Just Another Day In Prohibition Megatokyo

The Amazing, Flying Alexis!
Location: Near Tokyo, in the air somewhere.
Timestamp: The weekend after the convoy attack.
Authors: Skorpy, Oblivion.
Characters: Rekko, Alexis.

Rekko yawned and stretched. His arm connected with something soft and warm, and he jumped a little. He looked down, relaxing as he saw it was just Alexis. "<Sneaky little thing, aren't you?>" He smiled, hand reaching up to pet her ears softly.

Alexis' eyes fluttered into a state of half sleep as she looked to her chest to see Rekko's hand contacting one of her breasts. "Havin' fun?" She asked drowzily, followed by a cutesy yawn and more snuggling.

Rekko chuckled, giving a squeeze, his other hand rubbing an ear between thumb and forefinger. "<Apparently. But then, so are you, considering you weren't here when I fell asleep...>

Alexis' free ear perked at the squeezing and she let out a small squeal. "<I got a key from Skorp, so no more breaking and entering.>" She grinned as she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss.

Rekko returned the kiss, chuckling softly. "<No more 'breaking and entering', huh?>"

"<Nope! Just unlawful entry! Or was it trespassing?>" Alexis pondered, her free ear tilting to the side to reflect this.

Rekko rolled his eyes, sighing softly. "<Well, I'd say it's my turn for a little 'unlawful entry', wouldn't you say?>" He shifted, something poking her in the hip as he grinned.

Alexis' tail swayed under the covers as she pressed her chest against his, grinning in return. "<It only seems fair.>" She said before she passionately kissed him.

---

Rekko yawned again, stirring. "<We should get up. We have plans, after all...>"

"<I think I'd prefer this to jumping out of planes.>" Alexis said as she made Rekko's chest a pillow.

Rekko chuckled, stretching. "<And so would I, but you apparently need to learn. And you don't get the bribe without doing the training.>" He reached down, landing a swat on her backside. "<So, c'mon. Up, out of bed, clean and dressed.>"

Alexis let out a playful squeal. "<Fine, but only of you join me. We can wash each other's backs.>" She offered with a grin wide enough to display her canines.

Rekko sighed in mock-resignation. "<If I must. And besides, who am I to ignore teeth like that?>" He grinned, before swinging himself out of bed to stand up and stretch, shoulders popping. "<Ouch. Too much time spent in those stupid jump seats in those stupid american aircraft.>"

Alexis took a moment to stare before rising from bed and stretching herself. She then walked up behind him and firmly, but carefully rubbed his neck in an attempt to relieve the discomfort.

Rekko leaned back into her as she rubbed, groaning softly. "Mmmm. <That's nice. Maybe the morning sex and the neckrubs are worth having to clean up in here, and do laundry more than once a fortnight.>" He kicked at a laundry basket, which growled back at him before dispensing a cat into the nearest airvent.

Alexis' ears perked as she visually tracked the cat, though she did not stop rubbing his neck. "<I would hope so. It's kinda gross leaving your dirty underwear all over the place.>"

Rekko shrugged. "<It seems to move on it's own some days.>"

"<I think the ROUS, oversized pigeons, and the giant spiders are enough to deal with. If we have an infestation of your underwear that has somehow gained life, you can forget sex for at least a week.>" Alexis joked, feigning a stern scolding voice, though giggling after.

Rekko nodded sagely before saluting. "Yes'm!" He chuckled, before stepping away from Alexis and picking up a litter-picking stick from a hook on the wall. After shaking a spiderweb from it, he set about dumping the discarded clothing into the laundry basket. "<Hey, I think these are yours...>" He held up a pair of powder blue panties.

Alexis examied the panties for a moment then realized she was still naked, she was comfortable enough around Rekko not to be bothered by this but she still took the panties. "<Thank you, but I think I'll put on a clean pair after we get cleaned.>" She walked to the door to the room and deposited the panties into a bag she had brought before pulling out a fresh pair of panties and a bra. She then moved to the closet and retrieved the jacket and a pair of pants that she had stashed there roughly a week ago.

Rekko chuckled, tugging on a robe and assembling a bundle of clothes from a pile of clean laundry sat on a chair. "<Don't get too dressed, the showers are just down the corridor. No baths, but the water's nice and hot.>"

"<Got a spare robe? I didn't bring mine.>" Alexis asked as she slipped on her panties and bra.

Rekko tossed her another robe from the pile, chuckling as it caught on her tail. "<There you go.>"

Alexis raised her tail to more easily pluck the robe from it before putting it on. Due to the lack of a hole for a tail, however she had to let it dangle between her legs. "<Let's go!>" She declared happily as the sleeves to the robe extended over her hands.

Rekko chuckled, opening the heavy door before leading the way to the showers. "<Damn these doors. Far too heavy to be practical.>"

"<The blast resistance is nice though.>" Alexis commented. "<The explosion outside my door would have totally ruined my plushies if it weren't for that door.>"

Rekko cocked his head curiously. "<And what explosion was this? Do I need to assault someone for waking you up?>"

"<Usual Largoist hijinks, nothing special.>" Alexis giggled. "<And if it bothered me they'd know, and I woulda just slept on your room after.>"

Rekko chuckled. "<So, am I to guess that you're here after shooting someone for disturbing you, or did you just want to snuggle?>" He took a seemingly random turn, adjusting his bag of toiletries so it didn't catch on the corner.

Alexis followed after him. "<Snuggling.>" She said, resting her head on his shoulder as they walked.

Rekko wrapped an arm around her shoulder, chuckling softly. As they reached the bathrooms, he pushed the door open slowly while the pressure equalised, steam rushing out of the showers. "<Good to know. Can't go around shooting people you live with.>"

"<I may threaten people, but I'd never shoot one of those guys.>" Alexis said with a fond smile.

Rekko chuckled. "<Good. I have enough random injuries to deal with already.>" He shucked his robe, hanging it on a hook as he nudged the door shut behind them.

Alexis stripped down, hanging her robe over her underwear, and putting on a towel. "<The life of a Largoist medic isn't easy.>"

Rekko shook his head, reaching out to take Alexis' hand to guide her into a shower room. "<Far from it. Better than being one in the TPCD, though. WAY better facilities, better food, and I have you instead of my ungrateful ex-wife.>" He bent down to kiss her softy.

Alexis leaned up into the kiss for a moment before breaking it. "<I'm glad you are happy.>" She said with a gentle smile.

"<So am I.>" Rekko deposited the bag on a shelf and switched the shower on, wincing as he was hit by scalding water. A few adjustments of the dial later, and it was adjusted to a decent temperature. "<At least it wasn't ice-cold this time.>"

Alexis giggled before placing her bag next to his with the towel beside it, and joining him under that water. "<Promise you'll stay happy with me.>" She asked as she wrapped her arms around him and placing her head against his chest to listen to his heartbeat.

Rekko smiled, petting her hair and ears softly. "<I promise. As long as you're with me, I'll try and stay happy.>"

---

Rekko stepped out of the shower, patting himself dry with a towel. "<Gotta love that clean feeling.>"

Alexis walked out after him with a towel around her body as she rubbed her hair dry with another towel. "<I know what you mean. I would say so far we've had the perfect start to a morning.>"

Rekko chuckled. "<Almost. We haven't eaten breakfast yet, and we shouldn't eat too heavily. For one thing, we're eating heavily later, and for another, you don't want a full stomach when leaping out of aircraft.>"

Alexis shuddered. "<Though lately I've been feeling like I could eat a deer.>"

"<That can wait until dinner. Delayed gratification, my dear.>" Rekko smiled, starting to dress after tossing his towel aside.

"<Fair enough, but I feel like I need at least five eggs and twelve sausages... Maybe some bacon too.>" Alexis' thoughts trailed off to food as she got dressed.

Rekko rolled his eyes. "<It's a wonder you're not spherical, the amount you eat. Still...>" He reached out, planting a swat on her backside once more before she could cover it. "<At least you have padding in the right places. That's always fun.>"

Alexis' ears and tail perked as she jumped, giving a small eep of surprise, her tail giving a brief sway as she settled. "<Oh?>" She pulled her pants over her backside before claiming his arm and looking up to him. "<Keep that up and you might not sleep tonight.>" She teased before giggling and releasing his arm to put her shirt on. "<But I don't know what's up with my eating lately.>"

"<Maybe it has something to do with all those nanites you're using. They're protein-based, after all; maybe they're burning your energy reserves to do their thing?>" Rekko shrugged, before tugging his own shirt on. "<That, or the side-effects actually kicked in, and...>" He trailed off. "<You should probably go see your mother about it.>"

"<I'm sure it's nothing, but I'll see her after the raid.>" Alexis said with a shrug.

Rekko nodded. "<Better safe than sorry. Want me to brush your hair?>"

Alexis' ears perked. "<Could you?>" She asked, looking to him with a smile.

Rekko grinned, kissing her softly before setting about her with the brush and comb, humming lightly.

Alexis leaned back comfortably as he brushed her hair.

---

Rekko tapped the fuselage of the plane as he walked around it, examining it carefully. "Looks fine to me. No offense, but I like to check things before I fly in them."

The pilot nodded, chuckling softly. "Nah, it's alright, mate. I don't blame ya. Not much to go wrong on these, though. Nice and simple and rugged. She's a right beaut, though."

Rekko sighed. "Just don't start wrestling it, and we'll be fine."

The pilot frowned. "That's a stereotype and you know it, mate. Don't open that can of worms." He nodded to Alexis, running his eyes over her. "And what's with the shiela?"

Rekko sighed again; this pilot was infuriating. "That's my girlfriend. Touch her without permission, and you'll be taking the quick way down."

The pilot backed up, hands raised defensively. "No worries, mate, hands off, eyes on the controls, that's me." There was a *clonk* as the pilot backed into a wing support, causing the plane to shift. "Ouch."

"Shut your mouth and get in. And one crack about 'excess weight', and I'll hide your caffeine pills."

The pilot made a zipping motion over his mouth and climbed into his seat. Rekko smiled smugly, and opened the sliding door in the side of the aircraft to usher Alexis inside.

Alexis gave a wary smile as she climbed into the aircraft, waiting for Rekko just inside. "<So, where are we falling to?>" She asked with a nervous laugh.

Rekko clambered in slightly awkwardly before settling in across from Alexis. "<I picked out a field a ways off. If we aim for that, we can be picked up for another round easily, without dealing with air traffic control, or being sucked into engines.>" He chuckled nervously as the plane started to pick up speed. "<I hear that hurts like hell.>"

Alexis gave another nervious laugh. "<So, we're using wingsuits? How do they work?>" In the BGR she was either parachuted in or dropped off in a vehicle.

Rekko chuckled, holding up a doll dressed in a wingsuit. "<As you fall, the air acts against the surfaces between your limbs and your body, like so.>" He blew at the doll, causing the flight surfaces in question to fill with air and billow up. "<That slows you down, and creates lift, like a cross between a wing and a parachute. It's basically freefall, but slower vertically and faster horizontally.>" He grinned at her as they took to the air with a lurch.

"<Ok. How do you slow down?>" Alexis then asked, relatively unaffected by the lurch.

"<To lose speed normally, you just alter the angle of the wing, like so.>" He repositioned the doll's limbs for more drag, holding him up into the airflow from the open window up front. "<If you need to slow down to deploy your main chute, you pull a drogue chute, like so.>" He pulled a ripcord, and a small parachute popped out from the doll's pack.

Alexis nodded as she watched the demonstration. "<And landing?>" She then asked, deeply paying attention.

Rekko pulled another cord, and the doll's main parachute deployed, tugging the doll out of his hands and into the back of the plane. "<Regular parachute. Skorp's working on a system of strapping landing gear to people, but so far it's proving to be a bad idea.>"

"<I don't think I'd like that.>" Alexis said as she went over the demonstrations again in her head.

Rekko rolled his eyes dramatically. "<And you call yourself a Largoist.>" He tutted, and leaned over to retrieve the doll to repack his chutes.

"<Hey!>" Alexis called as she crossed her arms and pouted. "<I think I'm a good Largoist.>"

Rekko grinned at her. "<Yet you're not trying something dangerous and experimental?>" He paused, before reaching out to pet her ears. "<I'm kidding. It really is a bad idea; don't try it until the kinks have been worked out of it. I like you the way you are, not flat.>"

For a brief moment Alexis misunderstood him and looked down to her chest, before she actually got what he meant. "<Yeah, crashing isn't fun.>"

Rekko chuckled at the expression crossing her face. "<Even for Largoists. Now, zip your wingsuit up, so it'll work properly.>" He demonstrated on the doll; unzipping and re-zipping the flaps between the legs and between arms and torso, before zipping his own suit up. "<Nearly there.>"

Alexis nodded nerviously before zipping up her suit as demonstrated. "<Did I do it right?>" She then asked after looking herself over.

Rekko leaned in to examine her suit, before nodding. "<Looks good to me. Suit looks fine too.>" He grinned, leaning in for a quick kiss as he checked her helmet straps.

Alexis smiled and nodded. "<Okay, I think I'm ready.>" She said as she collected her courage.

Rekko grinned, giving her shoulder a squeeze before pulling the door open, air rushing in as he slid it back. "<You sure? No going back once you leap.>"

For a moment Alexis froze, though she quickly shook it off. "<Yeah. I'm hungry, so let's do this!>" She yelled with determination.

Rekko nodded, grinning. "For Largo!"

"For Largo!" She called as she dove from the aircraft.

Rekko grinned, before diving out after her, adjusting himself a little to catch up with her as they fell. He reached up, tapping the radio in his helmet to switch it on. "<Remember; stretch out, like a wing.>"

Alexis tapped her helmet before doing as instructed. "This is insane!" She called out over the radio in panic, though the sudden drop in downwards velocity was a great relief to her.

"<Of course it is! We're Largoists! Insane is what we do!>" He shifted, matching speeds with her, eyeing her form carefully. "<Your tail's catching a lot of airflow... Try using it as a rudder?>"

Alexis moved her tail to the right, (which was difficult due to the wind) causing her to yaw to the right. "Wolves shouldn't fly!"

Rekko grinned widely; he LOVED flying like this. "<Nor should they talk, walk on two legs, wield guns, or have human boyfriend, but there you go. It's working, though!>"

It wasn't long before the panic subsided and Alexis managed to feel something close to comfortable. "<This is awesome!>" She declared as she looked to the horizon.

"<Totally!>" Rekko cruised beside her, drifting a little closer to take her hand. "<Now, look down, see if you can spot the field. There are red stripes painted on it.>"

Alexis looked down and tightened her grip on his hand for a moment when she realized they were still so high up. She eximined the ground until she noticed a couple large red stripes. "<I see it!>" She called out.

"<Good!>" Rekko squeezed her hand gently. "<Now, try and loop around it as you descend, aim for the center before you start to slow down, okay?>"

"Hai." Alexis said as she released his hand, looping around the stripes a few times before lining up with them and pulling the drogue chute.

Rekko kept pace with her until she slowed down, pulling his own chute as he pulled ahead. "<Good! Now, pull your main chute once you're just going down, or you get close to the ground.>"

Alexis nodded, pulling the chute once the vertical momentum began to take hold, slowing her decent to a peaceful glide. "<That was fun!>" She cheered happily as she floated to the ground.

