[hr][center][h3][b][u][ShieldTown][/u][/b][/h3][/center][hr]

[hider=The Silver Fang]
The digital, red glare of Fang's visor swept over Raudd and Dean from the abode's entrance. For a moment, the low growl of the suit and soft clicking of its control surfaces micro-adjusting was the only sound. Raudd stood up and joined her. Dean shook his head. Fang threw Raudd's arm around her neck without hesitation as if she were going to lift him bridal style, but scooped him into a much less flattering lumbar carry across her back. The wide plated "tail" of the suit unfurled into an armored skirt, and she leapt with her cargo to the rooftops to get an unobstructed view.

Fang's HUD scanned the layout of the buildings and gave her a rough overhead map to navigate by. Her first thought was to reconnect with Zolya, since Raudd had mentioned she would be arriving soon with another Templar. It would be nice to have the company of another co-worker... well, depending on who it was at least. Help was help, and maybe she wouldn't need to lean on Alex and the locals with the other Templar around. They'd be coming from the West, if she recalled.

She skipped noisily across the rooftops towards the settlement's outer wall, careful not to get close enough to the glowing barrier to get herself or her passenger caught up on the barrier's glass-like shards. They were moving quickly, although she was careful not to exceed a speed where Raudd's eyes might get damaged by dust particulate. Just as the West gate was coming into view, Fang's HUD outlined a cloaked figure zipping away into the crush of buildings. She slid to a halt next to Zolya and her mounts, setting Raudd down while her head tracked the departing figure. That had to be the other Templar.

Air hissed out of the mask's vents, punctuating a note of exasperation apparent in her body language. Just how many times would she narrowly miss running into them? Fang's visor pulled apart, revealing the smooth, reflective black glass of the expression layer as it folded up into a braid running down the back of her neck. Pixelated, glowing red eyes opening up on the surface of the glass broke up the mirror-sheen as she gazed off after the other Templar.

"[color=ed145b][:<][/color]"

The frown flickered off the face of Fang's visor as the digital eyes swept the stags and Zolya. Her external Vox clicked on for her to speak, to thank Zolya and Raudd for everything that they had done, but that she had to go. A sound in the distance caught her attention before she could speak, causing the armored feline ears on her helmet to shoot up and twist towards the disturbance. A scream. Two gunshots. And... rushing wind? Her vox clacked off noisily as the combat visor slammed down over the expression layer. In a blast of wind, dust, and loose detritus she was gone, tracing a line off directly towards the disturbance.
[/hider]

[hider=The Esper and the Bubble]
[hr][center][h3][b][u][Den Access][/u][/b][/h3][/center][hr]

Jade's sandy blonde hair whipped in her face as she zoomed down the line from the Den. Wolf normally hung straight from the zip-line by the grappling claw in her arm. The rest of The Den's unaugmented mortals clipped their tactical vests into a modified rig and rode the lift to ShieldTown's wall. The loose layers of Jade's hair that were too short to end up tied back blew into her mouth from the odd updraft, and she sputtered gracelessly trying to free them. This was always a problem.

A few stray thoughts drifted up from the city like intrusive strands of hair in her mental soup. She was trying to get better about filtering those out but there were [b]so many[/b]. Even in The Den, her world was a jumble of noise, emotions, and imagery that she couldn't get away from. Blocking it out all the time made her brain hurt. Couldn't people just... think quieter thoughts? It's not like people get in trouble for overhearing a loud conversation.

[center][color=ed1c24][i]Rip. Kill. Consume. Revenge.[/i][/color][/center]

The charged collective scream washed up to hit her like a rogue wave. Jade lost her grip, and for a while she hung lamely from the carabiner attaching her to the rig while the ground whizzed past dizzyingly below. She pulled herself lamely back up to the lift rig while trying to re-orient herself and queued the emergency stop on the controls. Well... machines were funny things that did exactly what they were programmed to, regardless if that was a good idea or not.

The lift-rig in particular could be stopped at any point... any point save past the half-way mark. Wolf and the others had determined that past the half way mark it would actually be safer to take the rig all the way into Shieldtown, since the rig's altitude would be within the threat range of certain Threshers. That was... decidedly NOT what Jade wanted right now, especially since the screaming static grating against her mind exploded over ShieldTown, slamming shut on the settlement walls just as she was reaching them. Jade fumbled with the rig to disconnect herself, fearing she would slam into the bubble but there wasn't enough space. She clung to the rig for dear life and braced herself for the impact instead.

She [i]did[/i] hit it... though the impact was not what she was expecting. Aegis' powers were uncomfortable to be around in the best of situations. They were full of static, pokey, invasive even. The blue hardlight pulled at her brain uncomfortably when he moved it, and worst of all, it was charged with [FEELING]. The pervasive need to do better, to [b]be[/b] better. The weight of the expectations of others. The want to live up to a legend that was perceived to be much greater than themselves. A desperate sense of loss. Today, mostly anger. Mad. Irritated. Full of ire. Acrimonious. Angry. All around her, touching every surface, staring down in a big, static blue dome screaming...

[center][color=deepskyblue][h1]"[Big Angy Face]"[/h1][/color][/center]

Jade hung lamely from the rig at the end of the zip line a few feet off the ground, a bit of blood smeared across her face from where she had wiped her nose with her forearm. OK Wolf and Leah had a point: maybe she should [i]actually[/i] learn how to block all this stuff out. Big feelings hurt.

