The Meteor [Open/Accepting]

[Dark Xaero]

[Zurai]

“There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their simmering sound,

And frogs in the pool singing at night,
And wild plum trees in tremulous white,

Robins will wear their feathery fire,
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;

And not one will know of the war, not one,
Will care at last when it is done.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree.
If Human kind perished, utterly.

And spring herself, when she woke at dawn.
Would scarcely know, that we were gone.”

The gentle humming of an engine followed with the odd resistance of turbulence, went completely unnoticed by Zurai and the three Andro units who accompanied him. After receiving the coordinates to their destination from the ever helpful, Zachary Hawkins. Zurai's master, wasted no time in shipping him off. The mechanical humanoid knew very well that having been hung up on didn't do much for the mood the woman had accumulated. So, he left without a word. He only hoped poor Malcolm didn't have to suffer the fallout.

Looking back to a small piece of tattered paper within his hand, Zurai skimmed over the words of the light poem written upon it. He knew not of its origin or of its creator, but cared about it deeply enough to keep it upon his being. It was moments like these where he found himself questioning this small piece of art, especially one particular verse.

“Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree. If “robot” kind perished... utterly.”

The future of robot kind, that was what he questioned. His brothers and sister, the Freak Striker Corps. Where they not just another invention waiting to be tossed aside the moment advancements surpassed them? Was decommission, the only true end? Regardless, machines were entirely different from organics. They, were born. Machines, machines were built.

“Commander, we will be at Splinterburg in a matter of fifteen minutes.” the low, abrupt, monotone of an electronic voice snapped the attention back to Zurai as one of his entourage announced their current time to the landing zone. The humanoid gave a curt nodded in understanding while slowly storing his poem in a pant pocket. The time for combat was close. Running a quick diagnostics of his systems, Zurai pulled out one of his custom built Volt Magnums, checking its state of integrity while observing that the ammo amount was in accordance to specifications.

The Volt magnums were, in the most broadest term. Pistols, with short built in vibrosaber bayonets. However these were not just any pair of pistols. They were custom built to harness the power output of Zurai's charged personality. When not in need of that function however, the firearms could also handle themselves well as standalone magnums. Do, to the fact both fire bolts of highly focused electricity. Though not as powerful as when used for their original purpose, They can, ward off Goliaths.

Holstering the pistol back to his hip, the humanoid machine grabbed hold of an on board safety rail above him. The craft they were in was of simple design and barely held room for three people let alone a group of four machines, but the andro units surprisingly, knew how to use the room they had.

Opening up data links between him and his troop, Zurai relayed his orders. “Beta units: 45, 62 and 51. Upon assessment of the situation within splinterburg. We, will spread out and assist the sectors receiving the most punishment. Once a strong foothold is established. I, will contact councilmen Zachary Hawkins to receive new orders. Let our enemies hear that we, are machines... we know no fear.”  

[Dark Xaero]

[Swiftnife : Old York : Broken Avenue]

“So, how do you like your job? I trust they pay better then what I usually get.” He asked with a short chuckle, trying to keep the ball rolling on the conversation.

Nikki thought for a moment while she swivelled her glass around. The subject of credits seemed to be far from her mind. “About... three thousand credits, but it all varies.”

Not even hell itself could measure how far Swiftnife's jaw had just dropped. Three thousand credits took his usual earnings and tossed them beyond the reaches of space and time. He, had been outdone. Swallowing his pride, the man composed himself and knocked back his water. “I see... anyways, how did you find the time to travel on over to Broken Avenue and look for me? Isn't the express always busy?”

“Ya, it is. But, I've already earned more then my share of days off. I just thought, you know, to make use of it.” Nikki explained, waving a hand about in the air to add emphasis.

“Make use of it huh...” That wasn't the whole truth, Swift knew it.

Staring casually at the empty glass in his hand the older senti thought about Nikki's words carefully. Yes, she did idolize him and it seemed like more then enough incentive to be here. But one thing didn't entirely add up. Her job. From what he could remember about his time living in the Hub city, the Senti Express was gruelling and thanks to Nikki he now understood why. The pay. This usually meant that time off was a luxury, not a simple commodity that could be earned casually and if he knew anything at all about Nikki, she, was lazy. Another thing that also went against Nikki was, if she wanted to find him so badly, what took her so long? Swift understood that life had its hardships but he use to be part of a guard that, to this day still protects one of the most valuable individuals in the world and he never had time off. No, something was wrong here. Nikki was hiding something which involved coming to Old York. Coincidence, just happened to have them bump into each other first.  

