<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Outside the ruin</span></span></span></div><br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><div style="text-indent:1em;">Twain, Hirch &amp; Cox</div></span></span></span><br/><br/>“Shit.” Twain coughed, pushing himself to roll over on his back. The dust was just begining to settle, he saw the night sky above him. For a few moments he could not tell if he was seeing actual stars, or the stars that dance behind the eyes when one gets struck in the head. For that is what had happened. Some piece of this old rock struck him straight atop his noggin.<br/><br/>He sat up, shaking his head and coughing into his radio. “Zes? Morgan? Dzel? Icarus?” He said these names over and over like a chant. “Fok!” He gave up. They were all on their own for now. "Can't even find Zes... and that's not good." He looked up at the mound, a big hole atop it now. "I hope he wasn't caught up in that..." Yet, it was possible.<br/><br/>"I've had enough of this!" He squinted and looked for a body, any body. Striding over to the nearest one he heaved it up by it's tattered shirt. The thing was half buried in rubble. It’s face half charred, the one ear it still maintained was strangely pointy...<br/><br/>Twain touched it's scalp experimentally, he cradled is neck in his left hand to steady the position of the skull, then with his right he pulled up one eyelid than the other. It had brilliant blue eyes, icy, devoid of thought and life... for now.<br/><br/>He made a quick jabbing movement with his hand, and plucked out her left eye.<br/><br/>He lifted the gooey orb, rolling it around in his palm... then he realized that someone was behind him.<br/><br/>He dropped the body, and spun to face them. He stood slightly crouched with his hands out beside him, his fingers flexing. His stance was akin to a cowboy about to quick-draw in the show-down, yet, he did not appear to have gun holsters at his hip, or any weapons on his person.<br/><br/>Twain regarded the camouflage they wore disdainfully. "Military, eh? I should have known that this was some government job... So<span style="font-style: italic">messy.</span>”<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><div style="text-indent:1em;">Ascot &amp; Dzel</div></span></span></span><br/><br/>Dzel nodded, and would follow the boy as he had asked. She wouldn’t say much else, allowing him to take point. Her eyes kept scanning around for danger, as he had requested, she would protect him.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><div style="text-align: center;">Inside the ruin</div></span></span></span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">"Is there somebody over there? This is Om, and I'm currently stuck with somebody...Kanna on a ledge over here. I don't know if you could help us, but the possibility of falling to my death at any moment makes me nervous."</span><br/><br/>The voice rang down into the pit. It would easily be heard (and already was) by XIII down below, and Damian on the ledge opposite to Om & Kanna. His small speech would continue to echo and become distorted as it traveled down the hole in the ruin. To the ones farther down, they would hear the call as a blurred echo. “o<span style="font-size: 150%; line-height: 116%;">oOOOoo</span>omboddy-dy-<span style="font-size: 85%; line-height: 116%;">dy-dy</span><span style="font-size: 150%; line-height: 116%;">OOOo</span>mm<span style="font-size: 85%; line-height: 116%;">-om-</span><span style="font-size: 50%; line-height: 116%;">om</span><span style="font-size: 200%; line-height: 116%;"> AAAAAnna-</span>na-<span style="font-size: 85%; line-height: 116%;">na</span>-n<span style="font-size: 50%; line-height: 116%;">aaa</span>..<span style="font-size: 150%; line-height: 116%;">EEEE</span>eelp-elp-<span style="font-size: 85%; line-height: 116%;">elpAAAa</span>llalala-al<span style="font-size: 200%; line-height: 116%;">DE</span><span style="font-size: 150%; line-height: 116%;">A</span>ATTh-eath<span style="font-size: 85%; line-height: 116%;">-eath</span>-<span style="font-size: 50%; line-height: 116%;">eath</span>….”<br/><br/>It was the same for the answer that followed from XIII, albeit a bit clearer as it was nearer.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><div style="text-indent:1em;">Damien</div></span></span></span><br/><br/>Entered the darkness, blue light shining ahead. His blue light illuminated the ancient architectures. There were patches of paint on the wall, most had flaked off, dust at his feet. As he continued he would need to be careful, for there were cracks and holes in the ground, he might have to duck under a fallen archway, or hop over a collapsed statue.<br/><br/>Damien might notice a glimmer through one of these holes in the ground… This hole was not big enough to fit through entirely (in his present form), he might be able to break through the rest of the way, or lily<span style="font-style: italic">might</span>be able to squeeze down through it… If he held his flame to it, something shinny reflected the blue light back at him, making the hole seem to glow.