[b][color=#bc8dbf]"Umph,"[/color][/b] she grunted, trying to hoist herself up to disconnect the rig. [b][color=#bc8dbf]"Inside voice, Aegis. Inside voices inside,"[/color][/b] she muttered, resting her head for a minute on the cool braided steel of the rig while trying to remember her breathing exercises.

[b]"Hey, you okay?!"[/b] A voice from behind her called, and she flailed on the the rig to turn and face it.

[b][color=#bc8dbf]"No. Yes? I'm not okay right now. I will be in a minute,"[/color][/b] she clarified, swinging around to face the owner: a short semi-portly man she recognized from the market. He sold bone carvings and other trinkets. Paul.

[b]"You're the new girl at The Den, right?"[/b] Jade nodded. [b]"Listen, it's dangerous out right now. Thunderdome protocol, so I'm gonna help you down and get you inside, okay?"[/b] Jade found herself nodding in a daze and suddenly he was reaching up towards her. Her eyes went wide and she recoiled, scrambling to get away from him.

[b][color=#bc8dbf]"NO! No! Nononono, no touching!"[/color][/b] Paul froze, allowing Jade to exhale and explain. [b][color=#bc8dbf]"Wind cuts. I can't control it. You'll get hurt if you touch me,"[/color][/b] she breathed, trying to calm down and unhook herself from the rig with shaking hands.

[b]"Okay, it's okay. What do you need me to do?"[/b]

[b][color=#bc8dbf]"Right right. Let me get myself down. One of our planes crashed in the market...,"[/color][/b] Jade wavered. She wanted to be helpful, but she also knew Wolf would scold her if she ran into danger trying to salvage that wreck. [b][color=#bc8dbf]"But I'll go with you and check on it after things calm down,"[/color][/b] she resolved, climbing back up onto the rig so she could get unhooked more easily.

[b]"Alright, good. I know you girls can take care of yourselves, but if Wolf found out I let you run off with the dome up, she'd never visit my stall again,"[/b] he chuckled. The contagious mirth forced her to smile, even though her feelings didn't match. The rig finally clicked free and she jumped down, dusting herself off and turning around in time to see a mechanical beast rear up behind Paul and snatch him. In a blink, he was gone, leaving Jade standing rigid in the street. A '[i]Collector[/i]' had taken Paul.

A nightmare beast fusion of flesh and machine whose only purpose was to capture and bring people to the Ripper collective so they could have augmentations forced on them. They had been a regular menace in Northbridge, but Collectors in ShieldTown? Unheard of.

[i][color=#7270db]Rule Number 1: Never leave without your knife and sidearm.[/color][/i]

Jade stood numbly in the street, hyperventilating while hear heart pounded. Collectors were fast as lightning, and she'd lost sight of the one that took Paul. The metallic scrape of steel on stone behind her, and the crashing against the reinforced bulkheads of ShieldTown's buildings goaded her into action. She sprinted for the nearest opening between buildings she could see while drawing her .40 Beretta. It was heavy and cold in her hands. Wolf had promised to get her a smaller gun when the next shipment came in.

[i][color=#7270db]Rule Number 2: Can't help anyone if you're dead. Protect yourself first.[/color][/i]

The hair on her neck and spine stood straight up, and she threw herself to the ground reflexively. The freight train of flesh, metal, and death roared over her, skittering to a halt and tearing up chips of concrete from the street as it swung around and lunged. Jade tried to roll away but was pinned before she could correct, forcing a short scream out of her lungs. Air rushed around her ears and shrieked against the metallic limb pinning her down. Oil... or some other fluid sprayed wildly from a severed line, and the limb went limp against her.

Jade wrestled free enough to jam the barrel of her pistol into the beast-like metallic jaws of the creature as it bore down on her and pulled the trigger twice. Mistake. It slumped against her while making some unhappy noises. Scraping, rattling, scurrying, screaming.

[color=ed1c24][center][i]Rip. Kill. Consume. Revenge.[/i][/center][/color]

Glowing red eyes began to collect at the top of the wall and push through the dome from outside. Rippers. Ice splashed down Jade's back, renewing her struggle to get free. Thunderdome wasn't to keep things out. It was to keep Rippers in. It's keeping them in. [i]It's keeping them in.[/i] [i][b]It's keeping them [u]in.[/u][/b][/i] The wind thrashed around her, finding gaps in plated armor and metal reinforcement to slice, and she could hear Paul's sharp groans of discomfort and pain.

[b][color=#bc8dbf]"Sorry, I'm sorry, [i]I'm sorry![/i]"[/color][/b]

Something in the corner of Jade's vision caught her attention. More rippers? No. Knight in gleaming silver. Baleful red gaze sweeping the scene. Somehow it didn't feel intimidating: the feeling behind it was anxiety. Worry that she didn't make it in time. Kicking herself for stopping at the gate. She could have gotten here sooner. Jade tried to flail and make herself noticed. Call out. All she could muster was hoarse breathless screams. The silver clad warrior snapped her head in Jade's direction and leapt down from her rooftop perch.

Motion from the wall. Something dark and heavy thudded into the silver clad warrior before she could reach the ground, bowling her into a gap between buildings and out of sight followed by the cheers and jeers of Rippers pushing their way through the dome. Jade was frozen, and all she could do now was watch.

[/hider]