[center][h1][u][u]The Misadventures of Ellis & Vella![/u][/u][/h1] [h3]A Night out on London Town![/h3][/center] [hr] Ellis scratched at a bit of peeling yellow paint on the forklift's chassis, just above the front left tire. The springs were old and creaked beneath his weight. The wheel wells were scarred and rusted from years, maybe decades of use. The fork tines groaned as we adjusted his seating position. He could hear voices. One, a woman's. The other was the gruff voice of a Krogan. He considered approaching, then decided against it. Better not to bother them. Crickets chirped in the nearby bushes. The sky was tinged in streaks of violet and orange. The world, serene. Peace. So quiet. Silence is simply noise you do not notice. No, silence is the sound of nothing. It is the sound of corrosive thoughts. It is the sound of depression. The sound of betrayal. The sound of 'nothing left'. Silence must be our song. He flexed his new hand. It was a bit clumsier, but it would do. He wondered whether or not he should get it painted, to match. He decided against it, and wondered what the rest of the group was doing. He wondered when they would arrive. He wondered how long he would wait. He wondered how he fit in. He wondered how long it would be until the Krogans petitioned Humanity to betray the council. He wondered if Cerberus would answer the call. He wondered if they would try to recruit him again. He wondered if he would re-enlist. Most of all, he wondered where his anger had gone. It had been replaced, by a pensive solemnity that he could not trace. A tear ran from his eye, soaking into the porous aerogel that held him, and he tried to wipe it away, knocking his new hand against his visor, completely forgetting his condition for a moment. He looked up. Clouds rolled lazily by, painted in glorious tones of pink and red, hues of blue and violet, floating by, complacent, just watching the world go by. Oh, how he wished he could be a cloud. How he longed to be nothing more than weightless vapor, no more capable of intelligent thought than a rock. If it could be so, these thoughts would no longer plague him. He thought about Vella, the Asari that had protected him. Why? Why would she- Why wouldn't she? She and her ilk are trained to defend the weak. But I am a demon to them... A monster. They aren't wrong. You have a terrible track record. If you would just- MOTH! Ellis slammed his new hand down on his thigh, hard enough to feel the vibrations of the impact. The moth beneath splattered like a water-balloon. If you would just KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT more often, they'd have less to be afraid of. You might be right- We're always right. He sighed. Everyone else was no doubt celebrating the recent victory. Likely sharing drinks, maybe even dancing, heading out for nice dinners, just relaxing before the next operation... Ellis could do none of these things. May as well at least enjoy yourself- How? Don't ask us. Hit your painkillers, mug a tourist, IV a bag of tequila, just do something. For fuck's sake, you're just moping. Ellis did at least have a small storage of more old-fashioned painkillers, particularly opiods. Those are fun, right? Anything is fun if you use it properly. That doesn't seem true. Nonetheless, "NERO, activate Exotic Pain Supplement." He swayed as the plunger dropped. If he could have seen himself, he'd have seen his eyes suddenly dialate and his mouth suddenly fall open. Because he couldn't, he asked NERO. "Your appearance is suggestive of alcoholic intoxication. Recommend stealth protocol to avoid law enforcement." "Law...enforcement?" Ellis spat out, still sluggish from the initial injection. "Public intoxication is currently listed under Level 2 Misdemeanor, below Aggravated Assault and Breaking and Entering." "Shit!" He'd completely forgotten that he was right in front of the police station. Well, he'd forgotten it until a fully uniformed officer passed by, likely on his way home from work. Ellis panicked, and toppled over the side of the forklift, luckily hidden behind it, unluckily, at the perfect angle to make it impossible for him to lift himself back up. The officer seemed not to notice. "Recommend standard Cerberus Extraction Protocol." "WE DON'T EVEN WORK FOR THEM ANYMORE!" "Recommend modification of software memory. Unable to connect to Cerberus Information Server." "What-" "Key components damaged. Unable to connect to Cerberus Information Server." "NERO, what-" "Reset." Ellis groaned as blood rushed to his head. This only served to increase his tingliness. "Greetings, Operative. I am NERO, Cerberus Virtual Intelligence, designated Network-Enabled Remote Operation system, numerical designation- ONE-FOUR-ONE-FIVE-SIX-THREE-" "Yes, yes, yes, how do I get up?" "Recommend standard Cerberus Extraction Protocol." Ellis groaned. * “You all now have twenty-four hours to get your affairs in order. Say good bye to loved ones, gather your belongings, settle bar tabs. After those twenty-four hours are up we want to see you’re here.” Vella was walking through the darkened metro on her way back to the surface, trudging through the ruined debris and the long, empty and echoing hallways of the old London metro; her Apostle Assault Rifle magnetically hooked to her chestplate and her dufflebag slung over