Rekko gave her the thumbs-up as he floated nearby, still grinning widely. "<Told you it wasn't that bad.>"

When Alexis hit the ground she pulled off her helmet to reviel a wide grin. "<Let's do it again!>" She exclaimed, still giddy from the rush of adrenaline.

Rekko grinned as he landed next to her, tugging his helmet off before pulling her close. "<Great idea! Let's re-pack the chutes, then we can go up again.>" Largoism totally WAS awesome, when he thought about it.

Alexis gave him a kiss before setting about re-packing her chute.

---

Rekko staggered a few steps before collapsing in the grass, exhausted. He was streaked with red paint from a gust of wind during an earlier landing, and looking decidedly windblown. "Lexi... <I don't think I can do go again right now...>"

Alexis, on the other hand, was still full of energy. "<Then we can go eat!>" She exclaimed cheerfully as her tail wagged behind her. "<Let's go!>" She exclaimed as she claimed his arm and began to half-drag him to the plane to fly back.

Rekko chuckled as he was dragged into the plane, trailing his repacked chute behind him. "<You have been spending far too much time around Arella. That, or you should lay off the sugar.>"

"<And I'm not gonna do anything about either of those habits.>" Alexis said with a wide grin. "<Oh, maybe you just need more sugar!>" She then offered while laughing.

Rekko considered that briefly. "<Yes, I think I do.>" He rummaged in the pile of gear in the plane's tail, before coming up with a cooler. On opening it, he found it full of energy drinks and b33r. "<Oh, sweet n3ct4r of l1f3...>"

Alexis giggled as she took a seat and leaned back into it. "<This is nice.>" She said with a satisfied sigh.

Rekko opened a can of energy drink, chugging half of it straight down. "<Yup. A nice romantic plane ride. Just us, the wind, the engine noise, that asshole of a pilot up front, and plenty of energy drinks.>" He grinned as the sugar and caffeine kicked in, eyes wide and one eyelid twitching. "<Ohgodsthatsbetter>"

"Got the m4d 5u64r ru5h?" Alexis asked with a toothy grin, her tail patting against her lap in amusement.

Rekko nodded rapidly, his breathing slowing again as the initial rush passed. "<I'm pretty sure this stuff is illegal in Japan, but damn if it doesn't wake me up.>" He reached for another can, but paused halfway. "<I'd offer you one, but you have too much energy already. You're like a magical girl on sugar today.>" He drained the rest of the can, before tossing it out the window, where it bounced off the tail before vanishing downwards.

Alexis stuck her tongue out at Rekko. "<I'll just swipe one when you're looking away.>" She teased.

---

Rekko hopped out of the plane as it eased to a halt in front of the diner, extending his hand to Alexis. "My lady?"

Alexis giggled as she took the offered hand. "Why, thank you good sir." She hopped off the plane and claimed Rekkos arm. "<Now then, where are we eating?>" Her tail swayed with anticipation as she awaited a response.

Rekko pointed to the diner as he led her towards it. "Right here!" He grinned, imitating a southern US accent. "Y'see, we got your fried chicken, your hayum-burgers, your steaks, and your milkshakes. And since this here's in to-kee-yo, you also got your fyoo-shun cuisine, with rice and sushi and so forth."

"Well that's right silly, but I suppose we should mosy on over so we can get our grub on." Alexis said, mimicing the same accent.

Rekko chuckled, leading her to the diner, removing an imaginary hat as they stepped inside. "<Table for two please, near the window.>"

The waitress nodded, slightly confused by the wingsuits, the paint, and the gesture, but ushered them to a table nonetheless.

Alexis took a seat at the offered table and immediately began observing the menu, taking note of several items that looked good.

Rekko settled into the booth, examining the menu carefully.

"<Would you like drinks while you choose?>" The waitress asked, looking as if she was ready to get away from the crazy people.

"I'll take a pint of water." Alexis said with a cheerful smile.

The waitress nodded, turning to Rekko.

"<I'll have a bottle of Sapporo, I think.>" Rekko said, grinning slightly to himself. "<I could use a drink after all that.>"

The waitress nodded again, backing away and retreating.

Rekko chuckled. "<I don't think she's used to factionists.>"

Alexis shrugged. "<I don't plan on starting a fight or causing something to explode simply from me being here, so I think it'll be fine.>" She smiled as she returned to her menu.

"<Neither do I, but...>" Rekko nodded out the window to where the pilot was sitting on the wing of the aircraft, lazing in the sunshine.

"Meh, <let him be, he can get his own food.>" Alexis said as she glanced to the pilot for a moment. "<He seems to be okay enough.>"

Rekko shrugged, turning his attention back to the menu. As the waitress returned with their drinks, he ordered a large burger, and turned to Alexis with a smirk. "<So, how much of the menu are you ordering?>"

"<I want this half of the burger options with everything on them.>" Alexis said as she moved her finger through the menu for the waitress to see. "<Three servings of fries, and two steaks, medium rare, with a baked potato.>" She requested with a straight face that would suggest she was serious.

The waitress nodded, taking everything down carefully, before repeating it all back to Alexis. "<... And would there be anything else?>" She finished with, eyebrow raised slightly.

On the other side of the table, Rekko smirked, trying not to snigger.

"<And an ice cream dessert, vanilla if you can.>" Alexis added with a smile at the last second.

The waitress nodded, noted, and retreated to shout her order at the cook, scattered with 'no, really' qualifiers.

Rekko chuckled softly. "<Guess you really do like beef, huh?>"

"<Nothing wrong with a girl who knows what she likes.>" Alexis said happily.

Rekko shook his head, grinnning. "<Not at all, unless you're paying for it. Which, today, I am not.>" His grin widened as he pulled out a credit card. "<Expenses for bribing you into the air.>"

"<Meanie.>" Alexis teased. "<I can afford it.>" She said as she pulled out her wallet, before putting it back into her pocket.

Rekko reached over, petting an ear softly. "<Not intended as meanness; I knew I'd need to persuade you to leap out of a plane somehow, and Skorp authorised an expenses card for me. Besides, never turn down free food.>" He smirked. "<Practically the first rule of Largoism, after 'you don't have to be mad to work here, but it helps'.>"

"<So it's all on ol' Skorp, huh?>" Alexis shrugged. "<Least I don't have to worry about eating a paycheck.>" She laughed before looking to Rekko with a smile. "<Thank you for bringing me out here, even if half the date was a mission; I had fun.>"

Rekko smiled back. "<Even work should be fun, I feel. No point to life if it isn't fun, after all.>" He paused, counting on his fingers quickly. "<Leaping from a plane, flying despite gravity; the flying wolfgirl.>" He grinned as he delivered the haiku.

Alexis grinned widely as her tail swayed. "<The flying wolfgirl. That just sounds odd doesn't it?>" She thought for a minute. "<Add the amazing to the front of it and it kinda sounds like a circus act.>"

Rekko nodded, chuckling. "<I suppose it does. Behold, the Amazing Flying Wolfgirl! Witness her fly through the air with the greatest of ease! Marvel as she swoops and dives! Be astounded as she lands unharmed!>"

Alexis cracked up. "<Add aerial skeet shooting and I think It'd be a pretty good performance, because the longer the title, the more people'd wanna come right?>"

Rekko nodded, joining her in laughter. "<You'd be a total success. Hey, if the Largoism doesn't work out, maybe we could run away and join the circus?>"

"<Eating contests beware!>" Alexis added, putting her hands up menacingly.

Rekko finally cracked up, nearly headbutting the table as he bent over in laughter.

Alexis was tearing up in laughter. "This... This is too great!"

Rekko sat up straight, taking a deep breath and calming down slightly. "<We could make a flying circus like old times; fly from town to town, set up, and perform...>"

Alexis leaned over the table to give him a quick kiss. "<If the Largoist thing doesn't work out and you're up for it, I'll join ya.>"

Rekko grinned as he returned the kiss. "<You're on. At the very least, we can gather your family and go freelance, should this whole Sealand thing collapse.>"

"<The more plans we have the better, though I'm pretty sure that Skorp can take over the world.>" Alexis said with a smile as the waitress warily approached.

Rekko chuckled. "<To be honest, I'm kind of afraid he'll succeed...>" He looked up to greet the waitress, and help move things to make room for Alexis' order. After a few minutes of plate arrangement and another couple of trips back to the kitchen for more plates, Rekko's burger was orphaned in a sea of beef and potato dishes.

On the other side of the table Alexis was grinning like a kid at the candy store. "<I don't know what I should eat first!>" She declaired as she excitedly examined her dishes, a wagging tail behind her complementing her mood.

Rekko chuckled, opening his burger up to remove the onions and add wasabi. "<Maybe try the beef one?>" He quipped, before picking his burger up and biting into it. Juice dribbled down his chin as he did so, accompanied by his eyes starting to water. "Mmph."

"<Hardy har har.>" Alexis said sarcastically befoer she noticed his eyes watering. "<Are you okay?>"

Rekko held up a hand as he chewed and swallowed, wiping his eyes with a napkin. "<That's some good wasabi.>"

Alexis nodded in understanding before grabing the nearest burger and eating it at a startling pace.

Rekko cocked an eyebrow at the sight, continuing to munch his way through his meal. That didn't look healthy at all. "<You sure you're alright?>"

Alexis perked an ear as she looked up to him from her meal, munching through a bite before swallowing. "<What do ya mean?>" She asked as she raised her head from the devastated burger with burger juice on her face.

Rekko looked at her, then at the burger, then back at her, then decided discretion was the best policy. "<You've got juice on your chin.>"

Alexis canted her head to the side, her ear mimicing the motion, before she felt the juices running down to her chin. She then grabbed a napkin and wiped her face off before continuing her onslaught.

Rekko chuckled, munching through his own meal at a more sedate pace before finishing off his beer. As he set the bottle down, he leaned back, patting his stomach lightly. "<That's some good beef, too.>"

By the time he finished his burger Alexis had already finished three burgers, a steak, a serving of fries, and the baked potato. "<I know!>" She declared excitedly as she tore into her second steak.

Rekko shrugged, calling the waitress over to order another beer to sip as he watched the carnage. "<At least you're not drinking coffee by the liter, yet. That's when I'll start to really worry.>"

Outside, meanwhile, the pilot was engaged in a battle with an ostrich intent on kicking the plane to shreds. Every time the bird tried to lunge past him, he smacked it with a baseball bat to send it fluttering back.

And carnage it was, as she tore through what was left of the steak as well as the remaining servings of fries and burgers. Once the main course was gone, she moved on to gleefully eat her ice cream, her tail wagging all the while.

Rekko ordered himself a milkshake for dessert as the waitress started to clear the plates away, enlisting one of the cooks to help carry them.

As they finished, the ostrich made one final leap at the pilot, claws flying. The pilot sidestepped neatly, before elbow-dropping the bird into the floor.

"<Are we done, or do you want the rest of the cow to go?>" Rekko quipped, as he handed his expenses card to the waitress to settle the bill.

"<Yup, I'm done!>" Alexis said with a smile as she patted her stomach. "<Where are we heading to next? Home?>"

Rekko chuckled. "<Maybe in a bit. They had a claw machine out front. How about some more plushies?>"

Alexis' ears perked. "<That'd be awesome!>" Alexis exclaimed excitedly as she stood from her chair with a wagging tail.

Rekko grinned, pocketing the receipt and his card carefully as they were returned. "<Plushies it is, then.>" He led the way to the machine, pulling a roll of coins from a pocket on the way. Once they reached the machine, he examined it carefully, walking around it as far as he could, nudging it a few times and feeling out the controls before putting the first coin in. The first few coins were used up testing out the claw on variously-sized plushies, before he leaned in, a serious look crossing his face.

Alexis watched from the side with interest as Rekko tested the machine and prepared to retrieve the various prizes. She smiled fondly at the his determined expression.

Rekko soon set about picking through the machine with the claw, going for the best prizes on the top layer of plushies, before using it to excavate to ones nearer the bottom; creating a pile of discards in one corner. He paused occasionally, analysing the remaining plushies and looking outside to the aircraft. He stopped after half an hour, having assembled a sizable pile of plushies next to the machine. "<I think that's it. Any others you'd like?>"

"<Nope! These are great.>" Said Alexis, who popped her head from the plushie pile that she had nestled herself into after the first ten minutes.

Rekko chuckled, starting to gather the plushies up in his arms. "<Your room's going to be full of these before long. Or, worse, they'll animate.>"

"<All shall fear the Plush Golem!>" Alexis declared as she removed herself from the pile of plushies to gather some into her arms.

"<Roaming the hallways, crushing all beneath it's plushy might!>" Rekko started to ferry the plushies out to the plane, packing them into available nooks and crannies before going back for another armful.

Alexis assisted in packing away the plushies wherever she could. "<I couldn't imagine it actually hurting anyone though. Plushies are soft.>"

"<It just sort of plushes over you, squishes you against the walls and floor, and just carries on, leaving you unharmed but strangely comfortable.>" Rekko shoved plushies aside to make room for himself in the plane.

"<Or maybe it assimilates you into the plush, leaving you content within it's plushy terror until it decides to release you.>" Alexis further shoved the plushies aside to claim a seat between them and Rekko.

Rekko wrapped his arm around Alexis' shoulder, tugging her close as the plushies settled. "<That's kind of disturbing. Like a soft fuzzy Katamari.>"

"<What's a Katamari?>" Alexis asked as she nuzzled herself into a comfortable position, the plushies toppling over her slightly as she did.

"<It's kind of a cross between a soccer ball and a Kaiju. Kind of hard to explain. I'll show you the game when we get back, though. You'll be singing the theme for days.>"

"<Sounds fun! I have a pretty good singing voice you know.>" Alexis proudly stated, taking a plushie that toppled over her shoulder to hold to her chest.

"<I'll have to hear it sometime, then.>" Rekko smiled, reaching up to pet her ears as the plane lumbered into motion, now somewhat weighed down by the plushies.

"<Maybe we should go on a karaoke date sometime.>" Alexis offered as she leaned her head to Rekko, as if to ask him not to stop petting her ears.

Rekko nodded. "<Maybe we should. Booze, singing, privacy, what could go wrong?>" He grinned, reaching up with his free hand to nudge a plushie back into place as the plane lurched skywards, finally leaving the ground. "<I think I may have gotten too many.>"

"<It'll be fine, I got one of those Bag of Holding things, and they are WAY bigger on the inside.>" Alexis said with a smile. "<And I'm sure a little karaoke would be fun! I'll even go mostly unarmed, just for you.>"

Rekko grinned, giving her a squeeze. "<I'm charmed. Make sure to take something, though; those bigots might be out again.>"

"<I've had at least a tranqulizer pistol on every date we've been on.>" Alexis grinned slyly as she gave his cheek a kiss.

Rekko rolled his eyes. "<You really ARE a Largoist. Hopefully you weren't planning on using it on me.>"

Alexis smiled innocently as she drew circles on his chest with her pointer finger.

---

Summary:
Rekko awakens. There's something in his bed.
Oh, it's Alexis. Hi, Alexis. Did you break in again?
No, she has a key.
Bad puns lead to morning sex.

