right now?” Miri whined to herself, her eyes squinting as the helicopter lowered its altitude. “Go over the ridge to an almost certain death… or get captured… I think I’ll take the cliff.” Miri muttered, keeping her front to the helicopter that was carefully observing her every move while slowly shuffling her feet back towards the drop.

“She’s gonna go over! Drop her now before she gets too close!” The pilot shouted into his headset, and the man behind him manning a sniper rifle complied, smirking when the dart buried itself in the girl’s stomach, dropping her like a sack of potatoes.
“One down, who knows how many more to go.” The cold voice sneered, his mouth forming a cruel smile as the girl was carried onto the helicopter and whisked away.

“Ugh…” Voyd groaned, grimacing at the dull ache from her arm, getting worse as she struggled to pull herself up the wet, slippery cliff face. ‘If I was Miri, this would be SO easy…’ she thought grumpily to herself, reaching up towards another handhold
“She’s trying to climb up!”
“Get someone down there, STAT!”
Voyd looked up at the sound of voices over the rushing water, registering the black climbing rope that whipped down to hang beside her with suspicion.
She swore vehemently when she realised what that meant.
“Definitely not someone coming to save me – I’d have gotten several jokes and comments by now about my…’precarious situation’.” She murmured, thinking aloud as she looked down. “That’s…a long way down.” She added, hugging the rock face subconsciously before looking up again. A man clad in black was abseiling down the rope already, and would soon be there. “At least those nice, sharp rocks will break my fall.” She muttered, forcing her muscles to comply with the command and pushing away hard from the cliff.
She was suspended for a split second in time before the abseiler slammed into her, crashing them both back into the cliff face.
“You’re not getting away that easy, you damn crazy freak.” The man growled before barking an order to pull him up to the men at the top of the cliff.
“I was hoping…for maybe a stroke of luck for once.” Voyd breathed before slipping into unconsciousness, forgetting about the increasing amount of pain coming from her arm.

“FanGuy! Good to have you back.” Will said as the three teens dropped through the roof of the moving bus.
“We saw the carnage left at the blockade – was ALL of that Neo?” Snowy asked as she ducked away from Ebi’s retracting wings.
“How could you doubt me?” Said male asked, grinning gleefully as he cleaned off his black double-handed broadsword.
“Anyway, we’re almost at the rendezvous where Miri and Voyd should be – get ready to open the door, ok?” Will called down the stairs of the bus, and Ebi froze or a second.
“Will… if you aren’t driving the bus… who is?”
“Moss decided to give it a go. I’d say she’s doing pretty well, seeing as she hasn’t hit any woodland creatures yet and the bus is still upright and not on the side of the road somewhere.”
“Or off a cliff.” Ebi interjected.
“Or IN a cliff.” Snowy added, grinning and looking around. “Where is everyone?”
“Sleeping –”
“Will, we’ve got a problem.” Harper said quickly, out of breath as she poked her head up from the stairs.

“What does that MEAN, Harper?”
“It means that both Voyd and Miri are now in a secure building, where the signal for their tracking devices can’t get out. The last time we received their signals were around here.” Harper pointed to the map laid out on the table in front of her, across from another table where she had piled what looked like quite a lot of computer equipment, which she had already instructed everyone not to touch on pain of dismemberment and a horrible, bloody, humiliating death.
“So what are we going to do?” Asked Tom, having just woken up.
“We’re going to go get them, of course.”

“Voyd?” Miri whispered, her voice scratching at her throat. The Fae in the cell next to her stirred slightly, groaning as she sat up and blinked.
“Wha? Where are we?” She muttered, turning her head blearily.
“I was going to ask you that.” Miri replied dryly, looking around as the door hissed open to admit a man with light grey hair shot through with ginger-brown, a pale complexion and a sour, serious expression.
“Now, my little freaks, you may have a few things on your minds, allow me to confuse your small minds further.” He spoke clearly as he sat in a chair opposite the two cells. He regarded the two cuffed Fae – who were both now very much awake – coldly, with measuring eyes.
“No objections? Good. Now, if I have timed this correctly, one of you will have some very amusing questions to ask me in a few moments.” He stated almost indifferently, glancing at his watch.
Both girls stared at him blankly for a moment before a cry of pain rent the air.

“Miri?!” Voyd shouted, trying to reach around the bars to the convulsing Fae. “What did you do to her, you sick ba-”
“I’d really appreciate it if you did not use those words in front of me, young lady.” The man interrupted calmly, ignoring Voyd’s death glare before continuing. “What is happening is quite simple; that ‘Fae’ has been in those handcuffs for a larger length of time than you have.”
“And?” Voyd snarled, clenching her fists.
“Not one for thinking, are you?” The man mused, smirking at her answering growl. “Those handcuffs contain… trace amounts… of iron. Meaning that, the longer you wear them, the weaker you are and the more pain you are in. The bullets we use also contain certain…larger amounts of this useful element, which is probably why that little graze on your arm hurts quite a bit more than it should and has not healed yet.” He bent over so he was almost face to face with the angry Fae. “You see, we have learnt quite a few new tricks since you naughty little ones escaped. I am quite eager to hear the feedback as to how this form of punishment lives up to our old techniques.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, you crazy, senile old lunatic.” Voyd snapped, grimacing inwardly as the handcuffs dug into her wrists.
“Please, call me General.”
“General of what? Paedophi-” Voyd was cut short when the man backhanded her almost casually, and the combination of this, her arm and the handcuffs made her fall to the floor, her head reeling and tasting blood.
“General Shorpak.” He corrected her, acting as though nothing untoward had occurred.
“Well, General Shoe Pecker, I say I still don’t know what you mean.”
“Well my dear, if you honestly think you can fool me into thinking that you have ‘forgotten’ or that you are ‘repressing’ anything, you are sadly mistaken. However, if you wish to continue this silly little charade, then I am sure we will have plenty of time to coax it out of you.” The man smirked, frowning when another man in uniform came through the doorway, saluting and speaking quickly.
“SirwehavehadadisturbanceintheNorthernwallSir!” He shouted, standing at attention while the General mulled over this piece of information.
“I will see to it immediately. At ease.”
“SirrespectfullyrequestpermissiontospitontheprisonersSir!”
“Granted.”
The younger man turned almost mechanically, winking subtly and managing to get a blob of saliva on Voyd’s coat.
“Watch it! This is a new jacket, you loser!” Voyd shouted, narrowing her eyes and surreptitiously wiping the liquid off with her sleeve, closing her hand around the solid object.
“Damn freaks.” The man muttered as he turned to follow the General out.
“Pansy! Come back here and fight like a man, you wuss!” Voyd shouted after him, grinning to herself as she opened her hand to reveal the small lock pick. “Good old Tom.” She laughed quietly as she set about unlocking the cuffs.

“Now, how are we getting out of here?” Voyd asked, standing behind the door to the cell block, trying to support an unconscious, uncuffed Miri while looking out the tiny window, and ignore the still increasing pain from her arm. She observed several people as they walked past the door, seemingly oblivious to what was behind it. “Good thing females can multitask, or else I’d still be in the cell. Or, rather, at the bottom of that waterfall.” She muttered, stabbing at the button to open the door.
Access Card Required. Please Scan Your Access Card.
“Gweh?!”