her shoulder. Everything about the darkened scene, flickering lights, dust cloud filled tunnels and the distant, echoing noises would suggest a creepy mood; especially after she had just fought off the veritable legions of the damned as they had flooded out of the hidden underground Cerberus facility in an endless tide of pseudo organic-synthetic horror. Yet the Asari felt neither frightened nor alone. In fact, she felt elated. Every step she made across the ruined ground or old water pools was nearly a small jump. She felt exhilerated, excited! It had been months since she had felt this alive! Her muscles ached after the brief but intense engagement, but that did nothing to dissuade her bright mood as she nearly skipped through the darkened tram tunnels! [i]"You did it! You made the challenge! They have accepted you! You're in!"[/i] The thought of joining a spectre on an exciting adventure through the most dangerous and exotic areas of space was a dream come through, as thousands of possible quests and heroics flooded through her mind! She would meet exciting new people! Face down nefarious and dangerous threats that most of the galaxy would never know about! She would be at the forefront of galactic matters, at the center of the action; playing with the very historical battles and intrigues that would affect the galactic landscape for years to come! As she was running up the last stairs of the metro and up into Baker street, Vella would immediately flick on her omni-tool, rapidly typing in a single message: "I got the job!" " ... " " ... " Seconds passed. Then minutes. Vella had taken off her silver helmet, and visibly raised an eyebrow as she stood alone in the rain, watching her omni-tool. She would have expected some replies by now, yet it was strangly omni-silent. "What's going on with them?" Vella's eyes narrowed, as she began to take a step towards the rainy road outside of the metro. However, as Vella had barely managed to raise one silver boot over the main road, her instincts caused her to immediately throw herself backwards as she heard the sound of a heavy propulsion drive off to her left! WRZOOOM! The Asari barely had time to throw herself back and fall onto her ass as a big, bright-red double-decker hover-bus just zoomed in from her left, coming to an abrupt stand-still as it violently knocked over a trash bin and decapitated a fire hydrant! "GODDESS!" Vella exclaimed, suddenly patting herself to check if she was still in one piece before she looked up at the double-decker bus currently parked in front of her. "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE DRIVING, YOU ASS!" "[b]CONGRATULATIONS, SIS![/b]" Suddenly sounded the familiar voice of Sila, as her fellow Asari Sentinel became visible as the doors to the bus swung open; revealing a bright blue, slightly purple hued Asari sitting behind the driver's wheel; and three more blue heads peering out from the side of the bus, as Vella promptly recognized Atharia, Lithi and Jovalitha-ri, all from her platoon. " ... Sila?" Vella said, momentarily flabbergasted as she looked around to analyze the vehicle. "Wait, where did you even get... " "Quick! Get in the bus!" Lithi suddenly exclaimed. "No time to explain!" Sila continued. Vella simply looked at them for a moment, until she could suddenly hear some sirens in the distance. "Oh shi,-" Without waiting any second longer, Vella launched herself forward in a charge as she rushed into the bus, her helmet in one hand and dufflebag in the other as she nearly stumbled right into the floor as she got in! Sila didn't even wait for Vella to get all the way into the bus before she floored the peddle and the propulsion systems of the double-decker bus kicked into action, and the bus flew away! * Ellis twiddled his thumbs as best he could. One of his legs was stuck between the prongs of the forklift, while the lift itself was low enough to press onto Ellis' chest, holding him down on his back like a flipped roach. This is the most boring evening after a very exciting day. Quit whining, at least no one is bothering you. Except me, I'm bothering me. Don't blame us for your problems. Aren't we all 'us'? You tell us. The sky darkened slowly, red glow becoming purple, pink turning red, yellow streaks devolving into a blood-orange. The crickets grew louder, and the sounds of the bustling city rose to its peak as streetlamps activated, and the night life awoke. * It had taken a few maneuvers, but thankfully they had evaded the pursuing police. Although Sila was one of the best pilots in the Division of Light, was still impressive nonetheless how she had managed to outmaneuver the pursuing cop car in a bright red double-decker bus with near non-existant handling; and minimal collateral damage as well! Vella, on the other hand; amidst being flung around in the back of the double-decker bus in the wild chase; had been showered with questions from the more than two dozen other Asari in the bus, as they had barraged her with questions about the supposed "job interview"! "DID YOU HAVE TO KILL SOMEONE?!" "Uh, yes! ... Well, kind'a. They were already dead." "DID YOU GET A GOOD LOOK AT THE SPECTRE? WAS HE HOT?" "If you're into scales... " "DID YOU GET A NEW UNIFORM? CAN I SEE IT?!" "IS IT TRUE YOU'RE ABOVE THE LAW NOW?!" "Well.... " "HOLD ON, GIRLS!" Sila