[hr][hr][i][h1][color=skyblue]Wendy Emily Lucker[/color], [color=lightseagreen]Rowan Campbell[/color], [color=salmon]Haruka Takashiro[/color], & Ellen Nile.[/h1][sub](collaboration between [@Mr Allen J], [@Zombiedude101], [@tsukune] and [@Nosuchthing])[/sub][/i][hr] [b][code]Hailey Boulevard, Silver Hills_[/code][/b] Thankfully, the tunnel didn't collapse on them. Wendy stepped through the tunnel, and the first thing she saw was a group of RAVEN vehicles assembled outside, still unaware of just what would be coming out towards them. Guns were pointed at the group, until they realized that they were just kids. "Wait, it's just some kids!" One of the RAVENs shouted. "Lower your weapons!" Kumiko was about to step out of the tunnel, but upon seeing RAVEN, she immediately dipped back inside. She would be more receptive of them, but she was currently wearing IU armor... it was questionable enough with the kids here! She sighed as she took a few moments to recall a past event... that would allow her to switch fuper floors of thebuilding," Veronicq first explained' "Let's find the machine first."om her metal manipulation to teleportation. A small part of her felt bad about doing this, but she knew that Wendy's a clever kid. If she could outsmart the IU, then RAVEN's no problem! Her body was surrounded by smoky black darkness as she disappeared.... She'd be around. Wendy let out a sigh of relief, but, she definitely knew where this was going. With RAVEN detaining her and the others for the time being... and she couldn't let that happen. Because, it was the final hour of the battle, and Wendy hadn't been any closer to her goal than ever before. With Ezekiel dead, it was proof that the Blessed Three weren't as perfect as they'd like to believe. Which meant Wendy [i]could[/i] defeat Blake, and the last member (presumably that red-haired woman). "Are you kids okay?" One of the RAVENs asked. Jessica kind of realized there was... little room for them to weasel out of this one. Well, best she could do was give Wendy the chance to get out of this. "Yeah, a little roughed up, though." "Come with us," the RAVEN said. "It isn't safe here." "Hey, hey, Wen," Jessica whispered. "Hate to say it, but I think you're gonna hafta go on without us." Wendy quickly looked over her shoulder and didn't see Kumiko there... A part of her saw this coming from the beginning. In the end, it was just her... and Rowan. Wendy merely nodded her head. "I know you can do it, Wen-Wen," Jessica added on. "If you were able to last this long against these bastards, then I trust you can finish the show, and come back with Diana." "I know you can do it, I've seen you do incredible things before," Kai added on. "You can do it again." "Alright," Wendy said, before she grabbed onto Rowan's arm and focused a bit. "Wait, before you head out," Jessica smiled at them. "...I barely know ya', but when you get back here, I promise ya' earned yourself a spot on our road trip. Your little buddy there, too." "Just come back alive," Kai added on. Wendy smiled. "Right." "...What are you kids talking about?" the RAVEN asked. She quickly latched onto Rowan's arm, and turned into paper, channeling her ability into him. The two of them turned into a cloud of paper, that quickly zipped to the side as the RAVENs loudly protested, leaving behind Kai and Jessica. Haruka watched Wendy turning herself and the Caucasian boy into paper to escape from the RAVEN officers who were closing in on them. He had heard bits and pieces about Wendy's sister the whole time he had been with the teens, and he could empathize with Wendy's determination to save her family. He willed the air to give her and Rowan a slight push to get out of RAVEN's clutches, also as a silent goodbye to the girl whom he shared many similarities with... but would never get the chance to know each other beyond polite greetings. Besides, he had other things in mind - someone he was more worried about. While the RAVENs were busy fussing over the remaining teens who didn't go with Wendy, he took the chance to slip out of their custody (it wasn't difficult - all he did was mentioning his twin's name, and they let him go without another word). The was no sign of the Beast even after the explosions had stopped, which meant that the bombs had neutralized the Family's diversion plan... and the mission was a success. Which also meant that there was nothing else to stop him looking for Jennifer. He just hoped that she was okay... [hr] The wild whirl of paper came to a stop in an alleyway not too far away from the scene, before Wendy and Rowan had