Neck massage!
Bye bye, bachelor living. Hello, having to clear up after yourself. ;_;
Off to the shower.

Brushie brushie brushie.

Off to the plane.
Croikey, but she's a beaut!
The pilot, not so much.
But he shuts up so as not to take the quick way down.

A lecture on wingsuits.
With demonstrations provided by Action Man.
And they jump out of a perfectly good aeroplane.

Some panic, but she learns fast.
Tails make decent rudders.
This is actually pretty fun...
LET'S GO AGAIN

Alexis is full of energy. Rekko is not.
At least, until energy drinks.
Off to the promised dinner.

DINNER.
Alexis orders half a cow. That is an unhealthy amount of beef.
Rekko is somewhat more restrained.
Eating.
Chatting.
More eating.
Ostrich attack.
More eating. Srsly?
Dessert.
Hey, look, a claw machine.

Flight home, overburdened with plushies.
ph34r the plushie katamari.

Title: More Questions
Location: FGTL, Mimi's Apartment
Time: Between Shit Hit the Fan and Women
Character(s): Yuuta, Mimi
Author(s): Notsonoble, DarkTan

Yuuta stepped into the room he'd been pointed to, "Yo."

Mimi was struggling with putting on shoes single handed, "Damn you comba-<Oh, hey Yuuta,>" She finally got the shoe on with a grunt.

"<Hey. Got a call asking to come get you. They said something about threatening the staff.>" Yuuta pulled the door shut, then lowered his voice. "<They also said you were here because you were shot by another cop.>"

Mimi sighed, "<Yep, sniper team set up just outside the rubble. My guess is they wanted to shoot through me to Alexis,>" Mimi picked up a clear plastic bag with her mangled badge in it, "<Probably would have worked if I was in uniform. This wasn't where it was supposed to be.>"

"<I didn't make it to the scene until it was over. Hit traffic so thick and panicked I couldn't even get the bike through. Then dispatch quit responding. I ended up clearing traffic for an hour after it was over. No one at the scene by the time I arrived would tell me anything.>" Yuuta explained. "<I spent the last few days with the morgue looking for you there, I was on my way back when I got the call.>"

Mimi blinked. She was kinda touched by the effort he had made to find her. "<I kinda wondered if anyone heard me call it in. I mean I know dispatch did, they asked who the convoy was attacking.>" She paused a moment, "<How much did they tell you about the sniper team?>"

"<Not a thing. I can't even get anyone to confirm you received support. I let a CD truck through thinking they were trying to get to you. The radio had been dead for a while by then. I heard your call and responded. I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to dispatch. The truck was gone by the time I showed up.>" He looked at the floor. "<The place was a real mess.>"

Mimi nodded slowly without saying anything for a few seconds, "<Guess it doesn't matter about the team, they are all very dead now. There was a little bit of dissent in their ranks through,>" She remembered the one that had been shot, "<One one them had been shot before hand.>"

"<I'm not gonna like how they died, am I?>" Yuuta asked.

"<Well that one was killed by his so-called comrades,>" Mimi replied, "<The rest died of less than natural causes.>" Her expression looked a little dark at that.

Yuuta physically winced, then a firmer look formed on his face. "<You can tell me more on the drive to your car. Then you can take me back to my bike.">

Mimi quirked an eye brow, "<Are you sure you want to hear more?>" She stood up and grabbed a bag with her stuff in it.

"<Want to, probably not,>" Yuuta shrugged, "<but it can't be any worse than finding out Skorpion can get rid of Sonoda but has no need to.>"

"<Well there's actually rules against that sort of thing,>" Mimi replied, "<Ask DT sometime, he's seen the Rule Book before. But if you really want to know what happened, I'll tell you when we get to my place.>"

Oh the shit goes deeper, does it? Yuuta thought silently as they walked out of the room.

----

"<And then it was pretty much just all over the place. Looked like someone had stuck a bushel of frogs in a blender and hit 'frappe,'>" Mimi finished explaining what had happened to the sniper team as she opened the door to her apartment, "<Didn't know I could reach that far.>"

"<Doesn't that bother you?>" Yuuta asked.

"<I think it should...>" Mimi was quiet for a moment, "<But would you feel bad taking out the people that shot you in the back?>"

"<It's not what you did that I'm questioning, it's how. This is the third time you said something like "I didn't know I could do that?". It's like going into the field and finding out your side arm was replaced with an auto-rifle, and then the next situation it was replaced with a rocket launcher. Aren't you worried about what it'll do next?>"

Mimi had a far away look in her eye imagining such a situation. The officer shook her head to clear the vision of an AA-12 for a side arm from her mind, "<Oh that part, I suppose I find it a bit concerning that I don't know what I can do or how powerful I can become. But then again, Nightwalker told me this could happen. So it's both a surprise and expected. I have been practicing though~>" Mimi gave a mischievous grin as Yuuta felt finger brush across the back of his neck.

Yuuta lept up and turned to whatever touched him. Then turned back to Mimi. "<Not funny!>"

Mimi, however, was giggling uncontrollably, thus proving his exclamation to be invalid. "<the look one your face!>" she again succumbed to a giggle fit.

"<Oh, and I'm sure your family and friends sneak up behind you with weapons of mass destruction all the time.>"

"<You have met most of the people I call friend recently,>" Mimi pointed out, "<Remember the coat rack?>"

Yuuta sat back down "<Yes, I remember the coat rack.>" he paused for a moment, shuddered, then looked at back at her. "<So what now?>"

"<Well, I'm gonna have to talk to the Chief. He's gonna want to know what the hell happened out there,>" Mimi reached in to her pocket and pulled out the badge, "<and I need to meet with someone. About a bet.>"

"<Alright. Well, I'm gonna head out. You know how to get a hold of me if you need something.>" He stood up and made his way to the door. He stopped at it, "<You want me to dig up who that team was?>" he asked.

Mimi thought on that for a moment, "<Don't be too obvious. Don't need you being a target,>" she cautioned. "<I'll be telling Chief the whole story. With all the grisly details.>"

Yuuta nodded, "<I'll try not to be in earshot...>" then he stepped through the door and closed it behind him.


---------------------------------------

Summary
-FGTL Calls Yuuta to get Mimi
-Yuuta talks about where he was during the convoy
-Mimi explains what happened while they're at her apartment
-Yuuta asks if she's bothered by her increasing power
-Mimi teases Yuuta
-Yuuta isn't amused
-Yuuta offers to help figure out what really went down

Trouble at t'bar.
Location: the bar. ( viewtopic.php?f=9&t=32 for reference)
Characters: Skorpion, Saeko
Authors: Skorpy, Sareth
Timestamp: After 'Hello, Mimi'.

Skorpion opened the door, ducking under the frame to step into the gloomy interior of the bar. A faint green tinge fell over everything as his eyes compensated for the lighting, picking out details such as the marks on the bar, the scuffed floor, and the woman behind the bar. He grinned as he locked eyes with her, chuckling lightly to himself. "Good morning, Saeko. Been a while, hasn't it?"

"Several years, in fact." Saeko grabbed a frosty mug and filled it with one of the better lagers the place had on offer. She set it on the bar.

Skorpion walked over to the bar, looking around at the decor and the array of bottles behind the bar. He paused halfway to scoop up a red-black feather from a table, examining it carefully before setting it back down. "You've spent a lot of time in hiding. Unusual, for one as exhibitionist as yourself." He took the mug as he reached the bar, eyeing the liquid inside warily.

Frowning, Saeko picked up the mug and took a pull from the beer before setting it back down in front of Skorpion. "Things change. You haven't though."

Skorpion grinned at her, taking the mug and downing it in one long pull. "Ah, but I have. Have you been keeping abreast of world politics, lately? I'm royalty now." He set the mug back down, leaning on the bar and leering at Saeko. "Prince Skorpion of Sealand. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Especially as it's the world's newest nuclear power."

"It's an act. You know it. I know it. Everyone knows it. It's only that toy you keep in your office that keeps everyone pretending." Saeko shrugged. "From what I hear, that may not last long. I hear that little incident has some people thinking it's no longer worth the worry."

Skorpion cocked an eyebrow. "You mean the riot you instigated? Ash would be proud of that, by the way. Or was it my convoy being attacked by armed fanatics and rocket artillery, and the US military stepping in to massacre them, turning a measured response into a bloodbath?"

"Reality isn't real. We both know that perception is the thing. And right now, you are percieved as being... a problem." Saeko smiled. "I admit, though, things worked out even better than I had hoped. The U.S. involvement was unexpected."

Skorpion tutted, sitting on a stool, which creaked alarmingly at the weight. "Ah, so you admit it. I don't even have to show you the feathers found in the rubble. I'm disappointed, Saeko, I really am. I thought you Mihoists were more sneaky than that."

Saeko waved that away. "Pff. You know it, certainly. But so what? No one else will ever believe it. They won't want to. Your own reputation sees to that."

"Believe what, that some bar-wench set the whole thing up?" Skorpion snorted. "I have bigger fish to fry than framing you for what was probably going to happen anyway with all those weapons kicking around. Someone supplied those extremists, and they have to be stopped. What bothers me, though, is why YOU, of all people, is on the side of the anti-metahuman bigots? You're as metahuman as they come, and a factionist to boot. You're exactly what they're standing against."

Saeko laughed. "I'm starting to think I gave you too much credit. I thought you had some degree of intelligence. Do you really think I'm on the side of the humans? All I did was make certain people knew that there were sides, and that sitting on the fence will only get both sides to target them."

"Who, exactly? The people in the apartment buildings that were demolished? The people aiming the rockets? The people armed with spears, charging mechs? The people watching this on the news and voting for pro-human interests because they don't want another incident?" Skorpion leaned over again, the stool making cracking noises under him. "Also, fences have a way of being torn down, in this city. Often by stray vehicles, or kaiju, or the TPCD themselves."

"And you accused me of being pro-humanist. You sound like them. Poor pathetic creatures, creating devices that cause pain to anything not like their ideal human, stripping them of the very thing that makes them who they are. It's perfectly okay for all those others to suffer as long as we feel safe." Saeko spat on the floor of the bar. "I misjudged you. The Diet would be fascinated to learn that their fear of your nuke is completely unjustified. You haven't got the guts to use it."

"The entire point of nuclear weapons is that you DON'T use them. Did you learn nothing from history?" Skorpion waved his arm towards the door. "Two of them finished a war through fear they'd be used again. If not for nukes, we'd have had who knows how many major wars since then. Europe would be churned to mud every couple of decades, The South would secede and resume the civil war where they left off, and there'd be nobody left to fight." He turned back to Saeko, before being dumped on the floor as the stool finally gave way. "You're as bad as the extremist bigots." He continued as he picked himself up from the floor to lean on the bar again. "They don't deserve to be wiped out. Their petty conflicts and vanities are what created our kind, remember? We need them to work and fight and create and destroy and live out their short lives in blissful ignorance of what's actually going on in the world." He sighed, stepping away from the bar. "I don't want to be stuck on this pathetic rock forever, and I doubt you do either. But start with the genocide, and you'll be looking to start a bar on the other side of the portal I nuked five years ago. Hopefully with better furniture." He kicked at the splintered remains of the stool.

"What I learned about history is that humanity always tries to destroy the minority, and often succeeds. You and I are clearly a minority. Yes. I am an extremist. Just like the Jews of Warsaw and the Indians at Wounded Knee. If they aren't going to respect me and mine because it is the right thing to do, then they are going to respect me because I am strong enough to make it too costly not to." Saeko gave a nasty smile. "And since I don't have a nuke, and a place where metas can live under the so called protection of deterence, I guess I'll just have to make the streets run with their blood until they are ready to give us what we deserve."

"Since when did Mihoism become genocide, short-sighed plotting, and Instigating things in the background?" Skorpion frowned. "Probably some time after it exploded. But anyway, how is motherhood treating you?"

"It's giving me something to fight for. You should try it sometime."

"Oh, I find that leading a faction, a rapidly-growing corporation, and a cultural revolution does that just fine." Skorpion grinned. "Little Yuki would be five now, wouldn't she? Upstairs reading while her mother tends bar downstairs, staying away from the less savoury customers."

"She's at school."

Skorpion nodded. "This would, of course, be where I quote you information on where she's going to school, the route she takes home, which class she's in, who she sits next to, what she had for lunch last tuesday, and how well she's doing in classes. But I'm not a gangster, and I prefer to draw a line somewhere. Perceptions, Saeko. Even if I AM an amoral bastard who kills people for money, people have to think I'm not a complete monster. And I'm not; killing little Yuki would make Arella sad. Which reminds me, however." He pointed at Saeko. "Make Arella cry again, and I will tear your wings out."

"Arella's a big girl. She wants my wings, she can come and get them herself. Why don't you run back along to your comfy little zaibatsu and continue to pretend that you're working within the system while hypocritically sitting on a nuke you pretend to hold Tokyo hostage with. I need to plan my next monsterous move so that you can grow your profits by faking being the reasonable one."

Skorpion rolled his eyes. "Anyone's reasonable compared to you. Some super-soldier you are. You're nothing more than a terrorist these days. At least back in the day you were an opponent worthy of my time, even if most of what you did was moon my troops." He turned and walked out, pausing halfway out the door. "And DO buy better furniture in future. Or steal it, if that's your whim. It'd be a shame if someone got shut down for health and safety concerns."

Saeko snorted. "You think they ever come here? It's not worth their time."

"You'd be surprised what happens when they get wind of license violation, or someone threatens to sue." Skorpion fired back, before stepping out. This was worrying, but at least Saeko was a known opponent. Dangerous, yes, but easier to defend against than a nebulously unknown organisation. Or a diet, whatever that was. Was he going to have to defend against a swarm of healthfood fanatics, or something?

---

Summary:
Skorpion walks into the bar.
And proceeds to bother Saeko.
She pours him a beer.
It's not spiked. Look, see? It's fine.
Glug.
That poor stool.
Names are dropped, verbal sparring begins.
Saeko reveals her motives.
Skorpion reveals some of his.
And then does the creepy thing again.
The stool finally gives.
Skorpion continues to monologue from the floor.
Threats.
Make Arella cry again, and lose the wings.

"Oh, a diet, not a diet." Skorpion slapped his forehead in frustration. "Damn french loanwords."

Title: A Speech
Location: Sugimoto Compound, Expansion
Time: A few days After Shit Hit the Fan
Character(s): Hitoshi Sugimoto, Several NPC TPCD and MPD officers
Author(s): Notsonoble

Several people sat in the partitioned section of the warehouse. Construction was still going on, but the work teams were leaving. The last few arrivals had cell phones and radios were collected, then were lead to a room with chairs, a stage, and soft (yet still temporary) lighting. The seating area was wrapped with curtains. Some of the more curious looked behind those curtains on the way in, and saw tables with laptops and desk lamps. Some of the tables had people working, some were empty. The curtain area warded off the makeshift auditorium in a corner near the only other door out of the room.

The men and women sitting in chairs were all chatting among themselves when the door opened. Things quieted down quickly as some among them noticed the face of Hitoshi Sugimoto. By the time he walked up to the podium, you could hear a pen drop. In fact, you did, as someone absentmindedly fiddling with one lost grip on it.