would suddenly shout out, turning to look back at the rest of the gathering blue crowd around Vella as she gave Vella coy look. "First things first, this requires a REAL CELEBRATION for Vella!" She said with a mischiveous smirk on her lips. "However, for that, YOU are going to need a shower and less clothes! We can't go partying in full battle armor, and if your story is half-true, those Commando leathers probably stink! So for that, we're going to go to ground first; and then, we conquer London!" * There had been few objections to Sila's plan as they drove back towards their hotel; especially as it gave Vella a chance to get a much needed shower. Say what you will about the simplicity of it all, nothing made a shower feel better than just having killed a couple hundred husks in an epic battle to save London! Sila and the rest of the girls had already packed her stuff for her, which meant that Vella only had to get dressed. Her choice for this evening would be an undersized tank top under a high collar jacket, and some deep purple tight pants. In terms of modesty, it still left her far ahead than some of her fellow sisters, yet she had always liked going with the more flashier colors! It had taken a while for them to leave the hotel again, however, as an already tipsy Lithi had made it her personal mission to get it on with a particular Salarian in the hotel bar, deciding to recruit the whole platoon to support her. However, after hotel security arrived, and the sudden escape by the Salarian, the platoon had finally managed to get back onto the bus as they ventured back towards London center! Ellis lay, staring up at the darkening sky, pondering the day's events. He'd woken up, confirmed the date, time, and location of a mysterious transponder signal, answered said signal, and been recruited by Spectres. Afterward, he was immediately ordered into his first mission for these Spectres. During the mission, he was crippled. Sometime between then and now, his broken limbs had been repaired, and now, here he lay beneath the setting sun, in a forklift Full Nelson. This can't get any worse. It simply isn't possible. Anything is possible. The sound of an engine and the glow of headlights approached rapidly. Ellis had only enough time to think: I'm not even on the road- [h1]CRUNCH[/h1] * "Look, up there! That's a huge clock! Why'd they build that?" Lithi exclaimed, pointing out of a window. "What? Naaahhhh, it's kind'a small to be honest... " Vella would comment, looking up at the large clock towering above much of the cityscape as they passed the bridge. "We NEED to go there!" "Noooooo! No! We already decided to visit that Night Club Stylonix!" Atharia would interject, suddenly leaning forward towards Sila; her already minimalistic top threatening to burst at the seams as she brought up her omni-tool next to Sila's face. "Look, just follow this way through Victoria's street,and we'll get there!" "No! Your navigation sucks, just use the GPS! Here, I downloaded this omni-app!" Lithi said, almost laying herself over Atharia as she brought her own omni-tool in front of Sila, nearly pressing it against her face as a virtual voice sounded throughout the front of the bus. "Greetings, I am A23P, your VI for London adventures. If you had a destination," "Dammit, I get it out of my face! I can barely see!" Sila complained, trying to look back at the path ahead. "But I paid like 20 credits for this! It works, trust me!" Lithi exclaimed, as Vella leaned in behind the two. "Hey, maybe we should... " KZHOOOOM! Ellis roared, [b]"WWWWHHHHHHYYYYYYY!?"[/b] *CRASH!!* The sound of the emergency stop system of the hover engine kicking in came out of nowhere, as Vella, Lithi and Atharia all found themselves launched headfirst into the windshield as the double-decker just hit the back of a forklift; Sila being the only one in the front wearing a seat belt! "Owwhhh!" Both Lithi and Atharia complained, Vella having been fortunate to land on the two, but her face was still very much plastered to the inside of the windshield as she glanced down. "I think we hit... something." She said, her purple eyes suddenly widening as she looked down at a tilted forklift, and a large, heavy metal husk lying face first into the ground. "Could it be... Ellis?" Ellis stood, joints creaking, servos whining. "NERO! System check!" "System functional, operator. Unable to connect to Cerberus Information Server." "Idiot. NERO, switch to loudspeaker mode. Hey! You up there! You have run over me!" He approached slowly, one foot after another sinking into the soft grass. One hand cocked, instinctively ready to draw a weapon that wasn't even there. "I demand that you exit your vehicle!" "Ellis! That's my new squadmate!" Exclaimed, unplastering herself from the windshield. "Whaaaat?!" "You never said he was that fat!" Vella had already throw herself to the side, already pushing herself on top of a complaing Sila as she opened the side window to poke her blue head out, waving at Ellis with a big smile! "Ellis! It's me, Vel!" She said throwing him a smile!" "I don't care about Ellis, get your ass out of my face!" Sila complained, trying to pull Vella back in as Vella suddenly disappeared back into the bus! "Vell... la?" Ellis' shoulders dropped. "What? Why did you... The bus... What?" Ellis walked up to