The Fall (Chapter 15, 12/22/2011)

[Sord]

“Have a little faith, would ya?”

“Are you aware I am a Cast?”

I chuckled

He's been zig-zagging his way through the underground lab in an attempt to between himself and his friends.

I believe you're missing the word "distance" here. There's a few other errors, I know there was a "to" ("too?") missing somewhere in there. A good proof read after taking a break from the writing will probably reveal most of the others.

[McLaughlin]

Yeah, I'm bad for that. I usually edit them out as I find them when I reread the chapter later. Thanks.

[Xaeris]

I actually saw this thread when it first went up, and meant to read and comment. ...Better late than never, right?

I enjoyed reading the six chapters. The three main characters are amusing, though I'm a sucker for scrapper beast girls. The banter between them, while stiff in a handful of places, makes for good dialogue just about everywhere else. The personality spread is a classic mix of the bewildered protagonist caught between two contrasting personalities, but it's a classic for a reason.

A criticism I have to make is the flow between segments. In a couple places, which I'll make examples of, it seemed like the events came to an abrupt end to raise the curtain on a new scene. I felt this particularly when they chose to flee from the De Ragan, and when they broke into the secret lab. I would have written more events between those scenes and the ones that followed them to carry the transition. The shuttle ride to Parum would have provided a good opportunity for interaction, for instance.

You have some good details in places, weapon deployment and use in particular (*ahem*). I really liked the opening of the first chapter where you described the girls' clothing by having them snipe at each other; description through action, as it were. This story represents a pretty good effort, and I'm looking forward to reading more.

[McLaughlin]

Really appreciate the feedback. I wasn't sure how well I was doing the fights, since they're basically one long description, which I think is clearly not my strong suit. Still, I hope I can improve a little with each chapter. The next couple are a little slower paced, so at least I'll have the chance to practice. >_>

Sorry for the long delay. Lots of school work to do.


Chapter 7: First Impressions

“Roderick, the medical center is in Headquarters. Eliza can guide you there, I must run an errand,” Remi says, stepping through the turnbuckle outside the Parum PPT gate, “I will meet you there.”

“Mush!” Eli orders gleefully, pointing towards the top of the nearby staircase.

Roderick obliges and begins the climb to HQ, while Remi disappears into a crowd of people, heading in the general direction of the colony's elevators. The steep incline proves challenging, but after a few exaggerated balancing issues, to the chagrin of Eli, they both make it to the top in one piece.

“Sorry about the turbulence,” Roderick teases, tilting his head up to smile at Eli.

“Yeah yeah, laugh it up.” She gives him a light whack on the head before giving him directions, “we're headed up the elevators in the back.” Eli points to the far end of the room for added clarity.

The area is deserted for the most part; a male beast and Mina are the only other people around. As such, a human giving a piggyback ride to a beast is easy to pick out, and Mina shouts, “Eli? How did your mission go!?”

Eli slaps her own face before replying, “you know. The usual.” Roderick gently bucks Eli to adjust his hold before setting off across the room.

“I don't know about that!” Mina continues to shout, “I've never seen you return like that before!”

This prompts the beast at the counter to turn around. Incidentally, he looks much more imposing now than he did from behind. His biceps look like they're about to rip the sleeves of his boaboa vest, and the black straps that criss-cross over his chest are straining to hold the whole thing in place. He scoffs and walks towards the pair, “You never cease to amaze me.”

“Shut up, Ben,” Eli snaps back.

“And who's this punk?” he asks, still closing the gap between them. Roderick passes him by without a word or even a glance, content to just keep on walking.

“Hey,” Ben snarls, grabbing him by the arm and forcing him to stop, “where do you think you're going?”

“I'm taking her to the medical center,” he replies calmly. “I don't think this conversation is more important than her well being. Do you?”

Ben stares at Roderick in silence through his messy brown bangs for a moment before loosening his grip, “what if I said I don't give a naval's ass about her?”

Roderick pulls his arm free and begins walking, “I'd say this conversation is over.”

He's able to make the rest of the short trip across the room in peace, offering a friendly smile to Mina as he passes by. Finally reaching the elevator, Eli picks a floor while Roderick shifts her weight again. Waiting for the doors to close, she comments, “I don't think I've ever seen my brother speechless before.”

Roderick looks up at Eli as the doors slide shut with mixture of shock and panic, “that was your brother?”

==========

Remi departs from her own elevator, which lets out directly into a lavish laboratory. Maya is seated in front of a complex-looking apparatus, with several pieces of what appear to be a saber hilt strewn across the table she's working at. At the sound of Remi's clunky footsteps, she looks up from her work and rushes over to greet her.

After a long hug, Maya steps back to say, “I already read your report. It's a wonder you all made it back in one piece!”

“You look tired, Maya,” Remi says, taking note of her unkempt hair and the deep bags under her eyes.

“I'm going home right after I tell you what I've found.”

“Which is?”

“Absolutely nothing.”

“What?” Remi says in disbelief, “that is impossible.”

“There was absolutely nothing wrong with this line shield, Remi,” Maya repeats.

“Then-”

Maya cuts her off, “I don't want to give you my theory without any proof to back it up.” She hands the small chip back to Remi, “give him this. I've modified it to transmit biometric information back to my lab terminal. When I have the evidence I need, I'll let you know.”

“Thank you, Maya,” Remi bows before accepting the line shield from her.

“Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go home and pass out. Hopefully in that order,” Maya grins.

Remi smiles back, and together they leave the lab.

==========

“Thanks, by the way,” Eli says quietly as she and Roderick wait for the elevator to reach their floor.

“It's no problem, really. You're actually pretty light.”

“I meant-... what do you mean 'actually'? You thought I was gonna be heavy!?”

“Er, no! I uh... you're in great shape!” Roderick stammers. His weak recovery earns him another smack to the noggin right as the elevator chimes to signal their departure.

“I was talking about standing up to my brother. And that Cast on Parum too.”

“Don't worry about it,” Roderick shrugs.

“But,” Eli continues, “you need to be careful. Especially around people like Ben. Remi and I like you a lot, although she probably wouldn't admit it to you. You're our friend now, and we don't want to see anything bad happen to you.”

“Sorry. I guess I wasn't really thinking.”

“There's nothing to be sorry about. Just remember that Remi and I can handle ourselves,” Eli says, giving Roderick a pat on the shoulder. She then gently turns his head to the left to steer him into a sterile looking room. A giant glass window occupies an entire wall and offers a stunning view of the system outside the colony. Roderick sets Eli down on a padded table in the center of the room as two newman women in white coats enter.

“Time for you to bail, pup,” Eli says.

“Oh? I thought I was supposed to stay.”

“I don't care if you stay, but you've made it pretty clear you don't want to know what I have going on under this jacket,” Eli teases. Roderick's face turns bright red almost instantly.

“I'll just wait in the hall then,” he says quickly before stepping outside. The two newmen trade looks of bewilderment before setting to work.

Roderick parks himself just outside, leaning back against a wall to support himself. Attempting to slide his hands into his pockets produces a dull pain in his left hand. He pulls his hand up to his face to inspect it, but sees nothing obviously wrong. Roderick takes a look around the empty hall until his gaze falls on some medical supplies resting on a tray in the room opposite him. After he verifies again that the corridor is empty, he sleuths his way over to the tray, where he snags a tensor bandage. He then Solid Snake's his way back to where he he started, where he reclaims his section of wall and begins wrapping his hand with the bandage.

A few minutes later, Roderick is at the end of the wrap, pinning it down and testing it by making a fist. He winces, but decides it's better now than it was before. The sound of footsteps echoing through the hall pulls Roderick's attention away from his hand and towards the short newman moseying towards him. It only takes a moment for the two to make eye contact, and once it happens the man quickens his pace considerably, the coattails of his red braves coat flapping behind him.

“Excuse me, are you lost?”

“No sir,” Roderick replies.

