Zombiedude101

Mass Effect: Borealis

I might as well jump on the bandwagon with my fucked up sinuses and banging headache. Poor GF has the cold too but with a sore throat so going to have to keep her company, huehueheuh.

Mass Effect: Borealis

Is my current posting rate fine with you guys? Been trying to keep it steady but readonable so all involved get a chance to catch up.

Verthaven: Days of Rain ☔ [COMPLETED]

---

Meifeng, Trevor, Shizuka, Haruka, Jennifer, & Task Force RAVEN.

---

The ride back to Headquarters was long and bumpy.

The APC was going fast as it could through the streets - going the exact same way it came this way. They were blissfully unaware that the situation with the Devil just went from eight to twenty. Very few of them were paying attention to the comms, and were more than content with letting the adults handle the Changeling Unit.

In the middle of a pain like no other, Jennifer was laying down, with her head on Meifeng's lap - who was lightly running her hand through the blonde's hair. Jennifer could barely stay conscious at this rate - it was only due to a side ability that kept her from going into shock and passing out from the pain. Her flesh and bodily organs were putting themselves back together. It was certainly better than having the bomb inside of her...but Jennifer felt like she was cheating. This power... it allowed her to cheat death more times than she can count. She was honestly entertaining the idea that she was destined to die.

"'Ey," Trevor said to Meifeng in his thick Texan accent. "She okay?"

Meifeng looked down at Jennifer - and the two exchanged looks.

"...Mostly." Jennifer groaned out the words, her enunciation far better than before.

Meanwhile, Haruka had turned on his twin. "Why didn't you use your power to get that bomb out? Even if she is able to heal from that---" He made a grunt of disgust recalling the bloody scene from before. "We wouldn't have to go that far with your intangibility."

"As I've said before - and you've seen it for yourself - it's stuck too deep inside her. It had pretty much become a part of her body, with how her regeneration kept closing up on the bomb." Shizuka sighed. "So when I expand my power to her it'll include the bomb too. Otherwise that nasty cube would've already been expelled out of her when we phased through that woman's flying saucer and then the ground below."

"But...you could have stopped Meifeng's mother from wretching the bomb out of her just now." Haruka was not willing to let the matter rest, not yet. "By then you would have seen where exactly the bomb---"

"The hell I'm gonna interrupt that woman in the middle of that," Shizuka snapped back. "If I did it won't save the blonde but make the matter worse, on top of what Trevor had done. It's damn obvious that we'll never acknowledge each other." He turned away from everyone and looked out of the window. "She is a decent agent, but as the Chinese saying goes: one mountain cannot abide two tigers," he finished the last line in Mandarin.

Haruka was quiet for a moment, still frowning at the younger counterpart. Then he spoke again, "I also wondered how you knew what kind of bomb was inside her."

"That," Shizuka drawled. "Is all thanks to the Giant Blob we fought when we're trying to get away from the 'safezone'." Seeing Haruka's confused look, he continued, "Well, after overusing my power and almost ashing myself, seems like my ability evolved - just a bit, though. Like when I share my power with others, I'm able to feel every fiber, every atom of the person in direct contact with me."

Haruka merely stared at him with wide eyes.

"I haven't mastered it yet - it's all new to me." Shizuka shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm more confident with lifeless objects since that's all I used to practice with; breathing, living things are harder, more complicated. I'm not a doc - I could only make a crude inference and the rest was a gamble."

"Gamble?" Haruka couldn't believe his ears.

Shizuka closed his eyes. "When that Vuhong woman sent Jen out of the meeting room to see a doctor, that almost ruined my 'plan'. I had no choice but got you to intercept before NEST found out anything and complicated things - you saw how Vuhong had freaked out when Jen told her about the bomb inside her - but I wasn't prepared for those fucking Changelings to suddenly kidnap you along with the blonde." In fact, he totally lost it when he heard that Haruka had fallen into those psycho terrorists' clutches. Luckily the cop had stopped him before he rushed to his own death.

"Um, about that..." Haruka began. "The agent caught Jennifer talking to someone on the phone and was going to escort her to the medical wing. The Changelings probably heard what the agent said over the call."

"Tch, shouldn't have dropped my guard on the Changelings." And almost get my own brother killed because of my mistake. Shizuka crossed his arms before him. "Anyway, I give credit to that woman's swollen ego for helping me to pull off the surprise rescue plan."

"Stop trying to make your dumb impulses sound cool," Haruka commented drily, but gave his brother a light punch in the arm...when his twin suddenly straightened up with a dark look on his face, the comm in his ear buzzing.

"Maria," Dana loudly spoke into the comms - which everyone with a comm-piece heard. "There's no time to explain, I've rerouted your GPS route - you need to get to higher ground at once."

"Whoa, what's goin' on now?" Trevor asked, raising an eyebrow. He was exhausted as everyone else.

What would require them to get to higher ground? Meifeng peeked out the window, and she couldn't believe her eyes. "...Oh shit!" Meifeng loudly shouted out of shock.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Trevor was just as surprised as Meifeng. He ran over to the side of the APC and saw the same thing.

Going towards the Iron District was a giant tidal wave - it consumed all in water and destroyed everything in it's way. While it was going away from them, the issue arose because the streets of Union Point Hills were being flooded. Moreso than before.

"...Yup." Trevor was so sick of this shit at this point. "That's a baaaad bad thing."

"Damn right," Shizuka groaned, agreeing with Trevor. "Honestly, this isn't gonna end until we're all dead." His twin could only gape, speechless at the disaster.

Maria quickly turned towards the APC driver. "You heard Grue, step on it!" Maria shouted at the APC driver as he quickly made a right turn, and went up a hill.

Fortunately, Union Point Hills was true to it's name. There were plenty of hills and high ground.

The APC made it to the very top of the hill, and stopped - the rushing water made it dangerous to go down. They could just see the water filling up the streets. Fortunately, ahead of them was still more ground to drive on... but Maria had other ideas.

"Okay, we're staying put," Maria said as she got out of the seat. "It's too dangerous to head out there right now... give Dana some time to come up with something... maybe we can regroup with RAVEN."

"What just sit 'ere like ducks?" Trevor raised an eyebrow. "Nah, got a problem with that."

"There's no monsters currently roaming the streets... and the Changeling Unit should be far away from here." Maria simply shrugged. "So, we should be safe... maybe you can step out of the APC for a second and get some fresh air?" She suggested.

Trevor shrugged. "Might as well. If any of ya' wanna keep me company, then it's my pleasure." He mosey'd on over to the back of the APC and kicked the door open. He grabbed his rifle which was attached to his back, and held it in both hands as he walked towards the edge of the hill like a soldier. He knelt down... and noticed that the water was pretty high. Though, them tidal waves don't come out of nowhere. Especially since the situation was going to shit.

Maybe it was just the storm.

Shizuka got up and was about to follow suit when his twin grabbed onto his arm. "It's better if we stay put in here..."

"Hate to say it, but gotta agree with that pervert this time," Shizuka said, shrugging him off. Besides, he did need a break from the consecutive madness. He then turned his attention to Maria. "Do you have binoculars? Or anything that can see far enough?"

For a split second, Maria thought about it, before she reached onto her combat vest and handed it to him. "I do...but don't break these, they're not a toy."

"Of course," Shizuka said as he received the binoculars. He turned it over in his hands with an awed look. "Whatever's happened is far worse than any game, yeah." He then poked his head out of the APC door, and brought the binoculars to his eyes.

Almost all the areas near the coast were flooded with seawater: wreckages that were less dense floated around, while those that couldn't were lost beneath the murky waters. He scanned the scene quickly, and to his left his sight fell onto something that still stood tall in the waterlogged city. He scrolled the knob to refocus.

"Oh. My. God," he breathed into his comm, still staring at the hideous thing through the binoculars. "The Devil has evolved... She's now towering over the Iron District. We're so doomed."

"Yo, what the hell are you on about?" Meifeng said from the APC as she lifted Jen's head up, giving her an assuring, "I'll be right back." Before she started walking her way out the APC and started walking towards Shizuka. She looked up...and could see the giant purple light shining in the distance, showing what little flesh the limited light would even allow.

Not even wasting time by asking for it, Meifeng quickly snatched the binoculars out of Shizuka's hands, then got an even better look at the Devil's new form. She didn't know what the hell it was - it could be just as Shizuka said, or it could be a new monster altogether... Though, with these tidal waves, it's hard to even reject the notion that the Devil had gotten even stronger (if so, they're fucked).

"Holy fuck..." Meifeng trailed off as she looked up at it (lowering the binoculars). What the hell happened? Is everyone still okay? Well, she still had this uncomfortable earpiece on. She quickly pressed the button, then asked, "Dana, Grue - whoever you are - is everyone okay? Lihua? Quentin? Cindy? They're still in one piece?"

"Yes, they're quickly getting out of there." Dana quickly answered. "But we have another problem... you may have noticed it by now. You need to get back to Headquarters fast as possible, you're not out of the woods yet."

"Understood." Meifeng answered. Before she let out a long sigh. This just keep getting better and better.

"Well," Trevor injected with a mere shrug. "I dunno what's even going on at this point, but I do know that it's bad news." Trevor explained. "So, let's get a move on, shall we?"

"...Hello children!" A very familiar voice shouted from the top of one of the buildings. Trevor turned his head, and mouthed the words,

"No..." Trevor saw Luis and Heartbreaker standing on the edge of the building. He reached into his holster and trained his revolver on them.

Shizuka immediately retreated back into the APC the moment he heard that voice, cursing inwardly. This fucking bloodsucker is everywhere - especially with a goddamn teleporter in their ranks. He put his arms around the shaking Haruka protectively.

"Sorry, but I'm not here to kill anyone!" Luis shouted, and earned a look from Heartbreaker. "...Well, unless you really want to be killed, that is. Then be my guest!"

Meifeng slammed her foot on the ground, pointing at Luis. "To hell with you!" She said. "You've been hounding us for far too damn long!"