the door, and tried to grab ahold of the door, accidentally punching right through the glass. "Shit." "MY BUS!" Sila exclaimed, sounding as if a mother had just watched her dearest child fall as Ellis promptly made a hole through the metal and glass door. "Hi, ellis! Vella exclaimed from where she sat below Sila, waving down at him; as five more blue heads peered down at Ellis with deep curiosity! Ellis raised his hand. "Sorry, new arm." He was nervous. This was a lot of aliens. A lot of the same alien. Which one was Vella? Which ones weren't? "Everyone, say Hi to Ellis! He's my new squadmate!" Vella was quick to explain as she got back up from her feet, as suddenly more than half a dozen big eyes gaze down at Ellis with flaring curiosity! "Say WHAAAT?" "Is he N7?" "OI, Ellie! What do you think of Vel?" "Is that your suit? Where did you buy that?" "Uhhh, sir... " Suddenly sounded the concerned voice as a random police clerk had come out of the station, walking cautiously up towards Ellis with a look of concern on his face. "Are you alright, sir? That crash looked painful!" It's the fuzz! Ellis jumped, frankly, freaking out. He imagined the cop reading him his rights. He thought about missing the mission because he was in jail. He thought about being sentenced to a prison. He imagined a judge sentencing him to hard labor, or worse, solitary confinement. He panicked. Run! Ellis punched his fist through the door, and took ahold of the frame, pulling hard. "OPEN THE DOOR!" The door popped and crackled and broke, spilling glass all over his armor. He pushed it aside and squeezed onto the bus, bending out the frame. "GO! GO! GO!" "OH NO! THIS IS NOT GOING TO WORK!" "HE'S TOO FAT!" "I'M NOT FAT! IT'S METAL WEIGHT!" "The roof! The roof! Get him on the roof!" Vella called out as she pointed at Ellis. To say that Ellis was inside or entering the bus would be a gross misnomer, as the oversized mech that was Ellis was more akin to that of a big, metal ball halfway buried into the vehicle's side, causing the whole hover vehicle to tilt sideways! All the while, the face of the police clerk was one of utter horror as he watched the spectacle. One of the back windows of the bus opened, revealing an Asari dressed in a poorly replicated and extremely slutty N7 black 'armor', the price tag still visible at the back of her collar, and waving at the police clerk. "NO TIME TO EXPLAIN! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY" The N7 dressed Asari named Ophelia called out from behind her full helmet. "WE HAVE TO SAVE THE GALAXY - GOTTA GO!" "Drive!" Lithi exclaimed, as Sila once again floored the pedal! "Get him on the roof!" Vella called out, as suddenly Ellis could feel a powerful biotic field surround his body as more than four different Asari, including Vella, just forced him out of the bus with their biotics, causing him to hover in the air right next to the bus as it drove on! However, before they could move him any further, Ellis would smash into a STOP sign as the bus drove on, as well as tear off the roof of a bus stop before Vella and her peers could lift him up into the air and dump Ellis down on the open-roof on top of the double-decker, as another eight Asari on top of the bus gazed at him with big eyes of surprise, before suddenly cheering! Ellis gripped the railing as the bus careened back and forth, its momentum both fast and furious. NERO interjected, "Recommend more stable position, Operative." "WHOO-HOOO! YOU CHOOSE TO JOIN!" "Yeah, we got our own mech now!!" One of the Asari would lean forward to place an overly wide 1 dollar wizard hat on top of Ellis's 'head', whereas another one was digging through a repurposed Cryo-Ammo box to pick up a perfectly cooled bottle of beer which she threw to him! "CATCH!" Despite his growing uneasyness at being surrounded by a thousand identical Asari, Ellis caught the bottle as it spun through the air, the drink inside no doubt shaken past the point of drinking. Ellis was uncertain of what to do with it. "NERO, can I..." He struggled with his wording. "Can I connect this at all?" "Intravenous delivery unsafe. Recommend attaching to Nourishment System." Ellis sighed. It wouldn't be exactly like drinking it, but it would still go through his stomach, liver, and kidneys. Well, stomach, liver, and filters, anyway. "How do we do that?" The city whizzed by in a blur of lights and sounds. The chatter of the surrounding Asari was practically white noise, by how fast they were speaking. "Recommend introduction into original system through external syringe." Ellis looked around at the screaming, laughing, shouting Asari, deciding that, most certainly, one of them would have an empty syringe. "And we could scan for toxins first?" "Commencing scan. Composition safe. Potential toxins include Ethyl Alcohol, Wheat Gluten, and methane." "What? Those aren't toxins-" "Redefining." "External volume, up twelve percent- I need a syringe!" He called out. This would mark his first time even discovering that he was able to use alcoholic beverages. Of course, he wouldn't really taste it, as it would be absorbed directly into his stomach lining, but as a human once said, 'Drunk is drunk'. "Is it safe to mix beer with Exotic Painkiller one-point-two?" "Not recommended." "But is it dangerous?" "Not recommended." Ellis weighed his