Accidental Genocide Machine (Open)

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Bree's eyes snapped open. For a split second, the Cheetah gold took over her arctic gaze as she pushed off the wall. Whatever Mitch was handling within the shop would have to wait. Whether or not he'll follow her wouldn't matter, because Bree was already running. Her were senses were tingling, the gold dominant as rossettes bedecked her olive-tone skin for a few seconds before disappearing completely. The wind blew against her face and the earth shook beneath her feet. Something was happening within the city, something that was quite rare. This wasn't anything that the Terran Guard had ever experienced, and she'd been through that damned war.

She had the sai's sheathed within the sleeves of her leather, armored jacket. The leather-bound hilts slid out so that her hands could wrap around them. Her body almost became a speeding blur as she leaped over obstacle. She wasn't far from the site of the commotion. The earth rumbled, and the lights flickered. The mana in the air was disturbed as well as those who harnessed it. Her duty to protect flared. She heard the animal within her purrumble, as she picked up her pace.

"Out of the way!" As usual, a crowd was gathered at the scene. At the sound of her voice, they scattered like overgrown ants. Bree slid to a stop, her glacial eyes widening as the Cheetah's color faded out of sight. There was a creature she hadn't seen before, not like those that wandered on the outskirts of the heavily protected city. Bree was impressed by the sight of the girl in foreign uniform. She hadn't seen the rip in the air that sent these two entities plummeting into the street of Librium. Bree pulled out her sai's, the silver blade glinting in the open air.

She shook her dark strands from her face, and launched forward. With the alien monster distracted by Gabby, the Terran Guard leaped into the air after the momentum of her dash, and landed with her boots against the monster's back. She raised her sai's and stabbed them through its spine, before kicking back to drag the blades down. A tentacle whipped around after the monster screeched, and Bree released the monster from the pain. Her sai's were covered in a disgusting goop, and she rolled onto the ground after a rough landing. Back on her haunches, Bree crouched while lightly panting. She eyed the disgusting beast, and then looked to the girl.

"Are you okay?" The Terran Guard asked.

A cascade of shattering sounds trickled their way to the upstairs apartment Jack had over his apothecary. The alchemist was in the middle of a late breakfast and threw his fork down to see what the commotion was all about. He yelled out at as he got to the ground floor.

"Prometheus, you're supposed to be keeping the potions from explod--"

The entire shop decided to hiccup violently. Every potion shot out in every which way as the Riftcrosser's entrance amped up the magic in the city. A counter went invisible before slamming itself against a leather jacket on the coat rack. The barrier spell in the leather deflected the entire onslaught without dissipating. Jack ran over to it and managed to pull it on before his entire collection of thunderstones decided to pop.

Jack was deafened by the blast, but at least the jacket had absorbed the shockwave. The concussive force of the thunderstones was enough however to shatter all the vials of liquid fire he kept right next to it. The vials used to be airtight, which had previously kept the contents from spontaneously combusting.

That was not the case now.

Oily fire washed over the potion-free half of the shop. Jack had managed to dodge most of the flames, although the cuff of the jacket smoldered for a moment. Archimedes, Jack's flying homunculus, tried to leap to safety but was engulfed by the flames. The poor servant melted into a glob of ashy feathers and baking clay. Prometheus must have suffered the same fate minus the feather bit. The clay human did not have feathers.

If that wasn't enough, every magical object in the shop activated. Jack specialized in potions and magical items, so it looked like a smart house gone rogue. Climbing ropes snaked their way through the air. Hunting knives with various elemental effects flickered on and off. Lanterns with special effects lit the place up like a hellish discoteca. Jack's favorite items were the ones that held impossible amounts of other things. A sheath meant to hold a dozen throwing knives was tossing its load into a backpack that hungrily ate them all.

Prometheus shuffled by in a mess that was half melted candle and half Terracotta Warrior. He walked right into the path of the sheath and became glued to the floor. Unfortunately for the clay golem, the last knife had a neat enchantment that teleported itself back to the point where it was tossed. That meant that the knife left the sheath, got embedded in Prometheus' side, and then disappeared only to reappear in the sheath.......which promptly launched the knife again. By the time Jack had finally recovered enough to come to the helper's aid, Prometheus' torso had baked enough to become a massive target of solidified clay. The knife shattered the body in one fell toss. At least he couldn't hear the cracking of his assistant's body.

The chemical fire suppressant kicked in and started layering the shop in a thick smoke. Jack backed up into main door frame with a muffled (to him) thud. He reached up over the door and pulled down a small cylinder the size of a toilet paper tube. Nothing like this had happened since the war. Librium was supposed to be the safe city....the Treaty City. He hit the catch on the cylinder and watched it grow into a quarterstaff. The thunderstone in its base hadn't shattered yet. He didn't know how, but the collapsed state must have protected the alchemical good. He then threw open the door to the street.

Jack greedily breathed in the clean city air. Neighbors were already gathered around the shop. They were angry, but he couldn't tell why. Some seemed to be yelling at him. Did they blame him for what was going on?

"It's not my fault," he yelled because he couldn't hear himself. "I wasn't working on anything this time!"

When the smoke finally cleared, Jack managed to see some strange fantastical beast in the city street just a bit ahead. He had heard the stories of rift creatures and how vastly different they were than anything on Earth. He thought most of them were just urban legends meant to keep kids off the streets at night. What he saw probably would have kept him inside too.

But inside was a complete mess......if it still even existed. And it looked like people were hurt. As the local drug store, Jack made it his business to help out the sick and injured. He trudged forward to the throng of warriors. Jack probably looked like a ghost with all the chemical suppressant on him but it wasn't like he could run in and shower right now.