“I see,” the man says, sweeping his black bangs out of his eyes, “may I ask what you're back here for?”

“I'm waiting for my trainer,” Roderick answers nervously, “I didn't know this area was off limits. Is there some-”

“Oh!” the man interrupts, “you're the rookie! My name is Edgar,” he says, extending his left hand.

“I'm Roderick,” Roderick replies, shaking hands with the newman. Edgar's grip turns out to be much stronger than Roderick had guessed from his small frame, and he fights back the urge to grimace with moderate success. Still, Edgar notices.

“How did you injure your hand?” he asks, pulling it up to his face for closer examination.

“I'm not really sure,” Roderick lies, “I probably just sprained it on our last mission.”

“I can fix that right up for you, just wait here for a minute.”

“Oh, you don't have to do that. I heal fast,” Roderick insists, “It'll probably already be better in the morning.”

“Well... if you insist. At least let me fix that bandage. You've wrapped it far too tightly.”

“Er, thanks,” Roderick says, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand.

Edgar only takes a few moments to re-wrap the bandage, “well, that should do it. I have to be somewhere, but it was a pleasure meeting you.”

“Thanks,” Roderick says, making a fist to test his hand again, “it was nice meeting you too.”

Edgar begins to walk away, but turns back almost immediately, “A word of advice; I'd stay clear of Eli's brother, Benjamin. He's not terribly fond of humans.”

“I'll keep that in mind.”

“Give Eli and Remi my best,” Edgar says with a wave.

As the newman disappears from view, more footsteps draw Roderick's attention back to the other end of the corridor, where Remi emerges from behind a corner. He waves as he waits for her to reach him.

“No issues?” Remi asks, looking through the window in the door.

“No ma'am,” Roderick says, making a conscious effort to stand up a little straighter.

“Good work.”

“Is Eli going to be all right?”

“An injury like the one she sustained is severe by Guardian standards, but not life threatening,” Remi explains, “the medical staff here are excellent at their jobs. She will be fully recovered once they are finished.”

“That's a relief.”

“So,” Remi says, turning to face Roderick, “what is your relation to the man from the laboratory?”

“Er-”

Remi cuts short his attempt to fib, “I have excellent hearing, Roderick. “

“Ah...”

“You are not in trouble,” she says, as sincerely as she can, “but we need to be prepared.”

Roderick finds something interesting on the floor to look at as he says, “I don't know the woman, but the man's name is Able. He's supposed to be dead.”

[McLaughlin]

Sorry this took so long. I've been swamped lately with exams and work. Updates should be more frequent from this point forward. This one's just a little longer than previous chapters, partly because I felt bad about the delay and party because I just couldn't think of a good way to end it faster.


Chapter 8: The Calm

“And that's the last I saw of him.”

“I am... sorry, Roderick.”

“It's not your fault. I shouldn't have kept it from you,” Roderick says, finally picking his head up.

“Speaking of keeping things,” Remi says, attempting to move the conversation in a lighter direction, “I have something for you.”

“What's this?” Roderick asks, taking the small microchip Remi offers him.

“It is a line shield,” Remi answers.

“Another one? I'll pay you guys back.”

“No need,” Remi reassures Roderick, “this one is complimentary.”

Roderick removes the chip from the nanotransformer on his wrist and inserts the one given to him. There's no visual change, however, and he blushes in embarrassment, muttering “I don't get it,” to himself under his breath.

“Keep it. Perhaps it will begin working later. Just remember that you are unshielded,” Remi warns.

“I'll be careful, I promise.”

“Yes, please do. While we are on the topic of caution, I understand you have met Eliza's brother.”

“If you can call him that,” Roderick says bitterly.

“They share blood and little else,” Remi explains. “Regardless, among the Guardians he is one of the elite. He has a very short temper and a strong contempt for all other races. You would be wise not to provoke him.”

“If he has something to say to me, he can come find me,” Roderick shrugs. “The way he treated Eli wasn't right, and I'm not going to pretend it was.”

“Roderick, if not for your sake...” Remi pauses, “do it for ours.”

Apparently she pressed the right button. Roderick bows his head in defeat before saying, “I'll do my best.”

“Sorry, am I interrupting a personal moment?” asks a voice from behind them. Roderick and Remi turn to see Eli leaning against the frame of the door, looking haggard but putting on a weak smile anyway.

“Eli? Are you all right?” Roderick asks, “you don't look so good.”

“I'll be fine.”

“Replacing a large number of photons at once is hard on the body,” Remi explains, “it takes time and energy for the body to assimilate the new photons. Stimulating rapid tissue regeneration only adds to the strain.”

“I'll be good by tomorrow,” Eli insists. “Some sleep is all I need.”

“If you say so,” Roderick says. He then kneels down with his back to Eli.

“What are you doing?”

“You're not leaning on the wall because you're lazy,” Roderick answers.

“Roderick, she can wa-”

“How thoughtful of you, pup,” Eli interrupts, shooting a death stare Remi's way and shaking her head vigorously. Remi sighs while Eli moves forward and collapses on top of Roderick, who nearly faceplants when the force of Eli's fall throws him off balance.

After managing to get her arms to dangle over his torso, Roderick adjusts his posture so Eli's head will rest on his shoulder. Once he's satisfied the now snoring Eli won't slide off his back, he turns to Remi to ask, “can you show me how to get her home?”

“Yes, this way,” Remi says, gesturing down the end of the corridor.

==========

Together, they make their way through the Colony. The streets are crowded by people from every race heading home from a hard day's work. Roderick occasionally looks down through the transparent floors to see that it's much of the same on every floor. Buildings reach from well below him to far above him, covered in vibrant store fronts, advertisements and neon lights at every level, which helps to break up the dull slate gray that would otherwise dominate the view. Eli snores quietly while they make their way to the central table.

“So... how did you two come to be partners?” Roderick asks, finally breaking the silence between them.

“Originally, we were paired together for our compatible combat styles. We compliment each other well, so we have been partners since graduation.”

“Have you guys trained a lot of Guardians?”

“Prior to you... just one,” Remi's voice trails off.

“Oh. What kind of person were they?”

“He was... nothing like you.”

Roderick laughs, “I'll take that as a compliment.”

“As you should,” Remi confirms. She stops abruptly at a door to type in a passcode before saying, “we are here.”

As the door retracts, Roderick is somewhat taken aback by the size of their living space. On one side, a modest kitchen and bar, complete with matching stools. Across the room lie two beds, pushed up against the edge of a counter-top that runs underneath a large glass window offering a view of the emptiness outside the Colony. The interior color scheme isn't what he expected either, surprised by the warm white and green walls and trimmings. Dotting the walls and counter-top are pictures of Remi and Eli. Beyond that area is a door that Roderick assumes leads to some sort of closet.

Roderick walks quietly across to the bedroom area of the space. Deciding which bed to set Eli down on isn't difficult; The shelves above hers are overloaded with plushies and stuffed animals of all kinds. After pulling her comforter and sheets back, he lays her down on the mattress as gently as he can before covering her back up.

“Roderick, your coat.”

“Not worth waking her up for it,” Roderick shrugs, heading back towards the door, “I have plenty of them, it's no big deal.”

“That is not what I meant,” Remi says, fishing around to extract a small black picture frame from inside the coat. Amazingly, she manages to get it without waking up Eli, who begins to snore even louder.

“Ah...”

“We found it in the laboratory. It must be of some importance for you to carry it with you.”

“It is,” Roderick says, taking the frame from Remi and looking at it intently for a few moments, “thank you.”

“We are off duty tomorrow,” Remi adds, “you are free to do as you wish.”

“Good night, Remi,” Roderick says, before the door slides shut behind him.

==========

“Eh? Hold on, I'm coming!”

Roderick scrambles to pull himself out of bed to meet whoever is ringing his doorbell like it's going out of style. When he finally reaches the door and opens it, he stares blankly for a few seconds while his brain attempts to catch up.

“Took you long enough.”