options. One one side, a night out on the town seemed almost sacreligious without the partaking of alcohol. On the other side, it could make Ellis sick, even damaging his immune system beyond repai- "Fuck it. Anyone got a syringe?" "A syringe?!" The question promptly raised a mixture of both amused and curious looks as six of the nearby Asari almost immediately stopped their chatter to stare solely on Ellis amidst the broken seats and bent metal flooring of the open bus. "Wait, Elli is a combat medi! Elli! Are you here?!" "WHO NEEDS A DOCTOR?!" A deeper blue Asari with long, purple tattoos running across her face would suddenly answer the call as she came stepping up behind the small crowd gathered around Ellis, wearing a bikini that resembled a slutty nurse outfit; or was it a slutty nurse outfit that looked like a bikini? Either way, she came carrying a half empty bottle of wine in one hand, and a big, red plastic medic kit in her other hand! "Elli is on the spot! WHATS the emergency?!" "Vella's robot human needs booze but lacks a mouth!" The Asari combat medic called 'Ellie" stepped forward and past her sisters. But when she saw Ellis, her jovial and tipsy expression would suddenly change to one of intense focus; as Ellie's eyes narrowed on the mech currently sitting at the front of the top deck in the bus. Her eyes would move across Ellis as if she was taking in a thousand minute details in all but a few seconds, an intense professional curiosity seeming to have somehow managed to stall her drunkeness. "A syringe!" She suddenly snapped her fingers before any of the Asari behind her could even chip in. "I hope everyone's having fun up here?" Ellis?" Vella asked as the Asari came walking up the narrow staircase to the top of the double decker bus, only to look across the top floor to see combat medic 'Ellie', standing over Ellis with a huge syringe that she had seemingly produced out of nowhere; and a mad glint shining in her eyes! "Is this one big enough?!" "Uhm... Ellis?" Vella asked cautiously, noting how the syringe in question was literally considered large even by Krogan standards! If there was anyone within sight that had trypanophobia, this might just have turned into a horror story... Ellis laughed, oddly enough, a laugh of mirth. He was, for only the sixth time, having fun, despite being surrounded by aliens. "That'll do!" Ellis snatched the syringe up and slammed the needle through the bottlecap. Pressing a button to activate the plunger, he stared at the little window as it filled with beer. [i]This is such a bad idea. Shut up. You already lost me an arm. WE already lost you an arm. Fine. 'We'.[/i] "NERO, adding new nourishment supplement." [i]"Opening supplement port two."[/i] Ellis' cuirass popped open with the hiss of pressurized air, exposing three rubberized seals, each one with a small opening in the center for the needle that refilled Ellis' suit's nutrients, medication, and Omni-Gel. The center seals squealed open, and Ellis inserted the syringe. "Here goes... an experiment." He hit the plunger, and promptly fell over as Sila made a sharp right. As he lay on the bus floor while the Asari chirped all around him, full of laughter and screams of excitement, he realized that he felt included. Not like it was under Cerberus, and not like it was under the new Spectres. One of his new companions slapped his shell twice, asking if he was okay. He waved a hand absently, forgetting his strength, and leaving a nasty dent in the railing when he used it for support. Ellis’ low alcohol tolerance was ordinarily the least of his worries. But right now, with his BAC at .04 from a single, twelve-ounce beer, it loomed like a monster. His vision was blurry, and his motor skills clumsy, side effects that NERO could have identified as being synergy between opioid drugs and ethyl alcohol. Having never experienced drunkenness before, Ellis attributed all of his symptoms to the booze, gloating over God for having discovered a workaround to this most ancient of pastimes. Ellie clapped him on the shoulder. He was beginning to lose some of his prejudices against the Asari. He had always thought them arrogant, believed that they saw themselves as superior, for their long lives and galactic social status. He glanced at Ellie. She was shotgunning another beer, having used her Omni-tool to melt a hole in the bottom of the bottle. [i]I must learn to replicate this.[/i] [i]If all the emulation doesn’t kill you first.[/i] He looked around, at all his scantily clad new friends. The two sitting next to one another in the front were barely clothed at all, bikini tops threatening to burst, the lower-body counterparts faring little better. i]New friends.[/i] [i]You don’t have any friends.[/i] [i] They’re treating me like a friend.[/i] [i]Just wait.[/i] [i]I have been.[/i] Having seemingly no retort, Ellis’ inner voices stayed quiet. Ellis watched the two in front, arguing about something. He couldn’t hear them over the bus, the rushing wind, and the sounds of the city. [i]They are… Even from a human perspective, very attractive.[/i] [i]What the hell are you saying?[/i] [i]Wide hips, supple breasts, toned arms and legs. Not a lot to argue with.