A girl with a bow and arrow seemed to be saying something. GET OUT OF HERE! She had on a type of body armor that resembled the police's tactical gear, but Jack hadn't seen anything like that in a long while. He couldn't hear what anyone said to him still. The deafening effects of the 'stones would take at least an hour to wear off. But the tentacles of the rift creature were enough to keep him at bay. He started triaging the fallen 'agents' as best he could without a medical degree.

A few were quite clearly already dead. No potion of Jack's could counteract that. Jack found one that still had a pulse but had weak breathing. The alchemist reached into a pocket of his belt and pulled out a vial with a very weak healing potion. It would only stabilize the guy but should buy him enough time until emergency services managed to make its way here. Librium citizens started repelling the beast. Jack ran a quick inventory of what he had on him. He had two more stabilization potoins, one that would boost his strength, a pocket knife, a couple smokescreens and a breath mint in the other belt pockets.

{Damn, I'm really wishing I had grabbed more stuff. Oh right, it's running haywire right now.}

Hurry up and Wait. For snipers like Nessa that was their bread and butter. Patience was a skill that she had masted decades ago. Rarely were snipers ever in the heat of the battles, they were ranged warriors, supporting their team mates from afar. Course, none of them were Nessa. Sitting low on the rooftop, she could see Lis and the whole of the block quite perfectly, while the building made for excellent cover. A sniper's dream. Unlike her days in the war, Nessa had someone to talk to now, though she usually let Lis do most of the talking.

"He'll be here, Dash. He's too scared of the both of us not to show up, try not to make him cry when he gets here. He could prove useful later." Vanessa pitched her voice low so only the transmitter in the electronic earplugs would hear her. They were made with noise dampening technology to maintain the shooter's hearing while allowing them to communicate with their team mates. At the next question, Nessa allowed herself to smile softly, knowing Lis couldn't see her. "True, Weres are about ten times better. Don't tell Malik I said that, we'll be deflating his ego for the next week if you do."

Before Vanessa could think of a random question of her own, Lis proclaimed their mark had arrived. Sitting up a bit more, Nessa lifted her sniper rifle and clicked the safety off, hovering her index finger over the trigger. Raif was her best friend and constant companion, they'd been together since she was 18, for her first mission out of training. She wasn't looking down the barrel of the rifle, nor was it equipped with a scope even if she'd wanted to. Instead, the rifle was equipped with rather high tech electronics that transmitted an image directly into Vanessa's robotic eye, sort of like an image inside an image. She could see where her rifle was aimed without needing to see it like a normal person.

Then all hell would break loose it would seem. That feeling in her gut suddenly acted up, like someone had punched her. Something was terribly wrong. There was only one thing that could make her sense of dread act up like that. "Rift." Nessa said into her earpiece, though she doubted Lis would have time to do anything. Lifting up slightly for a better view, even if it did expose her a bit more Vanessa watched as the city below her seemed to shudder. Seizures of mana cris-crossing the city as the ley lines essentially had a massive magical heart attack. From her vantage point, she could see the amount of damage they were causing to the city at large, but that wasn't her problem.

"True, but I have another one stashed up here for you." Vanessa answered Dash's next, less random, question. As her eyes took in the creature, her mind was already going over the ammo she brought with her. Reaching down into the duffel bag at her feet, she sifted around a moment and then came up with a red ammo box. Discharging the one she'd previously had loaded, she expertly equipped the new box and chambered a round. "Switching to explosives, atta girl Dash, get me a good shot."

Her short black nail caressed the trigger as she lined up a perfect shot on the creatures...head. Sometimes it was hard to tell with these Rift Beasts. She had to wait a few precious moments for the slight breeze to clear the smoke from a nearby potions shop and then she squeezed the trigger. The silencer on the end of her rifle would muffle the sound of the gun shot, not like anyone was going to notice now. The explosive round hit exactly where she wanted it to, however, it would appear the creature's scales made for better armor then she'd imagine as the round detonated on the outside. Still it did damage, as the creature let out a shriek of pain and it's tentacles made to clasp at it's burnt and bleeding face. Nessa had dealt it a rather damaging blow, distracting it from it's prey as it nursed it's wound. "Direct hit, target is armored." This was for Lis, who'd had no trouble ripping through it with her powerful Were claws. Again Nessa felt like the slow, fat kid of the group. She was gonna need cake later to round out this stereotype.

.

And then silence.


Every sound.

Gone. Wiped away. Kimber had been knocked unconscious. Her head. A lump had formed there. She was feeling ill. Kimber was a mana pool. A bucket. Where mana poured and stayed. Manifesting in different ways. Mainly, the inability to talk. It was how her body diverted the mana. But it mattered not. Because when the mana influx came. When the rift ripped open. She did not see it. But she was the first to feel such a thing. The first person to feel it. That flux that came with the rift. The flux that came with the mana that poured through the rift.

It had poured into the young blonde's body. Sitting outside. At a cafe. With her violin case beside her. It was hard enough. To be a musician that could not speak. But she did her best. To get by. The scent of coffee had permeated her senses. She was silent. As always. But the subtle breeze lifted her hair. Floating the curls upon the light breeze. And that was all before. The rift.

With everything else. The mana had gone through her body. More so than normal. A mana gateway, was a hard life. Her body had done it's best. Trying to figure out how to filter the mana she was constantly in contact with. But the next thing she knew she was knocked out. The chair and table were gone. But she was on the ground. Debris above her. There was screaming and then...

silence.

With Gabby's mana boost, it had boosted Kimber's mana pool. It had boosted the ability that she could not control. Not well. She had learned a bit. And she had been able to control it on a normal day. But this. This was not normal. Her stomach hurt. Her head pounded. Her lips opened in a silent scream. Doubled over in pain. As the mana went through her. Her body holding it, taking it. Stealing it from the world around her. Her silence going further and further. Taking out the noise, the voices, the screaming, the falling debris. The crackle of beams giving away, the sound of the monster that had come through the rift with the person with bows and arrows.