"I just want to have a word with your friend, Jennifer..." Luis pulled out one of his knives, and started walking alongside the rooftop. "About a few matters, such as the matter of her holding up the other end of my bargain..." He shrugged.

Maria shifted into her human form and stepped outside the APC - with her assault rifle trained on Heartbreaker (who was the real threat here).

"So, let me cut you all a deal." Luis snapped his fingers, and Flashbang opened up a portal near them. He reached in, and pulled out a canister full of the same purple gas he deployed. He held it with both hands. "Hand over Jennifer...and I won't slaughter the whole lot of you. Sounds reasonable, yeah?"

Meifeng clenched her fists tightly. This bastard just wouldn't give up. "...Forget it!"

On the other hand... Trevor had a different idea. He leaned into Meifeng, and whispered, "Hey, that's that acid gas stuff he used in Headquarters..." Trevor trailed off, but he kept his gun trained on Luis. "...We're gonna have a problem if he throws that at us..."

"What do you suggest then?" Meifeng asked. "We just abandon Jen?"

"No," Trevor answered. "But, imma' shoot that thing outta' his hands. Just need to wait for the right moment." He grinned.

Luis merely scoffed. He pointed at the Devil's gigantic new form. "In case you haven't realized it yet," Luis said. "You got bigger fish to fry...and, tell me, what tactical advantage does a worthless regenerator have for you? In fact, I'm doing you a favor. She's just something that'll hold the rest of you back." Luis grinned. "When she falls, she'll definitely drag the rest of you down with her... I've seen this before, trust me."

Jennifer heard everything from the inside of the APC. She merely peeked out and saw Luis and Heartbreaker. Her heart started racing... but she knew there was no way out of this. She might as well give Luis what he wants before someone else gets hurt. She was still regenerating, but she can walk now. Jennifer willed herself to her feet, before she started climbing her way out of the APC. She managed to crawl her way out of the APC. Though, she was still limping her way out of the vehicle. She stood straight up.

"No---" Haruka stretched out a hand to stop her, but his twin quickly slapped a hand over his mouth and forced him down onto the APC floor. He began to struggle against Shizuka's strong arm lock.

"There she is!" Luis loudly said, pointing at Jennifer. Putting the canister down. "You should have fulfilled your end of the bargin, Jennifer..." He shrugged.

And a short silence followed.

Jennifer looked up at him, awkwardly shifting left and right.

"...Or they would still be alive." Luis quickly added as he put on a devilish grin.

Immediately, Jennifer's heart sank. "Wha- wait, what are you talking about? Did you..."

"Yes...yes..." Luis said, clapping. "How about you see for yourself...?"

Luis snapped his fingers...

---

Kingdom Hearts II - Organization XIII Theme

---

A portal opened up above them, and three bodies came flying down. The others were slow to recognize it...but it was all too familar to Jennifer.

She immediately screamed as she dropped down to her knees. She crawled over to them, and started weeping uncontrollably. She loudly screamed as she violently shook the bodies, begging for a response. "Cody... Kaitlyn... Justin! Why....why... why would you do this?!" She sobbed.

The bodies were Jennifer's siblings. Each with their throats slashed out by Luis.

"Holy shit!" Meifeng shouted as she took a step back in shock. She looked back up at Luis. "...You bastards!"

Luis didn't even flinch. He merely shrugged as he pointed at Meifeng.

"This is what happens when you cross the Changeling Unit, child," Luis sternly said. He turned back to Jennifer. "I saw so much potential in you...only for it all to be wasted." He shrugged again. "I would have held up my end of the deal, if you held up yours, Jennifer. It's all your fault."

Jennifer looked up at Luis, and screamed, "I hate you, Luis! I hate you so damn much!"

"...Then you're going to hate me even more for this one. Flashbang," Luis signaled for Flashbang to open up a portal, and out came the only person for Luis to (temporarily) spare from the Caspin family massacre. Annabelle Caspin. She landed in front of Luis, and the man put a knife to her throat. "Annabelle Caspin... lawyer." Luis said. "Fought for children's rights, and helped charity. What a model human being."

"Please! No!" Jennifer begged. "I'll do anything!"

Meifeng was done standing by. To hell with Luis and all off the Changeling Unit. It's time for her to do what's right. She gathered the water around herself, and put it out in front of her - creating a shield of ice. She broke off some chunks of it, forming diamond shaped (but razor sharp) pieces of ice. Meifeng quickly sent it out towards Luis' face.

Luis merely grinned. He held Annabelle with one hand, and the knife he was holding traveled faster than the eye can comprehend as it sliced and diced the ice chunks away. Shattering them to pieces. Luis laughed.

"Damn it!" Meifeng hissed from behind cover. She was about to hop out again - but Heartbreaker fired a shot at the edge of the shield that essentially blocked her.

Trevor was done standing by, too. Well, least I'll die a hero. Trevor thought to himself as he recklessly took aim at Luis - but the gun was blown in half by Heartbreaker in half a heartbeat. It hurt the hell out of Trevor's hand, and the pieces of metal sliced his hand up. He grit his teeth as he clenched his hand - the pain immediately bringing him to his knees.

"Jenny..." Annabelle Caspin said as tears started running down her eyes. "I want you to know... I love you with all my heart...please sweetie, promise me something! One thing!" She screamed as she reached the utter zenith of her sorrow. "Promise me that you'll live on! Move on without us, I know you can do it!"

"M-Mom..." Jennifer moaned.

"Excellent last words. Now that you two are done parting words..." Luis said, before he simply sliced the Caspin Matriarch's throat. Spraying her blood all over the street below them. She gasped and gagged - because the blade cut super deep. Before she died. Luis merely shrugged, then pushed her off the roof, and her lifeless body hit the ground with a splat.

"Well," Luis said. "That's all I wanted you to see, Jennifer."

"Wanna kill the bitch?" Heartbreaker said with a grin. "Wipe out the rest of them?"

"No, no, no..." Luis shook his head. "Let her suffer." Luis cruelly said.

A portal opened up off to the side.

"Looks like we're done here - have a nice life!"

Luis said as he leaped into the portal, followed by Heartbreaker.

---

That was when Jennifer just screamed at the top of her lungs out of sheer anguish. The people she knew all her life...were dead. Just like that. Killed by those monsters and they didn't even have a second thought about it. She just collapsed on the ground, and started sobbing. There was a pain in her like no other. She suffered, just like Luis said she would. Everything was her fault...if only she did things differently, they could still be alive. There was a hatred inside of her like no other.

Nobody knew what to do. They just stared at her. In shock as what just happened.

Meanwhile back inside the APC, Shizuka finally let go of his brother, panting heavily. He had to resort to use a judo lock to pin Haruka down when they heard the parting words of Jennifer's mother. Haruka went limp as Jennifer screamed, and tears were streaking down from the corner of his eyes.

"Why...did you...stop me..." Haruka choked out the words, his voice trembling.

"There's nothing we can do against them!" Shizuka shouted at his twin. "Look, if you truly want to get back at those bastards, then you need to live on. You can't take them down if you burst out at them blindly and die first!" Taking in a deep breath, he spoke again, his tone now less harsh, "Go to Jen. She needs you now that she's lost her family."

Haruka sat up, and gave his twin an odd look, his eyes red from crying.

Shizuka shrugged. "I'm not trying to crack a joke here - and I really mean it. You seem like the only person who might be able to understand her pain more than the rest of us here."

"But..." Haruka lowered his head. "I don't think she would accept my help. We aren't really friends."

"Whatever. Just go," Shizuka said as he dragged his brother out of the vehicle. "Besides, we need to get them back inside the APC."

"Jen..." Meifeng trailed off... her own rage towards the Changeling Unit was quickly replaced with sorrow. She just stood there, watching. She couldn't erupt into tears...but she had known Jen's family for as long as she knew Jen. Then...they were all wiped out by the Changeling Unit for no damn reason. That was unforgivable. Meifeng walked over to Jennifer, and knelt down with her. Placing a hand on her shoulder - Jen didn't even react to it.

Giving his twin a push on the back to get him to move to Jennifer, Shizuka called out to the rest, "Pull yourselves together. We have to get out of here. Now." He narrowed his eyes at the Devil far ahead - he had a bad feeling about it.

Trevor thought that Shizuka was being a tad callous right now...but he was right. As bad as this tragedy was, it wouldn't do no one any good if they die. Trevor merely sighed, mouthing the words, "I'm...sorry this happened." And he still felt like shit - because he knew his words would do nothing. He merely got on the APC with the others.

Meifeng looked over to Jen, "I know this is hard...but we really gotta go... I don't want to lose you on top of them." Meifeng said, but Jen didn't even listen. Which forced the taller girl to sigh.

"Jennifer," Haruka began when he reached the blonde. "Um, my brother...and your mother are right. We have to live on first, then we can think of a way to bring the Changelings to justice." He stretched out a hand. "Can you stand up on your own?"

Jennifer didn't even reply, she just kept sobbing.

"She's in shock..." Meifeng noted. "Looks like we're going have to do this the hard way." Meifeng nodded her head, before she merely grabbed Jennifer by the arm, and yanked her away from her siblings. Which hurt Jen's heart like no other. This is the last time she'll ever see them.

Though, by the time they had almost made it over to the APC, water began getting suctioned from all around them - getting moved towards another point. Even the flooded streets were starting to disappear. Meifeng raised an eyebrow as she saw this. "The fuck?" She asked.

"You need to get out of there at once!" Dana shouted into their comms. "The Devil is moving to your position!"

"Oh shit!" Meifeng said, as she looked over towards the murder tower that was heading right towards them...and saw that it was getting closer. What's worse is that the water was going towards her. "Time to double time it!" Meifeng said as she shoved Jennifer into the APC, and hopped in herself. It wasn't long until it was kicked into motion again.

The Devil was gathering water from all over Union Point Hills, and forming it into a giant pillar of water that was taller than she was. The pillar started spinning at high speeds - almost looking like a tornado of water - before she sent the pillar throughout Union Point Hills. Causing an untold amount of destruction as buildings were utterly crushed by the pillar, and lives were lost.

