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Within ten minutes, the two agreed that they should start searching the border of Aekea and Barton rather than heading directly to the next city.

As they left, what looked like a blue-haired human in a labcoat could be seen nearby the edge of the river, stuffing sand into a jar and putting it inside of a knapsack. Most people would assume it was for research.

Skotti put on his sunglasses and lit a cigarette as the car roared to life "So where are we going, eh?" he asked.

{{Here be the cameo I was talking about.}}



Waffle and Sabe paid no attention to the strange person as they walked across the bridge. "Hey, isn't that Pen's wheat stalk on the bridge?" Waffle pointed out to Sabe, walking up to the stalk and picking it up. Sabe looked at it as well and sighed.

"Great. Either she left this place or she jumped off the bridge. So considerate to us." Waffle shook her head. "Did you really have to go that far? At least we know that she was here at SOME point! Let's keep looking."

They began to leave when the person they ignored earlier caught up to them. Waffle and Sabe looked at each other in confusion before turning around completely to see the blue-haired lab worker. A small portion of the lab assistant's face and the entirety of her limbs were robotic. Her ears seemed to have been replaced with a headset, and on her right wrist there was a control interface resembling a bracelet.

"There was a person here earlier who set a grass thingy on the rail. You said that earlier, right?" the android asked. Her voice was far from human, yet a much more advanced than that of a computer's. Waffle looked at the robot with a slack-jawed expression for a split second, then nodded. "Yeah. She has navy hair, keeps it in a really high ponytail, wears a torn jacket, t-shirt, jeans, sneakers, gloves, headband and handwraps..."

The android's facial features lit up slightly as she nodded in concurrence. "Oh."
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"She talked about problems then left with them...men showed up here earlier looking for her too."

"Okay...do you know where they might have gone off to?" Waffle asked, confused by the bot's somewhat cryptic way of speech.

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"That way." she said, pointing toward Barton. "I don't know if it was intention or not." she said, shrugging. Sabe cringed as he heard the metal parts grating against each other. Waffle didn't budge as much.

"Well anyways, thanks." Waffle said. "But....who are you, exactly?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

The robot in question didn't have the chance to answer as a charge of electricity and magic coursed through its body and mostly disabled it. A grey-haired vampire in a mostly green outfit could be seen walking towards everyone.

"HEY KASSA! I TOLD YOU TO NOT LEAVE! What part of that do you not EVER understand?! ...worthless piece of junk. Mom paid HOW much money for this thing again?"

Kassa, the hybridized robot/human in question, got up from the ground and dusted off her labcoat. She looked into the vampire's direction, then back at Waffle, and walked towards the former with her head hung a little lower. The vampire looked at Waffle from a distance as if there was something very familiar about her. She shook her head and disappeared in a puff of smoke, taking the machine with her.

Waffle looked at Sabe, who looked back at her.

"That was the strangest thing I have seen in my life."
"Yeah, no kidding. Anyways, you heard the 'bot. Pen must've headed to at least Barton."

They agreed, and walked the direct path there, although chances were, Pen was not there either.

"I can't believe you would bring innocent lives into this!" Pen now griping the collar of the vampire and hold him inches from her own face. However Riche kept his composure and laughed with a delivous grin.

"That would be the family I was talking about. Now you wouldn't them to be hurt over your lack of cooperation." Pen let go and pushed the vampire aside and spat.

"Why would I care for a random group of people. I've seen death more in the last few hours then you ever had." Another snap and another light came on. This time on a console similar to one used by security guards.

What now, a screen blinked on and from a fly on the wall view you were able to see a young elf woman. She seemed to be looking around the room trying to find something. You could also see her mouth moving as if she was calling out to someone. Pen stood in disbelief as she watch the young elf on the screen become more worried with each passing second.

"Fourteen, Miss Huggins. An adopted elf living in loving home in Durem. I guess she will never know what happened to the only parents she ever had."

The woman tied down yelled in despair and the man struggled in rage. It was these two who were the young elf's family and Pen could see this wasn't some act.

"Let them go, Riche. They have nothing to do with this!" Pen couldn't play this off as she didn't care. It became too personal and Riche knew why. It was the same scenario as her own only worse. She at least knew how and why her parents were gone. That elf will never know and it will haunt her for the rest of her life. How could the country punk allow such a fate on a young elf woman, who looked so worried now.

"I will, but first you must accept my terms." He gave a grin and shut the lights off the parents of the young elf, so Pen could focus on the elf on the screen.

"What, you want me to give you the headquaters blue print. Or do you want to know Skotti's favorite color? Or Luciano's favorite meal?" Pen said sarcastically trying to avert her attention away from the screen.

"All I want you to do is leave." His tone as cold as ever and his grin as sinister as the gates of hell.
"Don't have to tell me twice. I'm already sick of this."
"No, I mean the Black OPs. You are to leave that family of yours and this family will be spared." He continued seeing Pen was trying to brush off the demand.

Pen became quiet and looked to the ground. Her mind buzzed for a minute before coming to one conclusion. It came done to protecting citizens of Durem over her own desire to stay with the gang.

"Done."

"Nothing bad, I hope." Luciano said, situating himself comfortably. He could see Silvina in the back seat, a bit worried. So Luciano said, "She's going to be fine. . something tells me that she is."

Luciano sat back as Skotti was now making a right turn. Silvina's question didn't involve any thinking, because he already knew his answer. He said softly, as they were now on the road leading in the direction of Barton, ". . . Her family."

Once they were in Barton, Luciano turned to Skotti and he said, "I know a guy here. He's one of my sources for information. The only problem is he's a drug addict and he'll only talk if we give him his I.C.E. or something that could get him some. I know where he is, when to reach him, and I think we should go see him."

While they were walking in East Barton, Sabe could feel his heart suddenly drop hard. He had to stop and catch his breath. Waffle stopped walking and looked back at him with concern. Sabe caught up with Waffle a few minutes later. He felt as if something extremely bad was unfolding and nobody knew exactly what was going on.

"...Waffle?"
"Yeah?"
"Pardon my naivete, but do you think that it's possible that robots or machines of any kind could read people's minds?"
"Mmn...no. Unless you built one and had Mum enchant it. Then again, that'd be near impossible since he's not even around. Although that one bot we saw earlier scared me for a bit. She did look a bit human for a machine."

Damn it, Waffle. Not what I was talking about!

"Well, they already have made prosthetic parts for those unfortunate to lose limbs. It would have only been a little bit of time before they turn people into cyborgs." Sabe replied back, trying to keep onto Waffle's subject.
"Eh. I guess. Let's keep looking for Pen, though."

Sabe bit his lip and continued onward with Waffle.