“Uh... Eli?” Roderick mumbles, still trying to figure out what's happening, “what are you doing here?”

“We're starting your workout,” Eli says, sounding almost confused, “did you forget you asked me for help in Tarcus?”

“Well, no...”

“You're good, pup, but you've got some work to do before you can back up that big mouth of yours.”

“Er, all right, hang on,” Roderick says, rubbing the last of the sleep out of his eyes, “let me get dressed.”

“Hey,” Eli calls after him. Roderick turns just in time to be blinded by the coat Eli throws at him, “you forgot this yesterday.”

“Thanks,” Roderick says, peeling the coat off his face. As he does, he notices the bandage still wrapped around his hand. No longer feeling the dull throbbing, he makes a mental note to remove the wrap while he gets dressed.

“So, where's Remi?” he shouts from his room.

“She does her maintenance on our off days. Why? Got robot on the brain?”

“Er, no,” Roderick continues to shout, “it's just, you guys seem really close. I never see one of you without the other.”

“We are close, that's how I know when to give her some space,” Eli says. She then continues to holler, “That reminds me. Bring a bathing suit with you. We're gonna cool off at the Paracabana Coast! If you're lucky, Remi'll show up.”

==========

“Well, she never was a fan of the beach...” Eli says to herself.

“Couldn't we have... worked out... on Colony?” Roderick gasps, catching up to Eli and doubling over. “It's so... hot...”

“Parum's gravitational pull is the strongest out of the three planets. The Colony's simulated gravity is an average between them. You get the most bang for your buck down here.”

“Oh...” Roderick says, sucking in some more wind before standing himself back up.

“Welp, might as well get changed and enjoy the rest of our day off. I think you could use a bit of a tan,” Eli teases, poking Roderick in the shoulder. “Meet me back here in like, five minutes.”

Five minutes later, Roderick and Eli reunite, more aptly dressed for a day at the beach. Roderick sports a pair of black and green boarder shorts and a bright red face, unable to keep himself from blushing while standing beside Eli, whose shorts are a similar style to his, but white and yellow, and whose yellow bikini top leaves little to the imagination. Both garner plenty of stares from other beach-goers for their well-toned bodies as they make their way to a vacant patch of sand to set up camp.

“So... what do we do now?” Roderick asks.

“We get tanned,” Eli says, unfurling her tower and setting it down, “and we gossip.”

“Er, gossip?” Roderick panics, “gossip about what?”

“You,” Eli says slyly.

“Me? There's nothing to say-”

Thankfully, Roderick gets some much needed help by way of several angry shouts coming from behind him. Eli looks past Roderick over his shoulder and shouts, “Noble!”

Roderick turns to see a huge Cast barreling towards him and Eli, and manages to snap back around in time to avoid being sprayed in the face with all the sand the Cast kicks up as he comes to a stop.

“Greetings, fleshbags,” the Cast says cheerfully, in a higher pitch than Roderick was expecting, given his size.

“Who are you calling fleshbags, nutsack?” Eli laughs, “what are you doing here?”

“Hardware upgrade. I was taking the shortcut back to Holtes when I spotted you. Where's this new recruit everyone's talking about?”

“You just about buried him,” Eli says, pointing to Roderick, peeking out from the mountain of sand Noble displaced.

“Woops,” Noble says sheepishly, grabbing Roderick's free arm and pulling him up out of the new sand dune, “sorry about that. I'm Noble.”

“No problem,” Roderick says, brushing himself off before shaking Noble's outstretched hand and looking him over. He stands half a head taller than Roderick, and although the black and white miyabi-kata he's wearing is fit loosely, Roderick can tell he's built like a brick house underneath. “I'm Roderick.”

“So this is the kid Ben was freaking out over, huh?” Noble says to himself, taking a step back to size Roderick up. From where they now stand, Roderick gets a better view of Noble's face, noting the soft features by Cast standards. Indeed, the only things that reaffirm Noble is indeed a cast outside of the cold blue skin tone are the large black triangles occupying the spaces where his ears ought to be. They remind Roderick of Remi's.

“Well,” Noble says, snapping Roderick out of his own little world, “anyone who gets on the wrong side of Ben is on the right side of me.”

“Come on, that's my brother,” Eli sighs.

“Not if you ask him. You should tell him to take some anger management classes. I heard he caused a lot of trouble on his mission yesterday.”

“Pfft, you do it. At least you're repairable.”

“That assumes there's enough of me left to rebuild,” Noble chuckles, running a hand through his short blonde hair.

“Yeah well, enough about him. What kind of trouble can the three of us get into?” Eli asks.

“Why are you looking for trouble?”

Eli, Noble, and Roderick all spin around at the sound of Remi's voice. Eli exclaims, “Remi!”, Noble waves enthusiastically, and Roderick is praying that the sensation of his jaw hitting the sand was an imaginary one. Remi stands before them clad not in metal parts, but in a simple red bikini, her hair tied in one long braid reaching down to the small of her back.

While Roderick powercycles his brain, Eli greets her friend, “I didn't think you were coming!”

“Maintenance took longer than I expected,” Remi says, before donning a skeptical look, “what is this talk of finding trouble about?”

“Nothing!” Eli says with a mischievous grin, “now that you're here we have even teams for...” she pauses for dramatic effect, “beach volleyball!” She then produces a volleyball from her nanotransformer and starts off towards a nearby vacant court. With nothing else to do, the others follow.

“How are we going to decide the teams?” Roderick asks.

“We should pair off with the Casts to keep it fair.”

“Who gets to pick then?”

“Remi and Noble can play rock paper scissors to decide it,” Eli answers.

Noble shrugs, “fine by me.” Remi nods in agreement, and so they move together to decide the fates of their fleshy companions.

After five stalemates, Remi finally pulls out a win with paper. After a moment of careful consideration, she announces her decision, “I choose Roderick.”

“Huh?”

“Fine, be that way,” Eli says in a mocking tone. She walks over to meet Noble with a high five.

“Why'd you pick me?” Roderick asks as he approaches Remi.

“I play to win. You are the only left hand-dominant person here. Together we can serve to the outside of the court,” Remi explains as they arrive on their side of the net.

“Since you picked your teammate, we get first serve!” Eli calls from her side of the net. All four of them take their positions, and Noble lines up to serve to Roderick. Standing several feet back from the base line, he tosses the volleyball high into the air and then runs after it. He launches himself into the air as the ball reaches the apex of its arc and fires a missile over the net with a thunderous smack towards Roderick, who is barely able to get his arms in front of him fast enough to receive the serve. Keeping the ball in play is about all Roderick can manage; the force of the impact actually staggers him. Remi crosses the court to reach the net, where she jumps and spikes the ball cross-court with just as much heat as Noble's serve. Eli dives in an attempt to keep the rally going, but comes up short.

“Excellent work, Roderick,” Remi says as everybody resets. She also holds up her hand, and it takes Roderick a moment to realize she's holding it there for a high-five. Not wanting to leave her hanging, he nervously slaps his palm against hers before setting up for a serve.

After many long lasting rallies and blistering serves, Roderick and Remi have a chance to put the game away. Roderick gets the rally started by firing the ball over the net with a jump serve of his own. Eli bumps the ball high towards the net for Noble to smash back towards Roderick, who fights to keep the ball in play. Remi moves towards the net, volleying the ball straight up and sky high. She then gets down on one knee and clasps her hands together. Roderick runs forward, stepping on Remi's hands so she can throw him high into the air. From this height, he's able to spike the ball almost straight down, and so he does. He crushes the volleyball with such authority and at such a steep angle that Noble is unable to move in time to avoid being hit right in the head, where the ball impales itself on the black antenna protruding from his forehead.

“78-76. We win,” Remi states matter-of-factly. She and Roderick share another high five as they walk around the net.

“There has to be a rule against that,” Eli sighs.

“Nope. They beat us good,” Noble says, peeling the deflated volleyball off his head and looking at it dejectedly, “I'm not paying for the ball though.”