It went in a straight line towards the edge of the isle.

---

Lihua Vuhong, Sonya Mayfield, Cindy Keagan, Quentin, Cass & Reed Taylor, & Task Force RAVEN.

---

Sonya was loudly screaming.

"Step on it!" Lihua hissed as she looked back... The situation didn't look good. "...And Mayfield, shut up! You're not helping."

A flood of rushing water was heading up right behind them. It was some distance away, but closing in fast. The APC carrying the RAVENs were going fast as it could go.

"Okay, let me just activate the nitrous," Leon sarcastically said, being the driver of the vehicle (the last one got murdered).

"Oh really?" Lihua sarcastically said.

"Focus on getting us up high!" Cass' recollection of the Iron District and all its routes was almost photogenic under normal circumstances, yet outrunning a tidal wave had made it seem to him as much a maze as it was to everyone else.

"A hill!" Sonya shouted as she pointed down another street.

Leon quickly turned the APC right - swinging so hard that the other RAVENs were nearly thrown out their chairs - as he started speeding down the street. The river of pain was right behind them as they started going up the hill fast as they prayed that they could outrun the water.

"Shiiiiiit!" Leon said as he glanced behind him.

"Come on, gun it!" Quentin held on tight and had to grasp Reed by the shoulder when the younger of the two brothers almost lurched forward and knocked his head on the APC's interior.

"I hope you lads can swim!" Sonya said.

"Screw this!" Maximilian said, he quickly summoned Echo outside the APC, and used his glowing copy to push the vehicle up the hill faster.

All while Lihua was using her ability to move debris.

Which was enough to get the APC to the top of the hill. They evaded a watery fate by reaching the tallest hill they could. Echo disappeared, and everyone let out a sigh of relief, as they decided to collect themselves.

However, Sonya knew there wasn't time to catch their breath when she has information on Luis' insane scheme! "Guys, there isn't time to explain! Luis is a madman!"

"Tell us something new, Mayfield." Quentin snorted half-heartedly at that one.

"...And now who's preaching to the choir?" Lihua said, with her arms crossed.

"But, it's worst than that! I was in that chamber with him when he was chattin' up the Devil," Sonya quickly said, frantic. "His big grand scheme isn't to be the world's biggest wanker! He's after Godhood!"

"Mayfield," Lihua sternly said. "What are you talking about?"

"Sonya, slow down," Maximilian said. "Start from the top."

"I just explained," Sonya just said. "Luis told the Devil - before I made my grand entrance, of course - that he needs her to obtain Godhood. Then he started rantin' about this tomfoolery called the Keys to Godhood, and the Forbidden Knowledge - stuff that can help him become a God. I don't remember it too well...but I had to stop him."

Leon shrugged, "So, did you stop him?"

"Well..." Sonya trailed off, her head tilting towards the Devil's towering form. She shrugged. "That's subjective."

"So what you're saying is that Luis knows how to become a God?" Helena asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's implying it's even possible," Lihua was quick to respond. "Luis is derranged... He could simply be deluded, and believing his own lies..." She trailed off.

"I wouldn't be so quick to say that, Vuhong." Maximilian said, raising a finger up into the air. "Luis has shown himself to be quite intelligent..." He trailed off, rubbing his chin. "...The point is, whether or not it's possible, that we stop Luis at all costs."

"We're better off without that asshole and his people on our tail." Quentin remarked, picturing the man being repeatedly shot to bloody pieces with buckshot.

"We'll need to get ourselves out of this problem, first." Lihua was quick to note.

"...Now, going about that," Leon started off. "If I were to assess this situation... The Devil has gone super saiyan, our options for escape are limited...and we're totally boned if the Devil decides to start moving. So, that's gonna be a challenge."

"First we need to regroup with the other team... Dana tells me that they're doing fine," Maximilian started off. "Then we'll head back to Headquarters, then come up with a plan to eliminate the Devil." He explained. "If there's no Devil, then Luis can't bring his plan to fruition."

"...Or he'll just go into hiding and wait for the next one." Lihua was quick to say.

"We'll deal with that when we get to it."

"Look, whatever happens, it's clear to me that she's the one we want to remove from the equation first," Cass opined, running a weathered palm along his wearied face. "Quent, you said you can...what, pick up and remove powers, right?"

"I agree." Lihua said, raising a finger up into the air.

Quentin confirmed his query with a reluctant nod, "Something like that. It's not as simple as shopping at a candy store, y'know."

"Isn't it possible you could pull the powers off both of these people?"

"Like I said, it's not that simple." Explaining it to his Uncle would've been a little awkward, though he at least relished the idea - of at least getting his hands on Luis, or Heartbreaker.

"...It would require that he touches her first," Lihua was quick to note. "...And I don't think you want to be anywhere near that." She snorted.

"Maybe if we shoot him out a cannon..." Leon jokingly trailed off... before he drifted off and used his power to observe the area around him. Specifically the Devil. He was the first line of defense in case she attacked. And by "first line of defense" he means he's the signal to warn them to get the fuck out before she kills their asses.

...And it wasn't long before he had to kick it into motion.

"Oh shit!" Leon loudly shouted as he slammed his foot on the gas, and suddenly jerked the APC forward. Everyone let out various sounds of surprise.

Clutching onto one of the overhead bars to steady himself, Quentin glanced over his shoulder.

There was a gigantic bang not too far away from them as the building that was to their left was hit with something. Sounds of roaring quickly erupted from the crash.

"...I think she wants to kill us now."

The Devil launched an enormous glob of sludge (the size of buildings) at the RAVENs. If it wasn't for Leon's quick reflexes, it would have crushed them. However, the orb had erupted into a swarm of beasts.

What's worse is that the Devil went on the move again. Slinking towards the RAVENs.

"Step on it, Leon!" Sonya said.

The vehicle sped off away from the battle.

---

Lihua, Meifeng, Sonya, Trevor, Cindy, Quentin, Cass, Reed, Shizuka, Haruka, Jennifer, & Task Force RAVEN.

---

"RAVENS!" Dana spoke into the comms. "...And friends."

"Dana, please tell me some good news," Leon said, moaning in protest. "I am so tired of hearing all this bad news." He said. Since the bullshit just keeps piling up today.

"I've arranged a point where the two groups can meet up... you two aren't that far away from each other." Dana noted. "Then you can get to Headquarters."

"Hey, what's the point of meeting up? They can get back to headquarters on their own, right?" Leon asked.

"Right now..." Maximilian started off, looking over his shoulder at the Devil's ascended form. "It'll be better if we go as one group. Besides, the other group only has one RAVEN, and the Changeling Unit is still out there. Just in case, we're better off as one unit."

"Ah, yeah," Leon shrugged. "Suppose that makes sense." Leon turned the APC, and started driving towards their little meeting.

"On it, my group is converging on the convergence point now." Maria spoke into comms.

Both APCs carrying valiant heroes began driving towards a singular goal on the way to the Headquarters. It was a few minute drive - that was rather tense due to the tsunami tearing apart the city - but the two groups arrived on the very borders of Chinatown and Union Point Hills. The first APC (carrying the bulk of RAVEN) came to a skidding stop, swerving off to the side somewhat. The other APC came to a simple stop.

"Great to see some friendly faces!" Cindy said over the comms.

"You, too," Meifeng replied.

"Alright, Dana, we're here, now what?" Maximilian spoke into the comms.

"Okay... This might sound a little...unorthodox...but, you're going through the Rosalina Isle," Dana said, obviously a little less than confident about her idea. "We're not sure what the Devil's doing...so leading her straight to the camp full of refuges - especially in the wake of the Changeling attack - is not the best idea."

"Then where the hell are we supposed to go?" Cindy asked Dana. "In case you haven't realized it yet, we're in a dome," she hissed. The last thing she wanted to do was drive out and get herself killed.

"Our hands are tied at the moment," Dana said.

"We haven't heard that one before..." Cindy moaned.

"Wait!" Dana said into the comms, there were a few button presses. "Her water spout is on the move - it's heading right towards you."

"Okay, we can handle that," Leon said as he tightly put his hands on the wheel. "We just gotta go the other direction..."

Leon used his observation powers to see a path away from the watery death that's heading their way...only to realize that the Devil is flooding the streets of Chiatown ahead of them, and it's coming straight for them.

The highspeed torrent of water also stopped spinning, before reverting into a wave that started flooding the streets behind the RAVENS, too. All while the Devil was quickly closing the distance between herself, and them. She created monsters off her demonic frame, before .

Quickly, Leon started unbuckling his belt. "Okay, guys, don't panic, but she's floodin' the streets, and we ain't got anywhere to go but up."

"You better know how to climb," Cass grumbled, getting ready to make an exit.

"What?!" Lihua said, she quickly scrambled to get the seatbelt off until she was free. "She's trying to force us above ground."

"Everyone!" Maximilian shouted into the comms. "Get above ground! Help anyone else get above ground as well! Move!" He shouted as he immediately deployed Echo, who quickly opened the door and allowed the RAVENS to quickly get out of the vehicle.

Sonya was the first to hop out of the APC, and she used her frog legs to hop onto the side of a duplex. Before she climbed herself to the roof. She gave her group the thumbs up, as her heightened vision picked up the monsters heading towards them by hopping roof to roof.

"We got incoming!" Sonya shouted as she got on her knee, reloaded her rifle, aimed down her rifle sights, and started taking fire on the monsters. Due to the power of her sniper, she was taking out even the biggest ones in one shot! The bullet even went through a few. Though, she'd have to leave the little ones to RAVEN.

Lihua ran to the center of the street. "Everyone, gather around!" She raised her hands up into the air, palms flat down. She shouted, which was hard to hear over the sounds of the river heading straight for them. Leon, Nikki, Trevor, and Quentin got around her, and Lihua slammed her hands downwards and broke a chunk out of the street off with them on it. It landed on the rooftop, and the others got off.