[/i] He seemed to agree with himself, and found himself staring. He decided another drink might help. “Are we stopping anywhere, or are we staying mobile?” He opened his Omni-Tool and checked his vitals. Increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, increase in body temperature- all normal, considering he'd just had his first drink. Actually, better than normal, because he didn't have to [i]taste[/i] his first drink. "No way! We gotta go exploring!" One of the Asari adamantly claimed as she raised a beer, almost tipping over from another sharp turn by Sila! "Hell yeah!" Vella was quick to back her up, stepping forward as well to lean precariously on the railing! "Intel has it they built a new night club here in London called XOYO V2 after the last one got trashed in the Reaper war! Completely new high tech design, four times the size, imports from all the galaxy!" "Yeah! And now the Lance of Light is going to conquer it as well! WhooOOO!" Atharia exclaimed, having just emerged from downstairs as well! The trip through London was not quiet, and it was not slow either; with Sila turning what SHOULD have been a slow, "old-timey" and bulky double decker hover bus into a fast, albeit bulky tiger! If anything, Sila's handling of the double-decker could more be described as that of a dancing Krogan... except the Krogan could actually (somehow!) dance and not suck at it! By the time the double double-decker bus had arrived outside a long street with a flashy colored omni-sign visible on a long, boxy and black building labeled XOYO V2; Ellis would already have become an object of decoration for half of the Asari on the bus as they tried to decorate him akin to a christmas tree, with various charms, hats, cloaks, flags or necklaces! As the propulsion engines of the bus finally stopped, Ellis looked less like a mech-suit, and more like a walking effigy of adornments and fancy cloth! [i]Look at you. You look like you should feel.[/i] Ellis thought. [i]Shut up, you. This appears to be an honor in their culture.[/i] [i]But in your culture-[/i] [i]She picked me up twice. I owe her.[/i] "WE'RE HERE, GIRLS! EVERYONE OFF!" Sila called out, as half the Asari in the bus had already surged out and mingled with the crowd outside of the nightclub. Ellis, whether he'd want it or not, suddenly found himself lifted up with the biotics of some of the Asari and slumped onto the pavement at the side of the bus, breaking a few blocks while at it; before Vella, Ellie and Athari followed after. "TO THE ENTRANCE!" "YEAAAAHHH!" "WHOOOOO!" * "NO MECHS ALLOWED!" The Krogan bouncer dressed in a smart tuxedo to cover his scarred exterior standing at the entrance of the nightclub answered adamantly as he saw the throng of Asari and Ellis approach the door, raising a leathery hand. "This nightclub is for humanoids only. Any mechs are to be left outside." The Krogan said, folding his arms and looking up at Ellis with a look of defiance as he moved himself to stand like a mountain between them and the entrance. "Damn, I didn't think of that... " Vella whispered quietly to herself, her purple eyes shifting between Ellis and the entrance of the night club. Ellis looked around, he had to think quick. His thoughts raced a million miles a second, traversing galaxies and nebulae and crossing space and time to bring him to the void beyond the wall of alcohol-induced cataton- [i]I've got it![/i] He spoke, "I'm handicapped." The Krogan didn't look quite convinced. "NERO, tell him." [i]"Testimony confirmed. This suit is designated Cerberus Leviatha-"[/i] "-NERO, SHUT UP." Ellis tried to give his best rendition of a smile at the Krogan, then remembered that not only could the man not see his face. But Ellis could see his, and it looked fairly unhappy, even to Ellis' drunk-goggled eyes. [i]At least now I know why I always feel the need to announce it. Yes, we did always wonder why you did that.[/i] "Yeah. And Salarians can be trusted." The Krogan bouncer answered with a sarcastic tone as he eyed Ellis with two beady eyes. "Are you discriminating against disabled people?!" Vella had all but jumped on the Krogan as she leaned in past Ellis, pointing an accusing finger at the large, antromorphoic reptile! "You know some people aren't lucky to have been born with multiple spines!" "Krogan don't have,-" "This is atrocious! I can't believe an esteemed place like this treats their more vulnerable customers like this!" Atharia had jumped in as well, throwing the Krogan an accusing look as she backed up Vella! "Yeah! Poor Ellis here broke his spine in a construction accident, helping rebuild Earth, Thessia and Tuchanka! And when he wants to enjoy some normal life, he meets THIS kind of prejudice?" "That doesn't even,-" The Krogan tried, before Vella had already continued. "This is unacceptable! Girls, let's write a review so people know how despicable this place treats its customers!" "You are completely misconstruin,- ... well shit." The Krogan bouncer was about to retort, but when he saw the Asari in front of him suddenly bring up more than two dozen shimmering omni-tools, he let out a frustrated sigh! "Wait! Fine! I mispoke! You can come in, but don't cause any trouble! ... [i] the boss man is going to fry my quads for this either way...