“Ah, I'll cover that,” Roderick says sheepishly. After a moment spent looking at each other, everyone bursts into laughter. Even Remi chuckles.

“Today was a good day,” Eli says, looking out over the water where the sun is slowly setting.

“Yeah, I haven't had that much fun in a while,” Noble agrees, “you guys should send me a mail next time you're doing something. Ben's not really the type of partner who likes to hang out.”

“You are always welcome with us,” Remi assures him. “We should head back to the Colony. We have already been assigned a mission for tomorrow, and Eli still requires rest.”

As the group sets off, Roderick remains, fixated on the sun as it sinks below the horizon. Eli calls out to him, “pup? Something wrong?” which appears to snap him out of his daze, as he gives his head a shake and runs to catch up.

“Nah, nothing's wrong.”

[Sord]

Caught up on the reading. Last two posts seem to be lacking quite a bit in the descriptive department. Mostly all dialog with a paragraph every once in awhile explaining where they are in no great detail. Makes the reading feel more like a script: here's the setting, here's the lines. Should probably work on blending the two more.

I did internally smile at the use of the word "powercycling," though. You did use some good description, in places

as the ball reaches the apex of its arc and fires a missile over the net with a thunderous smack towards Roderick.

There just didn't seem to be a good amount of it dispersed throughout.

Take this bit for example:

Together, they make their way through the Colony. The streets are crowded by people from every race heading home from a hard day's work. Roderick occasionally looks down through the transparent floors to see that it's much of the same on every floor. Buildings reach from well below him to far above him, covered in vibrant store fronts, advertisements and neon lights at every level, which helps to break up the dull slate gray that would otherwise dominate the view. Eli snores quietly while they make their way to the central table.

Some of this stuff, actually a large chunk, can be detailed via "description through action," as Xaeris put it. While Eli and Roderick are walking along conversing, describe things they see or do from their perspective rather than vaguely funneling it all in at once before the convo and making it feel separate. Even if it were a silly line like "Glancing up, Roderick had to wonder if the women wearing skirts remembered the fact the floors in the building were transparent or just didn't care." Heck, if you really wanted to, you can take an incident like that, have Roderick blush at an ill timed moment from seeing a lady a floor up wearing a skirt whilst talking to Eli, and then Eli misinterprets the blush for something else relevant to what they are talking about and teases Roderick for it which digs them into whatever topic they are talking about and would put Roderick in a position to basically cough up more of his background/personality so we learn more about him (but the in-story excuse for this would of course just be defending himself from Eli's teasing.)

[McLaughlin]

I really appreciate all the feedback, and I'm making a concerted effort to implement it. Hopefully it's reflected in the writing as the story continues. After all, half the reason I'm doing this in the first place is to improve my writing skillz.


Chapter 9: Separation Anxiety

“Attention all inhabitants of residential block F, evacuate to the central table! All Guardians are to report to HQ immediately!”

Roderick finds himself awoken by a loud female voice for the second time in one day. Squinting through blurry eyes at his clock, which reads 2:17 AM, only confuses him further.

“What the heck did that say?”

Almost as though some benevolent being wishes to spur him on, the message repeats, “attention all inhabitants of residential block F, evacuate to the central table! All Guardians are to report to HQ immediately!”

Jumping out of bed so fast he trips on his sheets, Roderick hurries to grab the nearest shirt and pair of pants before sprinting out the door.

==========

The scene at headquarters is a hectic one. Dozens of people are littered throughout the reception area, all just as clueless as Roderick. Not immediately recognizing anyone, he begins to wade through the crowd of Guardians, heading for the reception desk. Despite all the commotion, Mina still greets Roderick with a smile and a wave as he approaches.

“Roderick! I'm so glad you're safe!” she exclaims.

“Glad to see you're all right too, Mina. Any idea what's going on?”

Mina's enthusiasm quickly fades, “not really, I'm sorry. All I've been told is something about altered beasts getting loose. Oh, hello Noble!”

“Hey Mina, and Roderick too!” Noble says, weaving his way through a cluster of people to reach the counter. “Looks like we had the same idea.”

“Hi Noble. You wouldn't know where Remi and Eli are, would you? I haven't seen them anywhere,” Roderick asks, scanning the crowd for his companions.

“They'll turn up sooner or later. They're probably directing traffic somewhere.”

“But the alert said to come here?” Roderick says, confused.

“Oh, they never told you? Well, I guess they never really had a reason to. They're Marshals”

Noble's revelation does little to alleviate Roderick's confusion. “They're what?”

“Marshals,” Noble repeats, “they're hand-picked by president Dallgun. They outrank everyone except headmaster Nav and president himself, and they're the only ones allowed to take on S rank missions.”

“Oh... are there a lot of Marshals?”

“A few. You've already met most of them; Remi and Eli are your trainers, and Ben,” Noble pauses as he attempts to recall other names, “Edgar...” Roderick recalls the slight newman he met in the hallway, “Blake, and me. Oh, Anne and Anko too, but you'll probably never see them.”

“You're a Marshal?” Roderick asks, “then why are you here?”

“I was running errands, HQ was the closest meeting place. Remi and Eli stay in the Guardian compound, which is right by the central table. They probably just took over down there.”

Almost immediately after Noble finishes his sentence, the entire room falls eerily quiet. Doors at the back of the room hiss as the pneumatic pistons operating them release air, allowing them to slide open. From the elevator emerge four people: three Roderick immediately recognizes, and one he does not. Remi and Eli spot Roderick standing with Noble and move quickly to meet them. Ben scoffs and begins conversing with the other man as they disembark.

“That's president Dallgun,” Noble whispers.

“What were they all doing with the president?” Roderick whispers back.

“Looks like we're about to find out.”

Dallgun pulls sharply on the lapels of his black and blue blazer, straightening it out as he prepares to speak. Having already captivated everyone before even uttering a word, Roderick can tell that this man commands a great deal of respect.

“Approximately twenty minutes ago, there was a small explosion in one of the labs,” Dallgun states. His voice is deep, but raspy. Roderick knows the tone of exhaustion well. He clears his throat before continuing, “the explosion cut power to the lab, allowing someone to disengage the locks on all the containment cells. As a result, a flood of altered beasts has escaped into the linear line system.”

The crowd begins buzzing, but the sound of Dallgun drawing another breath is enough to silence them again. “Your job is to clear the linear line and assist in the evacuation of F block. We're unsure at this point if the explosion has compromised the Colony's integrity.” When murmurs begin to ripple out through the room again, the president sighs as he runs a hand through his short black hair. Black, except for the notable gray streak running from his forehead all the way to the back of his head down to the tip of his quasi-mullet. “When I know, you'll know. Until then, get to work, and stay safe.”

With his briefing done, Dallgun retreats back to the elevator, exhaling deeply and allowing his posture to slump as the doors slide shut. At the same time, Remi and Eli are finally able to reach Roderick and Noble, but both wear looks of concern.

“Roderick, we have little time to explain,” Remi says in a hushed voice, “the president believes this is an act of terrorism perpetrated by the Illuminus.”

“He thinks the Illuminus bought off one of the research assistants and had him set off the explosion,” Eli adds, “we're being sent to find him.”

“Where are we heading then?” Roderick asks.

“Roderick, you cannot accompany us on this assignment.” As Remi speaks, Eli casts a nervous glance at Ben on the opposite side of the room, and Roderick realizes why they look worried.

“Look pup, you're stuck with Ben for this one. Watch yourself.”

“Noble, let's go!” Ben shouts from the top of the stairs leading out of headquarters. “Ricky, you're with us.”

“Noble, if you let anything happen to him I'll dismantle you for parts to fix our coffeemaker,” Eli says sternly.

“What? You hope I come back in one piece? How thoughtful!” Noble says, doing a disturbingly accurate impression of Eli's voice. After a chuckle, his demeanor changes, “we'll be fine. You two be careful.”