[Voyd]

“You are NOT going in there alone, Will!” Ebi stated loudly, putting her hands on her hips and blocking Will’s way.
“Ebi, Tom’s already inside there – we can’t just leave him and the others.” Will replied, exasperated.
“So take some of us with you!”
“No! I won’t put you in more danger! I was the one who made them go, I have to get them back!”
“Don’t be stupid Will – they wouldn’t have gone if they didn’t want to. It’s not your fault!” Snowy interjected, sliding from her seat and standing beside Ebi.
“Come on, admit defeat and let us go with you, Will.” Neo added, sheathing his sword and joining the conversation.
Will sighed and thought for a moment before speaking again.
“If I say no you’ll just come with me anyway, won’t you?” He asked, looking up to see the three teens nodding.
“Fine.”

“Halt! Stop or I’ll shoot!” The group stopped expectantly, and the circle of guards hesitantly approached the group, their weapons held aloft, a few shaking slightly.
“About time you noticed us.”

After inspecting the door and card swipe thoroughly, Voyd had come to a single conclusion; they were screwed. The actual lock was embedded into the door and the frame, completely electric, and hidden within the solid steel paneling.
Swearing profusely, Voyd sat down heavily on the floor, jumping slightly when Miri shifted beside her.
“Mir?” She asked quietly, but no more noise or movement came. “How in Fae hell are we getting out of this one, Miri?” She pondered before shrugging and stretching, tensing when she heard footsteps approaching the door.

The young cadet was quite delighted as he walked down the corridor, holding two trays of food.
His commander had given him the duty of taking food to the prisoners, which, all in all, was a good thing, as at least then he would have someone to lord it over instead of having to act subservient all the time.
He whistled nonchalantly, nodding and grinning to passersby, who rolled their eyes and shook their heads as soon as they passed him. Well, he was on his way up, and he shrugged it off, still grinning broadly.
So his parents had been old-fashioned, raising him to respect his seniors. Many suspected that his parents had harbored a deep dislike for all children, but they never quite decide to say that to the weedy, pimple-faced young boy who they were sure would have been better off in an orphanage.
Swiping his pass card with glee, the boy had only a mere second to reflect on the fist swiftly heading towards his so called ‘family jewels’ before the trays went flying as he crumpled to the ground, his last thought lingering on the fact that his commander would kill him.

Voyd stuck her head out into the doorway, looking left and right before dragging the limp body of the cadet into the room, letting the door close behind him.
Taking the pass card, Voyd glanced once at the name on his tag, smirking as she lifted Miri, swiping the card and hobbling out into the corridor.
With a name like Anguston Highfoot Sledgemole, one could expect to get nowhere fast.

“Mister…”
“Will.”
“Mister Will, am I to understand that you are here to discuss the release of some… hostages that we have acquired?”
“You are correct in that assumption.”
The man in front of him observed his curiously striped face before nodding.
“Your… advisors” His lip curled at the word, sneering at the small group standing behind Will, bristling with indignity. “Can stay out here.”
“Like hell we-”
“Neo.” Will warned, putting out an arm to stop the angry Fae from launching himself at the General. “Play nice.”

Magenta, Fuschia and Todd crept around the edge of the building, the brick wall quite uncomfortable against their backs.
“Are you both COMPLETELY insane?!” Fuschia hissed, glancing uneasily up at the old-fashioned buildings, complete with gargoyles littered around liberally on the rooftops. The whole complex was inextricably imposing, silence throwing a blanket of tension across the landscape.
“Be quiet! Do you WANT to get caught?” Magenta hissed back, waving a hand behind her before creeping out into the open.
Todd shrugged at Fuschia once before following Magenta, looking furtively around for security cameras.

“And what are WE meant to be doing?” Fanguy demanded, pacing around the bus, frowning towards the top of the buildings, just visible above the tree line.
“We can’t do anything except wait, Fanguy.” Truth told him, trying to be reassuring. “I am going to have a bit of sleep so I can be ready for the excitement when it comes.”
Fanguy stood still for a few moments more before breaking down, crossing over to the other side of the bus and looking at something contemplatively.
“Does anyone know how this thing works?”

The silent observer watched from the roof as the three young ones hurried across the courtyard.
They had seen the first two being carried in, followed thereafter by the group of Fae, surrounded by uneasy guards.
This, they mused, was going to get interesting.

“How do you intend on bargaining with me if you have nothing to bargain with, young…man?” The General asked as he sat opposite Will at the table, disgust at his obvious Fae heritage showing in his cold, merciless eyes.
“I have a large force waiting just outside your radar, who will storm this base and do away with every man you have hidden here.” Will responded calmly, his face straight and almost equally filled with disdain underneath the black and white stripes, his tail twitching with annoyance.
“If you have this force, why have you not yet used it?”
“Unlike some, I find unneeded violence abhorrent. Although there are some within our ranks that would disagree with me, we have agreed that, in this instance, diplomacy would be put to better use than straight-out assault.”
“And yet you feel free to threaten violence? Interesting philosophy.” The General sneered before clearing his throat, straightening his jacket and looking at Will’s scowling face emotionlessly. “While I would have acted differently in this situation, I have received orders from my superior on how to handle this.” He rose slowly, as if he hated every second that he was in the same room as a Fae. Will suspected, quite correctly, that he did.
“He wishes to speak to you himself.” He said coldly, pressing a button on the wall and standing perfectly still when a strangely amicable voice boomed out from hidden speakers.

“Hey, is there a chance that there’s a bathroom anywhere around here?” Ebi asked one of the guards, looking affronted when he didn’t answer.
“Don’t bother, Ebi. I think they’d rather be made to clean up after us than actually cooperate with us.” Harper commented, smirking and sending a look at Snowy and Neo as one of the guards paled slightly.
“No matter how disgusting it’ll end up.” Snowy grinned, watching as another man went pink.
“After all, who knows what one of us nasty Faes might just ‘pop out’?” Neo joined in the fun, grinning broadly as one guard bypassed pink and went straight to tomato red. “What with our diet and what we are.”
“Ya know something, Ebi? I think I need the bathroom too.”
“Really? What a coincidence, for I feel the need to relieve myself also.” Neo added.
“Wow, what amazing timing – same here! I rather think whoever would have to clean up after us would be here for quite a while. And who better than those who refused to let us relieve ourselves in a civilized fashion?”
They were swiftly led up a flight of stairs and shown the appropriate facilities.

“I mean really, what kind of base are we in that only has a male bathroom?” Voyd spoke, grimacing as she washed the gash in her arm with soapy water.
“Alright, yeah, that was a stupid question, I know.” She sighed, picking up a damp paper towel and dabbing at the wound.
“Damned decent of you to do this, you know.” Voyd twisted around on the balls of her feet at the voice, swearing and grabbing Miri, ducking into a cubicle as the bathroom door swung open.
“Very good judgment on your part, I must say.”
“I wouldn’t come in with us if I was with you.”
“There’s a good little soldier.” Voyd frowned as the voices became clear, clicking into place almost instantly.
“Guys?” She whispered, her voice slightly hoarse.
“Voyd? Fancy meeting you here! We were just coming to get you!” Neo exclaimed, grinning and winking as he opened the door.
“What happened?!” Harper demanded as she rushed in, quickly looking over Miri before frowning at Voyd.
“You look like crap.” Ebi commented from the doorway, folding her arms.
“What are you talking about?” Voyd demanded, handing Miri to Harper and walking stiffly out to the mirrors, frowning at her reflection.
“She’s talking about how you have no color in your face.” Snowy commented, looking at her strangely.
“And how you look like you’ve been bleeding for several hours.” Neo added, grabbing her arm and shifting it to get a better look. Voyd snatched her arm away, scowling at both the other Fae and the mirror.
“There’s iron in their bullets.” She muttered darkly, catching the look Snowy and Neo sent Harper out of the corner of her eye before continuing. “They put something into Miri – probably through a dart or needle… I don’t know what.”
“We’ll have to get out of here – Will’s downstairs. Neo, can you go in front and take out those guards while we carry Miri?” Snowy said decisively, taking Miri by the other arm and levering her up with Harper.
“Sure thing.” Neo said, grinning as he unsheathed his two-handed jet black broadsword and stalking to the doorway.
“Why is Will here?”
“Long story.”
“Ha-HA! THAT’S for making me wait!” They heard Neo crow, followed by several ‘thumping’ noises.