[Dark Xaero]

[Zurai : Splinterburg]

The sounds of gunfire, screams, the heavy thundering of giant steps and explosions. All, echoed in the distance surrounding as Zurai tore his way out of a large heap of assorted rubble, tossing aside limp bodies and charred carcasses alike. The journey, to the appointed landing zone had been a little hostile. To elaborate, a Goliath had gotten sight of them and managed to tear apart their transport's starboard engine just minutes before touchdown. The result, Zurai and the rest of his team had been scattered.

Rising to his full height while kicking aside some more debris the android immediately opened up communications to the rest of his team. “Beta units respond...” Static filled his audio receptors. “I repeat, Beta units: 45, 62, 51, report.”

The static continued, but quickly subsided as a familiar monotoned voice responded with urgency.

“Commander, unit 62 reporting. I've survived the crash with minimal damage, however, I am unable to connect with 45. His location beacon is somewhere in your vicinity.”

“I understand 62, send 45's coordinates to me, I'll find him.” Zurai replied coolly adjusting his visual heads up display to show a waypoint marker over his newest objective.

“Understood commander, I will investigate 51 in the meantime. His position is nearby though he is also not reporting. I suspect he may have sustained damage to his communicator along with 45.”

The likelihood of that happening twice was a hundred to one. Still, Zurai knew that these units were built to be below his own intelligence, a trait that made the mechanical humanoid question their effectiveness along with their survival length.

“Alright 62, verify the situation. If 51 has been eliminated, focus on the main objective and establish contact with C.E.C. Forces. I will regroup once I have assessed the fate of unit 45.” He gave a short pause. “Over and out.”

With communications finally silenced Zurai observed the predicament he was in. According to what geographical data he attained from Councilmen Zachary Hawkins, They were, in Splinterburg. Unfortunately, it was a sector that seemed to be on the brink of collapse. From the sight of where he had landed, the scene told him that a lone squad of organic fighters had made a last stand to protect their home. A final rally that never seemed to have even dented the ensuing chaos.

Regarding each mangled body with some semblance of respect Zurai scaled over a mound of destroyed rubble and proceeded with his mission.  

[Dark Xaero]

[Swiftnife : Old York : Broken Avenue]

“Your hiding something, aren't you Nikki...”

The silence and tension in the air was thick, thick enough to cut with a blade. Then again, Swiftnife had always preferred it that way. This rugged looking senti mercenary had lived much of his days breathing such air. He was use to it. But, what he was not experienced with, was when someone next to him had just learned to taste it. The bar had closed for the night. Its patrons all off to wallow in some alley with their own turmoil until the doors once more unlocked. Swift, wither he liked it or not, was alone to deal with the trouble he had just stepped into.

“What... What makes you think I'm hiding something?” Nikki's demeanor shifted slightly. She was... anxious? No, frustrated.

“Nikki. Reading people comes with the territory of once serving in the C.E.C.” Though Swiftnife didn't care much to admit It. It was thanks to that very same bit of experience that he was alive today.

The woman didn't speak, but it was clear to Swift that he was peeling away the layers.

“Nikki, just tell me whats going on. Maybe I can help.”

“Help?” She turned to him with angry disbelief. “Why would you help? Earlier you didn't even know me.”

There it was, her true colors. Swift had been wondering where that fire of Nikki's had gone. “Kid, listen I-”

“Your sorry? First, my closest friend suddenly vanishes into thin air. Then, not much later my only Idol, who was like a father to me just drops off the face of the earth, without so much as a goodbye! Do you have any idea what that's like! Huh!? Do you!?”

Yes, Swift did. When he had lost his brother Tundra, it was another painful moment in his life. But he had to also deal with being framed for the murder, to be on the run. Nikki didn't. As much as he hated to speak the truth. The fact was, he had simply forgotten about the tomboy thanks to everything that had been going on. Yes he had checked up on her from time to time. But in its entirety, he had just left her in his past much like many other people. She was a good kid, but someone like her didn't need to get mixed up with him. It would only lead to her own death.