As Roderick and Noble attempt to leave, Remi reaches out to put a hand on Roderick's shoulder. When he turns back, Remi moves in close to whisper, “Roderick, be vigilant.”

Roderick nods silently, which seems to put Remi at ease, as she lifts her hand from his shoulder. Roderick runs to catch up to Noble, while Eli steps forward to join Remi in watching the trio seemingly disappear below the floor.

“They'll be fine,” Eli says reassuringly, as much for Remi's sake as her own.

“We should go. The sooner we complete our mission, the sooner we can return.”

==========

The tension between the group of men is almost palpable, and grows every second as they trek towards the nearest entrance to the linear line. Beyond the cone of silence between them, the Colony is in a state of complete chaos. Dead are the bright lights and neon signs, replaced by pulsing red emergency lighting. The same platforms that were so full of life earlier in the day are deserted now, conversations between friends and coworkers replaced by wailing sirens. As Roderick absorbs his surroundings he begins to drift away from the situation, distantly aware of the numbness grabbing hold of his limbs.

“Pull your head out of your ass.”

Ben's gruff voice is enough to snap Roderick out of his trance just in time to keep him from walking right into Noble. Unable to immediately discern the reason they've stopped, he simply asks, “what's going on?”

“If you were paying any attention instead of worrying about those two whores, you'd have seen the blood trail we've been following,” Ben answers bluntly.

Indeed, while Roderick was daydreaming, they made their way to a section of the block not entirely familiar to him. Giant steel pillars supporting the floor above them dot the area, and while buildings line the streets, none appear to have an entrance, leading him to think they've walked to some side area of one of the lower floors. Looking behind him reveals the trail they've been following; small red droplets of blood that grow in size and frequency as he traces the trail back to his feet. Attempting to follow the trail ahead forces Roderick to take a step around Noble, where he finally spies the prime candidate for why they've stopped; a large pool of blood congealing under the dim glow of the emergency lighting.

Roderick blurts out, “what is that?” reflexively, and then mentally slaps himself for asking such a stupid question.

“What does it look like?” Ben walks over to the mess to kneel down and swipe his index finger through it. Touching his finger to his thumb is all it takes to cause the fluid to transfer, creating a string of blood bridging the gap between his fingers as he separates them.

“That looks pretty fresh...” Roderick says quietly, careful not to give Ben another reason to bark at him.

Ben chirps at him anyway. “Oh, so your brain does work after all.” Satisfied with the information he's gleaned, he stands back up and wipes his hand off on his shorts.

“This is a problem,” Noble states, pointing at the longitudinal smears of blood leading away from the pool and towards the linear line station.

“Yeah, I know,” Ben says with a dismissive wave of his hand, “if his brain only works part of the time he's a real liability.”

“Get serious, Ben,” Noble says, clearly frustrated. “There's too much blood here, and if anything has made it out of the line system the entire block could be compromised.” Noble pauses to take another look at the bloody drag markings before continuing, “we need to go back and report this.”

“Fine then, you go back. Ricky and I can handle the cleanup,” Ben shrugs.

One look at Roderick is all it takes Noble to convince himself that leaving him with Ben is a bad idea. “Why don't you go back? Roderick and I will look for the colonists and altered beasts.”

“No,” Ben refuses.

“Why are you being so obstinate?”

“Because if I let this runt out of my sight,” Ben gestures angrily towards Roderick, “and something happens, it's my ass on the line, and if I leave your clankity ass alone and something happens, guess what? It's my neck on the chopping block. If we all leave and something gets out of the linear line, I'm the one they're gonna fry, so we're going to walk into that lightdamned line station and clear it, like we were told to.”

Without waiting for Noble's rebuttal, Ben stomps off towards the pitch black of the nearby line station entrance, not caring that he's traipsing right through the pool of blood, causing his boots to make a disturbing squeak and leave a bloody footprint with each step.

As the protests of Ben's footwear become more and more distant, Roderick and Noble trade looks of apprehension. Apparently arriving at the same decision, they both turn to catch up with Ben before he completely disappears into the tunnel. As Roderick attempts to take a step, however, Noble pulls him back and nods downwards.

“Blood never really washes out completely.”

[McLaughlin]

Lots of views, few comments. Dunno if that's a good thing or not, but here's chapter 10!

Chapter 10: This Town Ain't Big Enough

“So how do you think they're doing?”

“Stay focused on the task at hand, Eliza.”

“Well soooorrry. I don't compartmentalize things as well you do,” Eli retorts, looking down to watch her footing as they traverse a very narrow bridge over a very deep canyon.

Remi sighs, deciding she needs to address the issue to keep Eli focused. “All three of them are capable of taking care of themselves. Besides,” she adds with a smirk, “of all the appliances you could have picked, Noble absolutely detests coffeemakers.”

“You're probably right. I still don't understand why Ben and Noble couldn't have come instead of us.”

“You know better than I that Benjamin's... blunt approach leaves much to be desired on a mission like this.”

==========

“What the hell were you doing in here?”

The newman woman Ben is barking at buries her face in her hands in embarrassment as Roderick and Noble work together to lift the large slab of rubble pinning her to the ground. Once they manage to free her, they understand why she's nearly in tears; the debris had been hiding her petite frame, and little else. The frilly black lingerie draped over her naughty bits leaves almost nothing to their imaginations.

“W-well, I, you see,” she stammers, twisting to try and hide as much of herself as she can, “My husband, he's one of the shuttle operators, and I was going to surprise him after his shift, but there was this shaking, and then-”

Ben has already begun walking away, shouting over his shoulder, “just leave!”

Not satisfied with how Ben has handled the situation, Roderick pulls a nobles coat out of thin air and offers it to the woman while covering his eyes with his free arm.

“Let's go!” Ben shouts, now almost completely hidden in the shadow of the tunnel.

Roderick ignores Ben for the moment to explain, “you're supposed to evacuate to the central table. Do you know the way from here?”

“Yes, thank you,” the woman answers, sheepishly grabbing Roderick's coat and covering herself with it like a towel.

After seeing the woman off, Roderick and Noble run to catch up with Ben, who stopped just beyond the veil of darkness covering the mouth of the tunnel.

“What the hell?” Ben snaps.

“What?” Roderick asks, bewildered.

Continuing down the tunnel, Ben elaborates, “we don't have time for that garbage.”

“What was I supposed to do, let her walk around naked? You didn't even tell her where to go!”

“While you're worrying about some whore's modesty, someone else in here could be suffocating to death under a pile of rocks, or being attacked by whatever those idiots were experimenting on. If they can move on their own, they don't need you. Move on and find someone who does.”

“Is it really that difficult for you to show some compassion?” Roderick asks, nearly tripping over a rock. What little light there is in the tunnel radiates dully from filaments spread much too far apart to be of any practical use, and it's a wonder he saw the obstruction at all.

“That's pretty rich, coming from-”

Their conversation is interrupted by a low rumbling beneath their feet. Ben cocks his head back in a “why me, God?” motion, while Roderick and Noble look around futilely for the source of the disturbance. They should be looking at where Ben is, as he spies a large section of the roof coming loose.

“Move!”

Completely oblivious to the supreme migraine accelerating in his direction, Ben is forced to shove Roderick to the side to keep him from being crushed. Unfortunately, the service corridor Roderick finds himself in as a result of that push is now completely closed off thanks to the collapse.

“Hey, Roderick! Are you all right!?” Noble's voice is muffled and quiet, but still audible.

“Yeah, I'm fine!” Roderick shouts back, brushing himself off and wiping some dust off his face. Unable to even see his own hand in front of his face, he feels around the collapsed doorway for any hints of loose debris. What he discovers is basically one giant slab of the roof completely overwhelming the exit.

“Look runt,” Ben cuts in, “this crap is too big to move and there's not enough room to nanoblast. We need to walk around to get to you.”

Noble offers a solution, “schematics show that service passage leading directly to another station. There's another passage approximately one kilometer ahead that we can take. Meet us at the station.”

