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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable          Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 99 days Last activity: 99 days |
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| Okay, I am going to post the story, but only what I have so far and one part at a time, so you better post. Criticism, praise, or just feedback in general is highly encouraged.
Prologue: The Rally The air was heavy with the smell of sweat in the small dark chamber underneath the Los Angeles streets. There must have been at least a thousand people in the chamber and the surrounding tunnels of the now abandoned part of the sewer system, all crowded together yet no one was complaining. There was excited talk of the rebellion everywhere, people exchanging information and grieving for those lost. However, in that sea of enthusiasm and camaraderie, there was one person who was alone, and very unhappy to be there. Laurana looked around at the people, the enemies of the government. Her dark eyes held no hint of her thoughts, of her fear. She did not want to be in this crowed underground room, she did not want to be underground at all. She was terribly afraid of closed in places... it took all of her strength just to keep from screaming as she felt the walls of the chamber pushing in on her. But she had been assigned to come here, to gather information on the rebels for the Los Angeles Star, the government owned newspaper that now employed her. She was only a 16 year old intern, but a good number of people here appeared to be around her age, some younger, so she did not stick out much. She had only been there ten minutes and already she had collected a bit of information: the rebellion was not doing that well, that much she knew, but the rebel's spirits were not dampened by this... in fact seemed as strong and as hopeful as ever. Hope had come for them in the form of the success of a recent raid by the rebel cell known as Green Wolf on the Seal Beach naval base. It had been so long since such a victory had been achieved, and it stirred the passion of the rebels. For the most part people where not reveling the hiding places of the rebel cells, nor their plans of attack. No one was using their real names either, they all used code names. The rebels were smart, they knew that their were spies in their midst... and they were very careful not to reveal their secrets. "General Rock is going to speak," cried the girl next to Laurana. A slender Hispanic girl, dressed in tight clothes... maybe only a year or two older than her. She seemed horribly out of place, even more than Laurana did. She looked up at the wooden platform that stood less than five feet from her as the rebels grew silent to hear the speech from this General Rock. This was the makeshift stage that they had built for the rally. A man was standing upon it now, he was dressed in black pants and a dark gray shirt and his hair was a dirty blonde. He had a beat up bullhorn in his hands and he stood looking out over the now silent crowd. Laurana slipped her hand into her pocket and flipped on the switch of her tape recorder. The speech was moving, and truly inspiring. She had grown up on a military base, but never had she heard such a moving speech from the Generals there as from this rebel leader. He was good, that was for sure... easily he stirred up the hatred for the government, saying it was totalitarian and that we had to rise up and end the rule of the corrupt politicians that were in control. The more she listen to him though, the more she agreed with what she was hearing. After a time, she even ceased to feel claustrophobic as the words sank in. No... this can't be right... why am I agreeing with him? He's the enemy, isn't he? But I know the incidents that he is talking about are true... but why? Why is the government doing this? The crowd had begun to react to the speech, calling out encouragements and answering questions he asked. Slowly Laurana found herself joining in. The Hispanic girl next to her, who had announced Rock's readiness to speak, was encouraging her now to join in. All around her she heard the cries for action. "Aye, Rocky boy... ye tell 'em what's what! We'll get them bastards if'n it's the last thing we do," cried a boy with a distinct Irish accent on her right. He turned and flashed her a wicked smile before he went back to cheering. After a few minutes the speech was over. This man, who they called General Rock, stood on the stage looking out at the people, sweat pouring off of him. "And now, I'd like to introduce the one who planned our last mission. She's most likely going to be very successful in the coming years... I give you Psycho! At last... this was the main reason that Laurana had been sent here, to find out what she could about this mysterious tactician called Psycho. The raid on the naval base had been devastating, the route used unheard of... it had been a massacre. She was prepared to see a woman the age of Rock step up and speak, but no such thing happened. A girl, no more than a year older than Laurana herself, climbed onto the stage to address the rebels. Her hair was raven black, tied back in a long ponytail; her black jeans were loose, and her tank top clung to the lightly muscled curves of her upper body. Laurana thought that she was rather striking, her features marred only by a long scar on her left check. She did not look like she was much of a threat, but looks could be deciving... especially if all that she heard of the raid was true. The crowd cheered the girl on the stage, there were calls for a speech. After a few minutes of persuasion, Rock got her to take the bullhorn. She looked at the crowd. Laurana waited, dying to know what this supposed master tactician had to say. "The rebellion lives, and we are coming back stronger than ever," she began. "They thought that they had ran us down, that we would give up, but they were wrong! We are stronger now than we ever were before, and that power shall only grow. The government will fall by our hands, and then we can rebuild this country the way it was meant to be... free!" The crowd cheered madly, even Laurana did. She saw Psycho take another breath and prepare to continue. BANG! The sound of gunfire rang through the chamber from the surrounding tunnels, followed by screams and a stampede of people as they tried to get out of the way. Laurana knew what was happening... it was a raid by the military police - they had discovered where the rebel were meeting and now they were here to kill them all. "Run for it," Psycho screamed from the stage. She jumped down, a few feet from where Laurana stood in shock at the horror she was seeing. The rebels were running and the military police were attacking them like dogs. She had never seen a real gun fight before, and the horror of it rendered her unable to move. "C'mon girl, do ya wanna be killed," the Irish boy said as he took her arm and pulled her along after the retreating figure of Psycho. She was dimly aware that three others were doing the same. They ran through the scattering crowd and into one of the tunnels. Psycho seemed to be running as fast as her legs could carry her, and it was all she and the others that followed her could do to keep up. Finally she stopped after rounding a corner... the sounds of fighting echoed off the walls, but still sounded far away now. Psycho turned to face her and the other four who had followed. Her eyes moved quickly, her body tensed up... but it relaxed when she determined that they were not police. Laurana looked at the others besides her and the Irish boy who had ran after the tactician. The Hispanic girl had followed, and so had two other boys. One of them seemed to be part Asian, like herself... but he appeared Japanese instead of Filipino... he was taller with messy-looking short black hair and an angry look on his face that was only enhanced by the gun that he carried in his hand. The other boy looked older, maybe 22 or so. He was built like a Viking, his long brown hair tied back in a long narrow braid like a Samurai. He carried two large guns in his lands, and had many more strapped about his waist. She remembered these two from the rally... they had been 3 people over from her on the right, and they had been mostly silent through the whole speech by General Rock. "How do we get outta here now," the Hispanic girl asked. "We might have to fight our way out... unless we can find another opening nearby," replied Psycho. She had looked like she was going to say something else at first, but the sounds of fighting were coming closer. "But how are we going to find a new way out without a map, " Laurana asked. "We get one, duh," snapped the Japanese boy as he stared to tinker with his watch. Before Laurana could open her mouth to deliver a scathing retort, however an electronic beep was heard and the boy smiled. "Got it," he said. "Got what?" "The location of the closest alternative exist. There is a tunnel up ahead than connects to the main storm drains leading to the LA river... we can get out there." "How do you know that," Psycho and the other girl asked in unison. The boy pointed to a screen on the watch, displaying a map of the sewer system and a route to the closest exit. "I-750 Watch PC with wireless internet and Linux 2 installed, no respectable hacker would be caught dead without one," he replied. A grin spread across his face, a truly wicked grin that reminded her of a goblin or something. Laurana stared at the tiny screen to keep herself from staring at his smile. It was a truly remarkable piece of technology, a PC in a watch. It was also banned in this country as well as half the world... he must have had it imported from Japan. A bullet whizzed past their heads on the right... they had been found. "Which way is it," the Irish boy asked. "The way they are," the Viking-like boy said motioning toward the approaching police. "We should circle around." "No no no," Psycho began, "that is what they are expecting us to do, they'll have it blocked off. There is only one way out... we have to charge them head on. They'll scatter and we will be able to make a break for it." "That's crazy," Laurana exclaimed. That was when she noticed that Psycho had a rather insane gleam in her eyes... Laurana felt sure that she was about to die... underground, where she hated it. "Trust me," was all she said as she pulled out a small gun and a knife from her pockets. She noticed that everyone else was doing the same. "Don't you have any weapons," the Hispanic girl asked. "Not with me." "Here, take this then... I don't need it right now," she said as she handed her one of the guns in her hand. "I'm Ivy, who are all of you?" "Pockets," the Irish boy said with a small bow as he pulled out what looked like a grenade. "Psycho, obviously," the tactician said. "Goblin," said the Japanese boy with that grin of his that left no question as to why that was his name. "I'm Oni," said the Vikingish boy. In the stance he was in, and with the look of anger on his face as he prepared to fight, she could start to see why he had his name, too. They all looked at her, waiting for her to give her name. Her thoughts were racing... she didn't know what to do. They'd know she was a spy if she didn't give a name... but at the same time she didn't feel like a spy anymore, she felt like one of them. The speeches and the raid had opened her eyes... and she realized for the first time that she had been betrayed by the very government that she served. She was one of them, yet she wasn't... and that was when it came to her. "I'm Rogue," she said with a smile. "Well Rogue," Pockets said, "you an' the others had best cover yer ears... this is about ta get really loud." He pulled the pin and tossed the grenade into the tunnel where the police were. A few moments later everything shook as the explosion went off. She thought she saw Psycho flinch, her hand moving to the scar on her face... but it must have been a trick of the light. Psycho was like stone at the moment, thinking of how to escape no doubt. They charged forward, weapons ready to shoot anyone remaining that blocked their path to freedom. Darkfang was born. (Last edited by Elara on 04-11-05 03:25 AM) |
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AlpoRaggins Troubadour Not so much dead. Since: 12-11-04 From: Someday, Somewhere, Over the Rainbow Since last post: 6612 days Last activity: 6501 days |
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| Hey, I remember reading an exerpt of this on AR a loooooong time ago. It seems a little different than the version I read. What I remember is that Goblin there was bothering someone, but I forgot who... I just remembered that the name fit well.