Which, brought Swiftnife back to the present matter. Why was she here in Broken Avenue. It was time to get serious.

“Listen kid,” he began with a growl, startling the young woman. “I know I'm a screw up and right now nothing would probably ease your anger more then to clock me one. But, your hiding something and my gut tells me its the very thing that's got you pissed. So why don't you cut this dramatic bullshit and speak about whats really on your mind, cause I know for a fact you gave up on finding me a long time ago...”  

[Dark Xaero]

[Zurai : Splinterburg]

Making his way towards the last location of Unit 45 seemed more of a task then first anticipated by the mechanical humanoid, as he clambered over, small, collapsed, defensive lines, through devastated structures recently erected and around the dead and decaying. Zurai, was no stranger to this destruction, he had detailed data on mutant behavior after all and this, this alone was just the tip of the crumbling tower.

Stepping through an archway composed of aged metal, tin and riddled with bullet holes, Zurai ventured on. Passing small fires, curling and twisted metal and of course, plenty of corpses to go around. However these corpses were not organic. No, these, were now machine.

Entering a clearing, the sight put a bit of tension upon Zurai. From heads, power supplies, to limbs, the area was littered in severed parts. All stuck upon a sharped pike of some sort. This was no ordinary attack. The data he had received now spoke true. The beasts were organized.  

[Kallori]

Sera looked at Jack, registering his question, after watching the cowardly chef head back into the kitchen. "Sounds fun. All that fighting worked up my appetite again, and it'd be nice to chase my steak with something." Although Sera didn't exactly know what she was going to have, she licked her lips, just the thought of food invigorated her, and she made quick strides for the door. However, she paused, spinning on her heel to survey the damage; all the bodies, broken light fixtures and tables, and some of her shell casings in small pools of blood, it truly was a grisly sight to behold. Taking up her gun, she aimed it where the last six thugs had stood, pretending to shoot. She did this to see just how well her 'dead eye' was, though she was miles from Sheriff Springs. Looks like I gotta work on that.

Outside the diner, she spotted Sheriff Springs and Douglas talking about something, but another voice caught her attention.

"Hey, Smoke!" Only a select few in the entire world called Sera that, and turning to see the recipient, found a girl with brown, messy, and slightly curly locks that swayed with each movement the girl made.

Sera's face brightened,upon seeing he girl, and she opened her arms to be tackled with a hug. "Ash!" the two met, and from Ash's momentum, spun as soon as they connected their heartfelt display. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

"I could say the same for you, Smoke! Uncle keeps talking about you, and your headstrong attitude. And ever since you became part of the Roundup, I feel like I'm seeing less and less of you." Ash broke off from the hug, but never let go of Sera's hands.

"Oh, he does, does he?" Sera glanced at Sheriff Springs, a grin creeping on her face. "Yeah, he hasn't changed a bit, considering he gave me and Jack a lecture in Steel Meals. Moreover me."

"Jack?" Ash seemed confused at first, but turned her head to the boy with the green hair. "Oh, you mean Red Eyes!" Ash turned her attention back to Sera, "Now I getcha!"

Sera looked behind her, noticing her comrade during the skirmish had exited by now. "There you are, I was wondering when you'd follow." Sera gestured to Ash with her hand while still looking at Jack, "Jack, allow me to introduce one of my lifelong friends, Ashley Porter. Ash," she turned her head to address Ash now and gestured to Jack, "meet Jack, one of my recent friends."  

[Dark Xaero]

[Jack : Steel Town]

Jack stepped forward and offered a hand in a gentlemanly gesture. Not only for show, but to impress upon the lingering sheriff Springs-who held him in his peripheral vision-that he was an individual who could be trusted. “Its a pleasure to meet you miss Porter.”

The young woman smiled brightly in response, shaking his hand gingerly. “Thank you, and its Ash, the day I hear someone start calling me “Miss Porter” is the day I become as rough edged as my uncle.”

Jack nodded, drawing himself back as Sera chimed in and the two women began to prattle away about their lives and what they both missed out upon, leaving the mechanical boy in an awkward silence, at least to those who decided to steal a glance of him.

However to the more observant eye, those people couldn't be farther from the truth. Jack was searching, scanning the scene beyond as it were. Bringing up everything he could to pinpoint what a possible resurface of the gang that had attacked would be like if they decided upon vengeance.