“All right, I'm on my way,” Roderick says.

“And hey!” Noble shouts, “let's not mention this to Eli. I'd rather melt myself down for bottle caps than be used to fix a coffeemaker.”

With a smile on his face, Roderick begins to make his way towards the other end of the passage. Unable to see anything, he stumbles around tracing the wall with one hand, and holding his other arm out ahead to keep himself from walking into anything. In a tight corridor like the one he finds himself in, this arrangement makes it difficult to catch himself whenever he trips over something on the floor. By the time he can see the slit of light leaking through under the bottom of what he assumes to be a door, he's successfully ruined his braves pants, bloodied both his knees, and torn a sizable hole through the elbow of his yellow long sleeved tee.

None of that matter to Roderick though, because he's finally bumped into the metal door. After fumbling around for a minute trying to find the door handle, and grunts in frustration when it refuses to turn at all. When vigorously jiggling it produces no results, he looks skyward and sighs heavily, and then takes a few steps back.

“One... two...”

Roderick charges forward with his shoulder lowered, slamming into the door and breaking it open. Rubbing his shoulder gingerly, he squints as his eyes adjust to the light. Inspecting the door from the other side reveals why it was so difficult to force open; someone attempted to weld the door to its frame. Roderick thanks his lucky stars that whoever tried to seal off the passage did a shoddy job, and decides to walk backwards to meet Ben and Noble halfway.

“Where do you think you're going?”

Roderick turns slowly to find a short newman woman walking casually towards him from the other side of the station. He immediately recognizes her from Parum, and perhaps from somewhere else.

“You... were you the woman we helped earlier!?”

“Ew, no,” Helga answers, apparently disgusted by the comparison. “But I did get to watch you white knight it up. You are just so precious,” she says sarcastically.

“So the explosion, and the creatures getting loose, that was all your doing?” Roderick takes a step back to create some distance between himself and the woman.

“Would you believe me if I said I was an animal lover?”

“No.”

Helga lets out a heavy sigh.

“Look kid, I'm giving you one chance to come quietly. Don't make me regret it.”

“I'll give you one chance to surrender peacefully. I really don't like hitting women,” Roderick says defiantly.

“Don't say I didn't try. Able isn't here to save your ass this time.”

Content to let her actions finish the conversation for her, Helga holds an arm out to her side, allowing Roderick to watch as a saber melts into her hand. The same metallic saber from the research facility, with its aggressive angular design, looks somehow more menacing without its partner, which, for reasons unbeknownst to Roderick, Helga has decided not to wield.

Before he has a chance to figure out why though, Helga is on him like genital warts on a prostitute. Leaning back to avoid being decapitated causes Helga's first swing to miss by an uncomfortably close margin. When she attempts to cut back across the same arc, Roderick takes a step forward, where he's in position to bring his elbow down on top of Helga's before firing an open palm into her chin. Helga stumbles backwards, her arm now dislocated at the elbow and hanging limply at her side. Somehow she's managed to maintain possession of her weapon, so Roderick again backs up to give himself some breathing room.

“You're getting on my last nerve,” Helga growls, grabbing her damaged arm by the wrist with her free hand. Yanking downward produces a sickening crack as the bones realign themselves, but Helga is either adept at hiding the pain, or just doesn't feel it at all.

While Roderick suppresses his gag reflex, Helga lurches forward again, this time aiming to run him through. The speed at which she closes the distance between them catches Roderick by surprise, forcing him to parry the lunge with his bare left arm. Predictably, this turns out to be a very bad way to avoid the attack; the sword leaves a gaping wound that runs nearly the length of his forearm. Experiencing intense pain to the point of nausea, Roderick fights against the overwhelming urge to vomit to stay focused. By deflecting the attack to his left, Roderick creates an opportunity to step in, holding his right arm out to clothesline Helga as she passes by.

Helga was moving with such speed that the force of the impact crushes her throat, and nearly wraps her body around Roderick's outstretched arm. When gravity regains control of her, she falls to the ground in a motionless heap. Mildly frustrated with himself for incapacitating Helga so brutally, Roderick turns his attention to the gash on his arm, scrambling to tear off part of his sleeve for use as a tourniquet, then wrapping another tatter around the cut itself as a bandage.

“Attention all Guardians! Residential block F will be jettisoned from the colony in fifteen minutes! All Guardians are to evacuate immediately!”

Roderick looks at the speakers embedded in the roof as the announcement repeats, as if hoping to glean more information from the equipment if he just stares hard enough. When the searing pain in his arm reminds him he's got a major problem on (or slightly above) his hands, he decides to find Ben and Noble. Nursing his left arm, Roderick starts walking towards the end of the station that his superiors should be emerging from any moment, but pauses when he hears shuffling behind him.

Helga slowly rises from the ground, bones and joints complaining along the way. Fully upright, Roderick can see just how severely he damaged her; Helga's head is hanging somewhere behind her, below her shoulders. Adding to his horror, she begins to speak.

“You really don't know when to quit.” Her voice is deeper, somehow more... hollow, and not just because her neck is probably half a foot longer now than it was before.

Panic finally sets in when Roderick realizes that Helga is no ordinary newman. After setting her head firmly back on her shoulders and doing a few neck rotations to make sure everything is in working order, Helga surges forward again, ramming her skull into Roderick's chest like a, well, like a ram.

The headbutt sends Roderick skidding backwards, knocking the wind out of him. Clutching his chest and gasping for air, Roderick slides a full ten feet backwards, plummeting off the edge of the platform and onto the line shuttle tracks, but not before catching a glimpse of Helga racing after him. The height difference between the tracks and the platform is enough that Roderick completely disappears when he falls head over heels into the pit. He manages to land in a handstand, but nearly collapses when his left arm gives out on him. Planting his right forearm on the ground to bear most of his weight, and using his left arm for balance, Roderick waits. When Helga rockets into view looking to ground pound him, Roderick springs his trap, kicking her hard in the stomach with both feet, and sending her flying into the wall on the other side of the track.

Roderick struggles to catch his breath as he picks himself up off the floor, and groans audibly when he hears Helga do the same. Completely gassed, he's quickly running out of ways to fend this lunatic off. Adopting the best defensive stance he can manage, Roderick waits for Helga's next move, which comes in the form of another head on charge. When he brings his good arm up to brace himself, Helga leaps high into the air, where her right leg morphs into a disgusting, flesh-colored sickle.

Three crimson spheres of light soar over Roderick's shoulder, impacting Helga twice in the torso and once in the leg, setting her aflame. Before he can figure out what's happening, Roderick finds himself forced to the ground from behind as the silhouette of something massive passes over him. That something turns out to be Ben, who snatches Helga out of midair by her unmutated leg and swings her like a club face first into the wall, making a Helga-sized crater deep enough to keep her from falling to the ground. Noble fires a barrage of ice blue bullets into Helga's back, where they crystallize instantly, trapping her in a cocoon of ice.

“Roderick! What happened?” Noble hurries to pull Roderick up off the floor, but he declines Noble's assistance and stands up on his own. If you can call being doubled over leaning against a wall “standing”.

“I don't know, she came out of nowhere,” Roderick wheezes. He still hasn't quite managed to catch his breath, and stringing that many words together without stopping for more air causes a coughing fit.

“We need to get you out of here. They're detaching the entire block in thirteen minutes minutes.”

“What about the-” Roderick pauses for another fit of coughing. After spitting out some blood, he starts over, “what about the other survivors?”

“Don't be an idiot. You're in no shape to be worrying about other people,” Ben says sharply.

Roderick takes issue with Ben's statement and attempts to make a rebuttal, but decides instead to save his energy and take it up with him later.

Noble fires back for him. “Ben, would you just shut up? We need to go.” Casting a sideways glance at Helga, he asks, “what do we do with her?”

“Leave her,” Ben shrugs.

“Are you serious? She could have valuable information about the Illuminus, we can't just leave her here.”

