[color=bdbdbd][center][color=DBA901][b]A K A N O F U & Y U R I ( J A M E S )[/b][/color] [color=E6E6E6]Parade Stage. Middle Ring.[/color] [@Medusa][@Tomahawk][/center] [center][color=ffffff]"Naughty boy, If you wanted a signature, you could have waited... You can't get special privileges, handsome!"[/color][/center] Yuri shook his head as if he didn't understand, the playful comment catching him completely off guard. [color=ffffff]"Handso... what?... No I... No!"[/color] He moved forward, closing the distance between himself and the woman and grabbed her firmly by the arm. [color=ffffff]"I don't want your signature Ms. Xiao, I want you off the stage."[/color] He picked a safe spot, a small section of platform off center and to the left and placed her there... or tried to. Every step was a semi struggle, a war between pushing and pulling as he fought against a woman who's weight would wobble stubbornly against his restraint. After moving only a few feet, he tried to supplement the both of them by placing a hand on her lower back and pushing her gently forward. However he quickly realized his mistake when her weight suddenly shifted and she threatened to topple on top of him. [color=ffffff]"No..."[/color] He leaned forward with a quick step to the right and caught her by the same arm with his chest. [color=ffffff]"...This way."[/color] He coaxed, guiding her to his self designated safe zone. Her breathing was a little heavy, made painfully obvious when every time her chest would fall, a ball of hot air would violently unfold against the skin of his neck. He tasted it... [center][color=ffffff]...No Alcohol...[/color][/center] Turning to look down at her he noticed her mouth was moving, most likely voicing some kind of protest or perhaps trying to whisper another disarming comment but he'd already decided it was best to drown her out and focus on his job. Right now that involved getting her out of the way and making sure the stage was safe. However, Jie was making it particularly difficult and the fact that she was under the influence evident by the way she was moving and the way the deep pupils of her eyes remained dilated hinted at a why. Yuri recognized the signs. He'd seen them a hundred times before and he was sure this was just another case of use of the common street drug. He had to be sure though. When they'd finally reached their destination, only a handful of steps away from where she was standing previously, he pulled out a small flashlight from one of the pouches across his belt and held it up to the woman. Harsh light followed, further illuminating the complexion of a fair woman with eyes that were deep, too deep. There were dark corners down there that even his light couldn't touch; secrets and pain and mysterious notions of a fleeting future... maybe. He didn't really know. He flashed the light in the opposite other eye and Zen smiled up at him. He smiled back. [color=ffffff]"Hello."[/color] He replied silently to himself. It was obvious now. She taken some form of the drug whether by pill or direct injection into the blood stream. She was riding it out on the stage and judging by her demeanor, was sitting comfortably at the apex of her high. Now, he couldn't even be sure if Jie was actually seeing him. To her Yuri could have been anything; A woman, a tree, a cloud, a polar bear dog. [i]Handsome?...[/i] It was a nice thing to say but he'd have to give his appreciation to the drug. Whoever she was trying to talk to most likely wasn't really there only because she wasn't really there either. [color=ffffff]"Ms. Xiao..."[/color] He began, moving in a little closer to better inspect her. [color=ffffff]"Have you taken any kind of drugs recently? Namely Zen?"[/color] Under normal circumstances he may have let the woman slide, mostly because of her good looks and the social status. Zen charges usually didn't hold up for long against those with money and power. However these weren't normal circumstances. Anyone under the influence of Zen had the potential to become dangerous. Akano was taking the stage and he could easily be mistaken for a threat. In fact... he'd already taken Jie's place center stage. The well aged man in a suit stood behind the microphone overlooking a now dense crowd of on lookers. Their choice of music for the afternoon had abruptly come to an end and they seemed visibly disappointed. Even if she was simply rehearsing, in the short time Jie managed to hit the proper chords to captivate some parts of the audience. They looked upon the stage with curious eyes and stuffed mouths, flared nostrils in an attempt to force air around the food they were trying to swallow. Some of them had kids in tow, others their better... or worse halves. Pets. Strangers. Themselves. All had come out to enjoy a long