He was also dwelling on the point that Sera had confirmed him to now be her friend. A point, that made him smile slightly. He now had two friends in his life.

Looking behind himself, Jack spotted the long metal pole he had unceremoniously picked up during his most recent encounter with the lovely people at Freedom's stand. The slight dent it had received thanks to its connection with his head still present while it rested near the entrance to the dinner. Casually he retrieved it and rested the slightly weighted object against his shoulder before he jogged on after Sera and Ashley who both seemed still engrossed with their own conversation, unaware that they were walking away.  

[Dark Xaero]

[Zurai : Splinterburg]

The heavy whir and sizzling sounds of automated plasma fire met with an urgency that brought Zurai quickly up to date on the presence of a sudden combat engagement. Entering a partial clearing with haste following the noise the elaborate android was met with the sight of unit 45, who was currently in heavy engagement against a swarm of the mutant threat. Designation: Young.

Without so much as a word Zurai drew his weapons and began firing. Blue-hued bolts of searing hot energy streaked through the already shattered scene as the screeching young turned their attention towards the newest threat, eager to tear it apart.

Inching down beside his only comrade within this chaos, Zurai continued firing as bolt after bolt vaporized one of the many abominations that clawed and screamed its way towards their silent killers who left expressionless stances in the wake of the oncoming wave of monstrosities which had at one point been human.

Dozen by Dozen they fell as Zurai tore apart the ones grasping life at his feet with his bayonets, while his larger compatriot severed, decapitated, stomped and downright slaughtered whatever beast was stupid enough to get within range of its bladed arm. Sickly greenish blood stained their appearances as though it were paint while the final stragglers limped and whimpered away out of cowardice. Victory had been achieved.

But Zurai wasn't about to claim it. Turning his attention to unit 45 the humanoid quickly went to work on assessing the damaged. There wasn't much time. Though the exterior chassis was still structurally sound, it had taken a large amount of impact trauma thanks to the crash, which ruined its effectiveness by thirty percent, however, besides some minimal damage to its optical sensor and the loss of its two way communicator, the unit was still ready and able to perform its duty. Which was good do to the situation he knew they had just been put in.

A large howl that went along the lines of wailing metal accompanied by a series of clicks echoed close by. Immediately Zurai went back on full alert, his weapons drawn as he scanned the collapsed alcoves and opened ledges above their surroundings. Though reports and other data was vague, all pointed to a similar sound that had recently plagued a series of small hotspots throughout the wastes. The only problem with this was that the recorded sounds came from the last reported communications of teams that had just dealt with a heavy infestation of young. Something had been with those swarms and organic soldiers among the C.E.C. Had only one name for it.

As the wailing and clicking grew closer, Zurai tried to pinpoint the direction of origin but his sensors seemed to spin out of control. It was unlike anything he had encountered before. Quickly he went back to back with 45 as the sound grew to proportions that would normally burst the eardrums of an organic. With the moment of truth about to pit them against fate, only one word could escape the elaborate humanoid. “Babysitter.”  

[Dark Xaero]

[Swiftnife : Old York : Broken Avenue]

She had told him everything, though reluctant at first, the young tomboy was still no different then when she was a child. To Swiftknife this made things easier. The confession revealed his suspicions to be right, according to Nikki, she had recently quit her job do to a falling out with the management for not wanting to investigate the disappearance of one of its top couriers. A man named Daniel Martinez. This man, was a good friend of Nikki's and the sole reason she was now here in Old York. Apparently, the tomboy had followed a few leads that pointed to Martinez being murdered at the hands of a wanted raider. Leather Lips Larry.

“So,” Swift began as he tried very hard to stifle a chuckle. “You think you can take him alone?”

The young woman looked to him with a serious expression, she wasn't laughing. “I know I can.”

To this, Swift felt a bit concerned, he recognized that look and those words. Nikki was a stubborn one, and to Swiftnife's own guess, it was obvious what she believed and it was stupid

“Kid, your not invincible, you don't know what your getting yourself into.”

Nikki snorted, “I can take care of myself.”

The loud bang of Swiftnife's fist hitting the counter, broke the tension as fast as the empty glass upon it. Once again, the women was slightly rattled, “I'm sure you can, but your not going after him.”