"<Vigilant officers of tokyo's peacekeeping and response forces, you were invited here today for several reasons. First, you are dedicated to the safety of the humans of tokyo. Second, you understand the threat these other creatures and their traitorous minions really are. Third, because quietly, and carefully, my people have been observing you since you started attending our public face's rallies. There are others who've attended more of them, or spoken louder, but speaking and acting are two different things. You have shown you will act. You have shown you know the truth of these invaders, and that you truly wish to stop them.>"

He paused for a moment and scanned the room. Some people were shifting nervously in their seats, some had the smiles of understanding and hatred on their faces. Some still had the deceptively blank faces of listeners. He looked down to the tablet on the podium, and tapped icons for the seats of the nervous and the listeners. This would mark them to Orochi Kagawa's team behind curtains.

He continued "<You are here so that you can see that you are not alone. That there are others willing to take a stand, to fight. Tonight I ask you to join us. Join us in the fight against this vile invasion. Together we can rid tokyo of the perversions of man and beast, the experiments of the west set loose among us, the dabblers in unnatural and corrupting magics the sane and good threw away long ago. They use names that sound innocent, but they are not. You know that, you know what they really are. So do we, and like you we want to save tokyo from them.>"

He paused again, and a grumble rose up from the crowd. He watched who joined that with their own growls, affirmations, and silent nods. He tapped seats on the pad again, unmarking some and marking others. He saw a look of panic on one face, and held his finger on that seat to mark it with priority. He also saw one of the listeners switch to note taking, and marked that mans seat as well. These speeches had always been a good way to find potential moles.

"<As you saw on your way in, we're building modern, concealed fortifications for the conflict we all know is coming. Thanks to donations public and private, we'll have a place from which to base our defense of the city. A purely defensive strategy, however, will only destroy us. This is why we need to grow in strength, so when the conflict comes, we will be ready to go on the offensive. We will not simply draw a line, we will push them back, drag them out of the shadows, and destroy them and their grip on our deluded brothers. Tonight you don't join some criminal gang, or terrorist group with delusions of grandeur. Tonight you join an army! We are an army against the darkness, against the corrupt, against the terrible, an army of protectors, an army of saviors. We are the Rescuers of Tokyo!>" He ended the speech with a fist held high, and a banner unfurled behind him. The banner looked like a handmade but coming from the metropolitan symbol were rays of light shinning down on silhouettes of armed humans.

Men and women stood up from their seats and cheered, growled, and generally made a ruckus. A few tried to sneak out during the ruckus, but all had their seats marked to some degree by the tablet. Each of them was collected and ushered out of the room. After a moment Hitoshi tapped the mike and made motions for people to return to their seats.

"<Alas, a few of the people invited tonight have shown that we were mistaken about them, or they about themselves. It is a risk we took tonight with all of you, but not without contingencies. As the invitation said, tonight would change your life forever. Those weak or black of heart among your comrades tonight will see their last few moments. You shall witness them as well. Watch carefully, this is the terror all humans face if we fail. Remember these people, for we fight for a day when ones like them need not waiver against the darkness. We fight for a day when darkness does not exist to blacken their hearts. Please turn and watch in silence.>"

The people turned to the back curtain as it raised to reveal a monitor, the monitor displayed a room with a pale starved looking man. Two of the visitors who tried to leave were muscled into the room with him and the door quickly closed. The man leaped at one of them, and bit at his neck. The now obvious vampire quickly gorged on his blood, despite his and the other man's struggle to pull him off. He gained strength enough to turn and fight the other for a moment, and ripped his neck open with rapidly growing claws. When the other collapsed the vampire bent down and started to lap up blood from the floor like a dog. Then there was a bright flash as UV lights were turned on in the room, and the vampire burst into flame, and burnt away. The scene had no sound, and no one spoke during it. The screen went black after a mere minute and forty seconds.

When it was over, Hitoshi watched the people still standing for a moment. Some puked, some looked at him in anger, and some simply stood there. He spoke again, "<That, is what we all must fight against. Not all of the monsters in this city take that form, but all are that deadly, evil, and without compassion. Make no mistake, this is a war for survival. You are here because you have the strength of mind and body to survive.>"

"<Now, brothers in arms, I have one final thing to do with you before you break up into groups for tonight and receive your first orders. Please repeat after me.>"

***

"<That makes another hundred members, thirty are officers in either TPCD or MPD. Plenty of manpower for the opening fights.>" Hitoshi said and took a swig of his beer.

"<Opening fights, shouldn't we be concerned about the entire war you think is coming?>" Hitomi Chiba from her the kitchen. She was preparing an evening meal for the trio in her new apartment in the abandoned hotel the group had purchased with funds found in the warehouse Saibankan had pointed them to. They'd also purchased the warehouse, and a couple empty plots around it. The construction going on in the warehouse and old building was being done by new members of the militia, the hotel-turned-barracks had taken only a few days to renovate. It was ready to move in on the same day as that Largoist convoy disaster on the other side of Tokyo. The trio had watched the evening news that night in the same room they lounged in now.

"<Of course, but if we wait until we have the numbers to win the war, we'll lose. We'll be the group with opening victories, and others will rally around us. That's the plan anyway.>" Orochi Kagawa replied.

"<No plan survives contact with reality.>" Hitomi countered.

"<True, but we can't use that fear to paralyze ourselves.>" Hitoshi turned back to Orochi, "<Speaking of plans, how did your operation go this morning?>"

Orochi took a long drink of his beer and sat it down on the table, then responded. "<Perfectly, strangely enough. The replacement FG for the convoy disaster worked fine, so when the spare wasn't needed this time, we headed back early. I used that time to replace the dead parts from our first FG with ones from the spare, and turned that back in. Now we have five working units for the chamber. I still haven't even seen the portable units yet. I'm hoping at least one of our new recruits can change that though.>"

"<And the coolant system?>"

"<That was even easier, since none of the materials or hardware used is restricted material, grabbing it was a snap. Hell, most of it we just bought off the shelf at a hardware store.>" He picked up his beer again.

"<Excellent, and it'll allow us to overload a unit without damaging it?>"

"<If we cycle them, but that was expected.>" Hitomi interjected as she brought cut veggies and meat to the table and turned on the electric grill before taking her own seat.

"<Then once the construction is done, we'll be set for phase two. What about tonights rejections?>"

"<Covered, some will never be found, the vampire victims will be discovered in the streets, and a few phone calls will lead certain officers to others homes, investigators will mistake normal dog bites and scratches for meta attacks.>"

"<I hate that we misjudged so many.>" Hitoshi said.

"<It's not as bad as it looks, I intentionally sent invites to a pair of suspicious moles. They were among the people we removed tonight.>" Hitomi replied.

Hitoshi feigned a look of shock, "<How devious of you. Are you worried about anyone who didn't show?>"

"<Nope.>" she replied while scooping rice into a bowl

"<Our Hitomi, who else can talk about taking the lives of other humans over dinner without batting an eye.>" Orochi laughed.

"<I expect a few of the enemy can.>" Hitoshi replied.

"<True, but I doubt they're as good of cooks.>" Hitomi said as she placed the first slice of meat on the grill.

---------------------------------
Summary
-Sugimoto recruits several MPD and TPCD officers into his secret army
-Some don't make the cut, and are vampire food
-Dinner afterwards
-Sugimoto's people are at least 200 strong, and have a few buildings wrapped up for a nice little compound
-He also has stolen ANFGs for some kind of torture room
-More of the recruits will be found dead, meta's will be blamed
-Hitoshi's a scary lady

WFAA News 8 News room
Victory Park, Dallas, Texas
1200, US Central Time...

The light on the camera came on, the 'ON AIR' sign hanging from the ceiling lighting up. The man and woman at the desk composed themselves and waited for prompting from the studio manager.

"Good afternoon, I'm John McCaa." the anchorman said, setting the papers in his hands on the desk.

"And I'm Rebecca Lopez. We have breaking news from Tokyo, updates on the massacre that occurred just a week ago." the woman said, a light illuminating on a camera, Rebecca turning toward it. "An Army officer, speaking under condition of anonymity, has stated that the unit involved is being deactivated and sent back to the United States pending a Pentagon inquiry."

"The officer that spoke to ABC News has been quoted as stating that the unit involved was part of 1st Armored Cavalry out of Fort Hood." McCaa said, a camera focusing on him. "He did not say which unit was involved, however."

"The Army is maintaining silence on the matter, despite calls from the Japanese government for the soldiers involved to stand trial." he added, shuffling his papers. "In other news, the CIA has come forward with information debunking the claim that an al Queda affiliate attacked Naval Station Norfolk...."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Title: The Big Shuffle.
Location: USS George Washington (CVN-73) Carrier Battle Group, Black Site Fukushima, Somewhere in Tokyo
Time: One and a half weeks after Shit Hits the Fan and three days after Let Slip the Dogs of War.
(Recommended Listening: Cadence Call, Kota Hoshino, Armored Core V)

"General, United States Army, arriving." Rosoft heard announced on the carrier's 1MC General Announcing System as he disembarked a C-2A Greyhound. He looked about the flight deck, eying the fighter jets and helicopters up on deck.

"Guess I'm General Garrison now..." he mused, comparing himself to General William Garrison, the officer in charge of Task Force Ranger when Rosoft was a young Lieutenant in 1993.

"Brigadier Rosoft, welcome to the G-Dub." Captain Waters said as he approached the General. Both men exchanged a salute followed by a handshake.

"I'm gonna be honest, Captain, I ain't never been on anythin' bigger 'n a fishin' boat." Rosoft admitted. "On that note I don't s'pose the fishin's good here, is it?"

"Only if you're on a trawler, sir." Waters replied, Aviation Boatswain's Mates moving in to secure the aircraft then begin refueling it. "Let's get you to your quarters then bring you to the Old Man."

The 'Old Man' was Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, the man in charge of Carrier Strike Group Five. The strike group was a permanently forward deployed group, assigned to US Seventh Fleet. He had been in command of the group since January of 2013.

"Hope he's willin' to put up with a landlubber like myself." Rosoft said as Captain Waters opened a Quick Acting Watertight Door for the general and his staff.

"He's very understanding. Just be glad you're on a carrier and not one of the small boys, the Destroyers. Those get tossed about by the seas the most."

"Duly noted, Captain. Duly noted."

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Exclusion Zone around Fukushima Daiichi
Okama, Fukushima...
(Recommended Listening: S.A.D., MoozE, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl)

Three CH-47D Chinooks and eight CH-47M Chinook Chiefs flew in from the sea, escorted by two AH-64D Apache Longbows. The gunships had replaced their rocket pods with fuel drop pods to ensure they would make the trip out.

A trip the pilots were explicitly ordered to never speak of upon their return to Yokota Air Base.

"Hey, First Sergeant, you got something on your mind?" Hayden called to First Sergeant Vlagimir Khukov from where he was in one of the Chinooks. The giant looked away from the window where he sat and at the sniper.

"I have a lot on my mind." he replied, looking back out.

"Wanna talk about it?" Khukov took a breath then looked back at Hayden.

"You know where we're going: Fukushima-daiichi." he started, a severe look on his face. "As we draw near to the plant and further into the exclusion zone I cannot help but feel an intense sense of dread and worry. I wonder if this feeling is the same as those who live in the shadow of Chernobyl."

"Shit, that's deep, Khukov. A very valid point too." Hayden said in reply. "I know you're from there. Ukraine I mean. But did you know anyone who lived there?" The giant nodded, arms across his chest.

"I had an uncle who was part of the fire brigades. He was one of the first responders." he stated, very matter of fact like. "He lived and he died in Chernobyl, the victim of a foe he could not see."

"Wow. I had no idea. Your aunt bit it too?" he asked. Khukov shook his head.

"Nyet. She was visiting us in Mariupol when it happened. My cousin, however, he still lives there."

"You're shittin' me, right? I know older residents moved back in, but your cousin?"

"He is Border Guards Service, stationed at the NPP to keep trespassers out and monitor the ecology." Khukov replied, looking back out the window. "Had we not been forced into this communications blackout I would have asked him how he felt to live in the shallow grave of fear that is the Zone."

"When all is said an' done you best pay him a visit." Hayden suggested. "Maybe share your experiences." Khukov shrugged, the helo crew chief coming back into the troop compartment.

"Listen up, we're five minutes out, say again, five minutes!" he shouted, holding a hand up with all fingers extended. Sleeping soldiers were roused awake, helmets strapped on, and gear checked and rechecked. Once they were two minutes out the rear door was opened, the aircraft descending. Three people stood on the tarmac, a man in black fatigues sporting a beard and a man and woman wearing black suits and sunglasses. The man in fatigues keyed a radio fitted to his tactical vest.

"New arrivals on the deck." he said as the Chinooks touched down. The Chinook Chiefs touched their underslung Lancers to the deck before disengaging transport.

"Look alive, guys." the female said as Major Wylder walked up.

"We're short one man." he said, exchanging a salute followed by handshakes. The helos began their egress once all passengers had been disgorged.

"You sure he can make it back under his own power? We're at least a hundred and fifty miles from Tokyo." The male suit asked.

"Captain Ramirez-Kisaragi is creative. After all, Patton once said 'don't show a man how to do something. Tell him what needs to be done and let him surprise you with his creativity.'" he said. A horrific realization struck the Major at that moment. "In hindsight this is Captain Ramirez-Kisaragi I'm talking about, a 'creative' individual who I just realize that I unleashed on an unaware Tokyo."

"He can't be that bad, Major. Any who, I'm Agent Caruthers, this is Agent Cassandra Miner, and this is Agent Nicholas MacIntyre." Caruthers said. "Welcome to Black Site Fukushima or, as we've come to call it, Area 11."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Minamiyono Station
Saikyo Line
Saitama, Japan...
(Recommended Listening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnVtOFSYQRs )

Captain Eikichi Ramirez-Kisaragi got off the train, standing slightly over the people around him. He stood out among them, clad in khaki BDU trousers, garrison boots, a grey hoodie with Blackwater's old bear claw logo, and weight lifting gloves. He had a rucksack on his back.

Okay, navigation is... on the fritz... Right... Gotta do this manually. he thought as he walked off the platform and joined the rush of people, stopping at a crosswalk to get his bearings.

God, I wish I could read squiggly. Maybe I should have installed those language packs. he thought, looking at the street signs. Land Nav covered getting one's bearings however it never covered what to do when in a city where English is not the norm.

Except Mexico. He could read, write, and speak Spanish. He could only speak Japanese but couldn't read or write in Kanji or Katakana. He kept walking among the crowd, pausing to look at the surrounding architecture. So many people packed like sardines in a country where land was at a premium.

Not like Texas. Absolutely, positively not like Texas.

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Summary
-General Rosoft Arrives aboard the G-Dub.
-The fishing's no good here.
-15th AI en route to Black Site Fukushima.
-Interesting musings from First Sergeant Khukov.
-Welcome to the Shadow of Fukushima.
-Eikichi is alone in the big city.
-Pray he doesn't get a car.

Starting to Worry...
Location: FGTL HQ.
TImestamp: 'After The Amazing Flying Wolfgirl'
Authors: Skorpy, Oblivion
Characters: Rekko, Tiff, Alexis, Skorpion.

