[center][img]https://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/dHRmLjgwLjk0OTQ5NC5SM0poZG1WNVlYSmtJRlJ5YVc4LC4w/miserable.regular.png[/img][h3][color=fff200]Common Allies[/color][/h3]
[@ProPro][@Old Amsterdam][/center]
Whip landed on the ground outside the apartments with a grunt, darting forward. She had let the dog free to run beside them, forgetting he had existed quickly afterwards. She had something on her mind, now, something that irked her more than anything. Mantis wasn't worth much, but he was certainly worth more than the Community was. She flicked her wrist up into the air before her eyes widened in panic. [color=cadetblue]"What?!"[/color] Whip flicked her wrist over and over, to no avail, before growling and vanishing in the air.

Gaia was back, only this time she was bloody and beaten, hunching over slightly in pain as she felt the cool air ride against the new wounds created by the shattered window. She lurked over to the wall of the alley before sitting down against it, clutching her now-red arm with her hand. [color=fff200]"F-fuck..."[/color] Axel whined in front of her, his paws anxiously patting against the ground. [color=fff200]"I know, bud. I'm not looking too great, and Mantis isn't here to calm anyone down."[/color] 

For once, Gaia didn't mind the voices in her head. Whip was rambling to herself about how she couldn't do what she normally did, but that was overshadowed by Francine speaking up without patronization. [color=gray]They let us run... Mantis was their main target. Probably because he was the one who offed me.[/color]

[color=fff200]"Yeah... no... that makes a lot of sense..."[/color] Gaia thought back to that day, before she realized something. [color=fff200]"Oh fuck."[/color]

[color=gray]What?[/color]

[color=fff200]"Allison."[/color] Gaia said grimly. [color=fff200]"She's probably got the Community on her ass right now."[/color] Gaia winced as she pulled a shard of glass out of her arm. [color=fff200]"Gah! Fuck!"[/color]

[color=gray]Probably not safe to go and help her. Patriarch likely sent a tough lieutenant to get her, maybe Master Baiter, and with what she can do I'm certain we can't talk our way into getting Allison out of there.[/color] 

Gaia sighed in defeat. [color=fff200]"That's it, then? We throw in the towel?"[/color] Gaia asked herself and the voices as she pulled another shard out. Axel stepped over to her and simply laid beside her, putting his head in her lap in the meantime.

[color=gray]Of course not. We just need to think about our next move. You were a vigilante, you know that better than most.[/color]

[color=fff200]"... that...'s right. I was."[/color] Gaia chuckled. [color=fff200]"Yeah, I was. Any immediate ideas on what we can do to protect ourselves from the Community?"[/color]

[color=gray]Change our names and what we go by. It's something that we need to leave behind, right here, and right now. We can be tracked by the Community with that.[/color]

Right, that was a roadblock Gaia'd have to overcome. Though, maybe it's better to do that as a coping mechanism, anyway. Her old life was really close to Dunn, and now that he's gone, it might just be better to attempt to start fresh. [color=fff200]"I'll have to give that thought... I still want something that fits with the curse I have."[/color]

[color=gray]Same, really. You need something that's a bit better than what you have now, for sure, heh.[/color] Was that a hint of sarcasm?

[color=fff200]"Anywhere we can go? I'd say my contact in now-higher places could help us, but I don't have a phFUCK!"[/color] Gaia plucked another shard of glass from her arm before looking at it again. It was bleeding a bit more, now, but she didn't have any more glass in her, so that was a big plus.

[color=gray]Yeah. Uh... mind letting me take over as the body?[/color] Fran asked, being genuine for the first time with Gaia. [color=gray]You're not gonna look right walking through public right that, and if I took over it might throw a wrench in Patriarch's goals.[/color]

In an instant, Fran was the active persona, and Gaia was merely a voice in the abyss.

[color=fff200]Oh thank God... I'm not in pain anymore.[/color] Gaia 'breathed' a sigh of relief. [color=fff200]Now, you're not gonna turn on us and take us to Patriarch, are you...?[/color]

[color=gray]"Nope."[/color] Fran said as she stepped out into the streets, one hand in her pocket, the other over her ear (as if she was talking on the phone,) and with Axel trotting along beside her protectively. [color=gray]"Don't expect me to warm up right now and tell you where he is, though. For now, we're allies until we can figure out what to do that'd be the best for all of us."[/color]

[color=fff200]I wouldn't expect it. Though... no hard feelings from the past[/color]

[color=gray]"Much easier to say okay to."[/color]