Nikki looked to him in disbelief as she tried to compose herself, “y-you can't-”

“I'm not, this guy is mine” Swift hardened his gaze “And I work alone.”  

[Kallori]

The roar of the engine died down gradually as Rory eventually came to a stop. The highway she came from had led her to an old, seemingly abandoned Junction. She propped the kickstand to support the bike as she got off, her cigarette nothing more than the butt. She tossed it far from her mouth as she dug out another, leaning on the bike to light it. Her finger ignited into a soft blue flame, licking at the air and satisfying her request from it. Cigarette now lit, she headed into the Junction.

Her steps echoed on the beaten husks of buildings, nothing organic to be seen. This place looks worse than mine, Rory thought. Her house, which was an old, abandoned warehouse she shared with another coworker, was always covered in a layer of her belongings, she never having bothered to clean it up and always telling her roommate to not touch anything. The junction, on the other hand, had banners with an odd logo painted on them were strewn about, covering large chunks of the ground and sides of buildings, all tattered to a degree that could barely keep itself together. Something besides the fires had caused this destruction, and she was here to find out what.

Stepping further in, she walked across a banner, studying the dirty yellow logo plastered on the blood red backdrop. It wasn't anything she recognized, and certainly wasn't of Council origin. Not even close. Though the fabric's condition wasn't perfect, she could still make out a rough image of a mask over what looked like a scythe, but there was something nagging at the back of her mind that that wasn't correct.

Before she could peruse any longer, she caught movement across the street, darting from behind one building to the shadow of another. It was a dark flash, but regardless, Rory burst her right hand into flame, the blue glow bouncing off nearby surfaces. If this was the last person of a failed regime, she'd snuff out their life like a candle in the wind. "Run run, as fast as you can." Rory taunted, stepping cautiously forward. "You can't scare me, I'm your harbinger."

An arrow whizzed past the back of her head, planting itself in the side of a large barrel. Rory studied it for a quick second, cocking her head as she wondered why her assailant would purposefully miss. Then the familiar sound of a lit fuse met her ears, and she realized the barrel was full of gunpowder. The resulting explosion engulfed Rory in a red smoke. The smoke then slowly turned blue, and sent out dozens of small fireballs in the general direction of where she thought her attacker came from. "You'll have to do better than that if you want to kill me!"  

[Kallori]

Another arrow. That was number four, this time embedding itself in a wall of a charred building. Rory sent another barrage of fireballs out, her anger rising at how fast this target was. Of course, there could've been more than one assailant, but she was currently focused on whoever tried to shoot her. Which was loose, and seemed to be all over the place. Yet her flame never withered. "I can go all day on this!" she roared to the wind. Her boss had warned how hard this mission would be, but being a seasoned pro, she was the most capable for it, and certainly wasn't going to lose to arrows. In a world of superpowers and hi-tech weaponry, why were these people using medieval archery?

With a whiz of another arrow, Rory flung a fireball in the direction it came from, and finally struck home, the assailant catching fire. Gotcha. Rory sprung over to the person, flailing about and yelling at the top of their lungs. Rory seized them by the neck and slammed them down on the ground hard enough to crack bone. She absorbed the flames so that she could speak to them properly.

"Tell me who you are and what that banner is, or I'll burn you alive!" Rory's teeth gritted. She had finally seized this person, but her satisfaction wasn't complete.

The person, looking slightly Asian, and was dressed in a garb similarly fashioned to the banners, logo and all, laughed in her face, then started speaking in a foreign tongue. Rory wasn't keen on languages, especially those from the eastern hemisphere, so she punched the person in the face.

"English, a*****e!" Rory's eyes seemed to burn with a passion and hatred, the latter of which was aimed at the Asian.

"You think you special." they muttered speaking a broken english, and Rory knew the person was male just then. "But you are not so special. You fall before our might. We crush you like bug.

"Who the ******** are you?!" Rory shook the man, her ignited hand inches from his face. "Last chance."

The man withdrew a sword, which looked a lot like a katana, before pointing it at his throat. "You'll never know." he muttered, and then plunged the sword, blood spurting for a short while, and a few seconds later, he was dead.

Rory let out a heavy groan. "Rory here. Yeah, I'm at the site." she paused, glancing around. "I found one of the survivors. Seems to have been part of some resistance or something. Yeah, I'll scour the rest of the place. I don't think they're all dead either. The guy didn't give me s**t. Killed himself." Rory waited for a bit, listening to the person on the other end. "Alright, I'm on it. Rory out."  