I like Pockets the best so far, though all the characters do have their own nice individualities. I guess its the fact that an Irishman with a grenade in his hand = fun I'll gladlly read more; I mean, there's gotta be more, this is just the prologue. (Last edited by Elara on 07-12-07 05:40 AM) |
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Stitch Roy Koopa Holy crap, it is the RoboCoonie!  Since: 08-20-04 From: California Since last post: 933 days Last activity: 933 days |
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| I transferred this and the other one you send me to my palm pilot so that I can read it when I'm bored on the go. Remember, I'm working on my series and Soldier of Fortune, and reading yours and Ryan's stuff. It may take a while. Since I may think of revising SoF again for submission to a few magazines and publishers. | |||
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 99 days Last activity: 99 days |
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“Rogue, watch out,” Ivy called out as Laurana saw the gun fire in her direction. She instinctively dove to the side to avoid the bullet as it streaked past her. In the past eight years she had become quite good at dodging bullets… and explosions as well. Quick as she could, she brought her Barretta up and fired at the solider that had shot at her. It still felt strange to fire at military personnel, since she had been raised by them her entire life, but this was war… and they were the enemy. The man dropped as a bullet from her gun ripped through his skull—another direct hit. Ivy and the others had taken care of the remaining soldiers guarding this corridor, so Laurana simply climbed to her feet and moved up to join them as they continued towards their objective, picking up the fallen soldier’s weapon as she passed. They were in the army base located just south of Santa Barbara, it had been built ten years ago mainly as a research facility for the computer technology. As they walked, Psycho in the lead, Laurana thought about their mission for the day. Goblin had received information that the base had developed a new type of computer chip with capabilities that would make any hacker drool—but there was no clear information on what kind of machine the chip was designed for. Clearly this warranted investigation, and so the members of Darkfang had set out to take the prototype chip for study. Darkfang… that was the name the six of them had chosen for the rebel cell they had formed that day eight years ago. It had been Oni’s suggestion, and it was by far the best name anyone had come up, so it was the name they had gone with. It was now known across the globe, along with the insignia of a black fang against the background of a blood red moon that Psycho had designed. “Where do we go from here, Goblin,” she heard Psycho ask as she turned her attention back to the task at hand. “We need to get to the second floor. That is where the lab with the chip is,” the messy-haired hacker answered. “The only ways up are the stairs and elevator on the west side of the building.” “Where are we now, Goblin,” Laurana asked as she pressed herself against the wall and peeked around the corner. No sign of anyone. “Right now we are still on the north side; we need to head down the corridor on the right to get upstairs… it’s bound to be swarming with guards.” “Let’s go left then,” Psycho said. “Left,” Goblin exclaimed, “Why left? We need to go… oh no, not another one of those fucking plans!” Laurana had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing as Goblin started a frantic plea to do the mission the easy way for once. “Oh jes stop yer bitchin’ an’ do as she says,” Pockets snapped. “Ya know it’ll be easier her way, t’always is in the end.” Goblin glared at the Irishman for a moment before finally sighing in resignation. “Fine… then let’s get moving already.” As the six of them made their way down the left corridor, Laurana looked at the structure itself. The walls were painted a sterilized white with doors made of mostly glass so there was little privacy. Something about the way it looked seemed familiar to her… very familiar. “Wait a second, y’all… I think I might know a shortcut,” she said loud enough for them to hear.” “What do you mean, Rogue? You’ve never been here before,” Ivy began. “I know I haven’t but it looks like this base was built with the same plan used to build the one I grew up at. There is a hidden staircase around the corner, or at least there should be.” “But you can’t know that two bases share the same blueprints just by one hallway,” Goblin spat angrily, “besides it would have showed it in the blueprints if there was a hidden staircase!” Laurana looked at him with an irritated glare. It was not often that she lost her temper, but she wanted out of this place as soon as possible (it had no windows) and he was holding them up. She spoke calmly and quietly as she stared at him with a dangerous glint in her eyes. “Goblin, do you honestly think that they would be stupid enough to input the complete blueprints into the computer, showing the hidden staircase in a military research facility when they know that there are hackers like you out there?” His eyes widened a bit, but he remained quiet as she continued. “You can pull up the blueprints of the base in Montgomery if you want… you’ll see it’s identical.” “Um…guys,” Oni interrupted, “I don’t think we have time for this. If the door is there, it’s there, if it’s not we didn’t go out of our way to look, so let’s go.” The others nodded in agreement and followed him as he started down the corridor again. Laurana passed him so she could see if her assumption was correct. Silently she peeked around the corner, hoping she was right. There was the solid door marked “Utility” just like back home, she would have sighed with relief had it not been for one thing. Just like back home, there was a solider stationed near the door. Shit! Laurana pulled back, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes. She had forgotten about the guard, and it was more than likely he had heard Goblin’s ranting down the corridor a few minutes ago. A gentle nudge from Oni got her to come back from her thoughts and she slowly turned to answer his inquisitive look. “There’s a guard,” she mouthed as she held up one finger, “and he most likely knows we’re here.” Ivy made a sour face as both she and Pockets tuned to glare at Goblin, who answered with a typical fierce stare. Laurana could tell that he was not in a very good mood. It’s easy enough to surprise a group of guards at the main entrance, but to get one guard when he knows you’re there is a different matter… Laurana could only hope he hadn’t radioed for back-up already. “Out of my way,” she heard Psycho mutter as she made her way forward, gun in hand. Her face was blank; the usual impish grin that she was so used to seeing on her leader was no longer there. Laurana had come to fear that blank expression. Silently she and the others watched as Psycho raised the gun and took aim down the hallway, presumably at the guard. She heard him move in surprise as he spoke. “What the hell? Halt where you are…” was all he got out before Psycho fired her Glock, the blank expression still on her face. The sound of the man’s scream seemed to echo for a moment as Laurana stood there, transfixed by Psycho’s face. After a moment, Psycho lowered the gun and started down the corridor towards the hidden staircase, breaking the trance the others had been in. “Let’s move… they’ll be here soon,” she muttered. “Ya know,” Pockets whispered to Laurana as they began to follow their leader to the door, “she really scares me sometimes.” She did not reply as they started up the narrow metal stairs, the sound of her feet echoing as her boots made contact with the steel. Once again, she was worried about what was going to happen. The shot had been loud, as had the scream… if a platoon of guards was not on the way by now then they must have been dead. As they reached the middle of the stairs she heard the sound of footsteps approaching, the guards at last. There was only one problem with that however. “They’re coming from both directions,” Ivy said as she spoke Laurana’s thoughts. “God damnit,” Goblin exclaimed, “we should have just taken the right corridor like I fucking said!” “Shut up and get ready,” Oni shouted. He was starting to go berserk, Laurana could see the blood vessels in his eyes bursting, making them turn red. To be continued.... |
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venomouslobster Scarfy  Since: 05-03-05 From: california (knows how to party) Since last post: 6327 days Last activity: 5576 days |
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| *raises eye brow*
write more! right now! (Last edited by venomouslobster on 05-26-05 09:32 AM) |
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 99 days Last activity: 99 days |
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| Ok, so I have written more and have outlined the entire story. I have chapter names and everything. Sixteen chapters, a prologue and epilogue. Short novel, yes, but I hope to make it count. I'd post what I have but it's on my actual laptop and also half of what I have written is still in a notebook and not typed up yet. I have rewritten what is already posted here, the prologue now included General Rock's actual speech, which I feel makes it much stronger and better outlines the alternate timeline that I have come up with.