Leaving Alexis curled up among her new plushies, Rekko snuck away to make a phone call. "Hello, is that Tiffaney?"

"I am sorry sir, but Dr. Jawoh is performing a surgery right now. Would you like to make an appointment?" Asked Susan, who was Tiffany's assistant.

Rekko sighed. "No, just tell her to call back when she's done. It's about Alexis." With that, he set his phone to silent, before heading back in to curl up with Alexis again.

"Oh, dear. Did she hurt herself again?" Susan asked before telling Rekko. "Dr. Jawoh's been very busy since the ambush. Perhaps it would be better to tell her in person; especially if it involves her daughter." It was the lack of a further response that confused her. "Sir?" The dial tone that came soon afterwards had her look to the phone with mild irritation. "Why is it so hard for people to say goodbye?!"

---

An hour later Tiffaney had finished the surgery and found herself with a minute to call Rekko. After dialing the number she held the phone to her ear to await an answer.

Rekko grumbled as his phone buzzed, slipping out of bed before answering it. "Moshi-moshi, Rekko desu. Is this Tiffaney?"

"What happened to Lexi? Did she get herself hurt again?" Tiffaney asked in an unmistakably worried tone. "Can she move? Should I get my surgeon kit?"

Rekko sighed. "She's not hurt or anything urgent, I'm just concerned. She's been eating a lot lately."

"Is that all?" Tiffaney said as she moved her hand to her chest and sighed in relief. "Next time it's something like that don't just tell my assistant 'it's about Lexi', then hang up without so much as a goodbye!" She then checked her schedule to see how much time she had until her next surgery. "Lexi's always had an appetite, so she's probably fine."

Rekko sighed again; assistants were meant to take messages, were they not?. "<You were busy. Otherwise, three burgers, two steaks, three orders of fries, a baked potato, AND dessert? That's not normal, and I think it's those nanites she's been filling herself with. Have you SEEN the warnings on those?>"

Tiffaney stood from her chair and began walking to Alexis' room. "I am NOT letting my daughter become a Skorpion clone!" She yelled as she walked through the waiting room.

"Dr. Jawoh?" Susan asked with a confused expression.

"Hold my calls, push my surgeries to Amanda, and tell her I'll make it up to her." Tiffaney ordered as she left the room.

"Yes ma'am?" Susan said, rather unsurely.

"Rekko, where is she now?" Tiffaney asked as she broke into a sprint towards the elevator.

"In her room... Wait, you're coming down here?" Rekko replied, alarmed, as he scrambled to find some pants.

"You have two minutes to make yourselves presentable!" Tiffaney said, (very heavily utilizing the mom voice) as she reached the elevator. "Goodbye!" And with that she hung up and forced the elevator doors open before jumping down.

"Argh, those aren't mine... No time!"

---

Rekko answered the door, looking rather sheepish while wearing a pair of Alexis' pants. "She's in here. Quiet, she's still asleep."

Tiffaney examined Rekko carefully before walking past him, allowing the fact that those pants obviously weren't his, to pass. "Good, that makes getting a blood sample easier." She said as she pulled a sterilized needle from a packet in her shoulderbag, and used it to draw blood from Alexis' arm.

Rekko sighed. '<She doesn't appear to be growing taller or anything, just eating a lot more, and has a lot more energy.>'

Tiffaney nodded as she examined the blood for any differences that could be noticed by the naked eye. She then slipped the needle into a small plastic box and placed it in her shoulderbag before picking Alexis (whose sleep remained completely undisturbed) up and carrying her over her shoulder. "Call Skorpion and tell him to meet us in my office." She requested as she handed Rekko her phone.

Rekko nodded, dialing the phone. "No, this is... Oh. Okay." He hung up, looking to Tiffaney with a confused look on his face. "He's apparently on the way already. Maybe he saw you running or something."

"Well at least the bugs in our phones work when we need them to as much as when we'd rather they not work at all." Tiffaney said with a sigh as she led him to a different elevator.

Rekko shrugged. "Better than the CIA spying on us. I think this is the one place they can't get to..." He paused, looking around. "No wood. Damn this concrete prison."

"No CIA here. They'd stick out too much." Tiffaney stated as they passed an elevator door that looked as though it had been torn open by an enraged monster.

Rekko nodded. "Like a sore appendix." He eyed the door, paling a little.

"Thank you for calling me, even if this turns out to be nothing." Tiffaney said with a smile as she turned to Rekko. "Oh my, you've gone a bit pale. Perhaps I should give you a checkup after we get things straightened out with Lexi."

Rekko shook his head. 'Ah, no, I'm fine, thanks... It's just a little cold down here.' He shivered slightly; it was actually fairly cold, especially since he hadn't had time to find a shirt that fitted.

"Maybe you have a fever?" Tiffaney considered as Alexis mumbled something related to a giant plushie in her sleep.

"Probably just stress if anything. But really; I'm fine." Rekko said; frustrated. He'd never got the hang of the whole mother-in-law thing, and this wasn't a good time to start. He sighed with relief as the elevator pinged, stepping inside and holding the door open with his foot. He was immensely thankful of his years of on-call reflexes; he'd been able to find and tie his boots in seconds flat. He made a note to try to extend that to his pants, shifting slightly uncomfortably.

"I'm still your doctor, so if you start to feel ill, let me know. I don't think Lexi would like it if you got sick." Tiffaney entered the elevator and pushed the button relating to the floor of her office.

Rekko sighed. "I'd know if I was getting sick; I AM a medic, you know. And I'm not like the rest of these idiots who think you can walk off a broken leg, or who'd only stop fighting after being decapitated because they can't hold a rifle and their head at the same time." He retrieved his foot from the door and leaned back against the rail as the elevator jerked into motion.

"I'm sorry. I guess it's just in my nature to worry." Tiffaney said apologetically while Alexis snored lightly over her shoulder.

Rekko chuckled. "With Trouble here, I can't really blame you." He reached over, petting Alexis' ears softly as she dozed, gaining sleepy murmurs from the wolfgirl.

Tiffaney giggled. "She's been a handful since she was little. Always sneaking into my room to spend the night with mommy." She smiled at the memories. "But look at me, reminiscing like an old woman."

Rekko nodded. "<So that's where she got that from...> That's not a bad thing... I mean, knowing more about her past could help us with the now?"

"In this particular scenario, not quite, but in general, knowledge is power." Tiffaney turned her smile to Rekko. "We've got a bit of time. Anything you want to ask?"

Rekko looked up thoughtfully. "Yes, actually. Other than shooting things and shooting things-related activities, what does she like to do?"

"She likes to sing every now and again, though I'm not sure about dancing. She's good at swimming, but hates the way her fur smells after." Tiffaney took a moment to ponder. "If I recall correctly, she has a thing for rock music."

Rekko nodded, pulling out his phone to take notes. "Swimming, I'm sure she'll like dancing if I take her... Any specific kind of rock music, or just in general? And singing what?" Please not show tunes or Disney movies. Anything but that.

"Rock music in general from what I gathered, and as far as singing, she doesn't have much preference." Tiffaney shrugged.

Rekko nodded. "Cultural exposure is needed, then." He scratched at his chin thoughtfully. "<Maybe check out some clubs, see about a quieter night at the CATastrophe, see if we can avoid that creepy little bunny as well...>" An idea struck him suddenly. "Shampoo. That'd stop the wet dog smell, wouldn't it?"

"I don't see why it wouldn't." Tiffaney said thoughtfully. "Are you planning on taking her to a pool or something?"

Rekko nodded. "Yes, actually. There's a nice water park near the airfield, and it's not too crowded because it's out of the way for the majority. I'm sure there's something I could arrange to thin numbers there out further, though; I doubt she's used to how crowded anywhere watery gets when the sun is out."

"Oh? Be sure to get me some pictures of the two of you having fun out there okay?" Tiffaney requested in a cheerful tone.

Rekko nodded, saluting. "Yes ma'am!"

The elevator shook slightly as it slowed to a halt; conversation having reached a stopping point, it was free to do it's thing again.

It was a mildly uninteresting walk before the three of them reached Tiffaney's office. Opening the door with her free hand Tiffaney entered the room. "Hello, Skorpion~." She said in her usual cheerful tone.

Skorpion waved from his seat at the desk, standing up to greet them. "Hi. First of all, I apologize. To both of you, but mainly to you, Tiff. I had no idea what effect they'd have on metahumans, let alone any with her abilities. If she synced with the nanite injectors or the nanites like I think she may have, we may have a problem on our hands."

"I am aware, and for that reason. I need your blood." Tiffaney said plainly. "After that I plan to see what I can pull up on x-rays and ultrasound."

Skorpion nodded, handing her what looked suspiciously like a beer cooler. "The latest samples are in there, ready to be processed into the next batch of nanites."

"Perfect. Here, hold her." Tiffaney said as he motioned for Rekko to take Alexis.

Rekko took Alexis, staggering slightly as he shifted her onto his shoulder. Damn super-soldiers and their super-strength.

Tiffaney opened the cooler and removed a blood bag. "This should be enough." She then closed the cooler. "Okay. I'm gonna compare this to Lexi's to see if the nanites have modified her genetic code. I'll be back in about six minutes." And with that she left the room.

Rekko watched her go, raising an eyebrow. "<That's all she wanted you for? She could have grabbed that from stock.>"

Skorpion shrugged. "<She'll probably need consultancy, and a more up-to-date version of the notes. And if what I think happened has happened, a translator.>"

Rekko shifted as Alexis started to snore softly, nudging her to a quieter position. "<A translator. For her genetic code.>"

Skorpion nodded. "<Genes can't simply be altered to add bits. They don't work that way; if they did, we'd have all sorts of strange pets and fashion crazes. However, the nanites have a secondary function aside from simply healing. They're produced in an organ, like a second spleen. They code the location and makeup of that organ right onto the genetic code, along with the other implants.>"

Rekko gave him a skeptical look. "<You just SAID genes don't work that way.>"

Skorpion nodded. "<They don't. The nanites code onto the DNA without altering it, in ways they can read. That allows for the implants to be regrown alongiside the flesh in cases of extreme trauma.>"

"<That's insane. This was all done back in the early 80s? They didn't have that sort of technology back then.>" Rekko protested.

"<Bleeding edge of technology, remember. This was technology produced without oversight, risk assessments, proper testing, or investors to mollify. Besides..." Skorpion grinned. "Back in the day, they invented the time machine, devices to sever spirits from their astral anchors, and the TV dinner. Nanotech is child's play compared to getting an entire meal to taste exactly of nothing."

A few minutes later Tiffaney returned to the room. "Okay, so there has been mild alterations in her blood, though it's not quite mimicking Skorpion's. From what I can tell it looks like Lexi and the nanites met half-way. Her body adapted to them and they adapted to her. In short, her nanites are different from Skorpion's by this point." She let out a sigh. "Would you too mind accompanying me for the ultrasound? We need to see if they've actually formed a new organ."

Skorpion nodded. "They would have, if they've bonded with her. That's where they're produced. Sort of a chicken and egg thing."

"Except in this case the chicken actually did come first, but still, I'd like to at least know where it is." Tiffaney said with the tone of a worried mother.

Skorpion nodded, heading for the door she'd come through. "It'll be near the spleen, duplicating some of the functions. Damn things copied the notes into my brain implants when they reconstructed me last time, then write-protected it. I apparently don't have admin privileges in my own skull."

Rekko raised his free hand in question. "What do chickens have to do with Lexi?"

"You see, people have this joke-question, 'what came first, the chicken or the egg'. Skorpion was using the nanites and the organ they create as a reference to that, so nothing." Tiffaney explained.

Rekko's eyebrows knotted in confusion. "So, why say it if it doesn't mean anything or relate to what..." He sighed, stepping towards the door. "It's a language thing, yes? English is my second language, and I'm not used to all the various phrases yet. Sorry."

"It's more of a saying. Chickens lay eggs, and eggs hatch chickens, so which came first?" Tiffaney asked as she led the way to an open room with an ultrasound available.

"Well, chickens evolved from lizards, so the egg came first, didn't it?" Rekko queried.

"Most Americans wouldn't factor evolution into probable answers, so it's used to describe an odd occurrence." Tiffaney said as she opened the door to an available room. "Place her on the table, please."

Rekko nodded, leaning down to deposit Alexis on the table in question, laying her down carefully as she (somehow) continued to sleep.

Skorpion stepped in, looking around. "This is new. Have you been ordering equipment?"

"We're the fore-front of treating modern injury. Largoists keep finding new ways to hurt themselves, which allows us to find new ways to treat an assortment of different injuries, so when someone somewhere else gets hurt in a similar way we are capable of providing medical advice, so we're pretty well funded here." Tiffaney explained as she pulled up Alexis's shirt and put on some latex gloves.

Skorpion nodded, eyebrow raising. "That is, in fact, why I started using the nanites on other people. But you're telling me you're managing to fund all this by selling people advice on how to stick Largoists back together?" He paused, looking carefully at the various new pieces of medical equipment around the room. "That's... I never thought I could market THAT. And I've heard of those..." He wandered over to a large, bulky scanner taking up a corner of the room, and poked at the interface. "I didn't think these were even on sale yet. I remember we shipped the prototype somewhere last year..." He leaned down, prodding at a dent in the machine's housing. "This IS the prototype. I remember putting that dent in it. Where the hell did you get this from?"

Rekko sighed. "Can we focus on the problem at hand, please?"

"I know a guy who's got some connections to some back channels." Tiffaney vaguely explained as she rubbed conductive gel on Alexis' belly and started the ultrasound.

"So, you had it stolen, basically?" Skorpion jabbed at the interface again, sighing. "I'm tempted to say I should have just kept the thing in the first place, but I can't go around betraying people. That's why mercenaries are banned in the geneva convention, after all. Not that it actually STOPS anyone, but it means we have to keep out of major combat operations..." He trailed off, realization dawning on his face. "No we don't. This is a nation-state now, so we can..."

He was cut off by a thrown plushie bouncing off his chestplate. "Scheming later, boss. Medical stuff now." Rekko admonished.

"Calm down Rekko. You should know better than anyone, getting stressed about an injury or condition doesn't help it go away. If there's anything wrong you need to have a calm mind to properly decide how to treat the situation." Tiffaney stopped speaking for a moment. "You were right, Skorpion, right above the spleen."

Rekko sighed. "He's ranting like a villain again, though. Or at least rambling like one. And he said that if anyone catches him monologuing, we're to snap him out of it..."

Skorpion shook his head, snapping back to reality. "Sorry about that. And yeah, I figured as much. That's where it's meant to go. Check her brain stem, long bones, and major muscle groups next; see if anything else has shown up. That'd be circuitry, reinforcements, and extra muscle strands, respectively."

Tiffaney checked the suggested areas in order, moving the (remarkably) still asleep Alexis as needed. "Well it would seem that aside from the new organ, there have been no notable changes."

Rekko and Skorpion breathed sighs of relief.

Skorpion leaned over to look at the screen of the ultrasound machine carefully. "Well, there's the reason. Looks like someone's already done some. I recognize that handiwork. Much subtler and more refined, but it's definitely there."

"Oh?" Tiffaney inquired in mock curiosity.