fully regained their forms. With Wendy panting for air. An awfully convenient wind had given them a lot more speed, but Wendy knew that any RAVEN worth his salt would be hot on their trail (if they hadn't decided that they had bigger fish to fry). She wasn't the type to take those chances, so the very instant she regained her breath, she gestured for Rowan to come along with her. Appearing in front of her was a wispy black smoke... which heralded the arrival of Kumiko. The woman smiled as she put a hand on her hip. "You were going to leave me behind?" Looking around, Kumiko added on, "We don't got time for this... I know a quick way to the base... it involves hotwiring a car, but, I'm certain that we can gloss over any moral issues that may arise." ... ... The trip was far from a comfortable one, but then it was hard to blame them for it - their driver had spent little time behind the wheel in his life and even that had been from self-taught joyrides in the old man's pickup. More than a few times, the scrawny teen nearly stalled or grinded on the clutch and he could've sworn he'd heard Kumiko muttering beneath her breath that they should've chosen an automatic. But given what little time they'd had in their hands, beggars couldn't be choosers - Rowan had spied a '97 Ford F-150, old enough that it would've been easy enough to bust into and hotwire. Wendy was silent, she was sitting on Kumiko's lap (which was much more awkward than it sounded). Rowan was a good driver, yeah... She couldn't help but stare out the window. She could see Baybridge [i]burning[/i]. It was probably the riots that were overtaking the city. She wondered if the wounds dealt to Baybridge would [i]ever[/i] heal. Sadly... she just can't see that happening any time soon. But, Baybridge at large wasn't her problem - as selfish as that sounded. It was a job for the police, and whoever else was heroic enough to return peace to Baybridge. "Alright, kids, yeah... give me a second to figure out how to pull this off." Kumiko said, very uncomfortable because she was stuffed into this cramp pick-up truck. But, hey, [i]beggars can't be choosers[/i] (a phrase Kumiko would [i]learn[/i] to hate). That wasn't important right now. They had to discuss the plan, because if Kumiko was correct, [i]every single member of the IU[/i] should be in Headquarters. As strong as the three of them were... there was no way they'd be able to take on [i]that[/i] many grunts. They'd be going up against the Hound, Bonecrusher, Phantasm, and their army of grunts. Slipping past them would be even more of a hurdle when their destination is Blake Schmidt... yeah, it'd be one hell of a hurdle, but Kumiko would find a way. Last plan was to wait for RAVEN to push in. "First, just like the other place there's a secret entrance - attaoched to a nearby warehouse - it's probably our best bet in getting in there." Kumiko explained. "All we have to do is find Blakey, I'll nab your sister, then we haul ass out of there, clear?" She was making it a lot more simple than it really was, but what other options did they have? "Yeah," Wendy answered. Their driver simply acknowledged them with an approving grunt. "Good, Rowan, take a right here," Kumiko said as they arrived at the main street of Regal Square. "I know just the place..." [hr] Not too far away from the foreboding Founding Family headquarters was a little warehouse. It was a nice looking warehouse, not quite the first place that'd pop to mind when you say "warehouse." It was made out of nice smooth stone that had a pretty good paint job. Along with a few other fancy tricks of architecture, but that wasn't important. Rowan's vehicle rolled up by the loading docks as Kumiko instructed, but she barely wasted any time in teleporting away. "I'm gonna check the building." Kumiko quickly said before she turned into a wisp of black smoke, and disappeared. It happened so fast that Wendy merely fell down a few inches, looking around. Uncertain of whether or not it'd be a smart idea to get out of the vehicle. It was barely even a few moments before Kumiko appeared on the hood of the car again, giving all of them one hell of a spook. "The building's clear, let's get a move on." Kumiko said, and the two teens quickly scrambled out the car, into the building (Kumiko had opened one of the loading docks to let them in without wasting energy with their powers). Lead by Kumiko, they went through the desolate base (which Wendy guessed was empty because all their forces were concentrated on the base) as they moved to the hatch - located in the main hall with most of