Meifeng stepped outside the APC with Jen in arms - it looks like everyone else is managing with what they had. Meifeng here could easily get up... but she also has to make sure that Jennifer gets out of here alive. The girl was still so broken by the death of her family that she couldn't even move. Meifeng got under Jennifer, and hoisted her up with all of her strength. The heroic teen started summoning her water under her, which started hoisting them upwards with a spinning pillar. As they rose upwards, Meifeng looked at Jen, but focused on keeping her alive. The pillar quickly flung them up onto the roof, and Meifeng gracefully landed with Jen in arms. Letting out a sigh.

"Oh shit!" Cindy shouted as she raised her hands up into the air and the glass from the surrounding area exploded towards her. She reformed a solid pane of glass above her, that she lowered, then hopped on. She tried to split it into multiple layers, but she was too busy thinking about how she was going to get her ass out of here... maybe she can get someone else' ass out of the fire. She turned towards the twins.

"C'mon!" She shouted towards them... While her opinion of Shizuka was souring by the second, she didn't feel like he needed to die here. "We don't got much time!"

Ignoring the look on Cindy's face, Shizuka took up her reluctant offer and pulled Haruka onto the glass disk. "Thanks," was all he said, then he looked around at the surrounding. Well, the building they were going to take refuge on didn't seem too difficult to do something else he had in mind, but now's not the time - not with his brother in tow, and not in front of so many eyes.

"Don't move or we're all dead," she ordered. The glass pane started floating upwards fast as Cindy could will it. Her nerves were the only thing slowing her down. The glass pane was shaking a tad. Though, she managed to land on the roof with the others, and stepped off it. Only to break the glass into pieces and make it float into the air. There were monsters coming for them, and she needed to be ready.

Helena flashstepped over to Savannah and grabbed onto her. The two shared affirming nods before they flashstepped above the street, and floated on top of one of the buildings.

Maximilian stood straight up in the rain, then summoned Echo behind him. He looked around and saw that Scarlet didn't have a way up... neither did Reed or Cass. "Private Obott, Cass, Reed, come here." The redhead nodded as she walked over to Maximilian, who held her up with his arm. Echo was poised to hold the two Taylors. "Goddammit, come on!" Cass pulled his youngest nephew towards Echo's grip. The group started flying upwards, and landed on the building.

Adam had deployed his own Echo, who grabbed Maria, and whoever was left, then started going towards the buildings with the others.

The painful flood came through right after they were all above ground, washing away their APCs, and utterly destroying the buildings. Fortunately, the buildings were high enough to save them from the flooded streets. They were on, at least, three story tall buildings.

...And they didn't get much of a break.

The Devil's towering form loomed over the group. That glowing purple eye shined brightly as tentacles of all sizes came from the base of her new form.

And everyone knew they were collectively fucked.

"Both of you, move!" Quentin gestured to Cass and Reed, making a break for it. Cass lagged behind, his age showing, though Reed wasn't too far ahead and kept glancing over his shoulder to make sure the old man was still safe.

"...Oh boy," Leon said as he started running his ass off.

"Dana!" Maximilian shouted into the comms. "I am authorizing use of the Intercity Missile System!"

"We're going to need some time!" Dana replied. "Just hold out a few minutes."

"...Shouldn't we have used that - like, you know - twenty minutes ago!?" Cindy shouted over the comms.

"Didn't want to use them now!" Maximilian shouted as Echo punched a tentacle away so hard that it nearly flew back into the Devil. Before he quickly turned around and started running the opposite direction. "Just run!"

The Devil didn't really give chase as RAVEN hopped from rooftop to rooftop. Lihua was kind enough to create stone bridges for them to run on. Which made the process of fleeing a lot easier, particularly for Cass. Lihua stopped, pivoted, and tore a chunk of concrete out the ground that was the size of her torso, and threw it right into the Devil's eye. The towering monster swiped it away with a tentacle and it exploded into a cloud of dust (and failure).

That's when the Devil made use of her powers. She gathered water from the flooded streets, then froze them into giant ice spikes. She quickly launched the spikes at them. Raining death at them.

"Watch out!" Meifeng shouted as she whipped around and turned an ice spire into harmless water that she utilize to deflect a few more spikes that were heading towards them. Lihua slammed her fist on the ground, drew some stone that took the form of a stone wall. The ice left some hefty cracks on the stone, but provided them with cover.

"We can't do this forever!" Lihua shouted.

Echo was punching through the ice like it was nothing. Raining harmless chunks on the rooftops below him. "Dana, what's the progress?" Maximilian asked, obviously getting tired from all the punching, and all the fighting.

"Just a few more minutes, we're getting them prepped fast as we can!"

Cindy created a glass shield above her - without time to really prep it - and the ice broke right through it. She screamed as she tried to dive off to the side, the glass and ice beginning to rain down on her...

"Hold your breath!" Shizuka ordered and grabbed her arm, expanding his intangibility to her. The broken glass and ice shards fell harmlessly through their incorporeal form, shattering further into million pieces when they hit the ground beneath them.

"Thanks..." Cindy said. Damn, she'll never get used to Shizuka's power, but it saved her life. That glass would have killed her otherwise. "We gotta keep moving, though!" She said.

There must be a reason why she isn't going all out... Lihua thought to herself. It seems like the Devil is not using all of her "world ending" strength. Or hasn't been using it to all it's effect. Either she was toying with them...or there was something else they haven't realized just yet. Who knows, maybe, despite this gigantic power boost, she was almost killed. Maybe she hasn't fully recovered yet.

These were all theories, of course. All Lihua wanted to do was hope the missile barrage would be enough to kill the bitch once and for all. But like Dana said, they have to stall, and stall, and stall. She was starting to wonder if there was even a way to kill this bitch and get out of here in one piece.

Lihua couldn't abandon hope just yet. The group were running up on a hotel...which was several stories high, and only a jump away. Lihua couldn't see around the building, which meant they have no choice but to go through it...or do a fruitless final stand while they wait for the missiles. Lihua raised her hands up into the air, and flipped some concrete which landed on a balcony.

Giving them a nice way into the hotel.

"Move!" Lihua shouted as she ran inside, along with the others into the hotel.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Vuhong." Leon said, as he kept running. "...But, there ain't nothing on the other side but water." He was looking ahead.

"...So looks like we're going have to hold her off." Lihua said, quickly adjusting her plan.

"You heard her," Maximilian shouted. "Everyone get to the roof!"

Opposed to running, Maximilian and the other fliers took another route. They merely flew to the very top of the building, and waited for the others to show up. Lihua and the others ran through the building at high speeds. Once they hit the stairs, they kept running and running, and running. Until she reached the rooftop and the others formed a line.

"Okay, everyone, get ready!" Maximilian loudly shouted as Echo stood behind him. "Be ready for anything!"

RAVEN got ready in their own ways. Adam had summoned strong winds around him - he could possibly deflect anything the Devil could throw at them. Savannah had froze water from the flooded streets below her and quickly levitated it up to float around her. Nikki couldn't access her insects... most of the poor things had been killed in the flood. Fortunately she was able to get a few out of the hotel under them.

Lihua had gathered chunks of stone which floated around her in a motionless dome. Cindy had gathered glass from the windows below to float around herself as well.

Meifeng had walked Jen over towards one of the air conditioning units and leaned her up against it. Jen was catatonic... it was so sad seeing her in this state, but the loss of her family had ruined the girl. Meifeng was going to make sure that Jennifer gets out of this. Even if it's the last thing she does. She turned around, and summoned water out of her hands which formed a puddle around herself. While everyone else was fighting the monsters, Meifeng was going to watch Jennifer's back.

Sonya knelt down on the edge of the building and loaded up her sniper rifle. She looked down the sights, and saw the drops of the grey sludge... and the horde of monsters that were swimming up towards them. "Oh..." Sonya said, trailing off. "That's not good - Everyone watch out! We got the nasties swimmin' right towards us!"

The rest of the RAVENS that didn't have powers like the others suited up. The best they could do was shoot. Scarlet walked over to her younger brother and handed him her shotgun. Looks like she was using fists for this one.

Looking up at the Devil's monstrous form from a distance, as she stood immobile. A horde of monsters dropped down from her body like droplets of grey sludge that fell downwards into the sea she had created. On the way, they had turned into beasts of various sizes that swam towards the Hotel at high speeds. Swimming until they started climbing up the sides, and climbing up the stairs and even making entrances during their desperate assault into the hotel. They were quickly reaching the roof, and began their murderous rush towards the RAVENs.

"Alright everyone, it's showtime!" Meifeng shouted - a monster had run up on her and Jen and she had dodged a downwards swipe by stepping forward. She used her momentum to throw a wide arced kick that was followed by a powerful burst of water.

The rooftop erupted in gunfire as everyone fired all their weapons at the horde of approaching monsters. Managing to cut them down.

Cass and Reed put down as much fire as they could whilst Quentin kept the pressure on the bastards with his AR. Of the three, Quentin recognized they were fighting a losing battle whilst any optimism held by the other two began to fade, yet the Taylors were determined to hit as hard as they got.

What is she up to? Lihua thought to herself in the middle of the battle for their lives. She threw a punch forward, shooting a stone that launched one of her beasts off the roof - knocking down a few more in the process. She has the power to kill all of us... yet she insists on... Oh my God. Lihua quickly realized what the Devil was doing as she was watching them.

She was toying with them.

Taking some cruel sadistic joy on par with Luis, the Devil wanted to watch them squirm. Possibly before taking the whole lot of them out in one fell swoop. She can simply just knock over the building with a giant tidal wave now.

Lihua threw her hand around in a wide arc and deployed a shield which took the brunt of a bulky beast's attack. She threw a punch towards the shield, and caused it to explode outwards in a deadly attack that sliced up many beasts.

They needed to do everything they could to stay alive.

Cindy was forced backwards, as a beast was pounding on her pane of glass. Each blow was causing dust and several cracks to form within the shield. She came up with an idea - then quickly dove to the side and shattered the shield. Making the beast throw itself off balance. She raised her hands - and the glass - up into the air, and rained emerald colored glass on it. It dissolved into sludge.