Skorpion shrugged. "The nanites must have recognized the existing modifications and stopped short. It also seems that I missed a few more people. Including the asshole that signed her femur." He frowned. "Still, that's for another day." He straightened up, looking to Tiffaney and Rekko. "Keep an eye on her, and on the rest of them. And DON'T let them have too much of the nanites. I could do without them spreading themselves around and doing who knows what to people."

"Will do." Tiffaney said as she gently pet the (no seriously, how is she still) sleeping Alexis with a fond smile.

Skorpion nodded, before turning and walking out, heading back to whatever megalomanical project he'd been working on before.

Rekko shrugged. "Um. Okay? I only discovered this because she was eating ridiculous amounts, but okay." He reached over, petting Alexis' ears again. "But I'm definitely going to take care of her. Even if she heals, someone's got to stop her hurting herself over and over."

"Thank you Rekko." Tiffaney said sincerely. "But I suppose we should wake her up."

Rekko looked down at Alexis, and shrugged again. "I'm not sure if we CAN; she slept through all of that, after all."

Tiffaney gave Rekko a smile. "Watch this." She leaned over Alexis and gently whispered. "Lexi sweety, it's time to wake up."

In response, Alexis turned to her side and muttered. "Five more minutes."

Rekko chuckled softly. "Not totally effective. Let me try something." He leaned down, nibbling gently on the tip of one of Alexis' ears.

Alexis tiredly giggled before trying to squirm away. "That tickles!"

Rekko grinned, nipping a little harder. "<Wake up, Puppy. I'll get you bacon."

Alexis' eyes darted open as her giggling became laughter. "I'm awake!" She declared in her laughing fit.

"Good!" Rekko grinned down at her, before leaning in to kiss her softly.

Alexis returned the kiss before sitting up and looking around. "Where are we."

"Hello sweetie. We're at the infirmary." Tiffaney said with and amused smile.

"Why are we at the infirmary?" Alexis asked, her right ear tilting to the side.

"You needed a checkup. Skorpion's nanites have created a new organ just above your spleen, and are being produced there." Tiffaney explained.

"I'm not gonna be a Skorp clone am I?" Alexis then asked in a worried tone with an expression to match.

"No, sweet heart. After the checkup we've determined that you will be fine. Though the appetite we can't fix, you will at least heal a lot faster." Tiffaney clarified, which caused Alexis to breathe a sigh of relief.

Rekko nodded. "And no more additional nanites for you, because they might cause more problems."

"And just because you can heal without nanite spray doesn't mean you're indestructible, so don't go out there getting yourself hurt." Tiffaney said sternly.

"Okay." Alexis consented, folding back her ears.

Rekko smiled, reaching down to her. "However, you do need breakfast. Shall we go get dressed, then grab food?"

"Sounds good to me!" Alexis said with a smile as she took his hand and stood from the table. "Bye mom!" She said while waving as her and Rekko left the room.

"Stay safe, you two." Tiffaney said as she returned the wave.

Once out of Tiffaney's earshot Alexis looked to Rekko and asked. "Why are you wearing my clothes?"

---

Summary:
Rekko calls Tiffaney about Alexis' new appetite.
Apparently it's rude not to talk to assistants.
Yes, this is big even for her.
Tiff rushes down to help out.
Pants! Need pants!
Wrong ones.
A sample of Alexis.
Then taking the rest of her up to more testing.
She's a heavy sleeper.
Plot-speed lifts.
Comparing her against Skorp.
Nanite organ: Yes. Other modifications: No.
Nor is she turning into Skorpion. Hooray.
Turns out, Tiffaney's been selling medical advice to buy new equipment.
Or to have new equipment stolen for her, anyway.
Lapses into monologues.
Alexis is awoken with the promise of bacon!
Wait, why ARE you wearing her clothes, Rekko?

---

A while later...
Rekko checked the mirror, and raised his eyebrows. "<Damn... My ass doesn't look half bad in these.>"

[Arella]

Slender Games: Return of Slender Man
Also, Giant Robot Puppies!

Timestamp: sometime after Slender Nights, the same day as Let Slip The Dogs of War
Location: the Manor
Authors: Arella, Oblivion, and Sareth

"Devin, we have lost Carbine." Low Vis regrettably informed upon the pack's return to the Manor.

"What?" Devin said in partial shock.

"He was collecting intelligence on one of the U.S troops when he was discovered." Lockdown said as he hung his head down.

"He tried to get away, but a helicopter got him. He cut communications before they could hack him... We don't know if he is operational." Longshot continued.

"I... I see." Devin leaned back in his chair.

"We are sorry." Crackdown said apologetically.

"It... It's fine... At least the four of you made it." Devin said as he got up and stumbled to his bed, withdrawing into a ball atop the blankets.

"Are you okay?" Low Vis said as he took a seat by the bed, the others standing in various parts of the room.

"I'm fine." Devin said as he hid his face.

"Deeeeeeeeeev!" a female voice could be heard hollering from somewhere down the hall. "Dev, the Manor turned off my RWBY game, and won't turn it back on again!" said voice complained (loudly, as she hadn't yet reached the door and needed to make herself heard). As the source of the voice reached the door, a quick knocking sounded, only for a girl with purple-black hair to go ahead and let herself in. "I think it must be--" Upon spying her friend curled up on the bed and clearly upset, Whisp lost her train of thought, leaving her sentence unfinished. "Dev? Are you okay?" she asked, both hesitant and concerned (because he clearly was Not Okay, and she didn't actually know what to do about it).

"I'm fine." Devin said, though his tone would suggest the opposite.

"We lost one of us today, and he is not taking it well." Longshot informed.

"MACs, patrol." Devin said, causing the three visable MACs to leave the room to patrol the Manor.

Leaving the fact that there were suddenly three big mechanical talking dogs in the Manor for another time, Whisp rather hesitantly approached the bed, at a complete loss as to what a person was meant to do in this situation, but determined to do something all the same.

"Can I help?" the teen girl finally asked, sounding every bit as uncertain as she felt, as she came to stand beside the bed and the ball of catboy that was Devin.

"Really, I'm ok." Devin said as he moved to stand beside Whisp. "But you're probably bored, what do you want to do?" He asked, with a fake smile.

"You're not," she argued stubbornly; now that she'd seen how upset he was, it was almost as if she could feel it, and she didn't like Dev feeling sad and upset - it made her feel kinda sad and upset, too.

Devin lightly took hold of her shoulder and pulled her in for a hug. "I lost him. On his first day of being operational."

Whisp promptly hugged him back, because Dev hugs were okay (even if she didn't like anyone else touching her, or just generally in her personal space). "Can I help?" she asked again, wanting to be able to fix things so that he wouldn't be sad anymore.

"You already are." Devin said as he held her. Normally he'd prefer to sit alone for a few days, but Whisp genuinely made him feel better.

That had Whisp looking more than a little confused (though of course, he couldn't see that, since they were still hugging) - how could she be helping when she wasn't even doing anything? "Can I help more?" she eventually asked, giving up on understanding and instead focusing on Dev.

"Let's watch a movie. I could really use a distraction." Devin said, though he didn't release her quite yet.

"Okay," she agreed, also making no move to let him go. "What should we watch?"

"Actually, maybe you want to play Slender Man." Devin said, moving to look at her face (though not letting go); she was frowning a little in confusion.

"How's that distracting you, though?" Whisp had to ask.

"I could watch." Devin had a feeling that seeing Whisp experiencing Slender Man would be a good distraction. "Or you could pet my ears again if you want."

One of Whisp's arms promptly relinquished its hold of Dev, to reach up and scritch his ears as suggested. She was also thoroughly okay with the idea of playing a Slender Man game, but wasn't sure how to move them from Dev's room to the multimedia room without stopping whatever it was she was currently doing that was helping (which she still wasn't clear on, but didn't want to risk spoiling).

It was a short while before Devin found himself purring comfortably. After staying like that for a couple minutes, Devin held Whisp's hand and began to lead her to the multimedia room. "You can use the movie computer. I'll hook the tv up to the surround sound."

"Okay," she agreed, still wondering how on earth she was actually helping. "Should we order pizza? And have ice cream?"

"Sure, anything you'd like." Devin said with a more genuine smile.

Whisp was frowning again, confused by this whole cheering people up process. "But we're supposed to be making you feel better," she pointed out.

"I don't know why, but seeing you happy makes me feel better." Devin said as they entered the multimedia room.

More frowning, as Whisp (of course) wanted to know why, but already knew he didn't have the answer. "Well... do you want pizza?" she finally asked, deciding to stick to something she could at least partly understand. "'Cause we don't have to have pizza."

"Yes, pizza sounds good." Devin said, hoping to warrant a smile.

"Okay," the teen girl affirmed, smiling a bit now that that was settled. "And ice cream?" She did kinda want some strawberry ice cream now - cheering people up was hard work, especially when you had no idea what you were doing.

"Of course. I'll order the pizza, do you want to get the ice cream?" Devin offered as he pulled out his phone.

Whisp nodded, and made a move as if to head for the kitchen, only to falter as she realized this would mean letting go of Dev's hand and stop completely, turning to him as if to ask what she should do.

Devin gave her a smile. "You can go; I'll be right here when you come back."

She frowned a little, just for a moment, at the thought of letting go, but quickly got over it and went to fetch the strawberry ice cream and a pair of spoons.

Devin called up the pizza place and ordered a few pizzas with a variety of toppings, being sure to order a Hawaiian pizza for Whisp, who in turn shortly reappeared with an armful of a large tub of ice cream, spoons, a pair of fancy-looking glasses with little umbrellas and ice in them, and several cans of grape soda. She also may have left a bit of a trail of ice from the kitchen to the multimedia room, but nobody needed to know that.

"So how's the game work?" she wanted to know, as she came to stand in front of the coffee table and tried to figure out how she was actually going to set everything down without dropping it all.

"What you have to do is find eight notes scattered through a dark forest; you have a flashlight, but it only has so much of a charge." Devin informed as he loaded the game.

"What are the notes?" was her next question; Whisp was now frowning a bit as she stared down at the table, as though willing a solution to present itself. Every time she made even the slightest move to try and set something down, everything else threatened to fall.

Devin moved and helped her set the items on the table. "Pretty much useless pieces of paper."

"So why collect them?" she asked, forgetting to thank him for helping and instead pouring herself some grape soda before grabbing the tub of ice cream and a spoon and sitting down.

"It's just the point of the game, no real explanation." Devin said, claiming a spot beside her before pouring himself some grape soda.

Whisp shrugged. "Okay, so wander around the forest, collect notes... don't get caught by Slender Man?" she guessed, claiming the first bite of strawberry ice cream (yum!). "Should we turn the lights off to make it scarier?"

"Of course." Devin said as he stood and walked to the light switch, turning it off before rejoining her.

In her first attempt, Whisp lasted a little over five minutes before catching sight of Slender Man, panicking, and ending up dead; she also very nearly spilled her drink during said panicking. During her second attempt, she almost doubled her time, but eventually ended up getting lost and trapped in the bathroom. By the third playthrough, the teen was so jumpy she screamed at just about everything and swore at everything else.

By the time the pizza arrived (the doorbell earning another scream, and nearly causing her to leap right off the couch), she still had yet to find more than five of the eight pages or survive for more than 14 minutes. She was also enjoying herself immensely.

After jumping at the doorbell, Devin let out a laugh. "Hey, you want to take a break and grab that pizza with me?"

"Okay," she agreed, moving to stand after checking that the floor was safe (she'd long since pulled both feet up onto the couch, because everyone knows you're safer if your feet don't touch the floor). "But if it's Slender Man, I'm gonna set him on fire." And hopefully that wouldn't just piss him off.

"Fair enough, just don't jump the gun." Devin said as he stood and offered her his hand, which she may have ended up clinging to with rather more force than was absolutely necessary.

One quick trip to the door (in which no one got set on fire) later, and they were back on the couch consuming copious amounts of pizza, as only teenagers can. Whisp was also wondering if she was allowed to ask about the giant robot puppies yet, or if it was still too soon, and how a person was supposed to know these things.

Devin could see in her face that Whisp had a question. "Something wrong?" He asked through a mouthful of pizza.

"Am I allowed to ask about the puppies?" the teen girl finally rather tactlessly asked.

"Puppies?" Devin then asked with a confused expression. "The MACs? I made them." Devin informed.

"What for?" Whisp, in turn, wanted to know. "And when? Are they alive?" Alive mostly meaning sentient to her, since they were pretty obviously not made of flesh and blood.

"To keep this place safe." Devin said with determination. "I finished them today and sent them on a trial run. Only four of the five came back..." He said, regretably.

"What happened?" she asked, more quietly this time.

"I don't know." Devin said, claiming Whisps hand for comfort. "Destroyed... Or maybe captured."

"Can't we go find him?" the girl suggested, tightening her own hold of his hand as though unconsciously seeking to provide comfort.

"Not yet. I haven't prepared enough." Devin said, sounding more resolute than sad.

"Can I help?"

"Maybe. I need more time to prepare first." Devin pondered for a moment. "I'll come up with something."

"I wanna come with you, when you go find him," Whisp informed, her tone broking no argument.

"I may not leave, personally at least." Devin informed as he pondered. "I may make more MACs."

"Can I help?" Whisp offered, not knowing the first thing about making giant robot puppies, but concluding it'd be pretty cool to try.

"Sure. Even I could use help every now and again." Devin consented, honestly feeling that having her around while he worked would be nice.

Whisp gave an oddly final nod, as though glad that had finally been settled, before claiming another spoonful of ice cream (having already finished off her pizza). "So what do they do?" she then wanted to know.

"Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Long range combat, stealth, heavy combat, area control, anti-personnel." Devin said in an attempt to simplify their purpose.

In place of a response, Whisp merely took another bite of ice cream while giving Dev a look that very clearly told him to continue.

As Devin was about to explain a loud static (not unlike the static in Slender Man) sounded from behind the two, causing Devin to take Whisp's hand and pull her away from the source, while Whisp herself shrieked something about Slender Man coming to get them and accidentally ended up throwing her tub of ice cream and spoon in the direction the sound had come from. She was also more than willing to follow Dev, though the moment they stopped moving, she also quite firmly attached herself to him.

Where the source of the sound had played there was no Slender Man, but Low Vis could be seen decloaking with a tub of ice cream on his head and its contents slowly leaking to the floor. "I would consider witnessing the reaction as worth it."

"Low Vis? Why aren't you patrolling?" Devin asked with a hint of anger.

"Our mission is to protect the Manor and its residents. You left how to do that to us." Low Vis stated, his mechanical voice sounding oddly smug.

"...You ruined my ice cream," Whisp observed, watching with wide eyes as the sticky mess on the floor continued to grow, still very much attached to Dev.

"Apologies, though it was still worth it to me." Low Vis said, followed by a mechanical chuckle.

"I thought I got rid of your recreational stalking!" Devin scolded.

For a moment, Whisp looked conflicted; on the one hand, that had been pretty awesome, and Low Vis seemed kinda cool, but on the other... he had ruined her ice cream (a grave offense, by all accounts). "Why would you wanna get rid of recreational stalking?" the teen girl finally asked, apparently having come down on the side of awesome (which didn't mean she was over the ruined ice cream yet, but it was a start).