“I don't think she'll play nice if she wakes up, and we aren't equipped to deal with her. I doubt that crazy shit stops below her knee.”

Reluctantly, Noble nods, and after helping Roderick climb back up onto the platform, the three of them exit the station, leaving Helga to her frosty beauty sleep.

==========

“And... done.”

“What?” Roderick asks. They've been walking for the better part of ten minutes in complete silence, save the announcement that the detachment of F block had been canceled. Evidently the air leak wasn't as bad as first thought.

“I just finished drafting my will,” Noble explains. “When Eli finds out what happened, well, let's just say I'll be grinding coffee beans before nightfall.”

“I don't think she really meant that.”

“Trust me when I say Remi and Eli take your safety very seriously. Their... last trainee...” Noble's voice trails off as he comes to a halt.

“Their last trainee what?” Roderick asks. He stops beside Noble and begins looking around for whatever stole his attention. Ben just keeps on walking.

It takes Roderick a moment to realize he needs to angle his gaze up, towards the archway above the entrance to Guardians HQ. When he does, and finally sees what froze Noble, he takes off running, stumbling twice on the way. Noble follows quickly behind, but Ben continues his casual stroll.

Reaching the crowd of people gathered under the arch, Roderick screams, “what are you doing!? Get them down!” When no one moves, he throws his arm up in disgust and begins scaling the structure himself.

Strung up to the arch are the limp bodies of Remi and Eli. Bloodied and bruised, with their heads hanging down almost as if they'd been staged as an act of penance, it's clear they've been beaten savagely. Roderick attempts to untie the ropes holding them in place, struggling to keep his left hand from shaking while he fights against his own body. When he finally frees Remi, the weight of her body nearly drags Roderick from his perch. Only after he's certain Noble will catch her does he let go and begin to work on freeing Eli.

With both women back at ground level, Roderick takes Eli from Ben, slinging her arms around his neck and looping his good arm under her knees to carry her. Noble takes charge of Remi, and as they prepare to leave, Roderick turns to the crowd, seething. “You people are unbelievable.”

“And you!” He shouts at Ben, who's reached the peak of the staircase, “she's your sister!”

Ben pauses to watch as Roderick storms up the stairs with Noble in tow, barely able to contain his anger.

“They were too weak,” Ben says coldly. “They're an embarrassment.”

“Weak?” Roderick hisses. “You're the weakest person I've ever met.”

[McLaughlin]

Sorry for the wait. This one's a little slower paced, but it'll pick up again, I promise.

Chapter 11: Aftermath

The morning proved to be very eventful for President Dallgun. After cancelling the order to detach an entire block, he left immediately to inspect the damage himself. Turns out the air leak he thought was threatening the safety of the entire colony was actually a cracked methane pipeline. As per station protocol, the room with the leak was sealed off, but not ventilated for fear of causing an explosion. This resulted in every single person sent to check on the situation passing out inside the air lock, creating an amusing, if unfortunate, pile of unconscious Guardians just beyond the door. It wasn't until a Cast was sent to investigate what had happened that the situation became clear.

When pressed for information by the media at his press conference later that morning, Dallgun answers, “the leak was not as serious as initially thought. It's been repaired, and the sector has been reopened. All Guardians involved in the accident are expected to make a full recovery.”

“Any relation between the air leak and the awful smell permeating through the Bluefull sector?” the reporter asks.

“I, erm,” Dallgun mumbles, holding a closed hand to his mouth as he clears his throat, “I wasn't aware of any smell. I'll send maintenance to have a look.” Beside him, Headmaster Nav smothers a chuckle. Scanning the crowd for any other questions, he spies a pale woman with striking purple hair. “Yes, Hal?”

The woman stands, her clothing more closely resembling that of a roller derby girl than a reporter, and taps away on the console attached to her wrist to prepare the camera pod next to her for recording.

“I've heard that the attack was perpetrated by a newman woman. Is there any truth to that?”

“You know I can't comment on an ongoing investigation, Hal. We're following several strong leads, that's the best I can give you.”

Apparently Hal suffers from a serious case of selective hearing disorder, as she presses Dallgun as though he hadn't answered her first question at all. “I heard that it took two marshals to apprehend this woman, but she escaped from their custody. Any truth to that?”

It was true. After hearing about the incident from Noble, Dallgun sent Headmaster Nav himself to retrieve Helga from the line station. When he arrived, however, all that remained was some flesh seared to the hole in the wall where she'd been trapped and water stains running down to the floor; remnants of the ice used to pin her there.

Dallgun sighs. “Your sources certainly have powerful imaginations. If you don't have any questions I can answer, I suppose we're done.”

“What happened to the two Guardians that were hung from the arch behind you earlier this morning? Is it related to the attack on the colony?”

==========

Roderick's morning was less about what had happened, and more about how to fix it. Not one to complain, he refused to mention the dizziness he was experiencing to anyone, choosing instead to let his wobbling become more and more prominent as he and Noble hurry through the maze of corridors that make up Guardian's Headquarters, searching for anyone even remotely resembling a medical professional.

When they finally find a pair of what appear to be nurses, they're instructed to lay their companions on nearby gurneys to be rushed into treatment. After the nurses disappear around a corner, Roderick collapses in a heap.

“Yeah,” Ben says to himself, scooping our hero up off the floor, “I'm as good as scrap metal.”

The next few hours are fairly uneventful, mostly occupied by various tests, scans, and recovery processes. Of the three, Roderick is in the best condition, and, to the surprise of the technic users assigned to heal him, is rejuvenated in a matter of minutes. After taking a few deep breaths to check for discomfort, and a moment of staring blankly at his now perfectly normal arm (well, normal save the blood stains), he leaps off the table and marches towards the door.

“Excuse me, sir!” one of the newman attendants protests, “you should really lay back down...”

Ignoring her advice, Roderick begins roaming the halls, checking every room he passes for his friends. Window after window, door after door, he comes up empty. So focused is he on his objective, he walks face first into a short newman as he rounds a corner. As the newman picks himself up off the floor, Roderick recognizes him and moves quickly to help him to his feet.

“Don't worry about it,” Edgar says, speaking to Roderick's panicked expression.

Roderick lets out a heavy sigh, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to calm himself down. “Do you know where Remi and Eli are?”

“Absolutely,” Edgar assures him, “I tended to them myself. Would you like to see them?”

Roderick nods meekly, and together they begin walking back in the direction Edgar had come from. They travel in silence for the first minute or so, but Edgar decides to break the ice with a question.

“I heard from Noble you fought with a woman in the linear line?”

“That depends on how you define 'fought with',” Roderick says in a defeated tone, shaking his head as he recalls the battle. The physical scars may have disappeared, but the memory alone is enough to light up every pain receptor in his forearm.

“I wouldn't be so hard on yourself,” Edgar says, patting him on the back between his shoulder blades, “the way Noble tells it, she had a leg up on you from the start.”

Roderick looks at Edgar with an incredulous stare, to which Edgar shrugs with a smile. “Sorry, bad puns are my area of expertise.”

Roderick finally allows himself to relax a bit, chuckling quietly as they pass through a set of double-doors into another wing of the medical center. The glowing sign hanging from the ceiling reads “Intensive Care”, and even the hallways have a different feel than the previous area's, with cream-colored panels in place of the cold gray steel. The warmer color-scheme does much to put Roderick's mind at ease. If they're here, he promises himself, they'll be-

“Are you all right?”

Edgar's concern pulls Roderick away from his thoughts and back into the corridor. After blinking a few times, he answers, “yeah. Sorry.”

“Are you sure?” They continue on their way through the wider halls, passing lavish rooms, some full of people visiting loved ones, some completely empty. Absent from all of them is the sterile, clinical feeling of the ones he's been in recently. “I heard about what happened when you found them. Typically, people don't react like that over someone they've just met.”

Roderick takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, recalling the inspiration for his outburst earlier that morning. Closing his eyes as he relives the experience, it takes him a few moments to gather himself.