There have been some changes after much consideration: 1) Oni's name has now changed to Havoc. It makes more sense for the character and is a bit less confusing to the reader. He was known as Oni up in Washington where he and Goblin are from, this is detailed in chapter two. 2) I am not 100% on this, but more than likely I am going to change Goblin's character to be full-blooded Japanese instead of being half-white, also because it fits with the character more. This means I will have to change his last name and I am not sure what it will be yet other than not Sato. I'd prefer a less common name but one that starts with an S. His previous name was Toshiro Sanders, first name remains unchanged. I would actually welcome suggestions. My current favorite is Sanada. When I get my laptop back and can finish typing up what I have I will likely repost everything I have, including the rewritten parts so that you can comment on the changes. (Last edited by Elara on 01-06-10 01:10 AM) |
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Stitch Roy Koopa Holy crap, it is the RoboCoonie! Since: 08-20-04 From: California Since last post: 933 days Last activity: 933 days |
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| TL;DR, but I will later. I pulled it into a format that my computer can read to me on my long drive back to SoCal. | |||
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 99 days Last activity: 99 days |
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| Prologue: The Rally
The air was heavy with the smell of sweat in the small dark chamber underneath Los Angeles’ Wilshire Boulevard. There must have been a thousand people gathered in a space that was not designed to hold more than a few workers at most. All crowded together yet no one was complaining because, even though it seemed hot down here, it was still cooler than it was outside, since the summer of 2023 was turning out to be the hottest in over a decade. This area, and much of the old system as a whole, had been abandoned when the damage from the quakes had let in methane from the La Brea tar pits near the chamber, which was really more of a four-way intersection than a chamber. It seemed that the designers of the original system had tried for architectural elegance even in their sewer systems, and so the area had a large domed ceiling and wide walkways on each side of the sewer canals. The canals had been covered over to make more standing room, and the methane gas, very week after so many years, had been cleared out with the use of several industrial fans powered by car batteries. There was excited talk of the rebellion everywhere, people exchanging information and grieving for those lost. However, in that sea of enthusiasm and camaraderie, there was one person who was alone, and very unhappy to be there. Laurana Diaz looked around the surprisingly bright underground chamber, lit by portable LCD lamps—a good choice, as they did not add to the heat. She tucked a strand of dark brown hair behind her ear, noticing that it was still damp with sweat but glad to have it out of her face. The government labeled the people gathered here “terrorists”, but most of them did not fit her image of one. Of course, one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. Personally, she found it easier to think of them as rebels. Her dark eyes held no hint of her thoughts, or of her fear. She did not want to be in this crowded underground room, she did not want to be underground at all. She was terribly afraid of closed in places... it took all of her strength just to keep from screaming as she felt the walls of the sewer pushing in on her. While the thought of being discovered as a spy was scary enough on its own, it was pushed to the back of her mind as she did her best not to dwell on the fact that she was very, very far underground. Phobias are a bitch, she thought. However, she had been determined to come here, determined to gather information on the rebels for the Los Angeles Star, the government-owned newspaper that now employed her. She was only a 16 year old intern, but a good number of people here appeared to be around her age, some younger, so she did not stick out much. The perfect spy, she thought, but if I can’t keep my fears under control, they will certainly take notice of me. A good spy stays calm, and a good reporter needs to be a good spy if they want the scoop. Her supervisor knew of her plan, and though he had thought sending her to infiltrate a terrorist rally was risky, he had admired her daring and allowed her this attempt to prove herself as a true reporter. It was through hard work and a free schedule as a home-schooled military brat that she was able to be an intern at so young an age in the first place, so she had been eager for a chance to show her worth. One of the things she enjoyed about the move to Los Angeles, people gave her chances. Back on the Montgomery Air Force Base she’d been an outcast along with the rest of the family… it was hard enough to be Filipino, or any minority, in the Deep South; but they seemed to dislike children of mixed heritage even more. Out here, no one really cared that her mom was white, and Laurana was happy with that. Here, she had the chance to make something of herself without having to rely on her dad’s rank to make inroads. There were only snippets of information on this rally in the streets, and she counted herself lucky that she’d heard about it at all. Even the paper’s normal informants had very little information on the gathering, the information was coming from the top down and even the informal recruiters had been kept in the dark about the details until the last. It was clear that they did not want the news getting out, and she had guessed that meant it was big. From looking around at the gathering people, she figured that she had guessed right. After getting the editorial sanction and the promise that the info wouldn’t go to the MPs she had made contact with a recruiter she had found in the Fashion District. Not even the other moles knew she was here. She’d come in through a hidden entrance near Crenshaw Boulevard and Vermont Avenue, one of the many entrances to the old sewer grid that were being used by people going to the rally. Some had already been here for a few days, thus allowing their numbers to trickle in slowly and thus undetected. She had been here for four hours and already she had collected a bit of information as she slowly worked her way to the center of the gathering, keeping to herself and doing her best to slip silently around chatting rebels and making mental notes about what they were saying. She felt like a character in one of the old detective stories she read as a kid. The rebellion was not doing terribly well, that much she knew, but the rebels’ spirits were not dampened by this; in fact, they seemed as strong and as hopeful as ever. Hope had come for them in the form of the success of a recent raid by the rebel cell known as Green Eagle on the Seal Beach naval base. Originally a naval weapons station, the facility had been upgraded during the 2013 war with Iran and completed a month before they had dropped the bomb on Tehran, thus ending the war. However, the Seal Beach base was now the most modern naval base in southern California and still held a lot of weaponry. That had been what Green Eagle was after, and not only had they made off with plans for a large amount of new weapons, they had also destroyed a good portion of the facility in the process. It had been so long since such a victory had been achieved, and it stirred the passions of the rebels. She did not know if she would call it a victory, but it had been a success on their side and so she could not begrudge their enthusiasm. Gathering information was not as easy as she had naively expected, as the rebels were very secretive even amongst each other. No one was using their real names; they all seemed to be utilizing code names, unless someone had legally changed their name to Trigger, which was possible but unlikely. The rebels were smarter than she had anticipated, they knew that there were spies in their midst... and they were very careful not to reveal their secrets. So much for this being an easy job. "General Rock is going to speak," cried the girl next to Laurana excitedly. A slender Hispanic girl dressed in tight yet professional-looking clothes, maybe only a year or two older than her. She seemed horribly out of place, even more than Laurana did. She looked up at the wooden platform indicated by the Hispanic girl. It stood less than five feet from her, and the crowd grew silent around her in order to hear the speech from this “General Rock”. This was the makeshift stage that they had built for the rally, made from cinderblocks and plywood. A dark-skinned black man was standing upon it now, dressed in black pants and a dark gray shirt with dark curly hair that was starting to show signs of grey at the temples. He had a beat up bullhorn in his hands that he kept at his side as he stood looking out over the now silent crowd. Laurana slipped her hand into her pocket and flipped on the switch of her voice recorder as he raised the bullhorn to speak. “My friends, it is good to see you again,” he began, the bullhorn magnifying his voice so that those in the far back could hear him, and ensuring that the voice recorder could pick up everything. “As for those of you here for the first time, I bid you welcome. This is a rare meeting, but we have cause for celebration! The Federalists would believe us beaten, but we have proven them wrong!” A loud cheer went up from the crowd. Laurana joined in to avoid looking suspicious, but she was careful not to move her right arm lest it rock the recorder in her pocket. Finally, the crowd went silent again and Rock continued his speech. “But I get ahead of myself. I was chosen to give the introductory speech for those that are new to the Cause, and to remind the veterans why we fight.” He paused for a moment, looking out at the sea of mostly young faces. “You may not remember the old U.S. government or our Bill of Rights, which were declared null and void when this so-called ‘martial law’ was declared, but it is for them that we fight. The balance of power began shifting shortly after the turn of the century—dark times descended on us then, and they have only gotten darker. The Iraq War cost us lives, money, and the respect of many. The bombing of the 2008 Presidential Debates cost us the lives of several good potential leaders and shocked us to the core, bringing chaos in its wake. The Great Recession did not help the civil unrest that many felt, nor does this drought that has only grown worse with each passing year. It seemed that there was a chance for unity after the disasters of 2012, but nothing stuck. That was a horrible year, the quake, Mammoth Mountain’s eruption, Beryl, and the plague outbreak in Africa. It should have been a warning when the early Federalist leaders pushed for Africa’s quarantine, but they made it seem so reasonable—even the United Nations supported it. No one suspected that we’d follow China in deporting our terminally ill there to die, nor later when we started sending the criminals.” The crowd erupted in boos and other sounds of disapproval and Rock paused once more. Laurana could hear the sadness in his voice as he recounted the tragedies of those early years. 