“My dear William,” He started, and Will scowled even deeper, his eyes narrowing when the voice continued. “I wonder, are you familiar with the saying ‘the enemy of my enemy if my friend’? I do believe that we have a common enemy. Thusly, I can conclude that we may, perhaps, become ‘friends’ in this time of struggle.” The glower on the Generals face almost rivaled Wills at this point, and he glared at the Fae as he stood, pushing the chair roughly back from the table.
“And I wonder, are you familiar with the saying ‘the enemy of my enemy can kiss my ass too’?” He snapped, turning abruptly and storming out of the room.

“Will!” Voyd yelled from the bottom of the stairs, catching sight of his grey cap emerging from a room off the central corridor.
“What are you doing, wandering around like you own the place?” Neo added, grinning wryly.
“We should get out of here.” Will answered, his voice colder than steel. “Now.”

“Don’t think you’re getting away that easily, you freaks.” The General hissed, storming out of the room in pursuit of the Fae.
“General Shorpak.” The voice calmly spoke, and the man halted, almost visibly shaking with rage. “You will not harm any of them. If possible, bring them to me. However, if you cannot do this… do not kill any of them. It is not yet time.”
“Yes, sir.” Shorpak grumbled under his breath before continuing out the door, slamming it behind him.
“This,” Continued the voice, a smirk audibly present, “is about to get very interesting.”

“Surround them!” The General barked his order at the soldiers that seemingly poured out of every opening in the buildings surrounding the square where the Faes stood, trapped.
“Where’s Tom?” Will whispered, and Voyd glanced around once before answering.
“The last time I saw him he… ‘slipped’ me the lock pick kit.” She hissed, jumping slightly as every guard around them suddenly leveled their weapons at the group.
“Is everyone with me?” Will asked, louder this time.
“To the end and beyond.” Came the unanimous answer, and the Lemur Fae smirked slightly before turning to face Shorpak.
“I take my leave of you, General.” He exclaimed, his voice carrying easily to where the man stood.
“Before you go, you might be interested to know what ails your friend.” Shorpak called out, and the group froze before turning their eyes to him.

Heat.
Dazzling, deafening heat.
Dancing flames licking at her skin like white-hot snakes.
Too hot, much too hot.
Can’t put it out
Can’t do anything.
Wait…
The heat was gone.
So cold…
Darkness.
Nothing to see.
Surrounded by…something.
Where was everyone?
Can’t move.
Why can’t I move?
Can’t breathe.
Can’t breathe!
Air! I need air!
Earth.
Cold, damp, impermeable earth.
Unresponsive earth.
Impenetrable earth.
As cold as panic.
Complete hysteria.
How can I scream with no air?
I can’t feel anything…
And then…
There is nothing.
Complete emptiness.
Then suddenly, air.
Flying past at a blinding speed.
Nothing to see.
Nothing to hear except the roar of the wind as it whipped past my ears.
Twisting and tumbling, an edge of blue just out of sight.
Water!
Water was coming.
Pain erupted through her body as she hit the water like a rock.
The surface was already gone.
Nothing to be seen but water.
Wait… I can’t breathe!
Of course I can breathe!
It’s water! I should be able to breathe!
WHY CAN’T I BREATHE?!
…
I can’t take this much longer…
I can’t breathe…
What’s that sound?
It sounds…
Like my parents.
But they’re gone, how could they be calling me?
That’s it, they’re calling my name.
How?
They don’t know my name now.
They only know my old one.
How can they be calling my name?
It’s clearer now, it’s definitely them.
But…
How?
There’s no one here except me…
Miri.

“That dart we shot your little friend with had a nice little weapon hidden inside.” Shorpak continued. “You see, first it knocks the subject out for a few hours, before allowing them to regain consciousness for a few minutes.
“After that, the subject will experience sever hallucinations which will probably horribly scar them psychologically. If they every wake up, that is.
“You really have no idea how long it took us to develop that, much less… how many of your… kind we had to root out to test it on.” He sneered at the end, and the Fae below him in the square glowered and only just stopped themselves from doing what would have been insanely suicidal.

The observer narrowed their eyes at the General. He was the one they had been sent to watch. But this new group… they seemed to be… familiar. Definitely worth keeping tabs on. At least two of them were visibly hurt, one of them unconscious. That would be a good way of getting through to them.
Besides, the observer added to themselves, they might want to get off the building they were currently hanging off of, as they suspected something very loud and destructive was going to happen.
Flaring their wings wide, the observer lifted off the rooftop, drawing stares and shouted orders, moments before the entire middle floor exploded in a hail of dust, smoke and fire.

From behind the building sprinted three red-headed young tricksters, immediately racing through the crowd of soldiers to the group of Fae.
“What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be getting to base by now!” Will hissed, sighing and shaking his head when the three ‘gremlins’ attempted to look at least vaguely innocent.
“Who are you?” Neo demanded as the female, flesh-colored gargoyle landed within their group.
“An ally.” She said shortly, glancing around once.
“You really think you can get away? You fools! You-” The General was cut out by a loud crashing noise coming from the gates. “What?!”

The crowd was restless, constantly moving even in the expectant silence that engulfed the hall.
The single man standing at the front of this crowd, on an elevated platform, stood tall and proud while observing the gathering. The shadows behind him shifted slightly, revealing a group of dark figures paced evenly in a distinctive semicircle, before the firelight flickered again, and they were hidden from sight once more.

All movement ceased as the man before the assembly moved, standing straighter and roving his gaze across the breathless crowd.

“This is indeed a black day, my friends.” He began quietly, his deep voice reverberating around the huge chamber. “We have not yet turned to face our enemy, and yet we have already lost our battle.” A vague murmur arose at these words, but it was quickly stifled by the rest of the crowd, eager to hear the man’s words.
“They have taken mine and yours and we will never rescue them by lying down and allowing them to make prisoners of the rest of us!” As his voice rose, thundering through each person present in the hall, a roar of agreement rose to meet it, and he paused for only a second to acknowledge it before continuing.
“We must rise up against those who seek to destroy us and all of our kind! Their only gain is that they are many, while we have been whittled down to almost nothing by their efforts! They know nothing of our strengths, only our weakness; they think us a frail, pathetic race which they can crush without a thought!
“I say we prove to them how wrong they are! I say we rise up and throw our yolk not just away, but use it to smash their defenses! We have hidden in the shadows like common criminals for too long, my people!
“It is no longer a choice, but a necessity that we declare unanimous and unchallengeable war on our oppressors!” He did not even pause to take a breath as a deafening roar engulfed the space, shaking it to the very foundations hundreds of meters below.
“Now is the time to ask yourselves; Will you stand and fight for your people and your rights, or will you condemn yourselves and all else to death?!”
The vast howl from those gathered that followed his words was impossible to misinterpret; they would fight, down to the last man, woman and child; they would fight to the death. The man before them let them scream out their unbridled fury at those who had forced them to cower beneath the threat of obliteration for too long.
“My friends,” The man started once more, his voice deathly quiet, yet reaching out to every individual in the throng.
“I say that today is the day that we rain destruction on those who would destroy us and all we hold dear.
“I say that today… is the day that we fight, the day… That we win this war!”