[/i]." The Krogan begrudgingly stepped to the side, as more than half of the Asari in Vella's group had forgotten about their omni-tools and already flooded in! Vella looked at Ellis, tapping his suit and nodding for him to follow her in! "See! It all worked out! Come on!" Ellis raised his hands, inadvertantly denting the doorframe. "YES! HAHAHA!" He followed behind Vella, enjoying the weird vibrations that came through his suit's insulatory gel to the thumping beat of the music. A couple folks gave him dirty looks when he came in. No one he recognized. [i]Probably just pissed someone brought a mech in here.[/i] [i]Probably just pissed someone let[/i] you [i]in here.[/i] The lights flashed thousands of colors in several seconds, sometimes just strobing, other times pulsing more slowly. *Thomp* *Thomp* *Thomp* Even the heavy mechanical steps accompanying Ellis wherever his overly bulky mech frame walked became muffled in the drowning sound of the insides of the nightclub, feautring a large open dance floor, the entire ground made up of a large vid-screen that constantly flashed a neverending blur of colors and lights. And above, three series of hollowed out levels that allowed guests above to watch down. And from every possible angle, lights kept constantly blinking in a blinding maze of colors! If anyone in the party was prone to epileptic seizures, they would probably be spazzing out at this point! "Oi! Ellis!" Vella called out to Ellis, even her own loud voice barely audible over the cocophony of noise that was the music of the place! Catching Ellis's "eye" with her own, she motioned towards the dance floor with her head. "Cerberus taught you any moves?!" Ellis had never danced before, but as he'd found on many, many occasions, wearing a mechsuit is an excellent confidence booster. He discovered he rather like the flashing lights and energy of the dancefloor, particularly when he discovered that simply by waving his arms, he could clear a wide area. So, he decided to try out the only dance move he knew: a classic human dance called "the robot". Arms waving, massive carapace slinging about haphazardly, Ellis was a walking, (dancing), hazard. [i]You look like a fool[/i] [i]WHO CARES?[/i] "HAHAHA! DANCING IS FUN!" One of his arms struck a light fixture, showering him in a beautiful pyrotechnic display of orange sparks. He tried "breakdancing", as he'd seen in a number of old vids, particularly ones that took place in the late twentieth century, and whirled across the floor like a hurricane. Security had been eyeing him from the start, and they approached, a tall Batarian and wide Krogan with angry faces. The noise created by the breaking glass of the ground and random destruction wrought by the heavy mech suit that now decided to do a breakdance of all things on the dance floor could be heard almost across the deafeaning music! Glass panes were crunched under the weight of Ellis' mechanical frame, and terrified spectators found themselves fleeing the center of the dance floor to avoid Ellis's shenanigans! Vella, Ellie, Sila and Atharia on the other hand all found themselves cheering Ellis on! It was, regrettably, only the first time Vella had ever seen a dancing mech suit! Something she'd wished she had seen sooner, with how Ellis inadvertently and systematically ruined the entire dance floor! "Hey, Vella! Look!" Atharia suddenly poked Vella's shoulder, to point at the oncoming duo of security guards; eyeballing the whirling mech currently trashing the dance floor. " .. we're going to need a distraction!" Vella quickly muttered, her voice mostly drowned out by the blaring cococphony of music that constantly raged on in the place. Quickly eying her surroundings, she spotted a Salarian currently recording the dancing Ellis with his omni-tool, standing behind a Krogan. Conjuring a light biotic force, Vella would suddenly launch it across the room, hitting said Krogan in the back! The Krogan, feeling the hit; would turn around, spotting the Salarian. A moment of confusion passed across the Krogan's face, clearly surprised a Salarian could hit that hard, before it turned into an angry scowl, as the Krogan suddenly grabbed the unsuspecting Salarian, and lifted him up into the air! As the two security guards were approaching the dancing Ellis from behind, they would suddenly both stop; before a flying Salarian came falling out from the air and landing right on the Batarian; his Krogan buddy shouting out something that was completely drowned out by the music! "That should buy Ellis a few more moves." Vella grinned as she watched the spectacle, the Krogan security now suddenly (trying) having a heated exchange with the other Krogan that had thrown the Salarian across the room, all the while helping his Batarian buddy back up! But Ellis didn't have any more moves in him. Not dance moves, anyway. He'd just seen a Krogan throw a Salarian across the club into some poor Batarian bastard. Now, Ellis was a different kind of excited. He strode to the bar, feet pounding on the floor like an extra bassline, and picked up a stray glass, still half full of a forgotten drink. The Salarian struggled to his feet in the corner. People were shouting, but Ellis couldn't hear it over the music. He stomped back to Vella and said, "Hey, watch this." But he wasn't sure if she heard him or not. Still, this was a rare opportunity. The two krogans seemed to have finished their dispute, though one seemed quite peeved with the other. This was a rare