day of celebration and remembrance and yet all of them were ignorant to the danger that one man in a mask now posed. Not a mere ten minutes ago he'd threatened to steal the show, their show... Akano's show and despite his threats the people were doing nothing. In fact... no one was doing much of anything except the RSF who were busy checking the holes in their security. Even Akano himself wasn't supposed to be at the parade grounds knowing full well that he could be Unity's next target. But his intention was to make sure the festivities continued uninterrupted. Sowing seeds of fear wouldn't just cause unrest but it would give their terrorist an unofficial victory. The weeds Unity cultivated had to be pulled by the roots and shedding fear was the first step in that fight. He was wasn't worried and he had to make sure that the Republic shared in his apathy. His voice cut through the crowded atmosphere, echoing between mirrored geometric skeletons and the hollow left in the wake of soft female vocals. [color=ffffff]"People of the Republic."[/color] He began. He scanned left and then right completing the impossible task of counting heads. [color=ffffff]"Today is..."[/color] [color=ffffff]"... Well today I was scheduled to do a speech for you all. Later today actually after the parade."[/color] He made a show of checking his watch and then looked back up when he'd confirmed nothing. [color=ffffff]"I still am, but I'm addressing you a little earlier than planned because I want to remind everyone exactly what we're celebrating."[/color] Short pause for effect. [color=ffffff]"One... hundred..."[/color] A second pause. By now Shinobi News camera crews had gone live, turning their lens on the politician and broadcasting their feed across all of the Republic. Multiple angles of the stage in all it's glory were being viewed by a few million. A couple put Jie and Yuri at the edge of the screen, their continued conversation now the background noise for a more serious speech. [color=ffffff]"One hundred is the sum. The grand total of the price we paid for the sins of another world. The price we pay today as we live with those sins and continue to repent them. One hundred is the sum. The collection of memories... of nightmares and broken promises shared in the wake of a war against the Earth itself. Of a war waged against the man and the woman who could harness the gift of her power and used that power to turn her against us. One hundred is the sum of hearts and souls that were lost to the fire that took the planet as it abandoned us. Of the faces that burned against the scorched ground, were carried away in the wind, were ground to dust beneath stone and lost to the depth of the deepest oceans. One hundred is the sum of years that has passed since the Great War and each year we've toiled in this fire, on this Earth, in broken dreams and heavy debt. One hundred is the weight that we carry... that we still carry to this day... every day."[/color] The silence that followed the echo of his voice was a dense cloud that hung over everyone. It was thick and invisible and suffocating. [color=ffffff]"One... hundred... One hundred versus one. One man. Unity. What can one man do to a nation that has survived a hundred lifetimes of tribulation."[/color] Akano caught movement in the corner of his eye. [center][img]http://nomadexperience.com/img/divider-1.png[/img] [color=DBA901][b]M A R K & M A X I S[/b][/color] [color=E6E6E6]Synergy Storage Facility. Lower Ring.[/color][/center] [color=ffffff]"Get down there and open the valves... now!"[/color] The shuffling of feet toward the door was drowned out by the deafening cry of sirens screaming into the sky. The warehouse, a big blocky excuse for a building that sat near the edge of the outer ring, was now on full alert after receiving a warning message from the plant. Apparently something large was headed their way and those on the other side weren't entirely sure it was just Spirit Energy. The last half of the message put everyone on edge and now they were all scrambling to solve an impossible situation and save not just themselves but their half of the Lower Ring. The lucky duo on this side of the energy crisis were none other than Mark and Maxis, two friends from the bottom rung of the social ladder who were just trying to make an honest living. They'd come to the facility together and now it saw to them splitting up. Mark went for the valves while Maxis made a dash for the release controls. He vaulted down a flight of stairs and made a hard left into a short corridor. The unlocked door at the end opened up to a small room with a wall covered in various buttons and switches and flashing lights. He looked for a particular set, couple'd button and lever, found it and immediately punched the button and yank on the lever. A dark bulb began to flicker bright red. [color=ffffff]"Shit..."