The all-encompassing chanting cry woke Truth from her dream instantly, and she lay perfectly still, not feeling the cold sweat running down her face as the name still echoed in her head. The name the people in that crowd had invoked as their word of power, to symbolize their revolution.
Nymndemise.

“Get in!” Fanguy yelled out his window as the heavily armored van ploughed through the crowd of soldiers, scattering the men like toys.
“Stop them!” The General shrieked madly, going apoplectic with anger. When one of the soldiers ran forwards towards the group he opened his mouth to order more to follow when he froze, dumbfounded, as the soldier took off his hat and dropped his gun, jumping into the van after the others and sending a wave towards the General. “Shoot! Stop them! Shoot them down!” He screamed, his face a livid mauve.

“Fanguy, we didn’t bring this.” Will said as he observed Moss driving the van out of the compound, making sure to go over the ruined gates one more time.
“No,” Fanguy started, turning in his seat and grinning wryly. “But Kel did.”


“How did you get here fast enough?” Will asked Kel, a girl with distinctly red-black wolf ears and tail and a mischievous look in her eyes.
“I tried out a function in the van that Harper showed me.” She replied, looking out the window at the said van, driving alongside the bus and carrying some of the group as well as the Gargoyle woman, who introduced herself as ‘Margaret’, who claimed to be able to patch up Voyd and take a look at Miri.
“That was purely experimental! So was the entire van!” Harper exclaimed, looking incredulous.
“Well… it works?” Kel replied, looking slightly sheepish.
“That’s good to know.” Neo added from above the stairs.
“Neo, why are you listening in?”
“There’s nothing HAPPENING! What ELSE am I supposed to do?!” Neo exclaimed, walking down to sit on the steps.
“Play cards like everyone else? Watch a movie? I don’t know!”
“Will… if you aren’t driving, who is?”
“Why?”
“Well, we seem to have passed through several red lights on our way here.”
“Red lights?”
“Yeah – we’re about an hour away from base. You slept for a while there.”
“Then who IS driving…”
“Hahahahahahahaha, move out of the way, you mindless pedestrians! This bus aint stopping for no one!” A manic cackle came from the drivers seat, and Will let his head fall into his hands on the table.
“Who let Moss drive?!”
“Well, she claimed to have a license-”
“Did you SEE the way she drove before?”
“Well, since no one said anything, I thought it was alright…”
“Arg!”

[Voyd]

Please listen to what I don't say! Don't let me fool you. Don't get mistaken by the face that I wear. Because I wear a thousand Masks - Masks that I fear to set aside. And none of them is me…For the love of God, don't get fooled by me. Please listen carefully and try to hear what I don't say, what I would like to say. I hate this game…I fight against what I'm crying for. Who am I? I am somebody that you know very well.
~Tobias Brocher

The dark shadow watched as the bus followed the van into the seemingly normal garage, the vehicles hidden from view as the door closed behind them. He waited a few minutes to make sure no one emerged before taking out a phone, pressing a button and speaking into it.
“They’re home.”
“Good. Come back to the meeting point and we’ll review.”
“Yes sir.”

“I’m beat. I’m gonna go to the training room for an hour before hitting the sack.” Voyd groaned as she climbed out of the van, shaking Margaret off her arm irritably.
“Oh, no. You and Miri are going straight to the medical wing and staying there until we say you’re better.” Will ordered, and Voyd sent him a dirty look.
“I’m fine! Never better! Geez, what’s so wrong with me?!” She demanded hotly, trying to disguise a slight stagger to her step.
“You got shot with an iron bullet. Now get to the damn medical room.” Will snapped, giving her a slight push. “Neo, Fanguy, could you help ‘em?” The two boys nodded, Fanguy taking Miri from the van and Neo grabbed Voyd and flipped her over his shoulder, making his way to the nearest door with a screaming Voyd over his shoulder.
“Put me down, you jerk! I can walk fine on my own! Let go of meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” Her shouting was muffled when the door closed behind the four Faes, and Will sighed, rubbing his forehead and looking stressed.
“Will?” Snowy asked, popping up beside him and making him jump slightly. “Where do we put the new people?”
“Take Moss to the wing, I need to sort some things out with Margaret here before I let her near Miri and Voyd. Harper, can you get some of Miri’s blood and see if you can sort out what’s happening to her? Take Fuschia with you too…” Will trailed off, thinking for a moment before glancing at the others. “The rest of you can have some free time.”

“Got anything?” Fuschia asked, leaning over to where Harper was reading a computer printout.
“Well, I’ve analysed what the chemicals used in it are, but that’s as far as I got…” Harper frowned at the printout before scrunching it up and throwing it over her shoulder. “I can’t think of anything!”
“Err… was that aimed at me?” Both females promptly turned to blink at Dorian, who had been in the middle of closing the door when the printout had hit him squarely on his nose, which he was wrinkling up in reaction to the impact.
“Well, that depends entirely on what you’re doing here.” Harper put her fists on her hips, arching an eyebrow at Dor as he shifted from foot to foot. They had heard quite a bit about Dor and the others from Tom and the Gremlins.
“Well, I was going to ask if I could help in any way…” He trailed off under the scrutiny of the two females, turning his gaze towards his foot.
“It’s ok Dor, Harper’s pretty good at this stuff. But so are you, so… why don’t you come over here?” Fuschia beckoned the nervous Fae over, showing him one of the latest printouts and promptly having it taken away and muttered over.

“And that’s it?”
“And that’s it.”
Will considered the story Margaret had presented him with. It was fairly plausible, and what proof she had shown him coincided with it. But still…
“You can have free range in one of our labs, but for now, no outside contact, and get samples from Miri through Harper, alright?” He finally decided, and she bowed her head acquiescingly before moving off to be shown to her lab. Will frowned and trotted after her.

“I’m fine.” Voyd stated adamantly, sulking from the bed while Fanguy and Neo lounged on some seats.
“No you’re not.” Fanguy replied happily, reading a gaming magazine conveniently located nearby.
“I am.” She protested, moving to get off the bed.
“Admitting you’re not ok doesn’t make you weak, Voyd.” Neo pointed out from a seat, looking quite entertained. Voyd scowled in response, standing and pushing away from the bed.
“I don’t need your pity.” She snapped, wavering slightly before staggering forwards, being caught by Neo, who had immediately jumped up when she faltered.
“We don’t pity you; we just don’t know why you’re being stupid.” He said, putting her back on the bed where she crossed her arms and sulked once more.
“I’m not stupid.” She said stubbornly, glaring at Neo when he sighed, rolling his eyes and sitting down again.
“Sure you’re not, Voyd.” He said absently, picking up a random magazine and scanning through it. “According to this, if you vented your frustration more often you’re less likely to get caught in aggravating situations, you know.”
“Venting?” Fanguy leant over to scan the article, recoiling when a pillow whipped into him and Neo.
“How’s that for venting?”