opportunity for Ellis, as he doesn't often get the chance to see two Krogans brawl against one another. Surprising to some, certainly, but Ellis had rarely ever been in the company of non-humans. Tonight, however, non-humans were the most fascinating, exciting, and decidedly [i]fun[/i] things in the universe. Ellis tossed the glass at the guard's back, showering him in someone's dextro-amino Mudslide. The Krogan spun around, eyes practically burning with rage. Ellis pointed. One Krogan charged another. Ellis shouted "FIGHT!", grabbing Vella's hand with his new white one, motioning for the others to follow, and starting toward the door. He snickered to himself, until NERO reminded him [i]"Some instances of inciting interspecies violence can be considered light terrorism in Alliance space, Operative. Recommend Low Profile protocol."[\i] Ellis responded, "But it's Krogan on Krogan. That's not interspecies. Technically." NERO had only one response. [i]"Unable to connect to Cerberus Information Server."[/i] Ellis disregarded this, and said to himself as they left, "I'm Ellis Taevon and this is my favorite club in London!" "Are we leaving already?" Atharia asked with a visible disappointed expression on her face as she came carrying a couple of drinks, balancing two on each hand and one in her cleavage; when she saw Vella and Ellis suddenly come running/stomping past! "Dance room got trashed, gotta go!" Vella exclaimed with a slightl chuckle as she motioned for her to follow; all the while sounds of cheers and screams could be heard from behind as the two Krogan created an on-the-spot smackdown competition on the dance floor; the sound of breaking glass and broken railings audible even through the blaring music of the place! Getting out might have proved to be a challenge, as a large portion of the crowd, not to even mention the club security, were currently surging towards the dance floor; or what had once been the dance floor; to witness the brawl, omni-tools held high in the air and club security shouting for people to get out of their way! However, the hulking Ellis would prove to be a veritable plough as he walked through the crowd; as most people either were either pushed or stepped out of the way of what could only be identified as an industrial-grade service mech garbed in some smart looking cloak and hat! Vella, on the other hand; although she was no small girl by any stretch of the imagination with her near 7ft tall height; found herself more swept and dragged away by Ellis; inadvertently sliding across the crowd with muffled complaint! Behind them though, the rest of the platoon had an easier time however, following in a narrow line in the wake of Ellis! As Ellis nearly smashed the front door to the nightclub and stepped outside; and the party rushed out into the clear night air, Sila was the first to jump past Vella and Ellis to raise her hands into the air and shout!" "THAT WAS AWESOME! WE SHOULD DO IT AGAIN!" "BEE-O-BEE-O!" "Oh CRAP! EVERYONE GET TO THE BUS!" Sila´s celebration was cut short by the sound of sirens in the distance, as suddenly; the half-drunk band of Asari suddenly exhibited a surprising level of both discipline and reaction; as they all stormed towards the double-decker bus in a coordinated fashion; Ellis being picked up by a biotic field before he could even raise a protest and slung onto the roof floor as Sila threw her butt into the front seat and began driving. "Go-go-go-go! We still got 5 more stops to go!" * *Beep beep* The slow, rythmic beep of a forklift currently in action could be heard outside of the police station; as slowly but surely, Sila; driving a small forklift down the street would become visible. Ahead of the forklift, causing the whole thing to almost lean forward; was the massive bulk of Ellis sitting limp against the heavy claws; a series of belts going around him in a haphazard fashion to hold his heavy bulk in place. He would look even more out of place than when he had gotten his new limbs, now featuring a long, silk velvet cloak over his shoulders, a big, strange wizard hard; some hand made paintings on his chassis, and some mysterious canisters attached to the side of his suit, going into it through some strange tubing. Behind him, in the seat of the forklift, was Vella; sitting on an uncomfortable Sila's lap with her face mostly going right down into the dashboard, and her already minimalistic outfit almost halfway off her. A big, heavy dufflebag hung over her shoulders and down on her right, almost threatening to pull her out of the forklift. The hover double-decker bus they had once "commissioned" earlier that evening was currently at the bottom of River Thames; and the rest of the Asari of the Lance of Light either back in their hotels or had found various retreats. A few of the more enduring members had even begun the nachspiel somewhere in London! "Alright, we're here! Offh!" Sila announced, but got little response from neither Ellis nor Vella; and groaned audibly at the weight of the latter currently preventing blood circulation in her legs! Slowly driving up to the police station, the Asari would notice the outlines of Skarr and Salissa in the distance. Letting out a sharp whisper, Sila stepped out of the forklift and waved at Skarr and Salissa. "Hey! Is this the shuttle-point?" [hr]