2012 was not as bad as people had feared, what with the doomsday cults that had formed beforehand and their belief that the world would end because the Mayan calendar ended. As it turned out, the calendar only marked some rare astronomical alignment of the center of the galaxy with the sunrise on the winter solstice, but big things did happen. The “big one” finally struck at 6:19pm June 9, 2012 when a 10.5 quake rocked the city of San Juan Bautista, California and spread throughout the San Andreas Fault. The damage from the quake had been bad enough, many buildings were destroyed by the shaking and communications were taken out for nearly fifteen hours. It had triggered quakes on other fault systems as well, so the next few days had been filled with aftershocks. Laurana was still living in Montgomery, Alabama then, but she had seen coverage of it on the news. The big hit came almost a week after the quake though, all the seismic activity agitated the magma under Mammoth Mountain and it erupted on June 15th. Between all the quakes, the fires and chaos caused by the quakes, the eruption, and the carbon dioxide released by the mountain before it blew; around one hundred thousand people had died. The president had declared California a disaster area, and FEMA was bombarded by people needing help. On top of that disaster came Hurricane Beryl in September, the strongest storm to hit the area in years. The category five hurricane skirted the coast of Florida and Georgia, finally making landfall in Charleston, SC and traveling up almost to Fayetteville, NC before dissipating. It was not as bad as the storms of 2005, though it came close, and normally the government could have handled it fine; but under the strain of both disasters, FEMA was severely overtaxed. The whole situation set the perfect stage for political upheaval during the 2012 presidential election, with the surge of the four year old Federalist Party milking the fear generated by the disasters and the doomsday cults it was no surprise when their candidate, Arthur Merrins, won the presidency. The Democrats and Republicans lost a lot of power in that election, with every available seat in Congress going to the Federalists as well. They promised protection and better reaction to disasters to get people the help they needed; and the people believed them. Near the end of the year, a nasty outbreak of the plague occurred in Africa. It was almost under control by Christmas, but then it became pneumatic and went out of control again. Many of the countries being affected by the plague did not have the ability to treat so many people at once, and the African Union had to appeal to the United Nations for help. Instead, the continent was quarantined following arguments by President Merrins that it would be better that way. People were still terrified by the whole end of the world idea, and so they believed him. The plague probably would have run its course and ended soon, but China arranged to start sending in their terminally ill so that they would catch the plague and die sooner, without the state having to help them. Many people spoke out against it, but Merrins supported China’s actions, and soon made an alliance with the communist nation against other countries. That was when we started sending our terminal patients over to Africa as well. By that point, most of the people contracting the disease and spreading it were the Chinese ill. Most of the various African nations had taken to wearing masks to cover their mouths and noses by that time, and while it did not completely protect from infection it did a lot to help prevent their catching it. Then the President declared that he was going to begin sending convicts sentence to life to Congo, where incident of the plague was still highest, in an effort to reduce the overcrowding of our prisons. It was not a popular move; Laurana could understand the crowds booing. She was snapped out of her thoughts by Rock raising the bullhorn to continue his speech. “Yes, outrage was the reaction then as well, anger at allying with China to turn Africa into a penal colony of the damned! But it was too late then, they had too firm a grip to get rid of them easily, so we backed down. We let them close our borders and tag us like cattle,” Laurana knew that was referring to Merrins’ policy of border control and terrorist prevention at the beginning of the Iran War in July 2013, when nanochip identification became mandatory for all U.S. citizens, but she did not know of any opposition to it. “There were protests, yes, but they were so small that it was like they did not happen. And the nuking of Iran only made the world fear the Federalists more. It took the slaughter of farmers and the declaration of martial law to finally get the attention of enough people for this long-brewing rebellion to really start. The Feds were ready though, and they came out swinging. We lost some good people that first year, but we hung on. The rest of the world was not so willing to do the right thing however, not until the so-called Pershing Square Riot in 2018. The official version of the story is that angry protesters attacked the Military Police and blew up several trucks before the riot could be put down, but evidence says otherwise,” Laurana’s ears perked up at this, she did not know of any version of events other than the official version. “Truth is there were explosions, but we didn’t make them. An anarchist called Deek blew up those Fed trucks…with dynamite that the Fed’s gave him, giving them the excuse to start the massacre! Photos even show that only our guys were near the trucks when they blew up—but everyone was facing the other way. Our contacts gave this evidence to people in safe countries, and we finally got the financial backing we needed from our hidden allies and sympathizers. Seems decent people think it’s wrong for a government to butcher its own people for disagreeing with them.” The speech was moving, and truly inspiring from what she observed. Laurana had grown up on a military base in Alabama, but never had she heard such a moving speech from the Generals there as from this rebel leader. He was good, that was for sure... easily stirring up the hatred for the government as he spoke in a calm, deep, baritone voice. It was all common terrorist propaganda and hate mongering as far as her employers were concerned. The more she listened to him though, the more she agreed with what she was hearing. She had never agreed with the way that the Pershing Square Riot of 2018 had been handled, or with much of the policies passed after the government had declared martial law in 2015. General Rock’s version of events made more sense to her, and she did remember something about destruction of photographs ordered after it. After a time she even ceased to feel claustrophobic as the words, and their meaning to her, sank in. No... this can't be right... I’m agreeing with him? He's the enemy, isn't he? But I know the incidents that he’s talkin’ about and his versions make sense! But why? Why would the government lie? Unless… could these rebels be right? Slowly Laurana found herself joining in with the cheers that accompanied Rock’s last remark. The Hispanic girl next to her, who had announced Rock's readiness to speak, was encouraging her now. All around her, she heard the cries for action. “Before martial law was declared, America had a right to freedom of speech and a right to assemble and protest the things we did not like; but now they call it terrorist activity and treason. We’re fighting to get our rights back, rights that were stolen from us when the Federalists came to power, and for that they call us terrorists. They spread their lies to the public to make us outlaws, but we will not give up!” "Aye, Rocky boy! You tell 'em what's what! We'll get the bastards if it's the last thing we do," cried a boy with a distinct Irish accent on her right. He seemed to feel her gaze on him, and turned to flash a wicked smile her way before he went back to cheering. “We remember our dead,” Rock continued, his baritone voice growing louder with emotion, “those innocents that have been slain for speaking up and those that have died fighting to restore our freedom. Sadly, there have been many of both,” his voice grew somber once more, “we have been hard-pressed by Federalist forces—but we can see a light, a glimmer of hope, ahead in the darkness,” murmurs of excitement began spreading through the crowd that echoed the excitement in the General’s own voice. “We’ve had many successful raids on Fed bases, most recently on Seal Beach. We’ve gotten a lot of information and supplies from these raids, which have given a new hope to our cause. That hope comes from our young fighters, who are eager to pick up were the fallen left off, and who are more numerous than the generation that came before them. You young people are not used to just sitting around and letting such corrupt leaders stay in power like so many of your elders did, and for that I am grateful.” General Rock stood on the stage looking out at the mass of people, sweat glistening on his dark skin. The applause and cheers that greeted the end of his speech was thundering, and Laurana wondered if it could be heard from the streets above. "And now,” Rock said after a few moments, and silence descended once more, “I'd like to introduce you to the mastermind behind the Seal Beach raid. She is another of our younger revolutionaries and a brilliant strategist… I give you, Psycho!” At last! This was the main reason that Laurana had decided to come here, to find out what she could about this mysterious tactician called Psycho. The raid on the naval base had been devastating, the route used unheard of... it had been a massacre. All that anyone knew was that Psycho was female, and she was surprised to learn that she was a younger fighter. She had been prepared to see a woman the age of Rock step up and speak, but no such thing happened. A girl, no more than a year older than Laurana herself, climbed onto the stage to address the rebels. Her hair was raven black, tied back in a long, messy ponytail; her black jeans were loose, and her tank top clung to the lightly muscled curves of her upper body. Laurana thought that she was rather striking, her features marred only by a long scar on her left check. She did not look like she was much of a threat, but looks could be deceiving—especially if all that she had heard of the raid was true. The crowd cheered the girl on stage; there were calls for a speech. After a few minutes of persuasion that she couldn’t hear, Rock got her to take the bullhorn. Psycho looked out at the crowd. Laurana waited, dying to know what this supposed master tactician had to say. "The rebellion lives, and we are coming back stronger than ever," she began in a steady and clear voice, but one that did not alter the impression of how young she was. "They thought that they had run us down, that we would give up, but they were wrong! We are stronger now than we ever were before, and that power shall only grow. The government will fall by our hands, and then we can rebuild this country the way it was meant to be—free!" The crowd cheered madly, even Laurana did. She saw Psycho take another breath and prepare to continue, then her eyes went wide as she saw something towards the back of the chamber. BANG! The sound of gunfire rang through the chamber from the surrounding tunnels, followed by screams and a stampede of people as they tried to get out of the way. Psycho herself had rolled to the side to avoid the shot. Laurana knew what was happening—it was a raid by the military police. They had discovered where the rebels were meeting and decided to strike in an attempt to eradicate them. "Run for it," Psycho screamed from the stage before throwing the bullhorn to the ground. Even then, there was no trace of fear in her voice. She jumped down off the stage a few feet from where Laurana stood in shock at the scene she was witnessing. The rebels were running and the military police were attacking them like dogs. She had never seen a real gun fight before, and the horror of it rendered her unable to move. "C'mon girl! Do you want to be killed," the Irish boy shouted over the din as he took her arm and pulled her along after the retreating figure of the girl called Psycho. She was dimly aware that three others were doing the same. They ran through the scattering crowd and into one of the tunnels. Psycho seemed to