the crates. Wendy stopped for a moment there, only to question something. "You sure it's a good idea to go in through here?" She said, raising an eyebrow. She didn't have a whole lot of confidence in the tunnel, given that the last one exploded on them. "I mean, they could be laying a trap for us in here." "Got a better idea? Because all I got are [i]worse[/i] ideas," Kumiko answered, crossing her arms. "Well... I kind of [i]do[/i]," Wendy said, awkwardly putting her hands together and shifting her legs. "But, we're going have to get inside one of the nearby buildings first..." [hr] It was definitely hard to sell Wendy's idea, but, given that the tunnels were probably trapped to no ends... they would risk Wendy's idea, or the tunnel that could possibly explode at any given moment. Her idea... yeah, she wasn't as confident in it as the tunnel, but at this point, she was more than willing to take a chance. It started with scaling a nearby building... which had, fortunately, long been evacuated. The blackout over Baybridge had worked in their favor as Wendy and her friends broke into a nearby office building, in perfect view of the "Oasis Research Headquarters" as the Family called it. When Wendy knew the true purpose of the place.... what "research" that had happened there an affront to humanity. That wasn't important, the three of them stood on top of the office building with Wendy in the middle. This was a stretch... taking [i]one[/i] person with her when she transforms into paper was challenging enough. But, she was going have to push herself to her limits. "Yeah, I can teleport through glass just fine..." Kumiko said, grabbing onto Wendy's hand. "...You'll just need to clear like ninety meters!" "I can do it... Rowan, are you ready?" Wendy asked as she turned to her friend. "...Yeah, let's get this over with already." Rowan nodded. "Wait a sec," Kumiko said, as she pulled Wendy back a few feet - well, Wendy mostly let herself be dragged backwards - and extended her chains to each end of the rooftop. The hooks dug deep into the concrete. "This will give us a bit more of a push." "Alright, three... two... one..." Wendy said, and the second the last word left her mouth, she turned the three of them weightless, which gave Kumiko plenty to work with as her chains launched them through the air right at the Family's headquarters. It was all on Wendy... using her powers like this felt like a massive weight on her body, but she had to no choice but to bear it. Because to give up now, would mean giving up on Diana. Thanks to Kumiko's boost, they were already halfway through, but she felt like they were losing momentum. With one will, she turned into her paper form, and the three of them turned into a storm of paper that cut through the air as Wendy [i]pushed it[/i]. The storm of papers formed a ball, as Wendy desperately tried to keep them in paper form until they could clear the distance, but alas, she had pushed herself past her limits, and had to turn back into flesh. Desperately gasping for air, Wendy felt like she... failed them. She was still applying the weightlessness like a piece of paper... all while Kumiko was smiling. "This is close enough, sweetheart, let's go!" Kumiko gleefully said as a wispy black smoke engulfed them. In a moment, they all appeared inside of the headquarters, and Wendy immediately dropped to her knees panting. Regaining her breath after that massive trip of hers, she looked up. A mere hallway that had many windows on one side, and doors on the other. If Wendy had to guess, this was an office of some sort. Indeed, true to form came an awkward thunk from behind them as Rowan pulled himself to his feet, accidentally knocking over a monitor in the process. The scrawny teen hastily picked it up and set it back where it was, acting as though there'd always been a crack along the screen. "Heh," Kumiko said, putting her hands on her hips. "That was some kind of plan of yours... they probably have no idea we'd come from this angle." Finally regaining her breath, Wendy stood straight up and said, "Let's not waste any time." "Yeah, yeah... we gotta find Blake," Kumiko said as she walked past them. "I got an idea of where he [i]might[/i] be, if not, how we can find him. So come on." [hr][hr][i][h1]The Blessed [s]Three[/s] Two.