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GODDAMN, THEM GREYWATER FOLK BE LUCKY.

If he had been awake during the ride, members of Greywater would probably be injured, maimed, or dead, and it sure as hell wouldnt had been him.

But now that the ride was over...


One eye slowly opened and peered around before he raised his head, taking in the nice crampt metal interior of the APC. The ******** was he? Oh right, mercenary job he picked up and was hitching a ride before he decided to take a nap. But since the vehicle seemed to have stopped, it meant that the destination had been reached, which only meant...

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

He stomped his way out of the APC and released a mighty roar shriek, like the one right at the start of Slayer's Angel of Death.

Well, it was probably a good thing that most of the other mercenaries had already left before he woke up, 'cause he'd just start spewing trash from his mouth first thing, and they wouldnt have to deal with it.

"Man, I feel like I got the energy of two hundred and fourty-six exploding suns," Yay, naps were always a good way for a quick refresher, "I feel like I can take on an army of two million crippled midgets by myself."

Haha, idiocy.

Right, that was in the job description. Something about keeping the order of the area. Sort of like a police force or something.

He grabbed his 'sword' if you want to call it that, and tried to figure out where the hell he was going in order to get to this Ascended Way place. Well, better to ask.

"Oi," he yelled out at the radio, "How do I get there?"

Too bad he didnt know that the thing worked with a press of a button, but hopefully someone else in the area would be able to guide him.

The previously missing APC rolled back in, this time hauling with it four new passengers. Athan was the first to disembark, just so that everyone in the camp didn't unload on the new faces.

Unlike some troublesome figures that they would no doubt run into, Athan figured it would be safe enough to leave the news crew in the APC until further notice. The only reason being that the only nearby indoors region was barred by means of a locked door.

But just in case Cloud tried anything fishy, Athan directed a single guard to keep an eye on the APC without blatantly standing next to the thing.

Athan, meanwhile, took the time to find a supply kit and dress his wounds. He went through the troublesome task of removing his chest piece before bandaging up his ribs. Despite his actions in the Steel District, being put through two solid walls was a pretty tough strain on the old body. His ribs were feeling it, he still had the taste of copper in his mouth, and his left hand was slick with blood. The slight cut across his forehead was the least of his worries.

Using his athletic tape, Athan set about wrapping his chest in order to support the ribs there. They weren't broken, but the bruising around his chest made it pretty apparent that the shade armor wasn't great at absorbing blunt trauma. Only after the chest had been taken care of did he bother removing the Berserker's gauntlet. The hand was bloodied, but not too poor off. Using a towel, he cleaned off the blood and went about bandaging up the affected areas. Once all was patched up, Athan went about refitting his armor. It was a pretty frustrating process by himself, but hey, it had turned out to be a lifesaver so far.

Athan was rummaging around the APC, snagging up his helmet and tucking the piece of armor underneath his arm. He had just stepped out when the soldier approached. There wasn't much of a salute on his part, this was a mercenary company, not a military regiment.

"Oh?"

He turned his head towards the treatment plant. So much for the locks. He couldn't help but grin as the soldier continued his report.

"Good. Keep me posted if anything comes up."

Athan started towards the treatment center, then came to a stop. Sewers were nice and all, but...

"Has anyone seen anything out of the ordinary? Explosions, vehicles, people?"

Sure, he could have stayed with the news crew, but he had some problems he needed to figure out on his own. The mercenaries seemed like a capable bunch. They had held the base down so far.

((Enter Chen.))

Chen was now standing there with them, having taken a ride on the top of the APC. He didn't figure anyone noticed him, so he lied back, hands behind his head for the rest of the way. But now that he was back, he looks toward the south toward where the explosion had went off earlier as the event was mentioned.

"Most likely this was the tresspassers' doing. Oh yeah, we were suppose to arrest them."

He looks back to Athan, giving a smile. "So, big guy, with the escorts safe for now, how about we go do what we came here to do? I think I have a few handcuffs with peoples' names on them."

Walking over to the APC, he removes a box of silver-colored handcuffs, with the GPD insignia on them.

"Gaian Police Department genuine handcuffs. They're made of a titanium alloy, so no superhuman is going to be breaking from these. I have about twenty of them in each box, and only brought five boxes. For now, I say we each take ten."

Placing the box onto the snowy ground, he unclasps the lock and opens the lid, removing up to ten cuffs, placing them each into the inner pockets of his winter coat, along with one in each pocket of his pants, which meant four in total that his pants would hold.

"Well, that should do it for me."

"Hehe, yeah, okay."

Chen walks over to the APC, leaping in and removing his coat and sweater for a moment as he put on one of those bullet-proof vests. He saw others with guns, and frankly, he wasn't expecting to be getting into heavy fire fights here, but it looked like it was unavoidable. Stepping back out of the APC, he shouts out to Athan: "Hey, wait up!"

He jogs to catch up with Athan, now walking at his right side just like once before.

"I know you want to be a lone wolf and all, and I respect that." Chen removes one of his pistols, cocking the top of it with his free left hand as he raises it up. "But can you at least give me a chance and trust me for once?" He gives an examination of his weapon before looking over to Athan, even if his eyes were hidden behind his shades.

"You saw what was out there. You can't handle that alone without some decent help. So for now, you're going to have to deal with me, got it? And don't worry. We're going to have some fun, I'll make sure of it."

Chen pockets the gun away, amused with the relationship they currently had. Not because they were different in so many ways, but because they at least were the same in some aspects.

"To tell you the truth, I don't actually trust you," he replies, stepping down the stairs with Athan, his feet making much less of a sound on the steel steps than Athan's large weight. "I go by the logic 'keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.' However, that doesn't mean I see you as an enemy. I moreso rather have you as a friend. Look, I don't care much about this job either. I'm actually here for something else."

Chen was a dedicated cop, but his loyalty lied with something else rather than Greywater, and even GPD. "Am I right to assume that you're also wondering what happened here?"