be running as fast as her legs could carry her, and it was all she and the others that followed her could do to keep up. Finally, she stopped after rounding a corner. The sounds of fighting echoed off the walls, but still sounded far away now. Psycho turned to face her and the other four who had followed. Her eyes moved quickly, her body tensed up, but it relaxed when she determined that they were not police. Laurana looked at the others besides her and the Irish boy who had ran after the tactician. The Hispanic girl had followed, and so had two other boys. One of the boys appeared to be Japanese... he was taller than her, but not by much, with messy-looking short black hair and an angry look on his face that was only enhanced by the gun that he carried in his hand. The other boy looked older, maybe twenty-two or so. He was built like a Viking, his long sandy-brown hair tied back in a long narrow braid that reminded her of the ones worn by Samurai, which looked odd at first glance. He carried two large guns in his lands, as well as a hatchet and a bowie knife attached to his belt. She remembered these two from the rally, they had been three people over from her on the right, and they had been mostly silent through the whole speech by General Rock. "How do we get outta here now," the Hispanic girl asked. "We might have to fight our way out... unless we can find another opening nearby," replied Psycho. She had looked like she was going to say something else at first, but the sounds of fighting were coming closer. "But how are we going to find a new way out without a map,” Laurana asked. "We get one, duh," snapped the Japanese boy as he stared to tinker with his watch. Before Laurana could open her mouth to deliver a scathing retort, however an electronic beep was heard and the boy smiled. "Got it," he said. "Got what," Laurana asked, staring at the watch. "The location of the closest alternative exit,” he answered in the same tone. “There is a tunnel up ahead that connects to the main storm drains leading to the L.A. River. It’s an active part of the system, so it will be a bit wet, but we can get out there." "How do you know that," Psycho and the other girl asked in unison. The boy pointed to a screen on the watch, displaying a map of the sewer system and a route to the closest exit. "I-750 Watch PC with wireless internet and Linux 2 installed, no respectable hacker would be caught dead without one," he replied smugly. A grin spread across his face, a truly wicked grin that reminded her of a goblin or something Laurana stared at the tiny screen to keep herself from staring at his smile. It was a truly remarkable piece of technology, a PC in a watch. It was also banned in this country as well as half the world—he must have either had it imported from Japan or found it on the black market. A bullet whizzed past their heads on the right... they had been found. "Which way is it," the Irish boy asked. "The way they’re shooting from," the Viking-like boy said motioning toward the approaching police. "We should circle around." "No, no, no," Psycho began, "that is what they are expecting us to do, they'll have it blocked off. There is only one way out,” she paused, seemingly evaluating them once more, “we have to charge them head on. They'll scatter and we will be able to make a break for it." "That's crazy," Laurana exclaimed. That was when she noticed that Psycho had a rather insane gleam in her eyes. Laurana felt sure that she was about to die... underground, how ironic. "Trust me," was all she said as she pulled out a small gun and a knife from her pockets. Laurana noticed that everyone else was doing the same. "Don't you have any weapons," the Hispanic girl asked when she noticed Laurana had not armed herself. "No… not with me," she said hesitantly. She had thought of bringing something, but didn’t know if it would be a good idea or not, looks like she should’ve bought a knife or something after all. "Here, take this then... I can make do with one for now," she said as she handed her one of the guns she was holding. "I'm Ivy by the way, who’re all of you?" "Pockets," the Irish boy said with a small bow as he pulled out what looked like a grenade. "Psycho, obviously," the tactician said. "Goblin," said the Japanese boy with a disturbing grin of his that left no question as to why that was his name. She had seen pictures of goblins on some trading cards when she was very little, and it looked very similar to what she was now seeing. "I'm Havoc," said the Viking boy. The name seemed odd and she could not keep the puzzled look from her face apparently. “Long story,” he said in answer to her silent question. All the nicknames used by the rebels had some kind of meaning, she had learned that from the recruiter that brought her in, but she hadn’t bothered to really pick one since she didn’t think it would come up. They all looked at her, waiting for her to give her name. Her thoughts were racing. Shit, I need a name! They’ll know I was spying if I don’t give them one. But was she a spy anymore? The speech she heard had stuck a cord with feelings she had been trying to ignore for years; she acknowledged for the first time that she had been betrayed by the very government that she served. She was one of them, yet she wasn't... and that was when it came to her. "I'm Rogue," she said with a smile. "Well, Rogue," Pockets said, "You and the others had best cover yer ears. It’s about to get really loud." He pulled the pin and tossed the grenade into the tunnel where the police were. A few moments later everything shook as the explosion went off. She thought she saw Psycho flinch, her hand moving to the scar on her face... but it must have been a trick of the light. Psycho was like stone now, thinking of how to escape no doubt. They charged forward, weapons ready to shoot anyone remaining that blocked their path to freedom. Laurana ran with them, her mind made up. She was going to destroy the recorder when she got out of here. It did not have much important information on it, but it had kept recording after they had fled from the MPs. Therefore, it provided proof that she had come into personal contact with Psycho and the others as well as indentifying the codename she had chosen, and that could prove troublesome. Besides, it would be easy to claim it was broken while fleeing for her life. The group rounded a corner and came face to face with a group of very surprised officers. Ivy took one out before he could radio for backup and the fight began. Darkfang was born. Chapter 1: Nanochip R-73 “Rogue, watch out,” Ivy called out as Laurana saw the gun fire in her direction. She instinctively dove to the side to avoid the bullet as it streaked past her. In the past eight years she had become quite good at dodging bullets… and, thanks to Pockets, explosions as well. Quick as she could, she brought her Berretta up and fired at the solider that had shot at her. It still felt strange to fire at military personnel since she had been raised by them her entire life, but this was war, and they were the enemy. The man dropped as a bullet from her gun ripped through his skull—another direct hit. Ivy and the others had taken care of the remaining soldiers guarding this corridor so Laurana simply climbed to her feet and moved up to join them as they continued towards their objective, picking up the fallen soldier’s weapon as she passed. They were in the army base located just south of Santa Barbara, it had been built ten years ago mainly as a research facility for weapon and computer technology. As they walked, Psycho in the lead, Laurana thought about their mission for the day. Goblin had received information that the base had developed a new type of computer chip with capabilities that “would make any hacker drool”—but there was no clear information on what kind of machine the chip was designed for. Clearly, this warranted investigation, and so the members of Darkfang had set out to take the prototype chip for study. Darkfang… that was the name the six of them had chosen for the rebel cell they had formed that day eight years ago. It had been Havoc’s suggestion, and it was by far the best name anyone had come up with, so it was the winner. It was now known across the globe, along with the insignia of a black fang against the background of a blood red moon that Psycho had designed. “Where do we go from here, Goblin,” she heard Psycho ask as she turned her attention back to the task at hand. “We need to get to the second floor. That is where the lab with the chip is,” the messy-haired hacker answered. “The only ways up are the stairs and an elevator on the west side of the building.” “Where are we now, Goblin,” Laurana asked as she pressed herself against the wall and peeked around the corner. No sign of anyone. “Right now we are still on the north side; we need to head down the corridor on the right to get upstairs… it’s bound to be swarming with guards.” “Let’s go left then,” Psycho said. “Left,” Goblin exclaimed, “Why left? We need to go… oh no, not another one of those fucking plans!” Laurana had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing as Goblin started a frantic plea to do the mission the easy way for once. It was a common thing, ever since they had charged the MPs in that tunnel Goblin had developed a dislike of Psycho’s impromptu plans. “Oh just stop yer bitchin’ and do as she says,” Pockets snapped. “You know it’ll be easier her way, t’always is in the end.” Goblin glared at the Irishman for a moment before finally sighing in resignation. “Fine… then let’s get moving already.” As the six of them made their way down the left corridor, Laurana looked at the structure itself as she reflected on all that she had learned in the past eight years. Her teammates were very interesting people that had lead difficult lives. Havoc and Goblin, whose real names were Aiden Calloway and Toshiro Sanada, were boyhood friends from southern Washington. Both of them were a year older than she was, even though Havoc still looked years older than he was. Havoc’s dad had been in the military and Goblin’s parents were computer engineers for a company that was shut down after the Federalists came to power. Both of them had lost family: Havoc’s father was silenced for disagreeing with the new regime and Goblin’s mother was executed as a rebel. She had learned much of the story from Goblin, as he was more willing to speak about their past. It wasn’t that Havoc wasn’t friendly, he just tended to be the brooding, silent type. Ivy was a local girl, born and raised in East Los Angeles but successful despite financial handicaps. When they met at that rally, Ivy had just acquired her nickname. She was accepted to USC but was disappointed that she couldn’t afford to go to Ivy League schools on the east coast, so her family took to calling her Ivy as a joke. However, she embraced the name, preferring it to her real name, Cassandra Santos. Now a successful graduate from USC, Ivy was usually their financial manager who had many connections. She was always very friendly, and Laurana was glad to have her on the team. Pockets was a character. He preferred to be known as an Irish rogue, but he was really a nice guy. He and his family had moved to America from Belfast, Ireland just before the rebellion broke out. He’d gotten involved when he was just thirteen, running errands to acquire goods from black market contacts and stealing things of his own on occasion thus earning his nickname. He had also picked up some talent with demolitions along the way, feeling that if he was going to embrace the Irish rebel stereotype he might as well go all the way. She could see some of his grenades outlined under his coat as they made their way down the hall. She looked around at where they were, taking stock of her surroundings. The walls were painted a sterilized white with doors made of mostly glass. There was little privacy in military research