The Half Fae turned the envelope over in his hands, shaking it and holding it up to the light. He was sure he could open it and close it again without anyone the wiser, but he wasn’t about to take that chance.
“Cerberus,” He half rose from his seat at the voice, sitting back down when the voice carried on; “You will deliver that to those who call themselves ‘Legends’, in your usual manner.”
“Yes, sir. If I may ask, sir, what is in it?” He asked, holding it closer to his ear and shaking it.
“Certainly. It contains maps and various photographs that they will need in order to… liberate another of their number. The same that was from the camp you were investigating before.”
“Why can’t I-”
“Because, Cerberus, this is something they must do. This is not something you can question. That envelope will be delivered by your hand, sealed and unopened.” The voice was firmer than it usually was with Cerberus; the last statement was definitely true. Cerberus nodded before he realised that whoever the voice belonged to probably couldn’t see him and was about to speak when it came again. “I’m glad you agree. Good day, Cerberus.”

The muted hum of the motorcycle engine cut off abruptly, and the cylinder of light disappeared instantaneously.
Cerberus leant the bike against the nearest warehouse wall, dropping his helmet onto the seat with a dull thud.
Surveying the maze of warehouses before him, Cerberus counted off roofs in his head, tapping his foot in impatience. It always took him too long to figure out which warehouse it was; they all looked the same.

Kel jumped at the commotion coming from the warehouse above her, frowning at Tom, Snowy and Ebi across from her.
“What on earth-” Tom started as the other three rose and hurried to the stairway, where they met up with Will, halfway up already.
They emerged into the warehouse carefully, all in similar poses of caution.
Will was the first to relax, letting out a sigh and a frown as he walked into the centre of the warehouse.
A small plastic dog was lying on the ground, a horribly loud screeching laugh emitting from some hidden speakers around it. Mixed in with what sounded like laughing was various explosive sounds and engine noises.
Picking up the toy, Will winced at the noise, finally finding the switch and turning it off. The sudden silence seemed to echo around them as he stared at the brown plastic surface of the toy, before weighing it in his hand and tossing it to Kel.
“Ebi, take Snowy and get Voyd up. She has to go for an errand.”

“I see you got my message.” Cerberus said, smirking slightly as Voyd came out of the shadows.
“What do you want this time?” Voyd asked irritably, looking annoyed at the Half Fae who stood before her.
“No need to take that tone of voice.” He chided, looking smug. “There’s a Fae in trouble nearby – a camp was shut down a few months ago, but she was taken by one of the men in command instead of being killed.” He said nonchalantly, handing Voyd a dark, unmarked envelope. “He thinks it would be profitable for you to release her.” There was no need to specify who ‘He’ was – everyone who was anyone knew. He had taken to dabbling into a lot of affairs these days, and seemed to know everything that happened everywhere. This served to make a lot of people very paranoid. Of course, there were the so-called ‘normal’ people who didn’t know who ‘He’ was, or even know of him, but no one envied their mundane, simple lives.
Most people prefer to know of the gun pointing at their head before it goes off.

“Her name is Carma – we know she’s at this” Voyd pulled out a map, indicating the rather obvious red circle in the centre “location.”
“Well, that looks plenty easy to get into. What’s the problem?” Neo asked, crossing his arms as he reviewed the unfolded map that showed the undulating land that surrounded the safe house.
“The problem comes into focus when we overlay this-” Todd spoke up, unfurling a plastic sheet with red and black markers on them and lining it up with the map underneath. “Each of these marks show a group of armed men, or at least their last positions according to the satellite feed we hijacked from the military. As you can see, they’re based around this area, which surrounds where our girl Carma is. There are some other groups around too; guards and that, but they don’t come up very well on the feed. If we need to get the routes and times of each group I’d need to watch for a few more days.”
“Which we don’t have.” Will sighed, rubbing his eyes before considering his options. “We’ll need to have a group infiltrate the building in between rounds by the guards, as it will have to be a small group to avoid any unwanted attention. We’ll need…” He trailed off, frowning at his thoughts. Will looked at the maps for what seemed like the longest time, his brows furrowed deeply and his eyes slightly puzzled. Finally, he rolled them up, ignoring the strange looks he received.
“I need to check this out. We’ll move out as soon as possible.”

“And?”
“It’s heavily protected, Stripes. I can get you the layout and positions of security stuff, but that’s all I can do I’m afraid. My resources are stretched pretty thin as it is, as you well know.”
“Thanks, Red. I owe you.”
“Yeah well, let’s just say it’s even now.”
“I’ll take that.”
Will glanced at the papers spewing out of his printer as he hung up the phone, turning a page and running his finger down the list of names until it came to rest on one.
“I think it may be time to call in a few favours…”

“Hello, Stripes.” The decidedly feminine voice spoke into the phone, and Will cringed slightly at the thought of going through with his plan. This wasn’t going to be particularly easy.
“Hey, Moo- err… Celina.” He finished awkwardly, pinching his arm at his mistake and wincing.
“So close, William. Since we’re on first name terms now, may I assume that you want something?” She sounded amused, of all things!
“Yeah, about that…” Will carried on speaking until his voice grew hoarse, finally finishing with another ellipsis as he trailed off into silence as the woman on the other end of the line considered his proposal.
“It’s very risky, Will. Are you sure you want to risk your precious few people on what could be another false trail? As I recall, you almost lost two on the last one.”
“It isn’t false, Celina. This one came from the top, and besides, it’s always worth it to try; we can’t afford to leave more of us to die by their hands! You of all people should be supportive of our efforts-” Will cut off as he bit down on his tongue, cursing in his head. Celina was a stray cannon at the best of times, without being prodded, and he did actually think that her help on this one would be invaluable. The silence on the other end of the phone was ominous, and Will considered speaking again to try and take back what he had said, but discarded the thought only a fraction of a moment after it came into his mind; it would only make things worse.
“Words spoken in haste have a way of coming back to you, don’t they, William?” Celina mused softly, taking and audible breath before speaking again, louder and firmly. “I will help you this time, William, if you agree to assist me in return. You know what I want, and you should know by now how to get it, what with your… business dealings.”
“Celina, there’s no way to find out what happened; you know they don’t keep documentation, for that reason. How could I-”
“You’ve done it before, have you not? For your friends. I should like to think that I still linger in that category, William. Acquaintances seldom help acquaintances for no good reason.” The thinly veiled threat hung in the air for a moment before she offered her proposal. “Friends, Stripes?” Will hesitated only a moment before answering, feeling the responsibility settle on his shoulders as he did.
“Friends, Mooncell.”

“Let me come with you.”
“No, stop being stubborn.”
“You’re the one being stubborn! I’m fine, let me go with you!”
“Absolutely not.”
“So you let me go to play the damn messenger but you won’t let me even drive you down?”
“Your driving would be more dangerous than any other part of this mission; I can’t afford any travel sickness on this one.”
“That was only once!”
“Because I only let you drive once.”
“That’s… not the point! Why can’t I-”
“Voyd, I’m not going to risk any more than I have to on this one. Whoever drives is coming in with us, and whoever comes in is going to have to be in peak condition. Not half-healed condition. Just stay here and watch our backs on the satellite feed Todd has up; you’re sitting this one out if I have to tie you to Todd myself.” Will finished, looking like he fully intended on fulfilling his threat. The others made sure they looked busy as the ‘discussion’ continued out onto the warehouse floor, echoing around the stacked boxes.
“I notice you don’t ask me if I have a problem with that.” Todd remarked dryly from his post in front of the lit computer screen, earning a dirty look from Voyd.
“You should stay and help Margaret with Miri, Voyd.” Will patted Voyd on the shoulder, recoiling at her flinch, his eyes darting down to where the white bandage wrapped around her arm was even now dimly turning dark. “Sorry.” He murmured before turning and walking away, his footsteps echoing in the large room.