“My family-” Roderick's starts. Watching as agony slowly writes itself all over his face, Edgar immediately regrets saying anything. Roderick starts over, “my family was slaughtered by rogues the day before the SEED attacked.”

“They hung their bodies from the roof of our house,” he continues, despite his voice cracking in the middle of his sentence. “Just, left them there...”

At a loss for words, all Edgar can think to do is place a hand on Roderick's shoulder for comfort.

“When I saw Remi and Eli hanging there, it felt like I was losing my family all over again.” By the time he's finished, Roderick's voice is quivering uncontrollably, and he's fighting a losing battle trying to keep the tears in his eyes from rolling down his cheeks.

Edgar just wants to find the deepest, darkest hole he can and crawl into it. All he can think to say is, “I'm so sorry.”

The audio track for the rest of their short walk is provided by the idle chatter between people in the various rooms they pass, and from their own footsteps. The next exchange between them happens when Edgar stops abruptly in front of another generic door. “They're in here,” he says.

Roderick reaches for the steel doorknob, but pulls back before actually touching it. Only after Edgar nods reassuringly does he open the door and step inside. The room is similar enough to the dozens they've already seen, if perhaps slightly more spacious. Two large recliners sit empty under the window adjacent to the door, blinds drawn to block the view in and out of the room.

Across from the chairs are the centerpieces of the room. The color of the area rug beneath his feet or what channels the flat screen mounted to the wall gets couldn't be further from Roderick's mind once he sets his eyes on the pair of women, sound asleep in their beds. Well, Eli is sound asleep. Roderick isn't quite sure what casts do when they're not moving, but he's certainly glad to see Remi doing it.

Eli appears normal, for the most part. Her torn clothing has been replaced with a simple hospital gown, which Roderick can just see whenever the rise and fall of her chest displaces the blankets insulating her. Beside Eli, Remi, too, rests under a heavy comforter. Also in a hospital gown, Roderick considers how vulnerable she looks sans her metal shell, stripped away to reveal the synthetic skin beneath. He assumes the blinking light on the antenna jutting out from the edge of her forehead is the cast analog for signs of life while sleeping, and watching it blink sets his mind at ease, finally.

Roderick wipes a few tears from his eyes with the remaining sleeve of his shirt. “How long until they wake up?”

“Probably not until sometime tomorrow,” Edgar says, propping himself up against a wall. “Remi's power cell was completely drained, and it takes about a full day to recharge. Eli hadn't completely recovered from her last injury, and Resta abuse can really tire you out.”

“Would I be able... to stay?” Roderick asks timidly. He's still standing in the doorway, fixated on his trainers. His partners. His friends.

“I'll clear it. You can come and go as you please,” Edgar says, pushing himself off the wall. “Consider going home to clean up a bit though. If the first thing they see is your bloodstained self, I doubt Noble will see the end of the day.”

“Heh...” Roderick checks himself over and realizes he does indeed resemble a homeless zombie.

“Oh, I nearly forgot.” Edgar walks over to Roderick, grabbing his left arm and hoisting it into the air before tapping the nanotransformers on their wrists together. “You've got my partner card now. If you ever need help, don't hesitate to call.”

The small screen attached to the watch-looking device on Roderick's wrist flashes as it confirms the details to him. “Thanks,” he says.

With that, Edgar exits the room, leaving Roderick to himself and the sleeping beauties. Since it's unlikely a peck on the cheek will be enough to wake them, Roderick decides to take a seat in one of the chairs.

As he walks alongside the window, he catches a glimpse of his reflection in the glass. Before sitting down Roderick looks himself over one last time. Considering Edgar's advice, he takes his nose to his blood-encrusted sleeve. What he smells, however, is not the scent of blood, and one whiff of his armpit is all the confirmation he needs, and then some.

“Okay, maybe I do need a quick shower.”

==========

Roderick travels home to clean himself up. The trip and subsequent scrubbing down are routine, save for throwing his clothes in a garbage can instead of his clothing hamper. After showering and dressing himself in pretty much the same outfit, with the addition of his iconic nobles coat, he sets off back towards the medical center.

As he approaches the grand staircase leading to Guardian Headquarters, Roderick spies a woman waiting there for him. When she spots Roderick, she hurries to meet him, with a small, autonomous camera floating along behind her.

“Hal, channel 5 news. Any comment on the rumor that Moatoobian rogues were behind the public humiliation of two marshals early this morning?” The camera pod positions itself in front of Roderick as he climbs the stairs while Hal follows alongside him.

The question catches Roderick off guard. “Uh, you're asking the wrong person, miss. I don't know anything about that.”

Before Hal can ask any follow-ups, Roderick walks past the camera and into headquarters.

Given the last day and a half, it's no surprise that once he finds his way back to Remi and Eli, Roderick decides to spend the rest of the day sprawled across the two chairs in the room, unconscious and occasionally drooling.

So soundly is Roderick sleeping, that when Noble drops by, he does little more than shuffle deeper into his seat. It isn't until Noble actually grabs him by the shoulders that he awakens and becomes the center of a tornado of flailing limbs. Through all the commotion, Remi and Eli remain blissfully asleep.

“Do you even have a heartbeat when you sleep?”

“Do you understand how strong your grip is? I thought someone was trying to suffocate me.” Whether or not his heart was pumping blood before, Roderick now finds himself taking deep breaths in an attempt to keep it from beating right out of his chest.

“I tried everything short of setting a bomb off in your inner ear. I'm fairly confident you were clinically dead.” Nobles flashes a grin before turning his attention to the pretty, people-sized elephants in the room. “How are they?”

After a long yawn, Roderick answers, “Edgar said they'd both wake up sometime tomorrow.” After checking the clock on the wall, Roderick corrects himself, “er, later today.” That was the shortest fourteen hours of sleep he'd ever gotten.

“Well, if Edgar says they'll be fine, they'll be fine,” Noble says. “He's the best technic user we have.”

At that moment, the handle on the door jiggles as someone gently pushes it open. A lanky beast glides into the room almost silently, like some being from another plane, and floats halfway across the room, apparently oblivious to the presence of Roderick and Noble, before Noble says, “we don't need new pillows or sheets, thanks.”

Despite the cheery tone of Noble's voice, all the colour drains from the beast's face. He quietly takes a deep bow before leaving in a hurry.

“Well, that was odd,” Noble says. “But that reminds me, have you seen Ben at all?”

“No...” Roderick says distantly. “Can you watch them for a minute? I really need to use the bathroom.”

“Sure.”

Roderick quickly exits the room, arriving in the hallway just as a door slams at the far end of the corridor. Seeing no one in either direction, he decides to head for the the source of the noise.

One pillow, no sheets, and he was wearing those weird medical scrubs. That was definitely not an orderly.

Roderick stops just in front of the the suspect room to think. He then grabs the door handle and, in one smooth motion, twists the handle and throws the door wide open. His suspicions are confirmed when the door crashes into the beast standing behind it, sending him stumbling into the vacant room clutching his nose. While the imposter whimpers, Roderick quickly shuts the door and draws the blinds closed.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” the beast shouts.

Roderick's reply comes in the form of a swift jab to the face, square on the already broken nose. This staggers the beast, allowing Roderick to overpower him and slam him into the wall, pinning one of his arms behind his back. With his forearm slowly pressing on the beast's throat, Roderick threatens, “you have ten seconds to tell me who sent you here and why.”

“Or what?”

“I place you in the custody of the Guardians and charge you with obstructing an investigation and resisting arrest.”

The beast half laughs as he tries to breath through his broken nose. “I'm not resisting, sir.” The laughter quickly mutates into muffled gurgling as Roderick continues to crush his windpipe.

Roderick leans in close and whispers, “we'll see how long that lasts.”

[Seth Astra]

Grah! A cliffhanger! Why must you torture me!?... Oh, right, as an author that's your job... Ahem... Carry on...