Struggling. She got to her feet. Gasping. Silently always so silent. Even if she tried she could make no noise. Not one thing made a noise now. Not bullets. Not cars, or people yelling. There was not a single sound within the bubble that was her power. She fought herself up onto her feet, gasping, her face in open pain as she made her way towards the beast.

Perhaps death. Perhaps this beast caused the horrible mana sparking through her body. Perhaps he was the one overloading her already overloaded system. Her chest heaving. Her shoulders heaving. Everything was silent and yet she knew that it should be so loud. Tears ran down her cheeks, crystalline and shimmering, blue eyes afraid, and searching, trying to find anything, anything at all that could take the pain.. the mana.. away. Making everything right again.

Blood slipped down, from her brow. Into her hair. Into her eye. Down her face. Sliding down her cheeks. She knew not what to do. But she needed it to end. She needed it to end right now.

The beast released an outcry of rage, its tentacles writhing and coming down to sweep at the lingering, panicked masses. Bree gritted her teeth, irritated that the citizens would simply stand there and gape at the face of danger. She rolled out of the way to push a mother and child toward the fleeing crowd. "Go!" she growled, and then ducked, looking to the lithe girl in curious gear. It seemed so modern, but it wasn't such that Bree could place a label on.

She shook the debris from her face, the wind picking up around them with the disrupted mana flowing in the air. Bree felt the change of someone like her close by, and her arctic gaze took on a golden hue when she saw it - a Cheetah. She wasn't the only one, and from what she could recall, these werespecies were quite rare. Bree felt the hum of power within her bosom, the beast pushing to the surface but she forced it down, watching as the cheetah made its strike.

Soon, thick smoke rose from a building not too far away. A man emerged from said building to join the fray. Instead of attacking the beast as she and the girl did, he went to check on the wounded. Taking in the air through her nostrils, Bree could only come to the conclusion that these men were good as dead. Luck would eventually be on that alchemist's side upon finding a breathing soldier. Bree looked away to find a bullet pierce the beast's skull. Again came the terrifying screech throughout the chaos, and she heard the girl's voice clearly, as if she was whispering in the Terran Guard's ear.


"What?" Her answer came too soon. Bree gasped, the gold completely taking over her eyes. Suddenly, spots decorated her back, and she dropped her sais. Bree didn't have any good control with her beast. She was still considered freshly turned. The boost of magic pushed the beast out to the surface, causing Bree's head to snap back. She bellowed, feeling the pain in her body as her body transformed. Her clothes ripped apart, boots tearing away as she turned into a massive, spotted feline. The caved in stomach gave way to her being a Cheetah, exactly like the other.

Bree pawed her ears, fangs bared as she stared at the curious beast. Gabby's call to rip out the tentacles distracted Bree from staring at the other Cheetah. She felt something with the other so close. It could be that kinship between those of the same kind. Shaking her great head, the Cheetah moved toward the beast, more tentacles sprouting after a blast of the earlier ones. Goo and muck flew in all direction after an explosion, and more grew. Bree yowled, kicking off the ground to clamp one between her massive maw as her claws sank into the others. She twisted her body and jerked her great head back, ripping apart two at a time. She would continue to do the same until a new tactic is called for.

However, that wouldn't happen anytime soon because silence suddenly struck, surrounding everything... and taking over. This startled the Cheetah who relied on its preternatural senses. Tearing away from the beast, Bree crouched low to watch the silent action before striking again. They had to do whatever it took, even with this sensory impairment to take down this creature.

Rarely did members of the pack go anywhere alone. Personal business was one thing, but a job was a different matter. Even if they chose to go alone, back-up usually wasn’t far behind, a thing Malik had experienced firsthand. Vanessa and Lisette were doing this job alone because he would have stood out and ruined the transaction. That didn’t stop him from staying close enough that he could be there should they need him. Malik sat in the Mule which was parked on the rooftop level of a parking garage building. From where he sat, he could look out the driver’s side window, and see Lis down the street waiting for her contact, and even further away Vanessa perched on a rooftop to provide unseen cover. He’d only move if they needed him, because they were both good enough to handle things going bad.

With no need for it, the Mule was powered down, and set into recharge mode. It was equipped with a mana collector that drew energy from the world around it, to be converted into a fuel source. The city was built on Ley Lines, but their energy was already being tapped by municipal generators, so the Mule was only getting a trickle charge. Still, it was better than nothing, and every moment charging was one more moment they weren’t stranded. That trickle suddenly became a flood.

Animals have always seemed to be able to sense disaster before it strikes. Before the storm could be seen on the horizon, they would take cover. Before the ground shook and opened birds took flight, and others knew they weren't safe on the ground. The beast inside him suddenly grew restless like some lion pacing back and forth behind the bars of its cage. He knew this feeling and what it meant because he it had been with him since birth, he was the beast, and he knew not to ignore it. A moment later the warning lights on the Mule's control panel lit up, and buzzers started sounding. Out of nowhere mana began to bombard the collector, and the systems started to overload from some outside interference. Malik hadn't seen anything like this since the mana storms of the Enlightenment. "What the.... SHIT!!!" he exclaimed as realization sit in. "Not again!" Malik quickly sat up and started throwing the switches to shut down the collector and take everything offline before it did serious damage.

Once the Mule was offline Malik turned his eyes to the street below. In the distance he could see Lis out of position, and the way she was moving wasn't good. She knew very well the restrictions that were placed on were creatures inside the city limits. Lis was wild and reckless, but not stupid. She wouldn't risk the military police unless there was no other way. She was moving towards him, so whatever it was out of his line of sight. Throwing the door open, Malik leapt down from the cabin of the Mule, and moved to the edge of the parking garage. Down on the street below was a small mana storm dissipating in the wake of a powerful rift. Through its chaos Malik saw fallen men and women littering the street, and the monster that killed them. It came through a Rift, That made it a Rift beast. It was prey, and Lis wasn't hunting alone.

