<strong><em>~The Sky~</em></strong><br/><br/>Luke reached out once again to grab Gwin's arm and escape before things went any further south, but he was a fraction of a second too slow. Before the last of the 'Alice-sludge' had even fallen from the plane's surface, Alice had re-manifested right beside him. "I told you not to try that," she said with a pout. Her hand shot out with a rattlesnake's speed and stung his cheek, then gently turned him back to face her. Luke grinned as he reached up to cup her hand on his face. "Actually, doll, you told me not to shoot you. I thought you'd appreciate corporeal dispersal as something a tad more creative," he said. 'Ana and the Cherubim prepared another attack, but Luke waved them off; obviously it would take more than superior firepower to handle this situation. "Besides," he continued, "I thought my respect for you should have been obvious. It's the reason I attacked first." His grin widened as she pressed herself against him once again, and once again he caught her in his arms before she could move away. He leaned his head in closer to hers and whispered in her ear. "I've always preferred forgiveness to permission."<br/><br/>As she smiled and faded out of reach again, Luke heard the Cherubim chattering in his head.<br/><br/>'Uncle Luke? Something's weird.' 'Yeah, weird.' 'The air seems different.' 'Yeah, different and weird.'<br/><br/>'Ana dipped into Luke's sensory perceptions and returned with her agreement. 'They're right, Luke. There's something in the air, something with a heavy charge-'<br/><br/>Nirvana was interrupted by a magnificent crash of thunder, and without further warning the surface of the plane beneath Luke's feet vanished.<br/><br/>'Aw, hell. Now what?' Luke thought.<br/><br/>As the four fell through the air, Luke's only thought was to grab the girl and complete his mission. He looked in all directions and found her not too far away, only a few feet from himself, above him. He angled his body to slow his descent and reach her, but as his fingertips brushed against her sleeve, Alice appeared and snatched her away. 'Dammit!' He thought, shifting his attention to Nirvana. 'Get us out of here, we'll get her lat-'<br/><br/>Before the thought was completed, he felt a soft hand grabbing his arm, and the world turned to smoke.<br/><br/><strong><em>~Nihon Urbs~</em></strong><br/><br/>Pain.<br/><br/>Wrenching, thunderous, thought-ripping pain.<br/><br/>Luke's limbs felt like jelly as he fell to the floor, his insides burning with hellfire. Nirvana rebooted in his head, her own thoughts a jumble of information. She regained full expression within seconds, and sensed something very wrong with her beloved host. Frantically she dispatched a full complement of medichines throughout Luke's body, and as they worked to repair the damage to his internal organs Luke began to respond. Slowly, groggily, he climbed onto all fours and crawled forward because it was the easiest direction, stumbling with nearly every inch. After an eternity he reached a cabinet and climbed to stand on unsteady legs, his form hunched and slumped. Whether Nirvana had steered him here, or he was just plain lucky, a sink gleamed below him, and without hesitation he leaned over and spewed the remains of his old organs onto the shining clean steel. The liquified pulp splattered into the sink, wet and heavy, and as the process continued, the medichines rebuilt more and more of his internal structure, and Luke actually began to feel more human again.<br/><br/>At last, the final drops spilled and Luke reached up with a trembling hand to run the faucet, washing the ich into the sewers. He turned his back on the cabinet and leaned heavily against the smooth cherry wood, white knuckles gripping the counter's edge. A few thousand medichines scrubbed the insides of his mouth clean, and then they returned to their stations on the underside of his epidermis.<br/><br/>"Rough trip, huh?" Alice asked, approaching him warily.<br/><br/>Luke shook his head, panting and laughing breathlessly. "I've had worse rides..."<br/><br/>'Ugh. Thanks, 'Ana. A few more seconds of that might have finished me.' 'You're sure you're OK?' She asked, her worry evident. 'You'd know as well as I do, 'Ana. You're in here with me,' he thought wryly. 'And on the bright side, now we know I can survive another trip through the smoke.' 'All the same, let's try not to push our luck on the matter, shall we?'<br/><br/>Luke looked over at Alice, not for the first time appreciating her flawless form. "So, thanks for the lift, I guess. Were my ears just ringing, or did I hear you say Nihon Urbs?"