[/color] He pulled a radio from his belt and hit the talk button. [color=ffffff]"Hey! Get those damn valves open!"[/color] A voice covered in static replied. [color=ffffff]"I'm working on it! Did you hit the switch?"[/color] [color=ffffff]"Done! Just waiting on you!"[/color] [color=ffffff]"Well shut up and let me wor-"[/color] The line cut to static and a muffled "boom" cut through several layers of concrete. [color=ffffff]"Mark?"[/color] [center][img]http://nomadexperience.com/img/divider-1.png[/img] [color=E6E6E6]Lower Ring.[/color] [@Symphoni][@Altered Tundra][@McHaggis][@DeadBeatWalking][@OneWayOut][/center] A spark of light, a column of energy, erupted from the center of the facility and shot toward the sky. The luminescent beam only lasted for a split second but could be seen from everywhere in the Republic. However only those closest to the blast area could feel the destruction. The warehouse was completely blown out; Metal walls and glass windows, pieces of man and machine were shredded and thrown outward into the dense populated streets before it. A powerful shock wave followed from the epicenter and pushed into the Lower Ring slamming into anything in it's way. People were thrown from the their feet, drivers lost control of their satomobiles, buildings shook with violence, shattering more windows. After a few blocks, it ebbed out leaving behind a wave without the shock. This invisible force moved through the rest of it's corner of the Ring, amplifying any form of spirit energy from it's environment. All electronics running on synergy fried immediately and were rendered useless. [center][img]http://nomadexperience.com/img/divider-1.png[/img] [color=DBA901][b]M A R K & M A X I S ( C O N T . )[/b][/color] [color=E6E6E6]Synergy Storage Facility. Lower Ring.[/color][/center] [color=ffffff]"Mark!"[/color] Mark slowly opened his eyes to a very fuzzy world. There were shapes of different colors looking down at him from above and it seemed the sky had turned from a deep blue to an odd pink. However, unlike the sky, this pink hue seemed to move on it's own as if the color itself was alive. In fact if he tried really hard, he could almost make out a face and oddly enough, it was looking right at him... and moving toward him. He blinked a few times trying to clear away the haze and because he wasn't entirely sure what he could see was real. He'd lived through his fair share of Zen highs and was positive he'd seen weirder things though the headache throbbing annoyingly between his ears was making it impossible to concentrate. [color=ffffff]"Mark.... Mar-"[/color] Maxis coughed and then groaned, hitting the side of his head a few times with the palm of his hand to try and relieve perceived pressure. He too had a headache and it was steadily getting worse. Lights were beginning to hurt his eyes and it seemed his ears had become ultra sensitive. He could hear screaming, cries of agony from what he believed were other survivors of the explosion but he couldn't see any of them even as they were deafeningly loud. [color=ffffff]"Mark... you okay?"[/color] His question was followed by another cough and more head grabbing, this time with both hands. [color=ffffff]"Yeah... yeah I'm fine. What's with all the pink smoke?"[/color] Mark struggled to push himself up but pain flared from around his hip and shot up his spine to the back of his neck. He collapsed again in his own fit of agony. [color=ffffff]"Ma-...aaaaagghh."[/color] Maxis' hands moved to his ears. [color=ffffff]"Do you hear that?"[/color] [color=ffffff]"Hear what?"[/color] Mark grabbed at his hip expecting to find some kind of puncture wound or at worse, broken bone but instead found his hip had been replaced by the large metal beam crushing him in two. He froze. [color=ffffff]"AAAAAaaahhh."[/color] Unwilling to inspect his injuries further for fear of what he'd see, Mark turned instead to Maxis who had dropped to his knees, eyes tightly shut with hands on either side of his face. He was mouthing something over and over again but Mark was no longer paying attention. He'd finally noticed the other figure he'd only briefly seen when he woke up. A long thin shadow was standing behind Maxis with outstretched hand resting on his shoulder. There was no face but somehow Mark knew it was looking right at him. [color=ffffff]"Maxis... what is that?"[/color] [color=ffffff]"We... we did this."[/color] [color=ffffff]"What?"[/color] Mark's eyes dropped to Maxis' and met his. There were tears in his eyes. [color=ffffff]"We did this..."[/color] [color=ffffff]"We what? We did what?"[/color] Hands left the side of Maxis' face and found Mark's throat. [color=ffffff]"....We did this."[/color] [/color]