[/h1][sub](by [@Mr Allen J])[/sub][/i][hr] [b][code]Hailey Boulevard, Silver Hills_[/code][/b] Julia was placed on a stretcher to make it easier to transport her around, and her Secretaries made haste in quickly transporting her to the secret extraction point. Whether RAVEN had thwarted the Beast or not was irrelevant; they had also stretched their combined resources so thin that it would be difficult for them to breach into the Family's main headquarters. On the other side of the room was a blue shield. Secretaries grabbed the thermic lance-like objects with glowing tips as they breached the front of the shield, splitting it down the middle. Julia was too out of it to realize what was going on, as inside the split a swirling blue portal appeared, and she was about to be pushed inside. "...Ah, I hate to say that I told you so," Blake said as he took slow steps towards Julia, clapping gently. "But, I [i]told[/i] you so! Hahaha!" Julia didn't even reply, which gave Blake ample time to looking around. Only to notice something. "...Where's Ezekiel?" Blake asked. "I'll discuss that later... let's go," Julia said, before pointing forward and her legion of Secretaries carted her through the portal with ease, and Blake, while worried about his comrade, figured it would be best if he cleared the base fast as possible. He stepped in. The moment the both of them were through, the portal closed, and the breach in the shield they had created did the same. [hr] [b][code]Regal Square, Prince Ed-Field_[/code][/b] Julia was immediately dragged to their hospital's medical wing, and she was brought before one of the Family's healers. Melting the ice so the healing ability could do its work, Julia was placed on a medical bed while her Secretaries catered to her every whim. All while Blake walked into the room, crossing his arms, leaning up against the other wall. "So, now would be a good time to discuss Ezekiel, yes?" Blake casually asked. "I... went to the conversion chambers and..." Julia turned her head away - whether it was out of guilt or shame, was irrelevant - and merely spoke to Blake, facing away from him. "...I found Ezekiel dead, metal driven through his back... in a room full of our enemies." The words made Blake seethe in anger. Clenching his fists tightly as he stepped off the wall, body partially turning into stone... and what was left caught fire. "What?! How could anyone defeat Ezekie-" In the middle of his rage, he realized that Ezekiel more than likely was bested because he got overconfident, or his many mental issues got in the way. "[i]Who?![/i]" "...It was Lucker, and her friends." "That girl..." Blake ground his teeth together as he lurched towards Julia. That whore... she was the biggest pain in his ass whom he had the displeasure of coming across. And now that she killed Ezekiel... he realized she couldn't be allowed to live. She has committed a sin like no other. "I should have simply killed her when..." Then he turned towards Diana, the woman that Wendy was so desperately chasing after. Blake grinned. "Oh, I just got the best idea, Julia." [hr][hr][i][h1][color=aqua]Jennifer Caspin[/color], & [color=salmon]Haruka Takashiro[/color].[/h1][sub](collaboration between [@Mr Allen J], and [@tsukune])[/sub][/i][hr] [b][code]Hailey Boulevard, Silver Hills_[/code][/b] Climbing out of the base was not the easiest of all tasks when you were burned. Fortunately, not to the bone, but Jenny knew that feeling! All apart of her time as Missy Baroness, but that'd be a discussion for another time. It's funny, even as Jennifer limped out of these tunnels, holding her quickly regenerating arm, a part of her felt [i]fulfilled[/i]. Now, the doubts that had plagued her are all gone, and she felt like a new woman... but, that was not the end of it. To put it simple; Jennifer had to kill Julia O'Sullivan for her life to know peace. There's also the many other people that Julia and the other Blessed Three had given hell, they were not far away from Jennifer's thoughts. If any, they were just another reason to kill Julia. That whore O'Sullivan was probably off licking her wounds... the wounds that were the product of her arrogance. All Jennifer had to do was finish her off. And this time, Jennifer was going to remove her entire head. Getting to ground level, the shield and the Beast presumably were both killed, as RAVEN units were scattered all over the place, Jennifer made it her mission to avoid them. Because if she was going to get to their headquarters, it was going to be on her own, or with the help of her friends - it didn't matter to Jennifer at this point. They were means, and Jennifer wanted the ends so [i]badly[/i] she was willing to give up everything for them. Merely by heading out through a back hallway, Jennifer made it outside. ...And came face to face with Haruka. The worried look on the young man's face immediately