### Collaboration between RockFace and Yugeto

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Ciara and Beatrice continued their trek to the city nearby. * **'There's little to no doubt in my mind the security in the area will be heightened due to the destruction of the wall; it's fortunate I've learned my lay of the land during my year in Sovereign.'** * She thought to herself, pressing on. 

After about thirty minutes of travelling after having eaten their respective ration packs, small black blips on the horizon appeared in Ciara's vision. "Do you see that, up there? What does that look like to you?" She asked B. "Shuttles? I can't tell if they're military, but we should probably avoid them anyways." B had been hesitant to travel with Ciara, even after being saved by her. B like the idea of interacting with as few people as possible.

As the two neared the blips and they became more recognizable, Ciara sighed in relief. "You seem to be right; it's two military shuttles up ahead. No point evading them, they've probably already spotted us by now." As she spoke, the shuttles became bigger and bigger as they neared at a seemingly increasing rate. "Almost every kage has some sort of ability for defense or offense; it is their byproduct as a result of superior selection, of course. These beings are the epitome of evolution; surely you are not worried about a meager patrol?" Ciara asked. Okani was putting B's mindset to the test.

B's instinct was to just run and hide. "The 'niche' I evolved for in Sovereign was as a scavenger. I trained to stay alive and survive. I ran away." * **'Are you ready for this B?'** * During her time at Sovereign, her kage had hinted at battling and the offensive potential of her powers. "I don't know if that will cut it now that we're being hunted." She knew she would be able to evade the patrol on her own, but she couldn't just leave Ciara. "If we have to fight, I want you to shove me as hard as you can. It doesn't matter what direction."  Ciara nodded to her anxious ally. "Unfortunately, running will just lead to heightened security at Kell. What I'm hearing from you is that you're fast, and if that's so then we can take care of these men quickly and head to Kell without causing a real disturbance." Ciara explained. If Kell was on a more-heightened alert, there was no point of them going there at all.

As B thought back to Ciara's powers, an idea struck her. "Actually, can you use your power and throw me from a tree? Once I have momentum I can change the direction of it no problem. Just throw me wherever you want me to land. I'll try to take the guys out towards the back of the pack first. You seem really confident, are you okay taking the front line out once they notice me? Does this plan sound good?" B expected her kage to chastise her for this, but she stayed quiet. *Do you approve of this, Z? **'If I didn't you would know.'***

The two shuttles slowly inched towards the duo as a booming voice spoke from within. "This is an unauthorized entry route; can you present your valid identification, citizens?" The voice called out. Ciara motioned for B to head towards the tree towards the upper left of the two as she replied. "My friend here has valid identification; unfortunately, I do not. I don't see what you're going to do about that in a shuttle with no weaponry." She spoke, provoking the men within. "Prepare for descent and interrogation, undocumented alien." The voice spoke as the shuttles roared down, chopping the blades of grass nearby with their landing. Five soldiers from each shuttle formed two rows, a back row and a front row; farther behind, a lone man strode to a position in front of the front row. "We are absolutely prepared to use lethal force if you do not submit yourself, undocumented alien. Your currently unidentified companion is also accountable. We will be civil if you reciprocate, we assure total cooperation if you reciprocate, and we will resort to violence if you reciprocate." The man spoke indifferently. 

B paid little attention to the voice. She focused entirely on climbing as high as she could as fast as she could, making use of her power when she could to climb faster. She was worried about Ciara's range, but trusted that Ciara would have said something if it was an issue. As she neared the top, she didn't know whether to go higher or stay lower at a sturdier branch. Instead of hesitating, B just climbed to the very tip of the tree. She could feel it bend under her weight. Ciara looked to B in the distance using her peripherals, then focused on her as she spoke carefully. "Fuck you." She said coldly as the tree twisted to life, inching itself back and straining, crackling as the weaker branches broke off. The tree then shot forward, sending B speeding at an incredible rate towards the group.

Feeling the tree bend backwards, B readied herself to be launched. She wasn't ready. She barely held on as the tree whipped her towards the group. She was winded, but managed to twist herself enough to spot where she was landing: right beside the leader of the group. *So much for being sneaky.* As she sped towards the ground, she could see the man's expression change from blank to startled to fear. He started to reach towards B with a gloved hand, but it wasn't fast enough. B reached towards the ground, rooting herself as she landed and sending her momentum in the direction of the man. Her shoulder erupted in pain as it impacted the man's knee, which shattered and inverted. The man screamed as he collapsed. B herself was sent spinning from the attack, and skidded along the grass for a moment before getting her bearings. Her chest was burning, but B knew if she stopped she would lose any advantage she had over the soldiers. She opted to rely more on her power than her body for the moment so she could keep on the offensive. She sent herself flying back towards the group. One of the men broke rank and stepped forward to help his fallen leader. B rooted her hand, twisting and aiming her foot at the man's head, and launched herself. What she envisioned as a graceful kick turned into a haphazard flail as her body ragdolled through the air feet-first. She stiffened her leg as her heel came into contact with the man's head which violently snapped to the side with a loud crack. B hardly lost any momentum. Her trajectory left her within arm's reach of the front line of men. All except the soldier on the far end reacted quickly enough to guard but not quickly enough to get an attack in. B managed to take that soldier out with an elbow to the throat before losing the element of surprise.