Malik let the beast free and set into motion. No wasted movements, because there was no time to waste. He was a New Breed soldier that continued to wear the specialized equipment made for his kind, even if it wasn't government issue anymore. With soldiers who transformed, it wouldn't do to have them running around naked when they reverted. Leaning down he seized the rings at the side of each of his tightly laced up boots, and unzipped them so he could quickly step out, while he pulled the him of his pants up to bunch around his knees. He unzipped his vest, dropped it to the ground, and tore the t-shirt over his head while power raced through his body making his skin feel like it was set aflame. The transformation was painful, but it was a pleasure to burn.

A thin sheen of sweat had already formed on his smooth caramel skin, and goose bumps raised before pores started sprouting fur. Muscles cording along his body were starting to twitch and tense in preparation for what was coming, he didn't have much longer left. Malik crouched down and quickly rolled his vest up inside out and clasped the fasteners. His boots were attached at either end using the carabineers that were attached to the tops. He stood and swung the now thick belt around his waist, and clasped it together with the heavy gauge steel rings that were embedded in the sole of his boot toes.

All of a New Breed soldier's equipment was worn on his tactical vest, or his weapons belt. Boots and vest could be bundled together to provide safe storage for weapons and equipment, and then worn around the waist of a transformed were creature, out of the way thanks to the metal expanding mesh belt that ran through it all. The belt and pants were all very dense elastic materials that stretched under duress, and made them waterproof when they returned to shape. Quick, efficient, and necessary on the battlefield. Necessary for what was coming.

Malik grit his teeth and kept quiet through the pain as muscles swelled and tensed until the ruptured. Each fiber burst to make ten more like it, and they wound around bones that thickened and elongated, while others broke and reshaped. The socks that were still on his feet, burst from within as his feet grew, and toes sprouted razor sharp claws. His hands slammed onto the ledge of the roof. Fingers spread and thickened, palms fattened to rough pads, and fingers nails were ripped through by claws that easily scored the concrete. Slower than his werewolf forefathers, Malik wasn't built for speed like Lisette, he was built for strength, raw destructive power. That took size which made his transformation, that much more traumatic.

Finally came the pain that he couldn't remain silent against. The bones of his face broke and shifted, his skull thickened, and his jaw expanded and elongated to accommodate the gleaming white fangs. Beneath the massive black mane that his near hairless head and shoulders had sprouted, his human face became that of a lion. His mouth opened and an all too human scream of agony came forth. It was quickly over taken by an inhuman growl as his lungs emptied. Sucking in air to fill his burning lungs, Malik opened his jaws wide to force out another cry, the cry of birth. A mighty roar that blanketed the land, shook the air like thunder, and made the depths of all who heard it rumble in resonance. It was a pleasure to burn, because the pain set him free.

Malik was finally free from his self imposed restraint, and it was glorious. The long thick tail that sprouted through the opening in his pants wiped back and forth, waving the thick tuft of black fur at its tip like a banner of pride. The pain was gone and he remained, having passed through the crucible to emerge pure and strong.

Filling the lungs of his massively muscled chest, Malik threw his head back and roared proudly to announce his claim on the world he saw. Partway through the call silence fell on his ears, and the foreign state of things angered him. Brilliant amber eyes looked down upon the outland beast, and cast blame for him being silenced. He would hunt it because it was prey, he would take it on to protect Lisette, and he would kill it because it dared to silence him. There was a New Breed Cheetah attacking its tentacles on one side, and it looked as if Lis was moving to join her efforts, since she completed her first quick pass of attacks to give Nessa a clear shot.

Two explosions rocked the creatures body, one came with the crisp lap of mechanical thunder he knew very well. That sound was Raif, Vanessa's roar. The other came from the bow of a soldier in unfamiliar uniform. She was fighting his prey, so she wasn't an enemy, not yet at least. Malik trusted Vanessa to watch his back against her deadly blow, and leapt from the roof top. He may have been slower than other were creatures, but he was a feline. Even though he was massive, his size did nothing to diminish his agility. Malik had the power to perfectly maintain his deadly grace. His body twisted, and muscles twitched to correct his path and form as Malik fell eight stories through the air. His body was an almost 900 pound projectile aimed at the creatures back. Like a boulder made of solid muscle and bone, Malik slammed into the creatures back landing feet first like the cat he was. Toes were spread wide to dig nails deep into flesh on impact, and anchor in, in case the monster didn't go down.

Standing at nine feet tall, Malik had an arm span to match. Thick arms corded in powerful muscles reached down at either side, and massive pawed hands large enough to engulf a grown man's torso reached down to gather as many tentacles as they could hold. Flexing muscles pushes claws out of their furry sheaths to dig into scaled flesh, forcing pointes between the armored plates. The moment he had a solid grip, every muscle of his body would work in concert. Legs would uncompress, back would straighten, arms, and shoulders would flex and twist to rip backward. Silence be damned, Malik opened his jaws, and roared with the attack on the beast. If he couldn't be heard, he would be felt. This monster was an outsider. This wasn't it's world. These were his hunting grounds. Where his roar was heard, you were either Pride or Prey.

Like a good team hunter, Mailk didn't linger on the prey. The beast was an unknown, and it was unwise to remain near what you didn't understand. The moment flesh came from body, the great werelion threw the ruined appendages to the side and leapt backwards. Claws retracted from flesh just before he kicked off, and the force sent him turning end over end through the air. Silently he untucked from the somersaulting ball, and landed on all fours twenty feet away from the creature. Muscles rippled as they absorbed the shock of his body weight, then pushed him up to stand on his hind legs. Thick red tongue slithered over gleaming white fangs, to lick muzzle in anticipation, while Amber eyes liked with Lis's golden orbs. They didn't need sound to communicate. His massive head flicked out, then whipped back and forth, while his hands made a tearing apart motion. She was familiar with the tactic he was calling. Use her speed and agility to attack while drawing it's attention, thus creating an openings for others to exploit.