facilities; she remembered that from the base back home. Laurana paused and looked around again. Something about the way it all looked seemed familiar to her… very familiar. “Wait a second, y’all. I think I might know a shortcut,” she said loud enough for them to hear.” “What do you mean, Rogue? You’ve never been here before,” Ivy began as they all stopped to regard her. “I know I haven’t, but it looks like this base was built with the same plan used to build the one I grew up at. If that is true, then there is a hidden staircase around the corner, or at least there should be.” “But you can’t know that two bases share the same blueprints just by one hallway,” Goblin spat angrily, obviously still in a bad mood, “besides it would have showed it in the blueprints if there was a hidden staircase!” Laurana looked at him with an irritated glare. It was not often that she lost her temper, but as the building had no windows, she wanted out of this place as soon as possible and he was holding them up. She spoke calmly and quietly as she stared at him with a dangerous glint in her eyes. “Goblin, do ya honestly think that they would be stupid enough to input the complete blueprints into the computer, showing a hidden staircase in a military research facility when they know that there are hackers like you out there?” His eyes widened a bit, shocked at her manner, but he remained quiet as she continued. “You can pull up the blueprints of the base in Montgomery if you want… you’ll see it’s identical.” “Um…guys,” Havoc interrupted before Goblin could open his mouth to argue, “I don’t think we have time for this. If the door is there, it’s there; if it’s not, we didn’t go out of our way to look, so let’s go.” The others nodded in agreement and followed him as he started down the corridor again, Goblin falling towards the back sulkily. Laurana passed Havoc so she could see if her assumption was correct. Silently she peeked around the corner, hoping she was right. There was the solid door marked “Utility” just like back home, she would have sighed with relief had it not been for one thing. Just like back home, there was a solider stationed near the door. Shit! Laurana pulled back, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes. She had forgotten about the guard, and it was more than likely he had heard Goblin’s ranting down the corridor a few minutes ago. A gentle nudge from Havoc got her to come back from her thoughts and she slowly turned to answer his inquisitive look. “There’s a guard,” she whispered as quietly as possible while holding up one finger, “and he most likely knows we’re here.” Ivy made a sour face as both she and Pockets tuned to glare at Goblin, who answered with his typical fierce stare, challenging them to say anything. Laurana could tell that he was not in the mood to be criticized. It’s easy enough to surprise a group of guards at the main entrance, but to get one guard when he knows you’re there is a different matter. Laurana could only hope he hadn’t radioed for back up already. “Out of my way,” she heard Psycho mutter as she made her way forward, gun in hand. Her face was blank; the usual impish grin that she was so used to seeing on her leader was no longer there. She had seen that expression before, and that was usually when Psycho lost any qualms about killing, when she was lest like herself. Laurana had come to fear that blank expression, even though she understood why it happened. Though she didn’t know all the details, she did know that a young girl named Rebekah Williams had witness the deaths of her family to a Fed raid on homes of suspected rebels. The girl was rescued from the Feds by a young General Rock, who raised her along with another rebel orphan. Rebekah, who grew up to be Psycho, had developed a complete distrust and utter hatred for Federalist troops and officials because of her experiences. She had no reservations about taking them down, no matter the danger; however, in a situation like this she would not risk other’s lives, preferring to do it herself. Laurana sometimes wondered if she secretly hoped to die in those confrontations, but she never mentioned that thought to anyone else. Silently, Laurana and the others watched as Psycho raised the gun and took aim down the hallway, presumably at the guard. She heard him cock his weapon, a rifle by the sound of it, as Psycho came into his view. “Halt, where you are! Drop your…” was all he got out before Psycho fired her Glock, the blank expression on her face unchanging. The sound of the man’s dying scream seemed to echo for a moment as Laurana stood there, transfixed by her leader’s apparent lack of emotion. After a moment, Psycho lowered the gun and started down the corridor towards the hidden staircase, breaking the rest of them out of their trance. “Let’s move… they’ll be here soon,” she muttered. “You know,” Pockets whispered to Laurana as they began to follow their leader to the door, “She scares me sometimes.” She did not reply as they started towards the door, pausing to pick up the dead soldier’s rifle. She preferred rifles to handguns, as she had gone hunting with her parents a lot as a child. Laurana made her way up the narrow metal stairs, the sound of her feet echoing as her boots made contact with the steel. Once again, she was worried about what was going to happen. The shot had been loud, as had the scream, as the inner part of the buildings had much better acoustics than the outer areas. Why didn’t they bring silencers? If a platoon of guards was not on the way by now then they must have been dead. As they reached the middle of the stairs she heard the sound of footsteps approaching, the guards at last. As she listened again, her eyes widened as she realized just how much trouble they were in for. “They’re coming from both directions,” Ivy said as she spoke Laurana’s thoughts. “God damnit,” Goblin exclaimed, “we should have just taken the right corridor like I fucking said!” “Shut up and get ready,” Havoc shouted angrily. He was starting to go berserk, Laurana could see the blood vessels in his eyes bursting, making them turn red. She’d had nightmares after the first time she saw Havoc lose it like that. It had been shortly after they had formed Darkfang, and some soldiers had cornered him in a back alley. His eyes had become red and he attacked with no regard for his own safety, swinging the knife and axe that he kept on his belt like some kind of demonic shredding machine. With his size, it was terrifying, and a few of the soldiers ran away in terror. She nearly had as well, for that was the first time that she understood why Goblin had nicknamed him Havoc, but when she tried, she couldn’t move. When he came out of it, he explained to all of them that sometimes his adrenal glands kick into high gear and he loses it. He said that the doctors he had talked to were not sure what caused the adrenaline surge and that when it happens it is best to get out of his line of sight. Squeezing behind Havoc to get out of the way of the inevitable charge, Laurana noticed that Pockets had already pulled out one of his homemade grenades in place of his Uzi. It seemed that the rear attackers were going to be in for quite a surprise, so she turned her attention back to the top of the stairs. The first soldiers were just coming through the door and Havoc was rushing to meet them, weapons poised to swing. It was a testament to their nerve that they did not turn and run from death, and Rogue had to admire them for that even as she took aim to take out anyone that got past Havoc’s onslaught. The first axe swing connected with a sickening thud into the neck of the man on the right and the blood gushing from his severed artery sprayed onto Havoc’s arm and shoulder just as he drove the large knife into the gut of the guy on his left. The shock of the blow pushed the soldier back a bit and caused him to drop his weapon, Havoc took advantage of that as he jerked sideways and up, ripping open the abdomen and letting the man drop to the ground to bleed to death. Shots fired from the direction that the two MPs had emerged from and Havoc jolted as they thudded into his shoulder and chest. She was thankful now that Ivy had convinced him to wear bulletproof armor. In the beginning none of them bothered wearing body armor because what was available was too bulky and ineffective compared to the Interceptor armor that the MPs wore. Luckily, due to the government not wanting to spend more money, the Interceptor design had changed very little in the past forty years, despite advances in ammunition design. However, given Havoc’s habit of running into oncoming gunfire instead of taking cover, Ivy had convinced Psycho that it was a good investment to get him some kind of protection. Havoc had been resistant to the idea, of course, but Ivy did not back down until he agreed to at least try it. The result was a custom-made suit of a lightweight armor that was a more advanced version of what they once called Dragon scale. It wasn’t perfect, but it kept him alive. To be honest, while Havoc’s ferocity was a boon in some ways it was proving a hindrance in others. With him at the door swinging away, it was difficult to get a clear shot at the MPs that he was fighting, let alone the others behind them. She head Goblin and Ivy shooting down the stairs behind her but both she and Psycho were trying to get a shot past their berserking comrade. “Havoc, get your ass outta the way,” Psycho shouted. Surprisingly, he seemed to have heard her since he took a step back onto the landing and another away from the door. The two MPs fighting him followed, stepping over the corpses of the first two without reacting. Now that they had an opening, more began to come through the door and into the path of her bullets—overall, a vast improvement. They returned fire, but it was hard to get a clear shot without them hitting one of their allies. She and Psycho had no such problem, as Havoc was in a good enough position that he had little chance of being hit and it didn’t matter which of the Feds took a bullet. “Fire in the hole,” came Pockets’ warning shout from behind Laurana just before he came barreling past her himself. It seemed he’d finally decided to use the damn thing but oh, what bad timing. “Pockets wait! Havoc’s still…,” she yelled after him, but it was too late. As the last MP at the top of the stairs dropped, Havoc slashed out at the newest intruder into his space. The arcing knife caught Pockets in the shoulder and ripped through his leather coat to bite into the flesh beneath. “Bloody fuckin’ hell,” Pockets cried out as he gripped his shoulder, dodging away from Havoc’s reach. It was all that he could do to get out before the grenade exploded at the base of the stairs, knocking everyone to their knees and leaving Laurana’s ears ringing for a few moments. The blast also seemed to knock Havoc back to his senses. He stared at Pockets’ arm as he slowly got back to his feet. His expression was concern tinged with horror, at least as far as she could analyze. His face was pale and he wasn’t blinking at all. “P-Pockets,” he stammered, “I’m… I’m so sorry, man. I… I….” “Time for that later,” Psycho interrupted as she began to steer them out of the doorway and onto the second floor. “C’mon, we gotta move. Where to from here, Goblin?” Laurana turned to regard the man in question and was surprised to see a faint glimmer of concern in his eyes before he resumed his normal, irritated façade. She knew that he and Havoc were close friends, so it shouldn’t surprise her that he’d worry about Havoc’s accident and his mental well-being, it just looked weird to see that expression on his face. “It should be in the southwest side of the building,” Goblin answered as he looked at his I-750. “Take the right hall when we hit the next corner and it should be the fifth door on the right. Before you ask, the roof access is in the southeast corner… unless Rogue