[Dark Xaero]

[Bludd]

An hour, for a whole ******** hour he had managed to draw it out, but fate didn't like to play and now here he was, standing before the firing line. His first weapon, a scoped hunting rifle that was once in pristine condition, was now bent and useless without ammo. His second, a bloody machete, stood just as much chance as a mad dog lunging blindly into a hail of bullets. Like it or not, his a** was grass. Or so it seemed.

Casdin Gallows, known widely as “Bludd,” liked to think of himself as a problem solver. He solved, practical problems. Problems that involved a simple round to the head or a good piece of sharp steel to the throat, it was what he was best at. However, this, was another kind of problem, one he was very well versed in but never really cared much for. Negotiation.

There were three of them now, three, out of the thirty they had brought in. Oh he hadn't expected them at all, at first. They were organized, using the combined abilities of two sound dampening field generating Senti to mask their approach. The one mistake they made however, upon entering the decrepit old shopping mall he had chosen to scavenge in. Was speak first.

Now here he was, covered head to toe in the blood of many, all thanks to the stupid mistake one clean dressed pretty boy made. Casdin could only hope that same pretty boy held any ounce of grievance. Sadly, he was mistaken.

“Mister Gallows, I am quite disappointed in your choice of answer to my employer's simple proposition.” The man's voice was still smooth, still composed, even after all the blood that had been spilled.

Casdin let out a sigh, “Yeah well, lets just say I know who your employer is and leave it at that.”

The tension between the two of them was thick, thick enough that he even found doubt in his machete's own sharpness. Still, as Casdin stood there with both his leather jacket and combat trousers drenched in the blood of several other individuals, he realized he still had one trick left up his sleeve. A single ace in his hand. The question was.

Did this guy and his last two goons know their history?

“Mister Gallows, if you would please think things through. This doesn't have to end with your demise...”

Please? Casdin almost dropped into a fit of giggles, this would be easier then he thought. “Well... I might reconsider. For a price.”

The smooth customer lowered his gun, before motioning for his entourage to follow. “Simply name it, mister Gallows.”

“Oh of course my good chum, but first, let me tell you a story.” Casdin eyed the three carefully. “You, do have time for a short simple story don't you?”

The sharp dressed man sighed before holstering his weapon, a pistol and crossing his arms in impatience. “Fine, but know your life is in my hands mister Gallows.”

Casdin wanted to show him, to show this idiot the smile he had already on his face. But doing so would be telling, and right now he wasn't exactly feeling generous. Well, that and the fact the horned helmet he wore coupled with the hood which hung loosely from said horns had his only way to see in the dark and wasn't really easy to put back on again.

Clearing his throat, he began his tale. “Once upon a time there was a lone traveller, lets call him, Buddy.”

Stopping to listen, Casdin could hear it, a faint whispering in the silence. “Now Buddy, after a long trek in the wastes one day, sought shelter for the coming night. He was tired, so any building would do.”

It was getting clearer now, slowly but surely, he just needed a little more time. “Eventually, he settled for a partially collapsed shopping mall. Much like this one.”

They couldn't hear, they couldn't hear it at all. “During the night, as he lay down to rest his heavy eyes by a simple thrown together campfire. Something. Woke him.”

Casdin looked to the pretty boy and his two nannies once more as they passed the time with idle gestures in order to cover their obvious impatient frustration. “It was faint at first, but as Buddy looked to the dark reaches beyond his little fire, he could make out. Sounds.”

The moment was coming, “Something was... whispering, murmuring and muttering. Carefully Buddy took out his rifle and aimed with anticipation into the darkness. But he did something wrong. Do you know what?”

“Mister Gallows, can we please wrap this up? I am getting rather bored with this tale.” The pretty boy didn't realize it yet, even as his two goof balls vanished without a sound before Casdin's eyes. No, the man was too engrossed with his success to see.

“He blinked.” And with the flash of his eyes, the smooth criminal was gone.  