The joke was on them. Jack was deafened anyway, so Kimber's sound sucking didn't matter to him. It would suck if he wound up blinded too. Although, the smokescreens could still help out. He had a patient to deal with first. The potion had been enough to stop the external bleeding, and the alchemist could see the rise and fall of the strange Corporation's chest. Jack didn't recognize the institute name. Maybe he came from Bastion or another major city. Jack rubbed some of the grime of his face and wrote a big S on the Uniform's forehead so that the EMTs would know he was stable. A couple teenagers helped him assess and drag the injured to a safer location.

The trio was on their way to assist an elf woman when a low tentacle swooped down. Jack saw it and tried to warn his helpers, but they apparently couldn't hear him. The appendage swept their legs out from under them but hit Jack smack dab in the chest. His jacket's enchantment absorbed the force of the impact, but he was still lifted up a few feet as it continued to push him. At some point, the limb stopped its follow through and Jack went into a free fall. The solid asphalt put his stomach back into his abdomen, but the jacket prevented it from breaking his legs. Jack watched as the protection enchantment finally sputtered out the last of its charge. Each slam attack must have been like taking a full shotgun blast each time. His tumble on the concrete jungle still left a couple abrasions on his cheeks.

Another tentacle found Jack's foot and started lifting him upside down. A cylinder fell out of Jack's pocket and clattered soundlessly to the ground. The alchemist fumbled unsuccessfully for a moment but was finally able to hook a finger around the object. The switchblade installed in the one end had already ejected and Jack saw the electric crackle of the shocking enchantment. He found it odd that it had already activated without him telling it to. Then again, his shop was the proof that magic had gone haywire in the last few moments. He pressed the release that extended the full length of his collapsible quarterstaff. Grabbing the thunderstone end, he swung upward. Finally, he managed to connect a blow to the thing wrapped around his shoe. The closefighting blade lopped off the tip and delivered a nice jolt to the creature formerly attached to it.

Of course, Jack was falling again without the benefit of a barrier spell. That wasn't technically true. The ring he wore on his finger always had a prepared barrier, but Jack forgot about it in his second fall in three minutes. His back slammed into concrete but his head landed on a person. At least, Jack was willing to believe the mangled mess was still a person. Anything at this point to avoid a concussion. It took him a moment to regain his breath. He suddenly realized he felt a little tingly.

Oh, God! Am I paralyzed? Nononononono, please God no!

But it was a different kind of tingly. Not the kind you feel when you sit too long and your leg falls asleep. It was a mana tingly, like he had more of it. That would have been great if Jack was a combat caster. The only thing he could cast right now that may help was to see who the biggest source of magic was right now.

Considering Jack was still trying to get his second wind right now, that didn't seem like that bad of an idea. He channeled his mana to see the glow of everyone else's. The archer girl had a tremendous glow about her. He had never seen a conventional person with that many enchantments upon them. Was she a special project like the New Breed werecreatures? That would explain the odd gear. Jack concentrated harder to study the type of magic being involved. The results resembled the mana collectors he had his pops work with for his New Dawn inventions but on a much larger scale. Devoting a little bit more time to his study, Jack realized the walking mana battery was directing the energy to the werecreatures currently munching and tearing the rift thing although faint traces reached out to everyone present....including him.

"So you're responsible for the shenanigans in my shop. I ought to send you the repair bill."

Jack rolled over onto his stomach and used the staff to help him stand up. His ribs hurt, but he was careful not to apply too much pressure on the thunderstone underneath him. He really didn't want another sonic explosion to hit him too. He saw the warding ring and cursed. That would have helped out a few moments ago. But the fingerless gloves he had on could help him now. The problem was he forgot what items the gloves were storing. He snapped his left thumb and middle fingers together, causing a long rope to 'materialize' in his palm. He snapped again and the rope shrunk back into the hidden pocket. Jack smiled when repeated the procedure with his right hand.

"You think its fun to pick on the little guy?!" Jack cocked his right arm back into a throwing position. One vial of alchemist's fire had managed to survive the fiasco in his store. He lobbed it at a spot devoid of cheetah spots. "Still having fun?"

No one would be able to hear him, but it made Jack feel better. The thin vial shattered as it struck the rift creature's scales. Amber liquid combusted the moment it made contact with air. The flames spread out as the liquid dripped down its side. It wasn't incredibly viscous, so there was the chance that some of the contents splashed onto a few people on the ground as well. Jack couldn't see that from where he was.

He was too sore to look.

Raif's massive blast was not only muffled by the silencer attached to the muzzle, but by the sudden silence that seemed to engulf everything around them. Vanessa frowned slightly, her mind noticing how the others were reacting, particularly the reactions of the Weres as they continued to engage the enemy. With no clear shot through the multitudes of fur and smoke, Nessa lifted Raif from it's position on the low wall and slung it over her shoulder. Bending down, she scooped up the duffel bag and slung it over her other shoulder. Moving from one position to another with the greatest efficiency could make or a break a mission for a sniper. Leaping over the retaining wall, Nessa's booted feet hit the metal of the fire escape down the side of the building with no sound. It was odd yes, but there were far more pressing matters, she could figure out the reasoning for the odd silence after the Rift Beast was dead. She had a theory about it, and it included the potions shop that had exploded upon the beasts' arrival.