here knows of any other secret doors.” Laurana couldn’t tell if he meant that in a condescending way or not, so she chose to ignore it. She didn’t care about Goblin’s barbed speech right now, the air here was staler than on the first floor and she was itching to get out as soon as possible. “Right,” Psycho said as she began leading the way, “Pockets’ little explosion should give them a pause before following us, and they still don’t know why we’re here in the first place. That should buy us some time while we get over there,” she stopped and looked back over her shoulder, “but we need to move quickly and quietly, got it?” She had put emphasis on quietly, but didn’t look at anyone in particular when she said it. Laurana was not sure if Psycho was annoyed at Havoc, Pockets, Goblin, or herself for their actions earlier, most likely it was all four of them. They all nodded and she began to walk again. Miraculously, they made it to the lab they were looking for without encountering anyone. Ducking inside after Goblin hacked the electronic lock, Laurana took up guard duty at the door while Goblin and Psycho headed to a table covered in computers. The room was only lit by the glow of the machines, which was lucky for them. Just like the rooms downstairs, all of the labs on the second floor had a large pane of glass for the inner wall and the door. There were vertical blinds pulled closed that covered the glass wall and door when the lab was not in use. After reactivating the lock, there was no sign that they were in there at all. Inside the room itself, the walls were lined with glassed in workstations containing various projects on computer technology. There was no telling how long it was going to take to find the nanochip that they were looking for. Goblin was already seated a computer, searching for the information on which station had the chip while Psycho watched over his shoulder. Ivy had gotten Pockets to sit down at another table and was helping him bandage his shoulder with the miniature first aid kit she carried in her backpack. Normally the bag she carried was a lot smaller, but their planned method of escape today had required a bigger bag. Pockets himself was fiddling with something he pulled from his coat, but she couldn’t make out what. Havoc, meanwhile, wandered back and forth near the far wall in a daze, half-heartedly searching for anything of interest. Laurana made a note to talk to him later, she did not like seeing him like this at all. All seemed to be going well as far as her own watch was concerned. She heard one patrol go by outside the door, but they didn’t even give a second glance to the locked and darkened room as they went by. From what she overheard, they were intent on reaching the north sector of the facility…apparently the weapon development was centered in that area. Laurana had heard about the stuff that was ‘under development’—laser weapons straight out of a science fiction novel and other stuff that had little to no chance of actually being perfected and put into production for at least another fifty years or so. However, she wasn’t about to open up the door and correct them, so she just chuckled quietly to herself. “Found it,” she heard Goblin say from across the room. Laurana looked over and watched him walk from the computers to a workstation on the left wall near the back. Like the other stations, a small computer terminal commanded a shielded robotic arm inside. The whole space inside the glass was an airtight clean room that kept contaminates from messing with the electronics inside. Goblin had tried to build a smaller one in his workshop, but it hadn’t turned out very well. Goblin pulled out a small cord from his I-750 and attached it to the computer terminal before he started to type away. Minutes passed but each second felt like eternity to Laurana, who felt the old sensation of the walls pressing in on her in the silence. “Fuck, this thing is tough,” Goblin said finally. Laurana shook her head to banish the claustrophobic feelings as she regarded the hacker from across the room. “Can you break it,” Ivy asked. She’d finished dressing Pockets’ wound and was putting away her kit now. “Not sure,” he answered. “Maybe only partially at best. This is a really sophisticated security code.” “Partially,” asked Psycho as she leaned over Goblin’s shoulder to look at his screen. “What then?” Goblin was silent for a moment as he looked at the screen. “I dunno,” he said finally. Laurana heard a shuffling sound as Pockets climbed back to his feet and walked over to where Goblin and Psycho stood. Havoc watched him silently, but he stayed on the far side of the room. “Can you get the alarms off at least,” the Irishman asked as he examined the case. “Yeah,” came Goblin’s irritated reply, “but then we can’t get the lock open so what’s the point?” “I’ll worry about the lock,” Pockets said as he began digging into his coat. “You just get the alarms off, right?” He pulled out what looked like a long length of nylon cord and some duct tape and began attaching it in a ring around the lock mechanism. Laurana had never seen him use such an explosive in any other mission. “What is that stuff, Pockets?” “Detcord,” he answered as he pulled out a lighter and ignited the end that he’d left hanging. “Figured I needed somethin’ a bit more quiet than C4 for a mission delicate as this, so I put in an order with me contacts.” The cord burned like any other fuse would, but it was so bright that it hurt Laurana’s eyes. She turned back to the blinds and watched for signs of guards, hoping none were close enough to see the increased light in the lab. She heard the hissing of the explosive cease soon after, followed by a quiet thump as Pockets removed the lock. “All yours, Mr. Goblin,” he said with a chuckle in his voice. At least he wasn’t letting the gash in his shoulder get to him. Goblin moved up to the hole, all but shoving Pockets aside as he reached inside the workstation with a hard plastic case in his hand. Maneuvering his hand underneath where the chip was suspended, he closed the case around it and removed his hand to hold the chip up to the computer’s light. From Laurana’s vantage point, it looked like a speck, but then again all nanochips looked like specks. “Excellent,” he murmured before placing the case in a protective pouch on his belt. Honestly, sometimes it was hard for Laurana not to compare him to Batman with that utility belt he wore. However, she knew how touchy Goblin could be when his gadgets were criticized so she did her best to keep her observations to herself. “Alright, now let’s get the fuck out of here,” Psycho said as she moved to join Laurana by the door. She noted that Psycho’s shoulder muscles were tensed up and her eyes were darting around despite there being no reason for it. Laurana figured it was her experiencing anxiety over Pockets being cut and the difficulty of their escape plan. Normally, Psycho never seemed perturbed about the safety of herself or the others, but now that one of them was injured…. Heavens knew she’d be upset if she was the one in charge of this mission. There was no sound from the corridor outside, so Laurana cracked the blinds open to peek out of the window that made up most of the wall. The brightness of the well-lit, white hallway was blinding compared to the dimness of the laboratory. She blinked a few times to let her eyes adjust and then looked down the hall in both directions. “All clear,” she whispered. “Good,” replied Psycho. “Let’s move.” The six of them walked quietly down the deserted hallways with Laurana wincing at the echoes of their steps. It seemed that the upper floor had been evacuated when their assault had began, they passed quite a few labs with lights on and the blinds opened but no one was inside. She supposed this was a lucky break, as many of the researchers here were just civilians employed by the Feds to do research and development. This war was between the Feds and the Resistance; she didn’t want innocents getting caught in the crossfire. As they approached the roof access stairwell, Ivy stopped them. “Hold on” she said quietly. “Before we go barging ‘round the corner, let’s make sure there isn’t a guard or something there like last time, okay?” They all nodded and waited while Ivy tip-toed up to the corner and pulled out a small mirror from the backpack she carried. Holding it carefully so as to not directly catch the light from above, she tilted it around the corner for a moment and then came back, tucking the mirror away as she moved. “Two guards,” she said, “each with an M-18 and a side arm.” “They notice you,” asked Psycho. If Laurana didn’t know better she’d say their leader sounded nervous. “Clueless,” Ivy responded with a grin. “Perfect,” Psycho said before glancing at the others. “Let’s duck inside here to hide while Pockets sets off our distraction.” She indicated another empty lab, one with the lights still on. “Wait, what distraction,” Laurana found herself asking. “Oh,” Pockets replied nonchalantly, “I rigged the lab to explode. Works out fuckin’ beautiful when you think ‘bout it—they lose all the data they’ve got on the bloody R-73 and we get a clear escape route.” Laurana blinked a few more times as she processed the information. He must have done it while she was listening to that patrol… so that was what he had been playing with. Somehow, she was not that surprised. “You do realize I wasn’t able to get the data off the computers because of the security, right,” Goblin interjected as he worked at opening the lock to the lab. “Aye,” the Irishman replied. “All the more reason to destroy it—if it means that bloody much to ‘em then it can’t be good for us. Besides, you’ll figure it out. I have complete faith in ya.” “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Goblin said as the lock slid open on the door, “but I’d rather have the data.” They all entered the lab quietly before Goblin closed the door again and ducked behind a counter next to Laurana. His hand was resting on his gun and he looked about as tense as she felt. Everyone did, she noticed as she glanced around the room. “You really think it’s worth all this for a nanochip,” she asked. “It better fucking be,” he answered. “I just hope I can figure out what the hell it does before they can recreated it.” “But how can they do that if we’re blowing up the computers,” she asked. “They can salvage the information from the drives,” Goblin said, “or they might have copies elsewhere, or any number of possibilities. This will slow them down a bit, Rogue, but it won’t stop them.” “Quiet over there,” Psycho ordered from her hiding place across the room. Laurana felt like a child getting chastised, but both she and Goblin fell silent. “Alright,” Psycho continued, “do it, Pockets.” Laurana looked over at him, hidden behind the counter next to her and Goblin. He reached into his jacket and pull out a detonator and a pair of earphones from an old shooting range. Everyone plugged their ears as Pockets moved his finger over the button and pressed down, detonating the explosives. Even muffled, the explosion was very loud, louder than the grenade he’d set off earlier. There wouldn’t be anything left of that lab from the sound of it, and if there was she would be truly surprised. The explosion was followed shortly by the pounding of boots down the hallway as the sentries ran from their posts towards the destruction. Laurana could hear the shouts and sounds of soldiers running from other areas in the building as well. “Looks like we had more than just two to worry about,” Ivy said quietly from under a computer desk near the door. “No shit,” Pockets replied. “Doubled the amount of o’ C4 just in case. Figured the bigger the blast, the more o’ the little fuckers would come runnin’.” “Good move, Pockets,” Psycho said as she peeked out at the hallway. “Coast looks clear, let’s go.” “As quietly as they could manage, the six slipped out