"He kept coming back with footage of himself stalking people down the street, playing ghost sounds while cloaked, slamming doors when people aren't looking, flickering lights, and other such things." Devin listed as he pinched his eyebrows.

"But that's cool!" Whisp insisted, looking less upset about her ice cream and more excited by the ghost-puppy now.

"That is why I stored my favorite habbits onto Longshot, before moving them back over after the beta phase ended." Low Vis said with a sway of his tail.

Devin sighed. "Well, I wanted you to be adaptive."

"No more ruining ice cream though, okay?" the teen girl insisted, still rather unhappy about that.

"So be it." Low Vis consented as he shook the ice cream from his head.

"Good puppy!" she then praised, offering him a pat on a part of his head not covered in sticky pink ice cream on her way back to the couch with Devin following behind her.

"I will now rinse off." Low Vis stated as he left the room.

"I like him," Whisp decided as the giant robot puppy left the room.

"I definitely prefer that, to you not liking him." Devin said as he claimed a seat. "I'll introduce you to the others at some point."

"Okay," she consented with a nod. She then paused a moment, before adding, "More Slender Man?"

"You think you can get all the pages?" Devin asked as he handed her the controler.

"Oh, I'm gonna get all the pages," Whisp rather stubbornly informed, something in her tone suggesting they wouldn't be going to bed until she had.

"Tell that to Slender Man." Devin said with a smile. He liked it when Whisp got stubborn.

In the end, if took her several more hours to manage to collect all eight pages. The fact that Slender Man got her as soon as she did, meanwhile, did not bode well for her sleep that night.



* * *

It was perhaps three or four in the morning that saw Whisp running from her room and out into the hall, screaming in terror thanks to a nightmare about Slender Man she hadn't yet realized wasn't real.

Devin leapt from his chair to open the door to a terrified looking Whisp. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Slender Man!" was her promptly terrified response as she turned wide, panicked, and still more than a little sleepy amethyst eyes upon him; her hair was also a rather unmitigated disaster, suggesting that she'd been moving around quite a lot in her sleep.

"Slender Man?" Devin asked in confusion. "Oh, you had a nightmare didn't you?" He said as he gave Whisp a hug; it worked when he was feeling bad, so he figured it'd at least be worth a shot.

Whisp flailed a bit at first as her movement and escape abilities were encumbered, babbling something about how he was gonna get them, before suddenly realizing that a) she'd been dreaming, b) Dev was there, and c) she was being hugged. At which point she hugged him back, clinging more than a little as some of the terror began to make its way out of her system.

Devin slowly stroked Whisp's hair as she calmed down. "Do you want me to stay with you tonight?"

She was silent for a moment as colour filled her cheeks at the thought of not being able to sleep on her own, but in the end fear won out over pride. "Yes please," she murmured.

"Would you like to stay like this a bit longer?" Devin then asked, trying his best to sound compassionate.

Whisp nodded, not ready to let him go yet, and Devin continued to gently stroke her hair as she calmed down.

"Sorry," the teen girl eventually apologized more than a little sheepishly (she wasn't entirely sure what she was apologizing for, but it felt necessary for some reason).

"Come on, you look tired." Devin said as he moved a few stray hairs from Whisp's face.

"'m not," the obviously exhausted teen argued, mainly because going back to sleep meant Slender Man might get her again.

"I'll be right there with you." Devin offered. "I promise I'll keep Slender Man away."

Whisp's shoulders slumped a little, partly in defeat and partly from pure exhaustion. "...Okay," she consented, allowing herself to be steered back towards her own purple and black room.

Once the two were in Whisp's room Devin closed the door and guided Whisp to bed before taking a seat in one of her chairs to watch over her for the night - or at least, he tried to, only to have Whisp refuse to let go of his hand, which essentially resulted in his being dragged over to the bed. Because there was no way she was letting him go when Slender Man was waiting to get her.

Devin sighed with a smile as he removed his hoodie and climbed into bed with her, where he was immediately claimed as both a pillow and a teddy bear by an exceptionally clingy Whisp. "Is this better?" He asked as he once more took to stroking her rather messy hair.

Whisp made an affirmative-sounding (and rather sleepy) noise, yawned, and requested, "Wake me if he comes back?"

"Don't worry, if he does, I will." Devin said as he allowed a yawn to escape him.

His reply was a soft snore; Whisp was already asleep.

* * *

Saeko padded into the room on cat-quiet feet. She dodged the various piles of clothing, discarded video game boxes, and other odds and sods that formed the typical floor pattern in a teenager's room. "Now where did she put that book," the dark magical girl muttered.

It was, of course, in the girl's backpack. That was the easy part. Locating the backpack in all the clutter was the real trick. That was not immediately available to the eye. Sighing, Saeko turned to the bed. "Whisp, where did you..."

Seeing the way Whisp was clinging to Devin, and the way his arm was curled around the slight teen girl, Saeko paused, her eyes ever so slightly surprised. But then she smiled. "Well well well," she muttered. "Doubtless they didn't do a thing. Still..." She looked about to locate a chair, then settled into the first one she found, lounging comfortably and waiting.

Of course, the two being teenagers with rather poor sleeping habits, said wait proved to be much longer than anticipated. Saeko grew tired of waiting. She casually stood up, walked over to the windows, and drew the curtains, flooding the room with daylight. She returned to the foot of the bed, grabbed the blankets, and yanked them away with a flourish.

"What is WRONG with you two?" she shouted. "You're still dressed? Are you sure you aren't toddlers?"

A very annoyed and sleepy Whisp mumbled something that might've been "g'way" (go away being too much effort) before snuggling even closer to Dev in place of the blankets and attempting to hide her face from the light against his chest. Several articles from the mess on the floor also made a rather halfhearted attempt to chase the intruder from the room, but the teen girl was too concerned with sleep to really direct them properly.

"I swear, I need to start putting hormones in your food. You completely lack them," Saeko said. She hopped up on the bed and began jumping at the foot of it, bouncing the occupants.

"Go 'waaaaaaaaay," the teen girl outright whined, using her magic to pelt the intruder with things from the floor now, her aim improving with her irritation.

"Hey now!" Saeko batted away an errant shirt. "Stop that!" She dodged a shoe. "Now listen here young MFF!" The dark magical girl flipped off the bed, a pillow to the face adding momentum.

Whisp just returned to her sleepy snuggling, feeling rather pleased with herself. This changed when she felt the foot of the bed begin to lift, and then the whole thing twisted, a rapidly increasing slope threatening to dump her, Devin, pillows, and other detritus on the floor, possibly to be burried under matresses.

As the slope increased Devin slid to the floor, landing with a combination of a hard thud and continued sleep without so much as muttering. Of course, given that Whisp had been sleeping about as much on him as the bed, this meant she got dragged down with him.

"Robot puppies, make her stooooooooop!" the girl hollered, hoping to gain their attention.

Saeko snickered, which resulted in more articles from the floor being magically thrown at her.

"Now stop that!" Saeko commanded. She reached down and hoisted the girl off of Devin by the back of her pajama top.

"Deeeev, make her go away!" Whisp half-pleaded and half-whined, finally giving up on getting Saeko to leave herself and instead turning to Dev for help.

"Mhmhuh?" Devin muttered as he slowly sat up. "Whas goin' ohn?" He then asked with a yawn, his eyes barely open.

"You two DID use protection, right?"

This, of course, just caused Whisp to blink in confusion, as she honestly had no idea what Saeko was talking about.

"You didn't!" Saeko exclaimed in mock horror. "Devin, you WILL take responsibility, won't you?"

"Mphanag-" Devin's gibberish was cut of by him giving up on language whilst attempting to wake up. After a few second he tried again. "What do you mean?" He asked groggily.

Saeko sighed. "When a boy and a girl like each other very much, they share a special hug. It requires a special piece of clothing called a prophylactic."

Whisp, in true Whisp-fashion, just continued to look confused. If anything, she now looked even more confused. Her hair was also sticking up every which way, looking more than a little ridiculous.

"What's that got to do with us?" Devin asked as he took the time to stretch his arms.

"You haven't learned about this in school? I'm going to have to talk to Lucius about his curriculum."

"Dev, what are we talking about?" Whisp finally asked, not seeming to notice or care that she was still being held up by the back of her pajama top, dangling over the floor due to a stubborn refusal to actually use her feet and stand up (because that would mean admitting she was up and awake).

"Something about a special hug." Devin replied, having no idea what exactly could be special about a hug.

"You two are going to die virgins, I swear," Saeko muttered. "Anyway, that's not why I'm here. Whisp, I need to borrow the Book for a day or two."

"What d'you mean, 'borrow'?" the teen wanted to know, looking a bit concerned. "You aren't gonna take it somewhere, are you?" The book liked to stay with her, after all - she didn't like the idea of Saeko taking it outside the Manor.

"Yes, I will. But the word 'borrow' includes the expectation of it being brought back." Saeko set the girl on her feet, then crossed her arms.

"But it likes staying with me," Whisp rather instinctively argued. "Why can't you just use it here like you usually do?"

"For reasons I do not need to explain. Where's the Book, Whisp?"

Whisp's arms were crossed now, too, though she didn't remember doing it. She didn't want to go without the Book for a day or two, but she also wasn't sure she wanted to fight over it... After a few minutes of stubborn silence, she finally turned to Dev as though for help.

Devin looked highly confused. "What book?" He asked as he stood from the ground and set about locating his hoodie.

"She knows what book."

"The one I keep in my backpack," Whisp provided, suddenly realizing she'd never actually explained anything about the Necrowombicon to Devin. "It has my dad in it."

Devin tilted his head to the side in a cat-like manner with a curious expression on his face. "Is the book about him, or is he physically trapped within the book itself?"

"A little bit of both."

"He talks to me sometimes," the teen girl added. "And the Book likes to stay with me." It had also become something of a security blanket to Whisp, though she wasn't particularly aware of it (and certainly would never admit it).

"Are you sure you can't just use it here?" Devin asked Saeko as he retrieved his hoodie and put it on. "Whisp seems to really care for it."

Saeko held out her hand and waggled her fingers. "Whisp. We had a bargain."

Whisp looked more than a little sulky at that. "But why do you need to take it for so long? What if something happens, and I need it?"

"This is not open for debate."

Looking extremely unhappy, Whisp moved closer to Dev as some of the mess on the floor shifted to reveal where her little coffin-shaped backpack lay. "I need the backpack for school, though," she said softly.

"That's fine," Saeko's voice was gentle. "I don't need the backpack."

Whisp's hand instinctively found Dev's, and she suddenly seemed to be finding the floor incredibly interesting.

"It's okay, I'll still be here." Devin said in an attempt to make Whisp feel better.

Her grip on his hand tightened a bit, and she moved even closer to him in a way that somehow seemed to say thank you.

Devin moved closer to Whisp in response.

Saeko stepped over to the backpack. She opened it and lifted the Necrowombicon out with almost reverent care. Standing, she turned back to Whisp.

"Thank you. I will bring it back as quickly as I can."

Whisp nodded, still staring down at the floor, and still firmly attached to Dev.

With a rush of feathers, Saeko was gone.

Devin glance to the train wreck that was Whisp's bed. "Wanna sleep in my room?" He inquired (he was still tired after all).

Looking around herself, Whisp finally gave a small shrug. "Okay," she agreed, rather hoping the Manor might fix things for her while they were gone. "You should also add protecting sleep as one of the puppies' priorities," she suggested on the way out of the room.

Summary:
-the giant robot puppies return, to report the loss of Carbine
-Devin is understandably upset
-the Manor sends Whisp to cheer him up
-this somehow works, in spite of Whisp having no clue how to cheer people up, or how her presence is helping in any way
-Devin introduces her to the Slender Man game
-hilarity ensues
-pizza!
-Whisp wants to help Dev build more MACs, in spite of having no technical skills whatsoever
-Whisp meets Low Vis, whom she declares to be cool, even if he did ruin her ice cream
-Whisp later has a nightmare, and she and Dev end up sleeping together in the very litaral and adorably innocent sense
-of course, this means Saeko has to catch them the next day
-she wants to borrow the Book, to show Mimi

[Arella]

The Untouchables

Timestamp: A late night in July, and a flashback to a night/early morning in June.
Location: Arella's apartment and (in the flashback) Wallace's apartment
Authors: Arella and Canto

"Wally?" Arella's voice was soft, as though afraid of breaking the spell; they'd been laying curled up together on her bed for at least an hour now, quiet, not speaking... just enjoying each other's company, soaking up the security and comfort that they each brought to the other. She had already showered and changed into her favourite pair of - white, the lightest of fabrics, comfortable, but rather see-through (of course, Wallace had already seen most of it at this point, anyway) - while he had shed his shoes and jacket, and even gone so far as to unbutton the white shirt wore. His body was cold, but felt nice against her own. And yet...

"Yes, little bird?" was his response, just as soft.

Arella smiled; she loved it when he called her that.

"Will you bite me?" she asked, not raising her voice at all, though it did seem to carry something akin to pleading and, perhaps, insecurity.

"Not tonight, little bird."

Tears pricked at Arella's eyes. It had been a full month since he last fed from her, kissed her... touched her in any way more intimate than how he held her now. She missed his touch, missed the fire he could stir in her veins. Missed the closeness she'd felt in those moments. What's worse... she didn't understand why he had stopped. Perhaps she had done something wrong? He still loved her, didn't he? He wouldn't be here if he didn't, and yet...

Wallace made some soothing noises and lightly stroked her hair, as if sensing her thoughts. "Sleep now, love."

---One Month Earlier---

Wallace let out a heavy sigh as he stepped into his apartment and closed the door behind him.

"Is it really necessary for you to keep breaking in like this?" he asked of the darkness as he calmly removed his jacket and hung it on a hook by the door, removed his shoes, and finally switched on a light (he didn't actually need the light, of course, but it was what one did, especially when entertaining guests).

"It's not breaking in if I'm using a copy of your key." The lady-monster in his usual chair argued airily. There was a slight pause as they both considered this. She relented, "Okay, you got me. I broke in."

Wallace sighed, albeit less heavily this time. "Thank you," he finally told her, as he moved to lean against the wall relatively close to the chair she had claimed (though not too close, as she was still bloody terrifying), "for letting her know you're alive."

"It was nothing." She assured, with a gesture indicating him away from the wall and towards the upholstered footstool placed rather ominously a few paces in front of her.

The vampire eyed the footstool warily for a few moments, clearly debating which would be worse - ignoring such clear directions, or willingly sitting so close to her. He eventually (probably rightly?) determined that following her instructions might at least delay the potential pain a while, and took a seat with as much dignity as he could muster, given the circumstances. He then waited for her to tell him why she was there.

She murmured approvingly at the vampire seated as elegantly as one could sit on an ottoman, probably more from his fearful obedience than any actual appraisal. With this musing contemplative mood, she followed up by saying, "Did you get my message?"

"I did," Wallace admitted, before quickly adding, "And I'm doing my best." He was looking a little nervous, as though worried his best wasn't proving to be good enough.