However, she wasn't perfectly safe. A puma-shaped monster with a scorpion like tail came from behind her. It violently shot it's tail out at her, and stabbed her in the back. She let out a scream as she fell to the ground. On all fours. "Back off!" Cass shifted his aim towards the creature's mass and fired off a spread of buckshot.

"Cindy!" Meifeng shouted as she caught Cindy falling. She dropped everything she was doing and ran over towards Cindy.

The beast was forced back by the blast, holes were made in it's flesh... but it wasn't done. It raised it's tail up into the air and brought it down towards Cass.

The old man didn't even have time to dive; yet at the last second he felt the weight of another thrown against him, pushing him out of its range. Favour returned, Reed wasted no time in yanking his uncle to his feet whilst at the same time, Quentin slipped another mag into his AR and focussed a burst of fire towards the stinger.

The monster's stinger was blown clean off, reduced to sludge.

Meifeng slid over to Cindy, and helped her onto her back, "Oh shit, Cindy - are you?!"

Cindy was weak... she was bleeding profusely. Rain was mixing with the blood. There was a hole in her back that ruined a lot of blood veins.

"Shit, lemme lend a hand!" Trevor immediately slid over to Cindy, dropping his shotgun as he ran. He quickly dispensed his drug in a clear liquid form, and grabbed onto Cindy. Quickly the injured girl was tranquilized... far less panicked. The pain had disappeared as the wound began closing itself shut.

All while the Devil decided to have a little bit more fun with the group. She created a net of tentacles that traveled through the cover of water to quickly get over to the hotel. They quickly raised themselves high up into the air - utterly surrounding the building. One swiped towards the group - and was merely stopped by a swift blow from Maximilian and his Echo.

"Damn it!" Maximilian grit his teeth. "It can't end like this!" He shouted upwards in rage.

However, the tentacles started moving towards Jennifer Caspin... who was utterly defenseless since Meifeng was busy helping Cindy. One tentacle had wrapped itself around Jennifer's leg, and that was enough to wake the girl up out of her shock. She let out a loud scream as she grabbed onto the side of the AC unit as the tentacle started pulling her hard. She barely had the strength to hold on.

"Jen!" Meifeng quickly screamed as.she dropped Cindy and started running over towards Jennifer. Right when Jen's fingers slipped off, Meifeng latched onto Jen's wrists, and started a tug of war between herself and the Devil. Meifeng was using all her strength. Through sheer desperation, she managed to summon water out of her pocket dimension with her mind alone, and started whipping the tentacle

In response the Devil attached more to Jen's feet.

The Taylors were pinned down by more creatures, unable to do anything except cover them.

"I'm not letting you go, Jen!" Meifeng shouted. She looked her dead in the eyes... and Jen returned the looks.

Though... while she was hanging on for her life, Jennifer stared Meifeng right in the eye. Who was doing all in her power to hold onto her... Save her from this watery fate. So was everyone, really. What a great friend. She thought to herself. Even after I betrayed her... betrayed everyone... they still goes out of their way to save me like they owe me something.

I don't deserve her. Jennifer thought to herself, as she scanned the horizons. I don't deserve anyone. I only deserve to die.

There were so many emotions running through Jen's head... the death of her family, the guilt from betraying her friends, and the weight of almost dying so many fucking times really made her start thinking. Asking questions. Specifically about her future, and her friends. The question arose in her mind, the kind of questions that she needed to answer here and now;

After all that's happened; can she honestly move on from that? Can she honestly fight along Meifeng and the others and escape?

Should she?

"... I'm so sorry." Jennifer said, very somberly. Staring up at Meifeng. Tears started running down her eyes. "... But I can't go on. Not like this. I'll...."

There was utter confusion in Meifeng. She was using every ounce of her strength to hold Jennifer as the tendril was pulling her into the deep. Her feet were literally skidding. She summoned water out her pocket dimension, and froze it to hold her still. "Jen," Meifeng started off, "What are you talking about? Yes you can."

"No I can't." Jennifer quickly answered. "After everything I caused... everything everyone did to help me... There just isn't any place for me!"

"Jen!" Meifeng screamed at her, trying to yank her back. "Stop thinking like that - I know they're dead, but you gotta live. For them."

"I... just can't picture myself fighting alongside you and the others.... I'll just be holding everyone else back..." Jennifer said. "And I've caused everyone enough problems, as is... they all probably hate me for betraying them!"

Meifeng only tightened her grip around Jennifer's hands. "I'm not letting you go. Jen, come on, we can get through this! Together. Like we always have!"

This was the point where Jen was sobbing harder than ever before. Before she stopped.

She's finally given up the ghost.

"... Just go on without me, I'm just not needed." Jennifer said with surprising calmness, and tranquility. "I know you can do it, Meifeng. You can get out of here safely... so can everyone else. You're strong... stronger than I am. Stronger than I'll ever be. I know you can beat the Devil... Luis... everyone else who gets in your way."

"Jen-" Meifeng tried to pull her back - but her arms were getting weak.

"I'm sorry for this - but, if I ever get a chance, I promise, Meifeng... I'll make you happy next time!"

---

Brand New - Tautou

---

That's when Jennifer finally let go - Meifeng desperately tried to grab onto her again, but no avail - the tendril dragged her off into the flooded streets, and in the blink of an eye, Jennifer had vanished into the depths.

Tears were running down Meifeng's eyes as she desperately tried to grab onto Jen once more. "Jen!" Meifeng screamed at the very top of her lungs. She was about to hop in after her when she felt a strong pair of arms restraining her from behind. "Mei, stop!" Quentin's voice was as thunderous as ever in the storm.

"No!" Meifeng struggled. "I can... I can still help her! Just let me try!" She screamed.

"It's too late!" Quentin held on with all the might he had, gunfire raging behind them as Cass and Reed were pushed back by more creatures and were almost completely dry on ammunition. Meifeng had once saved all their lives at one point and he sure as hell wasn't going to repay that debt by letting her go.

"Meifeng!" Lihua's thunderous voice yelled over the rain as she stormed over. "There's nothing you can do! You did everything you could!" She shouted to Meifeng, and grabbed onto her arm. Nodding to Quentin as a silent "thank you," stopping her from doing something stupid.

"Daaaaaamn it!" Maximilian seethed as he watched Jennifer's death. He lost someone under his watch - even if she wasn't a RAVEN - and that's the greatest mark of shame a commanding officer can have. Especially if it's a civilian. The whole situation was going to hell. They were running out of ammo, and the monsters just won't. "Hold together-"

"The System has been activated! The missiles are en-route!" Dana shouted into the comms, alerting Maximilian and the others.

---

In front of NEST Headquarters, a trap door opened, and a gigantic missile array had sprouted out of the ground. The missile launcher looked like a Rolling Airframe Missile launcher - just painted black with the NEST logo written on the side. The missile launcher turned, and started firing a barrage of missiles in the Devil's direction that had homed in on her.

They traveled through the skies at high speeds - and only a few could spot the light from the exhaust. They quickly approached the titanic monster, and the first one hit her and caused a massive explosion that sent sludge flying all over the place. The Devil let out an alien roar as the next missile hit her, then the rest had followed suit. The missiles had done an insane amount of damage to her body.

Leaving a gaping hole in the right side of her body. The Devil's monsters had stopped, violently shaking as they started to explode. The Devil leaned backwards until the very top of her body was touching the ground.

"It's working!" Maximilian noted as the horde of monsters finally stopped. He had hoped that it killed her once and for all....

However, the Devil wasn't dead just yet. She had pulled the water out of the streets and sucked it in towards her. She carefully crafted a thick dome of pure ice around herself that would be difficult to penetrate. Now that she was safe, she began the regeneration process and started to repair her towering grey body.

While the Devil wasn't dead, the flooded streets were now all but gone.

"That's our cue! Let's get out of here while we still have time!" Maximilian said as he grabbed the nearest two people (and had Echo grab two of the people closest to him) then jumped off the building. Using his ability of flight to soften the landing. He let go of them and pointed forward. He looked back to the building, and wondered if anyone else needed help getting down.

Lihua had grabbed Meifeng by the arm, yanking her up to her feet and she ran over to the edge of the building. "Come on!" Lihua signaled the others to gather around her as she tore a chunk of the roof off and lowered them all to the ground.

The rest of the group made it to street level, and ran like hell back to Headquarters, Cass carrying Cindy in his arms.

Mourning a lost friend.

Mass Effect: Borealis

I think the only person who died on my main playthrough was Miranda in ME3 but that's because I couldn't find her on the Citadel when it gave me the side mission to warn her. Tali was my waifu at the time.

Amongst the Lonesome- A return to Santa Somabra [Fantasy Noir]

Righto! Now, how to proceed? I was thinking of having @DJAtomika and @Zombiedude101 chars being paid to collaborate in investigating Nar, not involving the police itself too much at this stage.

By the way, how do you guys handle your 'procedurally generated NPCs'? Colette, Randy, etc. But also Concetto.

@Wernher

Could work.

Mass Effect: Borealis

“Iosef, you alright?” Tanya's voice quickly caught Iosif's earshot, a surprising level of concern in her voice, “Hang in there, we’ll get you patched up. How bad is it?” It was appreciated nonetheless, "A scratch from the batarians," he finally answered through clenched teeth, hoping that the medi-gel's local anaesthesiac would kick in soon, "I'll live." Judging by the heavy chugging of the turret sounding off from just a few feet behind the driver's compartment, it seemed she'd already got to work on evening the score with those four-eyed bastards - now it was on him to get things moving.

But his attempts to jumpstart the engine weren't without interruption; gunfire rattling against the technical was distraction enough, but the sudden thud of another, heavier impact against the car's plating made this situation even nastier. “Fucking hell!” he heard her exclaim, her bursts of heavy fire interrupted this time. Luckily, he recognised Tonka's voice shortly afterwards and realised that the krogan had dealt with the sniper, much to his relief. But, then...