turned into relief when he recognized her. "Jennifer? Thank goodness!" He wanted to give her a hand, but decided against it. Partly because Jennifer looked like she didn't need any help from him, partly because he would need to confirm something first. "...Are you alright? Did that Julia woman do anything to you?" Fortunately for Haruka, Jen's eardrums had regenerated to such a degree that she could vaguely hear what Haruka was saying. Vaguely. She managed to pick out the parts about Julia. Her whole body was burnt, and regenerating, but she was going to withstand the body-pain for just another few moments, while she focused her regeneration into her ears, until she could hear enough to maintain a conversation with Haruka. "...She tried to put me under her mind control, but I punched my ears out so I couldn't hear her..." Jennifer said a bit loudly. "I caught her off guard, and put a hole in her... She ran off to lick her wounds, but that doesn't matter." She took a step towards Haruka, and put her hand on his shoulder, staring him square in the eye. "I cannot be any more certain than I am right now; I [i]have[/i] to kill Julia. That's the only way I can have a normal life..." Haruka watched Jennifer for a moment. He could clearly see the blaze in her eyes - of determination, hatred, and vengeance - and he knew there was no stopping her with her mind firmly set to finish what she had come for, once and for all. "I won't stop you, because I want all this to end as much as you do." He sighed. "Though, if you don't mind, I suggest we regroup with Holly and her team first." He gestured at Jennifer's current state. "It will be difficult for you to go there on your own like this... and besides, Holly told me that they're going to the main base for Julia also. Why not hitch a ride with them since we are all heading for the same target?" "Yeah..." Jennifer said. "I don't think I should be running in there headfirst without some friends, anyway." She scratched the back of her neck. Then a small smile appeared on Haruka's face. "Don't worry about convincing her to take us. According to Shizu's intel, the Regal Square base is where the main IU force is, so they still need our powers to get through the tight security." The other part was using Holly's position as a RAVEN to help keep them out of the custody of [i]other[/i] RAVENs. "We should get a move on, then." Jennifer answered, as she started walking. "Where is Holly, anyway?" "Just a call away," was Haruka's response as his hand went up to the comm-piece in his ear. He wasn't trying to joke, but he couldn't help trying to lighten the mood, even if was just a little... to distract himself from everything that had been going on so far. After a brief chat through the comms, he gave Jennifer a thumbs up. "Told you that she's cool. I'll show the way." [hr][hr][i][h1][color=red]Meifeng Zhao[/color], [color=yellow]Alice Barrett[/color], [color=gray]Quentin[/color] & [color=darkslateblue]Reed[/color] [color=gray]Tay[/color][color=darkslateblue]lor[/color].[/h1][sub](collaboration between [@Mr Allen J], [@Nosuchthing] and [@Zombiedude101])[/sub][/i][hr][hider=Massive Attack - Danny the Dog][youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPkHMPlRKkk[/youtube][/hider][hr] [b][code]Hailey Boulevard, Silver Hills_[/code][/b] Meifeng had expended every ounce of her strength to carry Lihua out, alongside Quentin, she saw a familiar sight. RAVEN had succeeded over the IU yet again. She winched just for one moment, before she took a few steps forward. In front of her was the RAVENs securing the main room of the building. Members of the IU had their hands behind their heads, on their knees, as Meifeng walked past them outside... it was raining. Really fitting. She barely even noticed it as she pressed forward. Wordless, and emotionless. "Meifeng, it is goo-" The massive body of Maximilian Cornell descended from above, Echo at his side. His blue eyes rested on what she was holding, and his jaw dropped. "Ms. Zhao?" He asked, he saw the gaping hole in Lihua's chest. "I..." Maximilian put a closed fist to his mouth. "I truly am at a loss for words, Meifeng." Meifeng sighed. "...Then don't say anything." And she scrolled on past them. It took another couple of moments before Quentin broke into the pause in conversation. "Look, she made sure that [i]thing[/i] those bastards created is dead, we won't have another beast, devil or whatever you want to call them on our hands." Maximilian crossed his arms. "Then, can you give me your honest opinion on the situation thus far?" "Look, I'm sure you've