of the door and around the corner. After a few moments another explosion rocked the floor and everyone turned to stare at Pockets. “What,” he asked incredulously. “It’s a damn diversion. I rigged another bomb and tossed it towards the main stairway when we got up to this level.” “When did you have time to do that,” Laurana asked. “Last night,” he replied. “Part o’ me prep-work. All I had to do was toss it down the bloody corridor when we came out o’ that stairwell. Don’t think it got as far as I wanted, what with me throwing arm being a bit impaired and all, but it’ll do the fuckin’ job.” Laurana wanted to ask more questions, the reporter side of her she guessed, but she bit back the urge after a look from Psycho. There was always time for questions later, she guessed. They’d kept moving as Pockets had been speaking, and were halfway up the stairs to the roof when Havoc froze mid-step, stopping them all. The steps were wide enough for two people to go up side by side, but no one wanted to walk in front of him. Laurana worried that he’d spotted something ahead, a trap or a camera or something. “I really am sorry, you know,” he said flatly, glancing behind him at the group. “Oh I know ‘twas a fuckin’ accident,” Pockets said. “And it’s not even that bad. Don’t worry ‘bout it.” Havoc said nothing, but he resumed his climbing. Laurana breathed a small sigh of relief. Just his conscience, not another fight. While it wasn’t good that Havoc was feeling tormented, she preferred it to another fight on a stairwell. “So,” Laurana said quietly to Pockets once he fell back in the climbing order towards her, “when did you toss it down the corridor? I never saw you do it.” “Of course ya didn’t, dear Rogue,” he replied with a satisfied smile. “You and everyone else were watching Goblin play with his bloody watch. Didn’t notice me at all.” Laurana grinned back at the Irishman, sharing his amusement. They found the door to the roof unlocked, Laurana figured one of the sentries must be a smoker, and the cigarette butts outside the door confirmed it. Lucky them. She closed and locked the door after they had all exited onto the roof and then took a deep breath of fresh air, feeling her muscles relax a bit. They weren’t safe yet, but at least they were outside. Ivy walked to the north edge of the building and set down her backpack. Laurana watched as the shorter woman knelt down to open the bag and retrieve a small, disassembled device and began to put it back together. Once it was complete, it looked like a small rocket launcher, and in some ways Laurana guessed it was. The device was a zip-line gun, which allowed Ivy to fire their one hundred and twenty foot zip-line into the strand of trees across the street from the base. Honestly, they made this too easy sometimes. Well, getting in was hard, especially compared to this. “Target locked on,” Ivy murmured more to herself than anyone else as she aimed the launcher. “Fire.” The grappling hook at the end of the line flew over the high walls and looped around a strong branch of one of the shorter trees. It was a very good shot, Laurana thought to herself. Next, Ivy pulled out six attachments that looked like handlebars on a steel wheel; those were what they’d use to ride the zip-line to the other side. “Havoc, could you secure this end,” Ivy asked as she began attaching the riders. He gave a vague grunt in acknowledgement and took the launcher to secure it one of the antennae behind them. One thing to count on in a military base, Laurana thought—lots of antennae and satellite dishes for communications. “Alright, you first Goblin,” Psycho said as soon as they were ready to go. “Then Ivy, followed by Rogue, then Pockets, then Havoc, then….” “I’d like to go last,” Havoc interrupted. “What,” asked Psycho with a note of exasperation in her voice. This better not be more guilt over Pockets’ arm!” “Only a little,” Havoc admitted. “But more so, if we get anyone coming up here looking for us, I can take them on easier while you get everyone else out.” He patted the armored vest under his shirt to make his point. “Ok,” Psycho said with a sigh, “fair enough. But no stupid shit, we don’t need any fucking martyrs.” “Alright,” Havoc agreed as he took up a guard position halfway to the door. Goblin grabbed onto his set of handlebars and ran towards the edge of the roof, jumping up at the last moment and tucking up his legs. With the momentum he’d built up, he sailed easily over the walls and let go just before the wheel hit the branch. He rolled a bit, but the camouflaged mats they had placed their earlier seemed to cushion his fall. Ivy’s trip down went smoothly as well, perhaps better since she cleared the wall more than Goblin due to her shorter legs. Then it was Laurana’s turn and she nervously made her way forward. She wiped her hands on her jeans to make sure they were dry before gripping the handles. She’d practiced doing this for the past week, but now that it was real it was a whole lot scarier than before. It’s nothing, it’s just like practice. You’ll be fine. Deep breath, just like before. “It’s ok,” Psycho said as she patted her on the shoulder reassuringly, “you’ll be fine.” Laurana nodded, since her mouth was too dry to speak without it showing. Taking a firmer grip on the handlebars, she began her run towards the edge. Just as Goblin and Ivy had done, she tucked her feet up right before she jumped off. The wind rushed past her as she sped down the zip-line towards the ground. It was almost what she imagined flying would be like—diving at least, like a hawk or something. Practice had been very short distances, nothing like this, this was amazing. She couldn’t believe she’d been afraid moments before. The wall came up quickly and she pulled her feet higher on instinct. A part of her wanted to let out a big whoop, but she thought better of it and kept her silence. Almost too late she remembered to let go of the rider and drop down, but she released her hold and fell just before the wheel slammed into the tree branch. The landing knocked some of the wind out of her, but she was otherwise intact. Standing up quickly, she got off the landing mat to make way for Pockets, who was already on his way down. Laurana was glad his arm was still strong enough for him to hold on. “Enjoy the trip, Rogue,” Ivy asked as Goblin detached the rider she’d used to make way for Pockets. He handed it to Ivy, who placed it back in her backpack. “Yeah,” she responded with a smile. “It was actually quite exhilaratin’.” “I’m glad you agree with me,” Ivy said. “Goblin keeps complaining that it could have damaged the chip.” “Did it?” “No,” Ivy answered, “but you think that’ll stop him from complaining about it?” “Good point,” Laurana said. Pockets landed with a flourish, tumbling to his feel and walking over to her and Ivy, a slight grimace on his face. “You ok,” the women asked in near perfect unison. “The damned tumble hurt a wee bit more than I’d anticipated,” he answered though semi-clenched teeth. “Why are you trying to hide it,” asked Ivy. “Firstly, to annoy Goblin,” Pockets said with a hint of his roguish grin returning. “Secondly, because I’m trying to downplay it for Havoc’s sake. You just know he was watchin’ the whole bloody time I was going down.” Laurana nodded in agreement, it would be just the sort of thing he’d do. If Pockets fell or was further injured because of the cut, Havoc would blame himself…maybe he would even refuse to leave the roof. “Thank you, Pockets,” Ivy said softly. Sometimes Laurana wondered if there was something between her and the giant man but she’d never seen any proof, and she was too polite to ask. Psycho landed just then, with Havoc right behind her on the line. She just cleared the landing mat before he thudded to the ground, both of them looking over their shoulders. “Get the line, let’s go,” Psycho said as she rolled up the mat. Goblin pulled the grappling hook off the branch and let it fly back up towards the launcher. It stuck on the razor wire that lined the wall, but that was fine in Laurana’s opinion. Either way the exact trajectory of the place it was fired would be difficult to figure out now. “Any sign o’ the bastards,” Pockets asked as they made their way through the trees. “Heard ‘em in the hall below but they hadn’t gotten to the stairwell by the time we left,” Havoc answered. Laurana noticed that he seemed a little better than he had earlier, though she did see him glance at Pockets’ bandaged arm every few minutes. “We figured the lock wouldn’t hold them for long once they figured out we were up there,” Psycho added, “so we broke off a piece of antennae to barricade the door in order to buy us more time to get away.” They had slowed to a walk through the clump of trees as they approached the street on the other side, where an old van was parked. The logo on the side advertised Enrique’s Carpet and Flooring, courtesy of Ivy’s father—though Laurana seriously doubted that Enrique Santos knew that his daughter had borrowed his design. Psycho unlocked the side door and slid it open to reveal dozens of rolled up carpets ready for installation. Everyone piled inside the back of the van and closed the door. Goblin and Havoc began pulling on overalls with the same company logo while Laurana helped Psycho to shift aside some of the carpet rolls to reveal a nice little hiding place in the middle. Everything on the outer edges was real carpet to allay suspicion, but inside was a nice, air-conditioned space big enough for the remaining four to hide in. They crawled inside, Laurana last so she could have a tiny crack of light to look at. The air conditioner helped keep her calm, but she still preferred a form of opening that let in fresh air. “Alright,” Goblin said as he began shifting the tall rolls of carpet back into place, “it won’t be long ‘til we get back, so just relax and enjoy the ride, okay?” He made sure to leave the small gap for her. “Thanks,” she answered. “I’ll do my best.” “Ok, fire it up, Havoc, let’s get this shit on the road,” Goblin said as he snapped the restraints closed to hold the carpets in place. Havoc started up the van as Goblin joined him in the front of the vehicle. Laurana let out a small sigh of relief when they had gotten a few blocks away. They’d done it, they had gotten the chip and lived to tell the tale. This had been the most difficult raid she’d been on since joining the rebellion and now it was over. Laurana didn’t even mind the thought of the long car ride from Santa Barbara back to Long Beach in comparison to the relief she felt. |
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Stitch Roy Koopa Holy crap, it is the RoboCoonie! Since: 08-20-04 From: California Since last post: 933 days Last activity: 933 days |
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| I don't have time to read, but I will be your filler so you can post.
I'm working on comic advertising and networking things right now. |
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 99 days Last activity: 99 days |
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| Well, I really wanted the feedback more than a filler. | |||
True Flight The One Since: 08-21-04 Since last post: 99 days Last activity: 99 days |
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| Wow Elara you have a knack for this. No wonder you're awesome at RPs. ^^;; anyway it was beautifully written, but what happens next? I really want to know. If something else pops up. =P | |||
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Elara Divine Mamkute Dark Elf Goddess Chaos Imp Penguins Fan Ms. Invisable Since: 08-15-04 From: Ferelden Since last post: 99 days Last activity: 99 days |
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| So I am considering e-publishing what I have so far, either what you see here or up to chapter three (once I get off my ass and write it). What do you guys think? |
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