[Dark Xaero]

[Zurai : Splinterburg]

The Attacks were fast, and if not for the quick thinking and level headed choices a machine like Zurai could execute, it would have been the end of this story for both him and 45. The shrill sound of wailing metal and clicking echoed the area like the way sound redirects off of an amphitheatre, almost as though it were announcing its presence. Hunched over, across from him and his counterpart a creature covered in numerous bits of torn fabric and other materials slowly rose to its full height in the illumination of Zurai's nightvision. With a build that resembled something similar to what an organic would deem as mild malnutrition, this new opponent was anything but.

Standing at about eleven feet the “Babysitter” appeared to be almost elderly in form, but that was just do to the way it carried itself. With an extended lower jaw, sunken nasal cavity and long slender sharp tipped fingers, this creature, despite its initial appearance was something not to take lightly. It was strong, able to take more then 80 direct hits from his volt magnums and not even flinch. It was also light on its feet, to the point that it almost seem to vanish within the air.

Zurai stood poised for the next attack, inspecting briefly a sparking section upon his forearm where the mutant had managed to connect a swipe. A wound he had received in response to moving Unit 45 out of the creature's attack path. This thing would be tricky but he had eradicated many mutants before this, what was one more to add upon the list.  

[Dark Xaero]

[Swiftnife : Old York : Broken Avenue]

“Come on buddy time to get up, can't have you sleeping all day on this counter”

With a groan Swiftknife slowly opened his eyes to the world of consciousness before immediately wishing he hadn't as his head throbbed in abrupt protest. Mumbling obscenities he took a moment to adjust taking in all the same things that the currently empty bar still had to offer, until finally he slipped off the counter to his feet.

“Heh guess you had one hell of a night arguing with that little young miss huh?”

Swiftnife glanced at the man who was addressing him, it was the bartender, cheerful as always. “Yeah, you could say that.”

Mulling through recent events he quickly remembered what he was suppose to take care of today. He also remembered that Nikki was not gonna let him do this on his own either. In fact, that was how the night ended, after arguing with the young woman for at least two hours, he eventually cracked and gave her the victory. He found it frustrating to no end how women held such an ability.

Swfitnife stretched, his muscles arched and his joints didn't try to hide it either, today was gonna be one of those days. Letting out a yawn he looked to the Barkeep once more. “Hey, does your washroom work?”

The man thought for a moment while wiping clean a glass. “Ya it works, while, the sink anyways.” he chuckled.

Swiftnife nodded, then, with what grace he still had about him, he carefully staggered over to the door that was marked 'washroom.' Inside, the small bathroom looked typical for a bar, for one it was small, held a shattered toilet and a broken mirror, however unlike most bar's he had been to, this one's bathroom was certainly more clean. Though he was using the term generously.

Not really one for the decor, Swift turned his attention to the sink and checked the taps. Only the cold tap seemed to function, but it was exactly what the doctor ordered. With a sigh he gathered the running water into his hands and splashed it about his face a few times as the warm air turn to a chill cold if only briefly.

With a smile he felt his headache lessen still the other arches of his body continued to protest. “Yup, its gonna be one of those days.”  

[Kallori]

"So Ash, have you talked to the rest of the gang lately?" Sera inquired.

"Not really." Ash seemed a little sad as she said those words. "The only one I keep in touch with now is Cinder, but she's off in South America doing something with the CEC stationed down there." she gave a brief pause. "I haven't seen or spoken to any of the boys since we went our own ways."

"Oh." Back in the day, when they were but youngsters, Sera, Ash, and four other children who were staying in Steel Town at the time decided to form a group in order to make a name for themselves and let everyone know what they were capable of. What was their group name again? Something to do with fire, Sera knew that much. Brimstone? Firebrand? Oh well, it'll come back to her. "Really? The boys haven't tried to call you or anything?" Sera turned her head sharply to Ash.

Ash shook her head, her brown locks flowing with the movement. "Nope."

Sera looked a little puzzled. "Huh. I suppose we better get on their asses for falling out!" the two girls laughed at Sera's comment.

"No doubt! But I don't even know where they are!"

And neither did Sera. The last she heard of them was years ago. Jeez, she couldn't even remember their real names, only their nicknames for the group; Dust, Kindle, and Blaze. It was actually hard to forge Blaze though, he was basically the ninja of the group. "You don't think something's happened to them, do you?"

"Don't even." Ash gave her a cold stare. "We've already seen you and Red Eyes take down a steroid-induced army of assholes, let's try not to talk any more about death."

"Alright, just thought I'd mention it."