figured we're at a breaking point." Quentin's jaw tightened so hard that it looked as though his teeth might shatter. "Now I dunno if the powers that be have actually bothered this time to look from their ivory towers, but HQ has been trashed, prisoners escaped, our people dead, more who've been injured or sent running. Now with RAVEN, we're down to just a few people coordinating this shitshow, that's counting me and Mei among them. And, with her Mom..." For a moment, the veteran RAVEN's gaze flickered towards his colleague and the lifeless body beside her. "She has other priorities, you know. And DOVE, I'm not sure on the specifics, but it was [i]Cindy[/i] handling most of the groundwork on their end, and now she's been taken hostage by those bastards and [i]something[/i] done to her. Reed's been trying to compensate, what I heard, but you're better off asking him." Maximilian sighed. The situation was dire indeed, but that was why Maximilian's here. He came here fast as he could in order to give what little RAVEN was left. "I understand the situation is severe... which is why I've gathered RAVENs from all over to help. Because this situation is far more out of hand than I thought - and I take responsibility for letting it reach this point." Now, Maximilian had to ask Reed for his assessment of the situation, he pressed his earpiece, before he said, "Agent Reed Taylor, this is Maximilian Cornell." He paused for a moment, "How is the situation looking on your end?" "We're getting what support we can," Reed began, "But both our people and BPD have been stretched thin with this power outage. Nobody's said a word to us on whether the National Guard are being pulled in to assist. We're doing what we can." "I haven't received word either... which is what I find [i]questionable[/i] about this whole situation," Maximilian said. "Either way, we are standing alone, against this massive threat that is known as the Founding Family... but, I'm confident we can pull through. If we managed Verthaven, we can manage this." Maximilian once again sighed... they had to be hopeful in these dark times. They had to remain strong. Or what happened to Lihua was going to happen to many more people... and, as a RAVEN, he couldn't let that happen. "Either way, Dana has pinpointed their location, and is currently assembling a force." He turned turns Quentin, as he spoke on the comms. "And I need everyone there... The vehicles are ready, we'll regroup at Headquarters." Maximilian nodded his head at Quentin. "It is great to see you again, Mr. Taylor, but I have to do something." He looked towards Meifeng, whom was currently ignoring everyone as she carried her mother off into a vehicle. Declining help from everyone around her. Maximilian floated over towards her, just as she was placing Lihua's body onto a truck... The sight was sickening. Lihua was a proud and powerful woman... she deserved more than this. He gulped loudly as he said, "Meifeng..." "Save it, Max, I'm not in the mood..." Meifeng trailed off. "I'm [i]going[/i] to help, just... let me get her somewhere." Maximilian nodded his head. "Understandable." Ultimately choosing to leave the emotionally fragile agent alone... it was a risk bringing her along, but she was one of the best. He took a few steps away, and pressed his earpiece. "Alright, RAVEN, pack up and get ready to move out." [hr][hr][i][h1]The Black Hound, Foundation Woman, & The Phantasm.[/h1][sub](by [@Mr Allen J])[/sub][/i][hr] [hr][b][code]Regal Square, Prince Ed-Field_[/code][/b] It was finally the day they'd been waiting for. The Hound stood in the widow of the Family's headquarters. Staring at the streetlights beneath them, as the cars sped back and forth past the building, with the rain over-top of them as a filter. Unaware of the dark purpose that the Family has set up for the place. He couldn't blame them... the things that the Family have done, they were irredeemable in his eyes. Yet, the time for them to account for their actions was coming soon. The Foundation Woman walked into the room behind him, and he looked over his shoulder. "Foundation Woman..." the Hound said. "C'mon, Abel," the Foundation Woman said. "Refer to me by my real name for crying out loud... we've reached a point where our codenames won't apply anyway." She laughed. "Yes... the day when years of planning finally pays off," Abel said. "Phantasm..." "You know that I am loyal to you, and only you, Abel..." the Phantasm said from underneath his armor. "I will follow you all the way." "Good," The Hound said. "Because tonight... we end this nonsense ourselves." [hr][hr][i][h1][color=forestgreen]Veronica Davis[/color], & [color=cornflowerblue]Shizuka Takashiro[/color].