“Any luck, Margaret?” The Fae jumped at the sound of Voyd’s voice, half rising from an open agar dish.
“You startled me.” Margaret eyed the Fae as she sat backwards on a chair, her gaze switching between the still Miri and Margaret herself.
“You know, Miri was with the group before even I was. When we regrouped she was one of the ones who came and got me out of the crap-hole I was stuck in. I would really hate for anything… untoward to happen to her, especially in our own base.” Voyd murmured, picking up a scalpel and fiddling with the blade.
“Threatening the doctor who’s trying to help you won’t help your friend.” Margaret snapped, irritated. Voyd flushed, but out of anger or embarrassment, Margaret couldn’t tell. “You shouldn’t be doing so much, you’re still bleeding.” She added, and Voyd rose sharply, glaring at the stony woman. “I should probably change that bandage and put some more iodine on it to help it heal.” She moved towards the younger Fae, who stepped away mechanically, turning away from her.
“That stuff hurts. Why should I let you get at it again? I should just go to Harper and get her to sew it up.” Voyd narrowed her eyes as Margaret sighed, moving back to where she had been working before the Fae had come in.
Voyd hesitated for a moment, her gaze flicking to Miri, who was still silent and unmoving, indecision evident in her eyes before she ducked her head and slid towards the door.
“You know,” Margaret piped up from behind her, and she froze, one hand on the doorway. As she tilted her head back to look at Margaret, the gargoyle Fae continued with her work even as she carried on speaking. “You look an awful lot like a human. You would be able to blend in and live a normal life fairly easily. As could most of you.” She observed, making it sound as though she had not been considering it for several hours.
“No…” Voyd started, taking another step out the door. She spoke softly, making Margaret strain to hear the rest of her sentence. “We couldn’t.”

“So.” Moss sat down heavily on the couch beside Harper, looking around at what was affectionately called the ‘mixed living room’. “What now?”
“Well…” Harper began, ticking things off on her hand as she counted upwards. “I’ve shown you the girls level, the entrance to the guys level, the mixed level and the bunker… The outside of it all just looks like a warehouse, so there’s not much point to showing you that…”
“Yeah, I noticed that. What’re all the boxes filled with?” Moss asked, gesturing above her, where, ironically enough, there was a gap between stacks of boxes.
“Various things… tins of food, extra furniture… spare parts for most things we have... We have a generator as well, but that’s below everything else, and pretty annoying to get at, so that’s not really included in the grand tour…” Harper trailed off with a shrug indicating that there was other stuff that she wasn’t going to list due to the length of time it would take to finish listing.
“And what about that room next to that… ‘lab’ place?” Moss asked, looking mischievous even while Harper’s immediate scrutiny.
“That’s… a Clean room.” Harper finally told her, after pausing for what seemed like aeons.
“Clean of what?” Moss continued her questioning, leaning forwards and purposefully ignoring Harper’s scowl.
“Testosterone.”
“But it’s on the mixed level.”
“That’s because it’s in case people need… the help of the people who would be inside. It’s completely self-contained.” Harper glanced around for a distraction. “So…”
“Do I get any cool technology?” Moss provided her own distraction, eyeing up various visible pieces around the room, including the television.
“Err… How about I just show you to your room and we can see what you need, eh?”
“I didn’t know you were Canadian.”
“What?”

“Alright, we need to get the timing on this exactly right. We’ll split into two groups, and stay about fifty to a hundred metres away from each other. You know the signals if either group sees a stray guard who isn’t following the pattern, yes?” Will barely paused for the others to nod before carrying on, keeping his voice low so the others leant forwards to catch all of his words. “We don’t know what room the Fae will be in, or how tight security is on the inside, where Todd can’t see. There are quite a few unaccounted for patrols, but they could be enjoying a night on the town for all we know. For some reason someone’s received orders to keep whoever’s inside that building hidden; we haven’t been able to see them at any window or door, so it’s likely that they will be hidden in a cellar. We’ll have to find them quickly, before they get a chance to do anything to them.” The recollection of what the General had told them of the hallucinogen hung in the air; they had no way of knowing how widely he had distributed it amongst his allies, or indeed among his own troops.
Will glanced back once more in the direction he knew the base lay, sighing before turning back to the others. “If someone… if someone gets hit, two others need to peel off and get them out. I don’t want to risk anyone any more than I have to.” He finished firmly, ready to quell the expected arguments. None came.
“Let’s go.”

“I’m not quite sure I understand, sir.” General Shorpak murmured uneasily.
“What is there to not understand, general?” The voice asked, sounding halfway amused, and halfway threatening. “I have made your instructions very clear. There is no way you can… misinterpret them.”
“Yes sir, of course.” The General snapped his mouth shut and took a firm hold on his voice, forcing his hands down and into his pockets to hide their trembling. His superior had once outright defied this disembodied voice. That was why he was now the General, and not the underling. That was several years ago, when his hair had been completely ginger, and still no one quite knew how the old General had… passed away; the unknowns had multiplied when his family had given a closed casket funeral. However he had passed away, Shorpak was not keen on finding it out for himself.
“Then we understand each other perfectly. Good day, General.” The room was silent once more, and it was several minutes before the General could bring himself to uproot his feet and leave.