It only took her a matter of moments to descend the fire escape, as she hit the ground, Raif found it's proper place in her hands once more. Lisette exited the building to her right, and Nessa managed to keep from rolling her eyes at the sheet she was using to cover herself with. An opening became clear and Nessa leveled Raif in the direction of the Rift Beast, squeezing the trigger as another explosive round made contact. This time however Nessa had aimed for the hole Lisette had just torn out of it's throat, by passing the armored scales that had blocked her bullets the last time. The bullet blew out the other side of it's neck, tentacles and scales raining down to the pavement as half it's throat was sent flying. This would make growing back the missing tentacles on that side incredibly difficult as it would need to regrow it's neck in the process.

She tapped Lisette on the shoulder and then pulled her backpack from the duffel bag and held it out to her. With er other hand she signed the necessary motions to tell Lisette that they needed acid or explosives. To that end, Nessa shouldered Raif once more and pulled her short range pistol from it's holster on her thigh. Reaching into the side pocket on the duffel bag, she pulled a clip of Lisette's explosive gel caplets set into the tips of hollow point bullets. Sliding the clip into Lucy, Vanessa brought the pistol up, aiming down the barrel towards the other tentacles waving about. The creature suddenly erupted into liquid fire and Nessa waited a moment to see what damage had been done. Her right eye spun slightly as it macro magnified her surroundings, making it easier to aim more accurately. Squeezing the trigger, a series of gel packed bullets launched themselves. Exploding tentacles showering the nearby buildings as the gel worked to cauterize the wounds and keep the tentacles from reforming. She had no idea why the Rift girl had told them to aim for the tentacles but Nessa's calculating mind figured since the girl had come through with it then she had to know a little something about it.

.

The blonde was lost in her own little world.

This world was mainly pain and being out of control of her own body. She knew that some people were able to harness and control their bodies. The mana that flowed through them creating different powers and what not. But she was incapable. And that was the hardest thing to think about. As much as she wanted to be able to control it. To be able to turn the tap on and off, she could not. And it hurt, it hurt so much.

She felt as though she was a fish without water. Floundering around. Blackness began to take over her eyes. Darkening her vision and slowly interceding. Her knees wobbled, and her head throbbed. She was certain that she was about to lose consciousness. That or her head would explode. And at this point, she was more than sure, that anything which took the pain away would be greatly appreciated.

The pain began to thrum. Like a musical beat. her mind, in it's insanity driven there with the constant thumming pain began to compose. The musical prodigy was thinking, churning, and creating all at the same time while she lay on the ground in misery. Perhaps that was the name to the song. Misery. Perhaps that would make the most sense when you were composing in absolute agony.

And then it was gone.

She gasped. Made no sound but that was not rare for her. But the entire world around her was still silent. But the pressure. The river. The dam that had been inside her, was gone. She could breathe. The pounding headache was still there. The melody was slowly sliding along in her mind. Her fingers tapped softly on the ground where she lay too weak to raise herself up staring up at the sky. There was a monster. Somewhere. Before her silence had been expanded somehow, she had seen it. But she couldn't find the energy to really care.

Too tired. Her body shook with the pain she still felt. That resonated within her because of the mana overload that her already mana filled body had been forced to endure. She still fought with consciousness. Blue eyes stared up at the sky. Blinking slowly, trying to retain focus and fight back the incoming darkness.

Bree was too preoccupied to notice any more happenings within their makeshift battlefield. She couldn't focus on the few individuals who'd taken action, aside from Gabby. The silence was deafening and startling, and the sight of the gigantic lion made the Cheetah crouch low, uncertain. The multi-tentacled beast left a foul taste in the large feline's mouth. The thick, gelatinous liquid that was supposed to be its blood, dribbled from her great maw. Lips peeled back as whiskers twitched, turning from the werelion to calculate another strike on the supposed rift beast.

It was then that the other werecheetah pounced on Bree, telling her with a firm jaw on her throat to STOP. Bree writhed, fangs bared a feral golden eye rolled on its socket to stare at Lis. The deafness was still upon them, but being a soldier enabled her to see the gesture clearly. Combing with here werecheetah personality, Bree felt the need to submit to Lis. The feral cat bowed down to Lis' command, body calming from its writhing protest.

Bree watched the other Cheetah bound off, taking a chunk of the beast's throat before transforming into a human. The shift was easy, which Bree still a hard time doing since she was still fairly young in the werefeline game. She pinned the image of the dark-haired woman to her memory, until the flames caught her attention, reminding the Terran Guard that the battle wasn't over.

Bree rolled onto her four paws, slender body crouching once again as she sized up the situation. She would think about the other werecheetah later, and focus on the main task at hand. Working in unison, even with strangers, Bree swiftly moved out of the way of exploding pieces and falling tentacles. Watching this spectacle without sound was odd to say the least, and working as a unit was quite difficult unless they could draw upon their other senses.

Relying on her sight, her golden gaze moved from the were-group to Gabby, gesturing to the fallen tentacles. Growling low in her throat, the Cheetah was an animal that couldn't roar. The sound would go unheard however, as the soundlessness continued on.

Bree shuddered then, feeling a part of her power leaving because of the girl's focus. The newborn werecheetah shook her head, and bounded toward the fallen tentacles as Gabby shot at them. She clamped her jaws tight on any daring to regnerate and tore them to the point of no healing. Watching Gabby, the cheetah mimed the girl's movement. Go for the ones that moved, destroy them.

Once the taste was too much, Bree glanced to the other shifters before turning to move toward Jack. Using her head, she lightly headbutted his side, and with her teeth tugged on his coat. A rumble could be felt in the large cat's throat. She couldn't communicate with him directly, but she wanted to point him toward Gabby and her actions. Could he use his flames to hinder the beast's regeneration? Trying to get him to move was surprisingly difficult, eventually releasing him, the Cheetah returned to Gabby's side, ears pinned back as golden eyes looked about for any more moving tentacles, so she would attack.