"Not good enough."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," was his rather diplomatic response, though he might also have been looking a bit paler than usual. "I couldn't get the last few to talk before they died, and they're all getting rather harder to find." This was going to hurt, wasn't it... Perhaps she should go after the next one, he rather suspected this monster wouldn't have any trouble getting them to talk.

The lady-monster chortled, shaking her head. "Wallace, we talked about this. All of them. With due haste. Are you asking me to be lenient regarding the safe future of my daughter?"

"No," he admitted quietly, because of course Arella's safety was of the utmost importance, and a mother should never compromise on such things. "But I am doing my best. I'm not sure what more I can do." Please don't kill me, seemed to go unsaid, but was present nonetheless.

"Wallace, Wallace... whatever are we going to do? Your best isn't good enough and the enemy is gaining the time they need to think of something reeeeeally nasty to do to my Arella. That-" for a moment, it appeared that she was going to stand, which could only lead to pain. Lots of pain. But she did not. Her movement was only to lean back comfortably in her chair. "-is utterly unacceptable. I am going to have to do something about it."

"Like what?" the vampire asked, more than a little nervously. He very much looked as though he wished he could move further away from her, but didn't dare try.

"Arella." She said. If Saeko had been present, she would have immediately said something dirty. Wallace, however, did not have the luxury of Arella's sister breaking the very palatable tension that accompanied Aneko's words. "I am banning you from touching Arella intimately."

Wallace somehow managed to blush in spite of the pallor that came from sitting so close to a displeased Aneko, opened and closed his mouth several times while desperately searching for something to say, then finally gave up and simply settled for becoming increasingly flustered over the turn the conversation had suddenly taken.

"Ohoho, now you play the innocent! How charming!" Then she wasn't laughing, "You dare touch my daughter, caress her, bite her and you have the gall to expect me to be charmed by it?"

This was going to hurt, wasn't it?

Wallace opened his mouth to suggest that perhaps that should be Arella's decision (really, the number of people trying to make decisions for her was astounding, it was no wonder she had such a hard time growing up), only to snap it shut again as he realized this might very well lead to his death. Instead, he opted to wait in case the lady-monster had anything more to say.

"It should be her decision, right?"

He couldn't hide his surprise at that; she couldn't read his thoughts without using those awful wires, could she? "Well, yes," Wallace rather hesitantly agreed, suspecting a trap.

"Well, if it were up to her, what do you think she'd say?"

Oh yes, this was definitely a trap. But without knowing what the hook was, Wallace really didn't know how to avoid it, short of refusing to answer (and that was likely to result in pain, which he was eager to avoid if at all possible). It was therefore with a sense of resignation that the vampire replied, "I think she might object." Frankly, Arella had proven to be rather surprisingly demanding in that area, but he wasn't about to announce such a thing - especially to her self-proclaimed mother.

"And why is that?"

There were a number of things Wallace could say to that - she enjoys it, she loves me, she has a (surprisingly) very active libido... He tried to go with the most diplomatic he could think of. "She doesn't like it when others make decisions for her."

A thin smile took to Aneko's face, enough warning that his answer placed him somewhere that he could not escape from. "Tis true, Wallace. She doesn't, and nor should she. Her decisions will hurt her at times but they are the mark of adulthood. Which is why I am forbidding you from being intimate with her," Her smile cut a touch wider across her face, "because I can make your decisions, no?"

A sigh of heavy resignation escaped the vampire; it wasn't the sort of trap he'd been expecting, but she certainly had him either way. "Yes, ma'am," he relented. But he didn't end there, even though continuing could well lead to pain. "And what am I supposed to say when she notices? When her feelings become hurt?" Because of course a sensitive little thing like Arella would be hurt by such a thing.

For a moment, it seemed as if Aneko was going to rise from her seat; he could feel her aura shift menacingly, as a creature before it devours its prey. Yet she remained seated still and her smile took on a faintly gentle tone, "She will be hurt, won't she. I regret that - she has hurt so much lately that I could not bear to stay away. I do care for her so... but you," No, no, not a gentle smile, not for him. All of a sudden Wallace's head ached and he felt sick to his stomach the way only very bad blood could do. "I know why you were there that night, Wallace and so I think it perfectly alright if Arella begins to doubt you actually care for her, don't you?"

So suffer all who attempt to use my daughter, he could hear her say.

"Yes, ma'am," the vampire gasped, unable to even think of defending himself thanks to the pounding pain in his head. What had she done to him?

"Good."

---Present Day---

Wallace was not unaware of the heart slowly breaking before him, and couldn't help tightening his hold on the precious girl in his arms as she slowly began to succumb to the call of sleep. Truth be told, he was hurting too, and not merely from the rather massive amount of effort he was putting into controlling his body's response to having her so close (and especially in those blasted pajamas). He was beginning to seriously wonder if he might have any chance of beating Aneko in a fight, or at least of killing her in a more underhanded way... but losing her mother again would hurt Arella in an entirely different way, and he couldn't bear the thought of putting her through that again.

Once again, he found himself without an easy solution to the problem, and he was running out of vampires to... 'question' in his hunt for the ringleaders.

He should just tell Arella about Aneko's little visits to his apartment. He should tell her why he'd really been there to keep her out of the Hollows that night, thereby removing Aneko's power over him. But he couldn't bear the thought of losing her trust, and perhaps even her love - and how could telling her the truth lead to anything but?

Wallace let out a faint sigh of defeat, safe in the knowledge that a sleeping Arella wouldn't hear. He was entirely too attached to the girl for his own good, and he knew it.

Summary:
-Arella and Wallace are cuddling.
-Wallace hasn't bitten her (or done much else with her) for about a month now, and Arella's afraid she's done something wrong.
-Turns out, it's because of Aneko.
-But Wallace can't tell her that, without Aneko in turn telling Arella some things.
-Obvious solution is obvious, but Wally's too afraid to try it.

Title: River City 2
Location: Black Site Fukushima
Timestamp: One day after The Big Shuffle
(Recommended listening: The Dragonfly that Thought it Was a Mockingbird, Akufen, Appleseed)

"You have three civilians, personnel who ARE NOT registered as US Army." Agent MacIntyre said as he followed Major Wylder through the dormitory offices. The Major had a tablet under his left arm and a file in his other hand. "As far as I'm concerned they are nonessential personnel and therefore deserving of a ticket home."

"Mac, they stay. For very good reasons, I might add." Jenks began to counter, turning to face the agent. "Chief Sims? She's the Tech Rep from General Dynamics assigned to maintain the super prototype. Do you have anyone on hand who was part of the team that modernized that machine?"

"No. But that's besides the point."

"It is ENTIRELY the point. If she goes, the platform goes with her and back into cold storage. Do you want to tell the psychopath that is the AI that? Second, Dr. Burke also stays."

"SEAL or no, he is-"

"The nanomachine specialist that maintains the pilot for the aforementioned super prototype. He goes and so does the Captain." MacIntyre had calmed down somewhat, assisted by the Major's ass chewing.

"Okay, fine. But what about the shrink? I've read her file. Civilian, no military experience."

"Strategic Defense Initiative personnel. She maintains the Captain's mental health. Read his psych evals. She is very much necessary. Furthermore they all have the clearances. Otherwise they wouldn't have been brought on with First Cav." Jenks finished.

"Alright, I get it. So they stay, then. But I want them to contribute. Any skills they have I want on the table." Prior to being brought into Special Activities Division Nicholas MacIntyre was 1st Special Operations Detachment Delta via Rangers and Rangers via 82nd Airborne. He was an authoritarian when it came to procedures and regulations.

"And contribute they shall. Dr. Burke especially. He knows his way around the armory. Hell, he learned a couple of the Lancer weapons too." Jenks explained, looking out the window to see the Lancers milling about. "I do have to ask how indoc is going with the rest of my platoon."

"Agent Miner ought to be starting right about now. Wanna step in?" MacIntyre asked. The Major shook his head.

"Negative. I've got to review the video from the AIs." he replied. The Major had gleaned it over during the initial After Action Review however there were several details he heard in the audio that he wanted to review. There were eight audios logs and eight video logs. It was going to be an arduous process but one that had to be done nonetheless. If only he had an analyst or two.

In the hangar 15th AI's enlisted and remaining officer (Eikichi was still in Tokyo) had gathered up with Agents Caruthers, Miner, and another. Inside of the hangar were two peculiar looking MH-53 Pave Lows and Brawl, the tank-like having been backed in for maintenance at Chief Sims' request.

"Alright, listen up, people!" Agent Joel Anson Pierce, a former SEAL, said as he paced before the platoon. "The world you knew is over. You're no longer US Army. You're Company assets now. That means two big changes."

"One!" he said, holding a finger up for emphasis. "No social media. At least not until our tech weenies finish running roughshod over your accounts. Facebook, personal e-mail, YouTube, all of that. You're at River City Two now." In the Navy when a ship sets River City One or River City Two internet related communication is restricted to officers and E-7 and above. That is Chief Petty Officers and other senior enlisted. Junior officers, senior officers, the CO and XO will have more access to e-mail and internet, mainly to receive orders.

"Two, you need to look like anything but what you aren't." Another finger came up. Pierce walked up to Khukov. "Take this man, for example."

"Cleans haven, no hair, impeccable uniform... EASILY IDENTIFIED AS A TARGET!" Pierce made brief eye contact with Khukov and saw the death glare. He backed off then composed himself. "Okay, that went well... Now this one." Pierce stood next to Hayden. "This is almost perfect. Longer than regulation hair, five o'clock shadow coming in, lax uniform. All that's missing is civvies."

"Mind if I say something?" Dr. Burke asked, stepping out of ranks. Pierce let him have the floor, the doctor stepping before the platoon.

"You all know I was part of the Teams back in the day. Special Forces in those days had lax appearance regulations in theater." he explained, pacing. "We'd look like truckers, longshoremen, lumberjacks, bikers, mountain men. It doesn't look like it now but I had a nice beard back in the day." Burke stroked his goatee for emphasis.

"The point is, we're in country. We have to blend in, even if that is impossible in this country. So let the razor sit there and rust. We're Company people now."

"You done?" Agent Miner asked. Burke nodded and returned to ranks. "Alright, my turn. Anyone with a smart phone turn it in. I-Phones, Samsung, whatever, you need to hand them over." The soldiers bregrudgingly passed the phones up, a pair of other agents, these ones clad in black fatigues, collecting them. "We'll be returning them but only after encrypting them and installing a couple apps you're going to need. One of which we've come to like a whole lot. Pierce?" Agent Pierce took his phone out and held it up.

"I need a volunteer for this demonstration." Soldiers looked at each other, wondering who would step up. Lieutenant Crowley stepped forward. "Oh good. An officer who'll stand up for his men."

"I'm only doing this so I can do whatever it is you're going to do to me to them." he said. "I don't believe in doing anything to anyone that hasn't been done to me."

"Admirable, sir." Pierce said, taking out a pair of sunglasses and putting them on. "Now if you could stand by the tank-like. Just out in front of it, like I was taking a picture of you." Crowley walked out in front of Brawl and turned to face Pierce.

"Like this?"

"Yeah. Okay, watch this." he said, tapping the screen. The phone emitted a bright flash and Crowley just stood there.

"W-what... just happened...?" he asked, seemingly tipsy. Pierce took his sunglasses off and clapped his hands.

"Mr. Crowley, you've been the recent victim of an alien abduction. We found you in a field, bereft of clothing and looking like you just woke up from a particularly terrible acid trip." he explained, several soldiers murmuring to each other.

"I... was...?" Pierce nodded.

"Yeah. I bet they probed you too. Did they?" Crowley immediately reached back and rubbed his behind.

"Holy shit... I... I've been violated... Is this what a prostate exam feels like?" It took everything Dr. Burke had to keep from laughing out loud.

"Go on and see the Corpsman, sir. They'll take care of you." Pierce said, Crowley nodding and turning to leave the hangar. He was walking rather gingerly. Pierce turned back to the assembled soldiers and waited for the door to close. No sooner had it happened than Burke cut loose, laughing.

"You nueralized him! Son of a bitch, you nueralized him!" the doctor said, on his bum now. Pierce waited for him to calm down and stand back up.

"If I find any of you have abused this app then I will use it on you and make you do things. Nasty things." he cautioned. "But that aside, welcome to Special Activities Division. Gunny?" One of the men who collected the phone stepped up. He had an old style Load Bearing Harness on, mag pouches on the web belt, Aviator shades, and a ball cap with a velcro American flag patch on it.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am Agent Rockwell, the armorer for this particular Black Site, however you can call me Gunny." former Gunnery Sergeant Slater Joshua Rockwell said. "I know you all have your own weapons strengths and that's great. But I want you to be proficient with everything we have. There will be gun shoots until everyone can shoot straight and true. Yes ma'am, you have a question."

"What about our Goose?" Corporal Washington asked, referring to the M-3 Carl Gustav. It was an 84mm recoilless rifle designated the M-3 Multi-role Antitank Anti-Armor Weapons System in the regular Army and the Ranger Antitank Weapons System in Rangers. Jacqui was the primary user in 15th AI and had a kill record at the NTC of six Lancers with it.

"I'll see what we can do. Do bear in mind, all our gunshoots are done out at sea. We've got a special boat out there for ops." he cautioned them. "I do hope you can find your sea legs in time to train. If there isn't anything else you're dismissed."

"Platoon, muster in barracks for..." Khukov stopped, not knowing what to do. This wasn't the hangar at Fort Hood nor was it their barracks. He walked to Pierce who was conversing with Agent's Miner and Rockwell. "Excuse me, but are there any orders?" Pierce looked up to him.

"The barracks could use a clean sweep I guess." he replied. Khukov nodded then returned to the platoon.

"Alright, platoon, muster in barracks for field day!"

"Really? We just got here!" La Pointe said.

"We're gonna live here, bro. Best go with it." Corporal Smith said, joining the gaggle. Pierce, Miner, and Rockwell watched them leave.

"Y'know I'd really hate to get into a fight with that First Sergeant." Pierce observed.

"File says he's Armored Infantry." Miner said. "What do they do, grease him up and put him in?"

"I saw we find the biggest gun we got and give it to him. Maybe he can pull a 'Bulldozer.'" Gunny observed. 'Bulldozer' was a name given to an ISIS member who can, reportedly, shoulder fire an M-2HB fifty caliber machine gun. "I think we've got two of those XM-312s in the armory. Might skip mounting them in the '55. I have to go back and reread but I do believe one of the SAW operators got to hump on in the 'Stan."

"Gunny I know that thing it half as heavy as a Ma Deuce but seriously? Even a '240 is a quarter that much and it's a bitch and half if you're not built like... Like that shaved bear." Pierce replied.

"Lockheed Martin tested the H.U.L.C., Human Universal Load Carrier with a requirement to be compatible with an XM-312 rig. Miner, you wanna see about getting us a couple?" Gunny asked.

"Mr. Clancy's gonna ask questions." she said.

"It's his job, remember? He gets paid to ask questions and find answers."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary
-Discord in the camp.
-Major Wylder has video and audio to review.
-Indoctrination
-Clean shaven bad. Scruffy bearded good.
-No social media.
-No phones either.
-Volunteer.
-NUERALIZED!
-I am Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, your Drill Instructor!
-Trigger time afloat.
-Field day. It's not what you think.
-Discussion.