It seemed like forever since he had been outside; or simply not in quarantine. The General had ordered him into a Clean room, and he hadn’t seen a clock or timepiece of any sort since his had been taken to test for contamination. He couldn’t really see the point; neither could the other three men who had come into contact with the Faes on the day they had arrived and so theatrically left. He hadn’t actually seen that; or the arrival for that matter. But, by order of the General, he was stuck here until he deemed it alright for them to be let out.
Looking around, the soldier sighed, tugging at the sleeve of the white jumpsuit that was identical to the other three; no hospital gowns for them. It was a relatively large room, separated into quarters by clear plastic sheeting around the four beds, and an alleyway between all of them. A black microphone hung down above each bed, contrasting to the pure white of everything else in the room, except the black speakers in the ceiling in the centre of the room. There had only been one doctor in what the solder estimated was more than a couple of days, but he hadn’t done any more than ask a few questions from beyond the plastic sheeting, the same questions for the other three men; the last man had answered all of his questions before he had even asked him. There was no sound in the room other than the breathing that was amplified by the microphones, and the occasional rustling as someone shifted in their beds. They weren’t supposed to get up and walk around; something the soldier thought was quite odd. The other men probably couldn’t if they tried; the clip of them being… set upon by a sword-wielding Fae from a security camera had, no doubt, caused a stir, to say the least, among those who had seen it. The ensuing rumours would no doubt make for some interesting scuttlebutt for when he was released from this claustrophobic, windowless room.
Four heads swivelled at once to the door at the tiny click it made as it opened, emitting a tall woman in a long white lab coat, the security badge the only visible colour except for her long black hair swept up in a red clip, and her glasses were rimless, but the arms were black. Even the clipboard and handbag she carried were white.
The soldier winced at the loud thump that came out of the speakers, and then frowned at the silence. Was it his imagination or had the lights flickered around the same time the noise had come?
“I am to understand that you four men each came into contact with the… contaminated creatures?” She spoke in a neat, clipped tone, her large dark eyes surveying all four men as they each nodded automatically. She nodded to herself before moving into one of the quarters, pen in hand. The soldier blinked at the lack of medical supplies she had, such as gloves or a surgical mask. Surely this meant that they had decided the men had not been contaminated at all.
The woman moved from quarter to quarter fairly quickly, glancing at her clipboard and asking a few questions before moving to the next one. Or at least that’s what he assumed she was doing seeing as he could see her lips move, and the soldiers she questioned moved theirs after she had. So either the microphones had gone out or they were all very good at reading lips. He half hoped it was the former; he wasn’t very good at reading lips.
“Anguston Highfoot Sledgemole.” The woman’s voice came from beside him, and the soldier jumped, turning his head to where the woman stood, only a few inches away from him. “You were, apparently, the only one who came into physical contact with one of the Faes, not just one of their… tools, but you were also the least injured in your experience. Your superiors also say that you specifically asked to take the food to the prisoners.” She paused in her speech, looking at him over her glasses and pursing her lips.
Anguston realized his mouth was open and promptly closed it with a click,
“That… that is correct, ma’am.” He murmured, and she nodded as if she knew exactly what he was going to say before he did.
“So you admit that you assisted the Faes in their escape.” She stated, scribbling something down on her clipboard even as Anguston gaped at her.
“What? No, I-” He could feel his eyes popping out of his skull; he hadn’t thought of how his actions would be interpreted before, and he certainly had not expected this!
“So you deny helping them.” Again, it was more of a statement than a question, and her pen paused in the act of writing something else as she observed him through her lenses, one eyebrow arched.
“I didn’t help them!”
“They used your access card to get out of the room, and down several corridors. You may have even helped them to get out of their cells; that room does not have video surveillance.”
“They stole it! One of them hit me and then knocked me out and left me!”
“Yes well, isn’t it convenient that no one else saw this happen.” She mused, half turning away from him to gaze around the room, making the three other soldiers look away and suddenly be very engrossed in their fingernails.
“If someone had seen they wouldn’t have escaped!” Anguston felt like shouting, and then realized what he had said. She turned around very slowly, cocking her head to stare at him like a bird while a slow smile uncurled on her lips.
“Anguston Highfoot Sledgemole. Come with me.” She promptly turned on her white heels, striding from the room faster than he thought was possible on the things. He really had no choice but to follow as best he could in bare feet.
The cold of the tiled floor outside the Clean room was a shock, and he stumbled slightly before grabbing onto the wall beside him for balance, and he glared at the woman’s back. The click of her heels continued down the corridor and up some stairs, and through yet more corridors, until finally Anguston caught up to her.
“Where are we going?” He gasped, a mite short of breath. At a sharp look from the woman he rephrased his question quickly. “It’s just that all the offices are the other way-”
“We are not going to an office.” She snapped, taking another turning into a corridor Anguston did not recognize.
“So… where are we going?”
“It is not where I am going, Mister Anguston Highfoot Sledgemole. It is where you are going. And you will find out soon enough.” She fell silent after that, keeping up her measured pace that made Anguston want to either jog or fall over. In his opinion, either would be as bad.

“He what?!” The General rose to his feet in front of the man in the pristine white lab coat, who was clutching a clipboard and looking very much like he’d rather be elsewhere. Anywhere else but there, really.
“He – he-” The man gulped, closing his eyes for a moment before gathering his words and spilling them onto the table. “He’s gone, sir.”
“Well then you had better find him, and deal with him,, hadn’t you, doctor?” The General murmured dangerously, and the man hastily nodded and started backing out of his office, his knuckles on the clipboard going white as the General spoke up again. “And, doctor… you should know by now the price of failure.” The doctor hastily nodded his head, bobbing his entire body like a nervous bird, his feet glued to the carpet. “Now get out of my office.”

Just as the woman actually seemed to be closing in on her target, or at least that was what Anguston assumed, as her pace quickened even more, a loud siren started up in the main building, quickly spreading to all the wings, accompanied by flashing orange lights.
“What’s that?” He had to shout to be heard over the noise, cringing as they stepped out through a door into harsh sunlight. Bringing up a hand to block out some of the rays, Anguston almost missed her answer.
“A young cadet has been discovered missing.” She told him in an exasperated tone of voice, taking off her glasses and dropping her clipboard.
“What do you-” Anguston stopped dead as he made the connection. “You mean they don’t actually think I…”
“Oh no, they think you helped the Fae escape, but they were going to use you as bait to try and lure them out. And then they’d kill you, and besides, one way or another, you did assist in their escape.” She muttered over her shoulder as she rummaged in a nearby bush to bring out a green canvas bag that she promptly threw at him. “The gates will be closed by now; you’ll need to get through the fence instead.” She pointed away from the main complex, towards the rifle range. “Go that way until you reach the fence; there will be a hole that should be big enough for you to get through. Keep going in that direction until you hit the road, and then turn left and follow it until you hit a gas station. Someone will pick you up there and take you somewhere safe.” Even as the last words came from her lips she was turning away towards the door, and she took a step before Anguston had gathered his thoughts enough to speak.
“Wait!” He opened and closed his mouth several times before he was able to make any other word come out of his mouth, and her cool eyes seemed to swallow him up in surety. “Who are you? Why are you helping me?” He coughed at how hoarse his voice came out as, and when he recovered she was beside him once more, offering a water canteen from his bag, which he still clasped in his arms.
“I am a Myth.” She breathed softly, handing him the canteen and walking back through the door.

Fanguy froze at the sound of voices, crouching on the ground in between Snowy and Will. The guards weren’t exactly where they were supposed to be, but close enough that they would not be able to give Todd grief about it later. Shifting forwards, Fanguy quickly decided on a form and rippled into it, becoming a black wolf with ease. With a striped Will blending into the dappled sunlight surprisingly well, and Snowy weaving her shield of air around her to escape the gaze of anyone who cared to look, they encircled the two guards with ease.
On the verge of attacking, Fanguy recoiled as one guard suddenly raised his rifle, aiming almost exactly at him. Immediately Fanguy flattened himself on the ground, all his canine muscles tensed and ready to spring out of the way. The rifle drifted a little before the muzzle flashed fire, the already loud crack that came from gunshots amplified by his newly acquired superior hearing.
When the bird fell to the ground beside him with a dull thump, Fanguy let loose a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding, forcing his muscles to relax slightly, even as the soldier moved closer to pick the dead fowl up. He had heard that being a soldier was rough, but he hadn’t heard of them shooting their own game before. Waiting until the man was close enough for his eyes to pick out the threads in his jacket, Fanguy leapt at the same time that he shifted again, flowing into the form of a huge black bear, immediately overwhelming the shocked soldier and sending his rifle flying. Hugging the soldier, Fanguy watched as the other one was hefted into the air by his feet, obviously gagged with a wad of air, and promptly trussed and gagged physically by Will. Letting his soldier go as soon as he stopped fighting, Fanguy winced at his groaning, glancing around to check for another soldier before changing back into his human form, helping Will tie up and gag his soldier before rejoining the now visible Snowy and Will to carry on through the forest.