Standing back from the beast, he threw the tentacles that had been ripped away by his claws to the ground, and watched the cheetahs approach from either side to attack. Lis went for the jugular while the unknown went for the tentacles. There was a bit of communication between them, and despite their being strangers, the two came to an understanding. Lisette had done exactly what Malik had wanted and created an opening for another one of the Pride to attack. Right after Lis was flung away from the rift beast and sent crashing through a building's second story windows, a explosive round penetrated through the opening made by Lis's jaws. Vanessa's trademark precision was a beautiful and terrifying sight to behold. The monster's head burst from the inside out, and globs of pus and flesh rained down on the pavement without a sound.


Malik threw his head back and roared to celebrate Nessa's triumph. She was Pride and their diversity made them the force they were. Irritation caused his tail to whip wildly when silence swallowed his roar. Amber orbs leveled on the battlefield with a burning rage, searching for the source of the continued silence. All he found was the human in strange uniform that was fighting the beast along with them trying to communicate through exaggerated body language. He caught the meaning of her movements but it was too little too late. One of the tentacles that he had ripped off the creature's body came to life and moved on its own.


The writhing mass of dismembered flesh whipped up and slammed across Malik's back with all its weight and strength. The tapered end wrapped around the trunk of his arm and held tight. The moment it did, smaller tendrils grew from its surface and started to bore their way into the muscles beneath Malik's fur covered skin. The initial blow came as more of a shock than an injury, but the roots digging into his body was an unfamiliar pain. His muzzle contorted in silent agony. Elsewhere on the battlefield, other pieces of the beast came to life and attacked whatever was nearby. One victim was the lone survivor that Jack Masters had managed to stabilize. A chunk that has been blown of the monster had landed near him, and it contained the seed of hideous life. The appendage wrapped around him and constricted like a python crushing his bones, the smaller growths rooted into his flesh, and started sucking the life from him. In his weakened state, it was too much to bear, and the man finally gave up, leaving Gabby alone as the sole survivor once again.


Malik on the other hand, could feel the roots trying to suck the life from his body, and fought back. The great lion flexed his muscles and reached back to grab the thickest part of the trunk with his claw. With all his might Malik pulled at the parasite trying to rip it from his body. While in his grip the trunk started to change as if trying to take the shape of the beast that had just been slain. The more he felt it draining his energy, the better the likeness became. Out of desperation, he gave a mighty tug hoping that the creatures body was strong enough to keep it in one peace. He could feel thin tendrils ripping through the muscle fibers of his arm, as coils were pulled lose and out of his body.

Finally it came free and relief flooded through him even if the pain lingered. Malik's pawed hand flexed and massive claws pushed free of their furry sheaths. The partially formed parasite thrashing in his grip was impaled by four claws, and what entrails it was able to grow were squeezed out of the wounds by the terrible pressure. Blood leaked from the wounds all along his arm and shoulder, staining his fur red. At his feet another tentacle started to twitch as it awakened. This time Malik wasn't taken by surprise. When it lashed out in an attempt to latch on to him, Malik lifted his leg out of its reach. The tentacle struck nothing but air, and then died as the Lion brought his leg back down on it. Toe claws ripped through it, not stopping until they hit pavement.

Looking up from the gooey mess beneath his foot, Malik saw Lisette wrapped in a sheet carrying bottles full of 'the Divine only knows what'. Malik had a primal fear of Lis and what she was capable of. It wasn't a fear born of cowardice, it was simply good sense. All beasts feared the destructive nature of fire, because once unleashed there was no will or control behind it. There was only the singular purpose, destroy. He knew what Lis was capable of bringing about, and knew that once unleashed there was no controlling it. He also knew how reckless she was with the power she wielded. With an enemy like this, that was what was needed.

Kicking his foot forward, Malik flung the parasite that was impaled on his toe claws on to the fallen body of the monster. The misshapen creature in his claw was also thrown at the body. With his hands now free he set about with new purpose. Dropping low to the ground he scooped up the tentacles that littered the ground, and flung them onto the pile that he started making. Even in that brief moment of contact he could feel others twitching to life. This battle needed to be ended by a decisive move or else it would become a war. War would not do. He wanted his roar back. Moving quickly with the speed and grace of a cat on all fours, Malik bound across the blood and ooze slick pavement. Every where he saw clusters of the beasts body, he went to knock them onto what Lis would make the monster's funeral pyre.

A cascade of silent eruptions danced over the creature's body. Jack's vial did little to help, but the alchemist still felt like he helped somehow. He almost tripped over his own two feet when he realized a full pack of werethings were ripping it apart. He had never seen so many weres in one place before.

Fortunately, the big beastie decided to stop moving and be dead. Jack leaned on his quarterstaff and let the air go back into his lungs. His body hurt from the slamming and thunking and had chosen now to make themselves known. However, the battle didn't seem won just yet. The severed appendages started squirming around.

"You have got to be kidding me. That's just reflexes right?"

The strange archer girl loosed arrows upon the twitching twitchers. A cheetah started shredding into them like a dog and a bone. Jack looked back and noticed the guy he dropped a pot[ion] on had been grappled to death already. He didn't have a pot for that, nor did he have any to really help out right about now. All he could do was stare in dumb shock for a moment as the Lion began collecting heaps of calamari.

{You should probably help stab them,} came a voice from Jack's conscious. {Oh, right.}

Jack spun the staff around so that the secret knife was pointed towards the ground. He hobbled to the closest ones and began stabbing them. The Gabbified electric enchantment zapped all the reflexes out of the tendrils. Something wet struck his cheek. The alchemist instinctively lashed a tongue out at the patch. He tasted all his ingredients and had therefore developed quite a tolerance to toxins. Then again, this tasted a lot like cooking oil.

{Peanut? Why do I have peanut oil on my face?}

Then came the sudden burst of warmth. Jack looked over and saw two women (one clad only in a sheet, not that he cared) standing next to a lion.

"I just can't make this stuff up."