Amidst the heard that all-too-familiar whistle of a projectile that could've come from only one thing. Fuck! Jerking towards the direction of the whistle, he saw the rocket move past his line of sight before exploding upon impact - followed shortly afterwards by the words of an agitated krogan. “Tonka to all signs, I lost my vantage point. Advancing on foot to share a few words with the pyjaak with the anti-armour weaponry. Iosef, recommend you get that pile of bolts and rust moving, or you’ll be picking shrapnel out of your ass for the next three weeks.” It was respite, albeit brief; it was clear they'd be the next target unless they got this ride going.

This time, Iosif pushed the truck's ignition system hard, tuning out all other distractions as best as he could in a shit-stick situation like this. After a few more moments, the truck finally roared to life with an audible groan, just as yet another passenger stowed in for the ride - Serena, who seemed like she was just as urgent to get out of here. "Iosif, buddy, how is it going? You heard Tonka, right? And we're getting ready to go right now, right? Because being blown up is very low on my list of 'things to do on first mission.' Not one to disagree with her, he threw the truck into motion, weaving in and out of the yard in an effort to throw the bastards off. "Hold tight! Tanya, lay some suppressive down - focus on that AA if you can!"

Mass Effect: Borealis

Iosif post coming up soon.

Verthaven: Days of Rain ☔ [COMPLETED]

---

Lihua, Meifeng, Sonya, Trevor, Cindy, Quentin, Cass, Reed, Shizuka, Task Force RAVEN vs. The Changeling Unit vs. The Devil of Verthaven.

---

"Move, move, move!" Maria loudly said as she hauled ass with the rest of the group. All that was behind them was the sounds of beasts rushing for them - growling, grunting, and more. Which is why they were hauling ass.

"To the left!" Nikki said, her swarm of insects had picked up some monsters, and they had to take a left. After the group had taken a left, she had retracted her swarm back to her, and sent them flying forward. "I'm finding us another path now!" She loudly announced as her insects shouted.

A monster got in the way of the group, but was quickly ended by a super strength enhanced punch from Scarlet and she kept running.

"We can't run 'round here forever, you know!" Cindy wiped some sweat off her forehead and kept running.

Nikki's bugs scouted them a way out - they were being lead right back to the APC. "This way!" Nikki said, taking a turn that showed them the literal light at the end of the tunnel.

Reed had emptied an entire magazine into these things and yet they were still coming at them head-on. Although Shizuka's mind was mostly on the fate of his twin, he still kept his bargain with the cop - by providing defensive assistance with his intangibility so as to let the stray attacks from the monsters pass harmlessly through them. (They only had limited people here - having one injured would slow them down and in turn get everyone killed instead.)

"Cindy!" Maria shouted. "Block off the exit! It'll give us some time!"

Christ, Cindy didn't want to blow her glass supply on them, but from what she heard was going on upstairs, it definitely wasn't good. Cindy lagged behind for a second as she gathered all her glass together. Right when she was reaching the exit, she whipped around and quickly assembled a multilayered glass wall that blocked the sewer exit. The beasts pounded and slammed against it, but it didn't take effect - at least until the group got far away from here as possible.

The APC was already prepped and in position, and the group jumped inside and barely got any time to rest before the door slammed shut, and the APC drove off. The gunner above was giving the monsters that were approaching hell.

While inside the APC, a question appeared on Cindy's mind, "Where the hell are we even supposed to go?! It's fuckin' chaos out there!"

"We're supposed to meet up with Maximilian," Maria said. That reminded her... "This is Agent Inkshade - mission successful, we're pulling out."

"Right." Shizuka turned to Maria. "What about my brother...and that blond girl? Are we gonna get them now?" He didn't wait for her reply - he was already cracking his knuckles, itching to give those Changeling fuckers a dose of their own medicine.

"We'll do our best - but our hands are tied to be honest with you," Maria answered.

---

"Mei, put something behind us!" Quentin barked over his shoulder, the sound of his voice resonating through the dimly illuminated tunnels alongside the mass sloshing of water beneath their boots.

"On it!" Meifeng said as she quickly stopped, pivoted on one foot, then managed to turn around. She stuck her hands straight out, and pulled plenty of water out her pocket dimension. She clapped her hands together, then stretched her arms out, creating a wall of water. She began freezing it, and could fell her body get colder - up until Savannah got close and immediately froze it with her ice powers. She heard the beasts scratching and slamming against it. Feeling proud of her handiwork (her ice powers felt like they were getting stronger).

"Alright, it's up! Go! Go! Go!" Meifeng loudly shouted as she turned around and started hauling ass with the rest of the group.

Savannah also coated the ground in cold ice behind them. Just to slow them down some more when they break through.

Leon was running with his revolver in hand. "This ain't how I expected to spend my afternoon!" He said. "I'll find out a safe way out." Now Leon realized why Nikki was put on one team, and Leon was put on the other. With their extra-sense abilities, they were the best shot the groups had of getting out of here in case things got dicey.

And they did.

"Cover you ears!" Quentin had little time to warn them as the torchlight of his shotgun barely illuminated a creature barring their path. Sweat trickling down his forehead, he shouldered his 870 for a moment, almost hesitating, before squeezing back on the trigger.

Meifeng and the others quickly shielded their ears. Just so their eardrums don't explode. Quentin, on the other hand...

It was disorienting. Almost deafening. He saw the creature stagger backwards with a silent roar and it wasnt until he heard Meifeng's voice that his hearing made a return.

"Get moving!" Meifeng shouted as she ran on past him - and swung her foot across and kicked the beast skidding across the sewer floor.

"Yeah, who would want to stay down here with 'Every tentacle fetishist's wet dream'!?" Trevor shouted with a cocky grin as he picked up the pace.

"Save it," Quentin rasped at Trevor, regaining his former pace.

"Alright!" Trevor realized they should probably focus on leaving here. Fast. As. Possible.

"This way!" Leon said, and pointed towards the fissure that they entered through. It went without saying that they all ran through it. Meifeng considered throwing up another shield. However, she just opted for gathering all the rain, and shooting a barrage of icy needles into the tunnel behind them.

Quentin pushed out last, holding off those still on their taie with a flury of shotgun blasts.

The APC rolled up, and the door opened, and allowed everyone to get in. Trevor and Leon got in without a second thought. Meifeng quickly hopped on, then helped Savannah hop on with Quentin on her tail. Helena, being the last to get into the APC, threw a grenade towards the tunnel and it exploded, splattering a group of the monsters.

The APC quickly pulled out.

Close, Quentin thought. "This is Countepoint, we're extracting. Mission success," he relayed over the comms.

---

It was a bloodbath out here. Monsters were swarming all sides.

Luis, or Heartbreaker, barely flinched as a giant beast walked up to their building, and storm of tentacles was flying their way. Flashbang just stuck her hand out and created a portal that sucked in their blows, another portal appeared and the tentacles went right back into the beast and impaled itself.

Luis merely yawned as Primitive Light leaped high up into the air - boosted by her kinetic energy - and punched the beast in the face so hard that it stumbled backwards and fell over. Primitive Light hit the ground harmlessly, and started running towards it, and delivered another massive punch that blew the beast into bits.

Count Vicious created several metal harpoons and sent them flying out in all directions that impaled the beasts - he retracted them. He quickly shaped them into a massive chain out of the ground (that was as thick as his body) and attached it to a nearby delivery truck so firmly that it might as well have been built with the chain. "Berserker!" Count Vicious willed the chain out.

The brute, who was rampaging through the hordes like an out of control truck, quickly turned her head and redirected her rampage in the direction of Count Vicious. She ran by, grabbing the chain, and dragging the truck along during her rampages. The Berserker came to a skidding stop, using the momentum to swing the truck like a wrecking ball. Utterly annihilating a group of the monsters like it was nothing.

Fig was creating her gaseous green energy and shooting it through groups of the monsters. They, for some reason, didn't do too well against it. They were being disintegrated by the blasts of energy. Skin Walker was right behind her, grabbing the beasts that were getting close and throwing them in the way of the blasts.

The Butcher was steaming hot - shooting red hot blasts of pure flames at the beasts that brought them to a boil that dissolved them into nothing.

Two other giant monsters started running up to the roof where the Changeling were heading - and they put their excellent teamwork to good use. The Berserker stopped using the truck as a mace, she quickly turned around and hauled ass towards the beast, and swung her truck at it's face so hard that it broke it's "neck." The Berserker took another swing at it's legs and knocked it from under it - but the beast fell on the delivery truck, crushing it.

Count Vicious just got an idea... While Fig was shooting blasts of her hot energy at the beast, he spawned six similar thick chains - attached to brutal looking harpoons. At the ends of the chains, he attached them all together. Fig created a giant ball of her energy, and threw it at the beast - causing massive burns. Which gave Count Vicious all he needed to shoot the harpoons at the beasts. Each of the wicked looking harpoons spun at high speeds, and dug deep into the flesh of the beast - and deployed spikes to make sure they stay in. The beast roared as it took steps back.

"Berserker!" Count Vicious shouted into the comms as he pulled the chains back. The Berserker ran on by, then grabbed the chains. Dragging the beast along just like it was nothing, she quickly swung the giant with strength that was unheard of and it hit the other monster and slammed both of them into buildings. The Berserker wasn't done there, she pulled the chain, and swung the monster high up into the air, before she threw the monster into a horde of the beasts.

Victorious, the Berserker pounded her chests then started running through the crowds of monsters.

---

Street Fighter V OST - Bustling Sidestreet

---

It was disturbing.

Lihua watched the level of teamwork and strength the Changeling Unit exhibited, even when not directly lead by that bastard. Which made her realize it was going to be even harder to get Jennifer and Haruka out of there. Immediately, the woman crossed off going in there head first, not with those bastards in the way.

Though, she realized that neither side was going after each other. Because they knew that, if they did, the chances of the other executing their "hostages" tripled.

Or this was apart of some grand scheme.