“I want him found!” Shorpak slammed his fists down on the table, his face a thunderhead as the men before him each saluted nervously, babbling their ‘yes sirs’ and practically falling over their own feet to almost run out of his door. “Why am I in charge of such buffoons?!” He rumbled, his face twisted in a snarl.
“I asked the exact same question, General.” The General started at the voice, hastily sitting down and forcing his temper down before he answered the statement.
“Ah, sir, I was just-”
“I know what you were just doing, General. You never were very good at following orders, and you seem to be getting worse as you get older.”
“No, no sir! I follow your every order to the letter! It’s just that the men under me are imbeciles! They can’t follow orders if you were to tattoo it on their hands!” Abruptly he realised he was babbling as badly as the men he had just chased out of his office had been and snapped his jaw shut.
“Their intelligence notwithstanding, General, they are the men you wanted, and the authority you strived so hard to achieve. Must I remind you that without me you would still be grubbing around for the old General, polishing his boots and cleaning up his messes, which you took the blame for anyway?” The voice sounded, of all things, bored and amused! The General bristled and breathed several times before counting to ten and replying.
“You do not need to remind me of my place now, Sir.” He growled, the audible capitalisation of ‘sir’ grudgingly given. “What are your orders, Sir?”
As the voice continued on, detailing exactly how he was to go about obeying, the General ground his teeth, repeating to himself that one day he would have supreme command and he would find whoever the owner of this voice was and grind them beneath his heel.

“She did say turn left at the road, right?” Anguston muttered to himself as he looked both ways down the road, squinting into the sun. Sighing, he sat down on a nearby fallen tree, taking his head in his hands. His legs felt like they were going to fall off. Checking his watch, Anguston groaned. He had only been walking for twenty minutes! It felt like forever…
Staggering to his feet once more, Anguston trundled along the road, shifting his bag on his shoulders every now and then. The sun glinted down on him, making the shirt stick to his back and his feet drag along the tarmac.

“Are you sure that was… wise, Master?” The imp jumped as its master turned to face it, not quite sure what to make of the smile on their face.
“Everything is falling into place, little imp. You take care of yourself, little one, and leave the wisdom to me.” The imp scampered out of the way as their Master rose, gliding towards the door and away from the open window.

“Hey Voyd, want to see the new setup in the girls dorm?” Harper called over to here Voyd was sulking in the hallway two over from where Margaret was still working. She hesitated only a moment before nodding and pushing away from the wall and following.
“Moss had the same question as you, you know.” Harper told her as they turned a corner, two large double doors in front of them as they came into a wide room with multiple doors leading off of it.
“Oh? Which one?”
“Yeah, the one about why they were called ‘levels’ when they are actually wings, but all underground and all on the same level.”
“Did you give her the same answer that you did to me?” Voyd asked as they pushed through a set of double doors, into a long corridor that split into two at the end.
“No, actually.”
“Oh, so the one you gave her made sense then.”
“Err… no.”
“Righto then.” Voyd automatically turned to the left corridor, walking down past several rooms before she realised one fundamental difference. “Harper… why are there no doors?”

Cerberus lounged against the pole leisurely, passing a helmet back and forth between his hands. He had been warned not to expect whoever he was meeting to be punctual, so he had taken the liberty of buying an ice cream from the small shop behind him. More of a Popsicle, really, one of the ones that said they were made of fruit juice but was really just flavoured sugar. But he had finished it about five minutes ago, and couldn’t really be bothered to go and wash his hands in what apparently passed for a bathroom in this place, so his fingers were all sticky, and slightly off-colour. It had been orange flavoured, he believed.
Narrowing his eyes, Cerberus peered down the road at an approaching speck that slowly resolved itself into a man-like shape. It wasn’t going very fast, and as Cerberus watched, it took out what looked to be a water canteen and stopped to drink. And then shake the canteen, drop it and get out another one.
Cerberus went back into the shop for another ice cream. This time he thought he’d try berry.

Will signalled toward where Neo and Ebi were situated, telling them to be quiet; the guards were about to change shifts, one of the most important parts of their plan. The guards moved mechanically, like small tin soldiers who had been dipped in black paint; or maybe show polish. Two disappeared around the side of the house, at the same time the remaining two turned away from each other and moved about five metres directly away from each other before stopping suddenly, turning an about face and marching back until they were almost nose to nose.
Getting past would only be a matter of timing, but a wrong sound, a false move, and everything would fall apart. They had about half an hour until the next changing of the guards; less time for the guards further out, as each of the units were radioed on a secure frequency every hour to check for any irregularities. Todd was getting into hacking the frequency, but he had warned Will that he would probably need more time than they had. Will wasn’t particularly fond of testing his ability at this point in time.

Neo spotted Will signalling over to them, nudging Ebi and jerking his head towards them.
“Whaddya suppose that means?” He asked almost silently, and Ebi thought for a millisecond before answering.
“It means attack!” She whispered jubilantly, bounding forwards with Neo following her only a second later.

Anguston stumbled towards the gas station, finally reaching the blessed shade and collapsing in a heap by one of the air pumps. Gasped for air, he rolled his head to look at what looked like a very tall young man, with a short crop of fiery red orange hair. He appeared to be licking a sticky red liquid off of his fingers.
“Hello there. You got a name?” He came over, bending down beside Anguston and picking up his bag, glancing at the contents.
“Angus- Anguston.” Anguston gasped, coughing as he was hauled to his feet.
“Well, Anguston,” The young man started, hitting Anguston’s back several times to stop him coughing. “I’m here to get you away before they start putting up blockades on all the streets. Coming?” Anguston caught the helmet thrown at his stomach an instant before it probably would have winded him, warily following the young man towards the motorbike sitting lazily in the shade and shouldering his backpack. Which he had to take off in order to put on the black jacket he was tossed before actually getting on the bike. “So, Anguston, you got a shorter name? How about Bob?”
“Err…”

“Well… that’s a very good question, and the answer would probably have to be…”
“Because the doors were blocking all the chi in this place! Besides, Moss agrees with me that they were completely the wrong colour.” Kel popped out from her room, a toothy grin fixed on her face. “And another pro, no one can slam their doors! Much less cause for headaches!” She finished, waving a book about chi under Voyd’s nose.
“I like being able to slam my door.” Voyd grumbled, snatching at the book and scowling as Kel hid it behind her back.
“Besides… who chose the colour scheme for these… things?!” Voyd demanded, picking at the material covering the doorway of the nearest room.
“That would be me!” Moss piped up as she stuck her head out from behind some more curtains she was hanging up as they spoke.
“What colour are mine?” Voyd asked suspiciously, moving along the corridor even as Harper and Kel moved to block her way.
“Well, see, no one else wanted them and you weren’t here and they thought it might be funny if…” Harper trailed off as Voyd shoved past, hastily pulling down her ears.
“PINK?!”

“What are they… oh crap.” Will put his hand to his eyes, shaking his head and sighing heavily.
“I suppose we should probably go after them?’ Snowy asked, pretending to be innocent when Will glanced at her.
“I personally think that that would be the only possible thing to do in this situation.” Fanguy piped up from the other side, nodding even as he prepared to rise and follow the two other Fae into the dark building.
“Fine. Just remind me to restrict their free time when we get back.” Will muttered as he bounded forward, taking one guard from behind as Ebi and Neo disappeared into the building. Fanguy chose the other guard, muffling any noise with a suddenly large a furry bear paw where his hand used to be. “Catch up and stick with them!” Will hissed at Snowy’s back, barely registering her curt nod over her shoulder before he and Fanguy moved around the house, ready to silence more men.

[Irish]

(just putting it back on the front page)