One of the soldiers took to holding his sword out in front of him in the direction of B, and the rest followed suit. B circled the group twice in less than a second but saw no openings. She changed strategies and darted into the nearest shuttle. It was hard to process the information fast enough, but B saw the pilot still sitting down. She jumped and landed with both feet on the back of his head, slamming his face into the controls. She rooted her hand on the frame of the shuttle and sent herself flying out without looking to see how much damage she had done. She launched herself on top of the shuttle she had just cleared, stopping but able to drop off the shuttle for some speed. She collapsed to her hands and knees, finally catching her breath.

Ciara noticed the soldiers having drawn their swords, her eyes having trouble keeping up with B's speed. She raised her hands and they began to glow, and the swords the men held were quickly strewn from their hands; the swords simultaneously plunged into the soldiers' stomachs, with all but three soldiers stabbed, as the evasive few who dodged the sword survived. Ciara took a quick head count. * **'Their leader is alive but downed, two are dead by B's hand as well as one pilot. Five dead via stabbing. That leaves one pilot and two soldier alive and well.'** * Ciara quickly maneuvered the eight floating swords, spinning them as they neared the two soldiers. "This is a world where the obsolete are eradicated. The tides of change are harsh and unforgiving." She proclaimed as the three soldiers attempted to run from the swords that only caught up to the trio, dicing through them erratically and messily like tough meat.

B watched the scene from the top of the shuttle. It made her feel a little uneasy. She pushed that feeling away and dropped back to the ground, instantly sprinting towards Ciara. A pain hit her left leg and her feet were knocked out from underneath her. She hit the ground, skidding and losing all momentum. She looked to see the leader of the group lunge for her and grab her leg with his ungloved hand.

Ciara looked to the shuttle with its pilot still intact and noticed its engines starting up. "B, if that shuttle gets away there's no chance we'll be in Kell safely." She noticed, however, B's preoccupation with the leader of the troop. She focused, and raised her arms once more.

The leader easily dragged B towards him despite her struggles. He placed his gloved hand on her abdomen. * **'Focus, child.'** * B took a deep breath and anticipated the shockwave from the kinetic glove, the same that knocked her over. She exhaled and the man shoved the glove, with all his weight behind it, into her. The kinetic glove tried to shove her body, but with nowhere to go the energy would easily liquify her insides. The shockwave rippled into her skin but was redirected up into her right arm. Her fist swung at the man's head with all of the force of the kinetic glove, the man's weight, and B's muscles. The sound from the impact was a mix between a crack and a squish as both the man's skull and B's hand broke from the impact. The man collapsed on top of her, blood pouring from the side of his head onto her. She managed to wiggle out from underneath the body, gasping for breath. She felt sick, but managed not to vomit. * **'You're safe now, Beatrice. You did well.'** *

The pilot within the rising shuttle was sweating with anticipation. "I'm done for, I'm done for, I'm done for!" He shouted as he flipped the shuttle's controls in a panic in order to get back to base. He reached for the emergency comm to signal for aid as he escaped, knowing that at least these menaces would be dealt with. Upon pressing the emergency button, however, the shuttle simply beeped strangely and inconsistently. "HELP! I NEED HELP! I NEED HELP!" The pilot screamed into the comm as the shuttle behaved inexplicably. The shuttle rose at a much greater rate, and the pilot panicked. "I don't understand, how did it gain the-AGH!" The shuttle shook as it continued its rise, and then stabilized. The pilot sighed in relief. "Ah....the autopilot setting triggered by the emergency must have sent the shuttle to an altitude it deemed safe." The pilot spoke, attempting to rationalize the actions that occurred out loud. The pilot rested in his chair, wiping the heavy sweat off his wet brow in relief. The shuttle's displays all flickered before turning black. After about four seconds, the displays clicked back to life, all showing a white screen with the same chilling text: 

**NO ONE CAN SAVE YOU NOW**

The shuttle dropped at a near-meteoric pace, beeping and flickering wildly as the pilot drowned in his own piercing wails before the shuttle impacted, resulting in an explosive crash and pieces of flesh and metal flying out of the heap in nearly all directions.