Lihua had gathered chunks of concrete around her, and created a spinning dome that reflected the beasts off her. Suddenly, with a slam of her foot, the stone shot outwards at high speeds. Decimating a group of the monsters.

Lihua was cooking up a plan in that head of hers, but it was a risk.

... And they had literally no other choice than to take some risks if they were going to come out on top.

In the midst of combat, Lihua quickly scanned the area.

Maximilian was standing in front of his Echo, who was facing down a particularly large humanoid monster with a long tentacle for a right arm. The Beast swung it's tentacle at Maximilian, and Echo simply put his hand out - which was enough to stop it in its tracks. Echo quickly flew forward, then punched the beast's head off as it turned into a dissolving wreck.

Adam sent a tornado flying foward towards a horde of the monsters. They were quickly sucked into the aero-vortex, then Adam sent the tornado flying into a wall. The monsters were slammed against solid concrete and killed instantly.

Lihua didn't know where Mayfield was - but given how the monsters were getting their heads blown off around her and the other Agents, that means she's close.

PR-1 on the other hand was cutting through the horde of monsters with the same rate of efficency as the Berserker. He was killing them in one hit. He punched one monster so hard that a hole formed in it's body, and dissolved - quickly whipping around and knocking the head off another monster. He charged for a moment, and released large amounts of electricity into the air and fried a horde of the monsters. Before sending himself flying through the crowds like a railgun - creating an electric arm and frying the beasts.

Peter was currently NEST's Berserker. Lihua had a hatred for the aberration, but she knew he was useful...and loyal enough to fight against the Changeling Unit. She remembered some of the incredible feats he pulled in his fights against NEST. Which made Lihua think of something in regards to this hostage situation.

Of them all, Cass was nowhere to be found - until Lihua caught a glimpse of him at their far flank, stubbornly blindsiding some of the creatures with spreads of buckshot with.

It wasn't long before the two APCs containing the bombsquads rolled up on scene. Almost immediately they came out swinging. Cindy and Meifeng were shooting their respective elements and cutting through. Quentin and Reed were both ready to head into the thick of it, sweeping the beasts with gunfire.

"This looks bad." Meifeng said, as she shot a splurt of water at an approaching beast.

"This looks bad?" Cindy parroted, in pure disbelief, creating glass shields around them. "We gonna die!"

"Stick together and hold your ground!" Reed shouted in encouragement as one dissolved into a puddle from a burst of his gunfire.

Shizuka wanted to just leave and get to Haruka's side pronto, but he knew it would be suicide for him and the captives if he recklessly ran up to them without a plan. He could only force the urge down while punching random junks and bits of rock into the monsters - but torturing these mindless slimes weren't enough to quell his anger at the Changelings.

"We can end this if we get the hostages away from them..." Maximilian trailed off. Now that RAVEN was here in full force, they have the manpower necessary to counter the Changeling Unit - only problem was the hostages they had on top of the roof.

"But we have to act fast," Lihua answered him. Knowing full and damn well they were in between a rock and a hard place. "Neither side can keep this fight on-going with the Devil sending a literal army after us - actually, I have a plan." It was less of a plan, and more of a hope. The person they needed to really worry about was Heartbreaker. Her speed and reflexes were unparalleled. Which meant that they could die literally the second she decides to kill them. Lihua's solution?

Get someone who can match her.

Peter had quick enough reflexes to vastly outpace Heartbreaker, and his electromagnetism rendered Heartbreaker's gunplay useless...if he can get close enough. Though, sneaking him close enough would not be that big of a challenge. The Changelings couldn't see everything.

"Peter!" Lihua spoke into the comms. "I need you with me."

The metal man was just tearing his way through a group of the monsters when Lihua called him - he shot himself right towards her like a railgun, before he stopped right before Lihua. Twisting his metal mouth upwards to form a grin.

"I need you to sneak close to them, and disable Heartbreaker's weaponry," Lihua said to her former nemesis. "She's the only challenge here." With the Berserker and the other heavy hitters cutting through the Devil's army, they'd have little opposition.

He nodded his head.

"I'm going to get the hostages - everyone else hold the line," Lihua said as she turned around. She started running, raising her hands up into the air, then swiping them down. Tearing a piece of the street out - with several smaller chunks to offer as defense - as she stepped on it. She managed to swing around the back route, out of the direct line of sight. With PR-1 right behind her.

Maximilian was going to trust Lihua on this one. "Alright, you heard her! Keep fighting!" He said as Echo pulled a stop sign out the pavement, and started swinging it wildly left and right.

This entire plan hinged on the Changelings being caught off guard. Lihua knew that more than anyone. Hopefully Peter would be able to hold them off while Lihua springed them. She flew into an alleyway, and a few monsters crawled off the walls in her way. She didn't waste any time in raising her hands up into the air and causing concrete spikes to violently erupt out of the ground and impale them, then she kept flying past them. With PR-1 behind her taking out all that pursued them.

Lihua and Peter quickly came up to the roof where Luis and the Changeling bastards were being held. They were fortunate enough to come from behind, and the Changelings didn't realize it yet. All they had to do was take Heartbreaker out of the equation and they'd have an easy escape.

Turning her head towards Peter, Lihua said, "We need to go up there and hit hard. Take Heartbreaker out first."

Peter nodded his head, and wordlessly flung himself up on the roof, he landed up there with them kneeling down.

"The fuck?!" Heartbreaker shouted as she did the first thing that came to mind; put a round through Haruka's heart. Using her lightning fast hands, she quickly pulled a revolver out her holster and aimed it at Haruka's chest, pulling the trigger and hearing the satisfying boom of her revolver.

Haruka was just as surprised as Heartbreaker - from which he nearly lost his balance and fell off the edge of the roof - but the sound of gunshot muted all the chaos around him and his eyes widened at the burst of light directed at him. He could only stare at the bullet coming nearer and nearer to him, telling him that he was getting closer and closer to his death...

However, the bullet slowed down in mid air just before it could hit Haruka, and Heartbreaker raised an eyebrow. The bullet stopped completely thanks to Peter. The bullet floated over towards Peter and started hovering above him. Heartbreaker's gun was pulled out of her hand and flew towards him, too.

"Alright, that's bullshit-" Heartbreaker didn't even get a chance to say before Lihua made her grand entrance.

The Vuhong Matriarch shot herself up on the stone piece, and threw her hands forward and shot the stone she was manipulating at each of the targets. Luis had deflected the stone with his wrist by swinging it hard enough to shatter the stone. The Mannequin leaned backwards so much that his back was touching the stone of the roof. The Contessa simply sidestepped it with a cocky look on her face. Heartbreaker, on the other hand, was so focused on PR-1 that she didn't notice the rock. It hit her in the stomach and sent her sprawling backwards and she hit the ground with a grunt. Blood was leaking out her mouth.

"Heartbreaker!" Luis said as ran over to Heartbreaker.

There wasn't a second to spare, Lihua managed to turn a hostage situation around in their favor in less than a few minutes. She quickly ran over to the bound teens and said, "Get ready!" She would have said "hold on," but there was little time for that. She raised her hands up into the air, and swung her fists downwards, and made roof they were all standing on fall down onto the building they were standing on. Peter can do whatever the hell he wants with the Changelings from here.

Lihua's expert display of her ability was certainly quite a show, but Haruka was too tired to feel awestuck from all the tension after that near-death experience. "Jennifer!" he called out to the blonde beside him. "Are you...alright?"

Everything happened so fast, Jennifer didn't realize what was going on. First a God damn metal man comes out of no where, and now they've fallen through the floor. "Y-yeah..." Jennifer yipped. The only problem was that they all were playing into Luis' hands.

Lihua's hand moved to her earpiece at blurring speeds, "I've recovered the hostages, need cover."

"On it!" Cass answered her over the comms and soon found himself joined by both of his nephews as the three Taylors covered Lihua with their own gunfire.

"You got it!" Sonya loudly shouted, she aimed down the sights of her rifle and started shooting anything that got close to the hostages, or Vuhong.

"... I can maybe throw some water over there, I don't know." Meifeng said in the comms - realizing how short her range was, and how out of it Lihua was.

While the rest of the bomb squads were busy keeping the monsters and the Changeling minions at bay with their powers or guns, Shizuka used the chaos as cover, ghosting through anything in his way with his intangibility and heading straight for the rowhouses. From the comms he heard Lihua had managed to secure the hostages, but he didn't trust that woman enough - he needed to confirm it with his own eyes that his twin was indeed safe from the Changelings. Using the bigger (and taller) monsters as stepping stones, he finally reached whatever's left of the rooftop - where Haruka and Jennifer were - supported by Lihua's concrete manipulation.

"Haru!" He let the ropes fall through his brother's wrists and hugged him fiercely.

Immediately, Lihua grit her teeth. Why the hell did the boy come over here? More importantly; why didn't anyone notice? Well, the first question could be answered simply by the boy being dumb. Now Lihua has three people to keep alive.

"Child," Lihua hissed. "You should not have come here - all you've done is make the situation even more complicated."

And that wasn't her bias for the boy speaking. Now Lihua has to work extra hard to keep all of them alive. Because, as she could tell, Shizuka was dead weight.

Haruka choked at the crushing embrace, somewhat taken aback at Shizuka's sudden appearance. "I-I'm fine. Help...Jennifer."

The younger twin freed Jennifer and pulled the two of them to their feet.

Jennifer felt relieved that the binds were finally cut. It was starting to hurt her wrists. Her regenerative factor was repairing the slight damage that the ropes had caused her - and just like that, the pain all but vanished.

Lihua sighed, then turned to Shizuka as she stepped off the piece of stone. "You're here now." Lihua said. "You better pull your weight and help if you want to get out of here - now let's go!" She started running through the house.

Shizuka rolled his eyes but held back from making snide returns at the woman - Haruka's safety was all that mattered to him right now. He could have simply taken the shortcut with his intangibility by phasing through the walls and dropping down the floor, but he decided against showing off to save his stamina for later.

He let out an irritated tch and brought up the rear after his brother and Jennifer.