[/h1][sub](collaboration between [@Mr Allen J] and [@tsukune])[/sub][/i] [hr][b][code]Regal Square, Prince Ed-Field_[/code][/b] "Oh, sorry, [i]Takashiro,[/i]" Veronica whispered to her brand new [i]partner[/i] who was walking alongside her. Disguised in a [i]particular[/i] version of the IU's uniform. "But, I just [i]couldn't[/i] find any body armor in your size." She found plenty, but she got the female armor to get back at Shizuka for that mouth of his. It probably didn't bother him at all, but, hey. It was funny to Veronica, and if he decided to become a drag queen, then she'd [i]gladly[/i] help him. Shizuka gave Veronica a look when she handed him the female armor, even more annoyed when it actually fitted him well. He had a feeling that she was doing this on purpose to take out on him but shrugged off in the end, refusing to allow himself to stoop down to that bitch's level of stupidity. Besides, they really had no time for childish, petty things like this. As long as he didn't talk to anyone in this facility (well, he intended to leave all the talking to Veronica anyway), it would be less conspicuous for him to pass off as her [i]female[/i] partner than getting stopped every now and then by jealous guards to answer for those huge tiddies hanging off her front - and also because of his short height (he actually stood as tall as Veronica). However, that was merely a brief distraction, something to help Veronica keep her nerves as she led Shizuka through the tunnels of the base... trying to recall the path she took to the Machine. Problem was, these tunnels tended to look the same after awhile - and that's probably the purpose. To make sure idiots that wandered down here would get lost, and never leave with any secrets. Though, these tunnels were surprisingly well furnished for being, well, tunnels. There were wooden floors, rugs, walls plastered with pictures. It was all so redundant... like everything the Family did. Either way, all they had to do was find the damn Machine, then take out the Blessed Three, and everything else they built up. It'd be one hell of a challenge, but Veronica [i]long[/i] realized that. It just made her all the more focused on saving her sisters from this hell. "...RAVEN has already taken care of the Beast," Shizuka muttered to Veronica, after making sure there wasn't anyone around them to eavesdrop. "They will be moving here anytime soon, so we better get your sisters out before this place turns into a warzone." "They're in the upper parts of the tower," Veronica whispered back. "Let's wrap up what we're doing down here, shall we?" Veronica was silent for the rest of the way; it was probably for the best. She wasn't known for being the most chatty of all the IU. With that, she pressed on through the lit halls of the IU's tunnels. They came across a point where the hallway split off into a T, and Veronica was wondering which way she could go. This place was a damn maze, after all. She'd probably end up in the Blessed Three's BDSM dungeon before they find the Machine. Veronica turned down the other hall, and this was the part where Veronica felt like her plan was going tits up. Her teeth were thoroughly grinded upon seeing Blake Schmidt, and his band of mind-controlled dollies scrolling up. He looked rather... annoyed. So annoyed, that Veronica couldn't even see the bravado, or that affable demeanor that Blake had practically trademarked. He didn't even waste time in talking to Veronica - or even giving her more acknowledgement other than a quick glance. Before going on his merry way. Veronica couldn't help but crack a smirk (because outright laughter would get her bitch-slapped by Blake's lava hands). Veronica leaned in, keeping that smirk on her face like she was a schoolgirl gossiping, "I know that look, something didn't go little [i]Blakey's[/i] way, and now he's having a hissy fit." She snickered. "But, that isn't important right now... Want to, uh, follow him? He might lead us to the Machine." It was a better idea than what they were doing now; wandering around like a pair of tools. To which Shizuka could only reply with a silent nod - he couldn't risk blowing his cover at this crucial moment. There was little time to waste, RAVEN was probably on their way here as they spoke. She trusted RAVEN to keep the meat of the IU busy while she would be getting her sisters out of the way. Keeping a healthy distance away from Blake, it was finally time for them to put their plans into motion.