There was an awful lot of activity above them now.

---

"Peter Brooke..." Luis trailed off as he stood straight up, hands in pockets, and completely unafraid of the metal man. The Mannequin was dragging Heartbreaker off so she could be healed by the Witch Mother - which meant that it was up to Luis. "The Hands told me all about you... and I have to say that you joined the wrong side." He shrugged.

Peter said nothing as he paced towards Luis.

"But, I can say that it's not too late to change your mind; join the Changeling Unit and we'll forget all about this." Luis put his hand out for Peter. When the Metal Man approached, he grabbed Luis by the wrist with enough force to absolutely shatter it, then gave Luis a kick to his side. Sending Luis falling backwards with a collapsed chest, and broken hand.

However, what would have anyone else screaming bloody murder, Luis merely rolled his eyes while on the ground. "... We always have to clean up after the Hand's messes." He raised his other hand up into the air, and snapped his fingers. "Contessa, would you kindly?"

The Contessa immediately shut off Peter's powers - which had the same effect as placing the nullification collar on him - and he quickly fell unconscious. Rendered nothing but an immobile statue as long as the Contessa concentrated.

The broken arm was quickly regenerating until it had quickly returned to full functionality. Luis stood straight up and rolled his eyes. He stepped over to the immobile Peter, and plucked the metal man on the nose. Huh? They were hyping Peter as a living superweapon - but look at him now, nothing but an immobile statue. At the mercy of the Changeling Unit.

They didn't have any usage for this waste of resources.

Luis turned away from Peter, and snapped his fingers again. "Flashbang, have the Berserker come in and dispose of him."

Flashbang nodded her head and a portal opened up in front of Peter - the Berserker came charging out of the portal and ended up right in front of Peter. She let out a hellish roar that could be heard from all over the battlefield as she grabbed Peter's body, and twisted his head like it was nothing. She plopped off his head - then crushed it within her palm - dropping it like it was trash. She quickly ran over and rammed her hand through his body and tearing him in half as her other hand attached itself to one end of his body. Once she was done, she kicked his "body" off the building.

"That was splendid, Berserker!" Luis said, clapping his hands together. Now they have one less problem to deal with. Which meant that everything was going according to plan.

Heartbreaker and the Mannequin walked back up to the scene.

"Damn!" Heartbreaker said. "I wish I could have gotten a shot off at that bitch." She could just feel the phantom pain of nearly getting her torso caved in with a stone. "I almost died for your stupid plan, Luis." She hissed at him.

"You should have been paying more attention, Natalie." Luis playfully said.

"Fuck you."

"Now, Mannequin," Luis turned his body towards his number three... "Have we stalled them long enough?"

"Yes." Mannequin said.

"Excellent!" Luis gleefully said. "Just let them run back to their allies, then "set off"-" Luis finger quoted. "-the bomb."

---

Lihua ran out of the backdoor of the building, she raised her hands up into the air, clenching her fists tightly, before raising them up into the air. This motion tore a chunk out of the back alley - large enough for them to stand on - and willed it to float into the air. Lihua, with her long legs, stepped on it. She looked over her shoulder at them, "Get on, we don't have much time."

Shizuka hopped onto the concrete platform easily, then stretching out an arm to help the remaining two on.

With all the Changelings above them, they'll be easy to snipe - even with Heartbreaker disabled, at least half of them have a ranged attack of some sort.

All three passengers got onboard, but Lihua pulled some concrete off the walls and floors to float around her forming a shield. After all preparations were complete, Lihua zipped through the battlefield. Dipping in between buildings to avoid the Changeling's line of fire.

Everyone here... everyone was just playing into Luis' hand. Every second they moved closer to the core RAVEN group... was just bringing them closer to death. She doesn't want it to end like this. It won't... tears started running down Jennifer's face.

"I..." Jennifer trailed off, her voice was drowned out by the chaos around them. "I'm so sorry! It was all my fault... they made me work with them..." Jennifer said.

"Caspin..." Lihua looked over her shoulder at the sobbing wreck of a girl. "... You're the traitor everyone's been looking for." She wasn't quick to condemn the girl.

The twins said nothing - they already knew that she was the one. Ten points to Shizu for being the first to get the right answer, Haruka thought sarcastically, narrowing his eyes at the subtle smirk on his twin's face.

"Yes..." Jennifer sobbed. "They... they... took my family and forced me to do it or they'd kill them."

Lihua shook her head. Despicable. Just despicable. Which means that NEST will have to save them. They got no choice now. Though, that's be easier when their every moment was being tracked.

The mention of Jennifer's family made Haruka go rigid, balling his hands into fists. Shizuka raised an eyebrow at his brother's strange reaction, but he continued to keep quiet. Save the questions for later when they get to somewhere safer.

"That's not all..." Jennifer was uncertain of whether or not she should say this... but, it's the only way she can get out of this. "... They said they'd let them go if I manage to kill three RAVENs...." She started sobbing harder than ever before. She just came out and said it, loudly screaming, "... or else they'd set off the bombs they put in me!"

That made Lihua immediately stop the rock they were standing on. Like hell she was going to get caught in the blast. "Get off." Lihua sternly pointed in the other direction. She was definitely being callous - but she couldn't afford to take this risk. It's impossible to remove the bomb out here with a lack of proper equipment, and bringing her close to RAVEN would only play into their hands.

"But-but..." Jennifer said.

"My apologies, Caspin, but I just can't take this risk." Lihua regretted this so much, but it's what had to be done.

Jennifer turned to Haruka and Shizuka. "Please...help..." She begged them.

Both boys were equally stunned when they heard that Jennifer had a bomb planted in her body - who could have imagined that whatever stuck inside her and made her spew blood was some nasty explosive?

"Shizu," Haruka breathed, still staring at Jennifer with a horrified look. "Do something... Get that bomb out of her. Quickly."

The younger twin ran a hand through his silver hair. "Better not. Pulling it out by force might set it off accidentally. And I dunno where exactly it's embedded inside her." He then turned to Haruka with an odd expression on his face. "Besides, we don't have much time for me to feel all her insides to find the bomb."

"Seriously Shizu, now is not the time to crack dirty jokes!"

"Nah, I'm not a shameless pervert like Trevor." Shizuka then looked at Lihua. "Didn't you just tell us to get off your ride, hmm?" Checking that they were only a couple of feet away from where the RAVENs were, an idea came to him - he grabbed the arms of the two teens and grinned. "Hold your breath, guys - and brace yourselves for a freefall."

"You'd really..." Jennifer said, utterly astonished that they'd still help her after all that'd happen. Her fear and sorrow was replaced with demure appreciation, as she finally realized how much people were willing to go for her - and how much they understood. "...T-Thank you."

Lihua merely crossed her arms behind her back, and then calmly said, "No - but be my guest." She said. It'd be annoying if they'd render her hard work liberating them moot, but she'd rather not be dead. She hates being this callous, but she's been going on for far too long to let this end like this.

By then, the trio had disappeared down the concrete platform.

"Hmph." Lihua simply floated off out of the way of the blast. There wasn't much she could do - and she understood that. She knew that the two brats didn't understand that the Changelings could violently end their lives at a moment's notice... and, honestly, with someone as hard-headed as Shizuka, she knew there was no point in arguing. For now, regroup with RAVEN and set off the bombs.

---

It was already difficult not to gasp while falling down from a great height - what's more, with the combined weight of three teenagers, they were falling quite fast - and Haruka almost wanted to curse at his twin's insanity. How the hell are they going to break their fall---

When the gray sky before him was suddenly replaced with total darkness.

Wait, what? Before Haruka could comprehend if he was still alive or dead, the storm clouds were back into his field of vision.

Next to him, Shizuka had already sat up. He let out a whistle and laughed, "Sorry - should have warned you guys, but that would take out the fun..."

"Dammit Shizu!" Haruka sat bolt upright and glowered at his twin. "You call that 'fun'? That was scary as hell!" He then looked over Shizuka at Jennifer, hoping that she was alright. "What was that for?"

"Well, seems like the bomb is stuck inside her deeper than I thought..." Shizuka muttered, followed his brother's gaze to the blonde. "I had to be sure. For now whatever those Changeling bastards do the bomb's not gonna set off, but we still need to get it out ASAP."

"Just like that?" Jennifer said, honestly astonished that Shizuka was able to turn the bomb off. She looked down at her midsection, and felt the damn thing bulging out of her stomach. "T-Thank you..." This should at least buy her some time.

"I'm guessing it's a simple, battery-powered type operated via remote control," Shizuka replied to Jennifer offhandedly. "They won't use a timer - If I were them it makes more sense to blow up immediately when I hit the button." He then noticed how she's staring down at her own middle. So the bomb is indeed in her gut...bingo. "My power should've killed the battery, but to be on the safe side, stay with me at all times. I won't let you die...not on my watch."

"But how are we going to get out of here?" Haruka shook his head. "RAVEN has forsaken us! They won't do anything to help us---"

"Shut up and let me think." Shizuka got up to his feet and looked around. They had fallen into one of the dark alleyways - and thankfully nobody had noticed them so far, all too busy with their own battles. "Those agents ain't too far up ahead. Let's go...and show those scaredy cats who's the real boss here." He smirked to himself as the trio started running.

Mass Effect: Borealis

I am saddened to say this, but I think I have to go.

No one is responsible for this, and everyone here seems to be good people. Unfortunately, due primarily to a confluence of RL things, I find myself a little overburdened, and something has to give. To make sure that I don't crash, I have chosen this RP to give.

I'm glad to have met you all, and if allowed perhaps I can rejoin at a later date when everything else has improved. But for now, I have to take care of myself.

@Thundercrash

That's a shame, but I can understand why - hope things work out for you whatever the case.

Mass Effect: Borealis

Serena is all for the 'get the hell out of dodge before the Batarian with Rockets blows us up' plan of action.

*Looks pointedly at @Zombiedude101*

@Rtron

Aye. Rockets generally aren't good for one's health in the ME series.