With everything seeming to have been wrapped up, Jack decided to go back to organizing the self made triage teams. It was then that he noticed a young girl curled up on the ground. She didn't seem to be injured, but yet why was she not moving. Jack grabbed one of Kimber's shoulders and tried to wake her.

As Lis started to dig into her pockets, Nessa resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She knew she should probably stop the Cheetah, but she knew fire was exactly what they needed. She'd deal with Malik later. At such close range, Lucy became a force to be reckoned with. Moving around their side of the rift beast, Nessa kicked parts of the monster into the pile that was forming in the center, taking out anything that began to twitch with a well placed, explosive gel filled bullet. Her mind had already adjusted to the silence, sight was her super power anyway, and she didn't need sound to shoot anything that moved.

She saw Lisette exit the building again, her right eye zooming in on her hands so she could see the signs she was making more clearly through the smoke. Holstering Lucy, Nessa pushed her hand into the duffel bag and fished around a moment, pulling out a pump action shotgun. Bringing it up, she flicked the safety off with her pinky just as Lis threw the bucket of peanut oil over the mass of twitching monster parts. Nessa waited till it was perfectly center before squeezing a round of buckshot into the bucket. It wasn't exactly the perfect range for the shotgun, but it did it's job, essentially causing the bucket of oil to explode and peanut oil to cover everything below.

Pumping the shotgun, she chambered another round and brought the gun back up to squeeze another round of buckshot into bag of flour. The white powder exploded everywhere, and Nessa knew what was coming next. She flicked the safety back on just as Lisette's hand wrapped around her arm and pulled her back. Twisting so she wouldn't land on the duffel bag, Vanessa braced her fall with one hand as she closed her eyes to protect them from the flames as the flour falling through the air ignited.

Standing back up, Nessa shoved the shotgun back into the duffel bag, wrapping an arm around Lisette's shoulder. The Beast was dead, they were going to need proof of it's existence in order to collect the bounty, otherwise this had just been a giant waste of ammo. While Lisette watched the flames, Nessa turned her attention on her Pride mates, checking them over for wounds. When she reached Malik's massive form, her lips curled into a frown as she noted the massive amounts of blood that coated his fur. Nessa nudged Lis and pointed to Malik...he needed medical attention, and that was exactly her forte. Vanessa Sirnos was a killer, not a healer.

.

Kimber's vision faded to black.

The others were fighting. Trying to save the world. From whatever this beast that was in the world, and trying desperatly to fight and destroy. But Kimber was oblivious to it all. She lay in her own world of pain. Radiating from every single nerve of her body. Making them tremble and shake. Her entire body was trembling, when Jack came over to her. Finding the petite blonde passed out among the debris and fall out of the battle around them.

She felt as though she was drifting. Not flying like some people mentioned. But drifting on a sea. Carried on forth by the pain. For every tremble of her body made her shiver even more as her body was overstimulated with the extra mana flowing through her already mana infused body. Being a thoroughfare for mana was hard enough but now here she was with a double load and it was more than her body could take.

When she felt the shaking it was different. The movement forced her body to realize that she was still out there, still vulnerable. She could feel the boards and rocks and rubble underneath her back. Digging into her skin. She could feel the pain of cuts and brusies along her body. She felt as if even her hair was in pain.

Gently, those blue eyes opened. Looked up blurily at the man that leaned over her. She stared up at him. Eyes unfocused and seeing beyond. Her body continued to shiver. As if she had a fever, but she did not feel cold or hot, she just .. felt on fire.

She could not speak. Though her lips opened and she thought about it, before her brain caught up with her actions and she realized that was obviously not even remotely possible. Was the monster gone? She could not hear it, but then, she had not been able to hear anything in some time. Her silence had seemed to take over the world, and Jack would find himself incapable of speech until he let go of her and he would find himself able to use his voice again.

The chaos and silence was too much. How could anything without sound be any more deafening? The monster was collapsing, and close to curling in on itself. Its regernative qualites, like a starfish was what made it from completely being annihlated. They had to think fast, they had to do away with it as soon as possible lest more will be hurt, or worst, killed.

As a Terran Guard, it was her duty to protect the citizens. Her father's blood rushed in her veins, even as a Cheetah, she could feel the hum of power from being a were. She was no ordinairy, and she would use that to her advantage. Her speed and strength came naturally, even without the boost, but she knew that at some point she was going to have to change back from exerting herself in this battle.

The werecheetah was feeling the effects, like a drug that had been taken away too soon. She stayed close to Gabby until she noticed the great lion's actions. The group he was with where creating a pile for an explosion. As Jack went to help any of the injured, the werecheetah bounded toward the writhing limbs of the creatures. Her great teeth clamped over the slimy appendage to toss into the pile as well.

She performed the task quickly, gradually feeling the winding effects of using her speed in short bursts. The exhaustion was going to come soon, and eventually the welcoming coma before the transformation. The Terran Guard still had more to learn with being a werecreature.

After assisting the triad, Bree's sharp gaze fell on the other cheetah who had transformed back. Storing her features into memory, Bree hoped that her memory wouldn't be too spotty once she woke to being human again. Werecheetahs were rare in these parts, and she was going to do whatever it took to find this mystery woman again. The closest assumption she could make was the young woman being a part of the Omni group.

When the powder flew into the air and toward the pile, Bree moved quickly. She bounded away from what would be a heaping mass of fire and burning flesh. The sickly smell tainted her nose, and the force of the combustion shoved her further away from the fiery pile. Bree caught sight of the fleeing girl. Growling low in her throat, the weakened Cheetah sought a place to collapse before the coming of oblivion. Vividly, the other Cheetah's face was painted in the darkness of her mind as well as the feeling agent.

Further into the streets and neighborhood of Librium, close by the stores and broken booths, Bree collapsed between two barrels. The spots were the first to disappear until her bones and body shifted. She was too exhausted to feel the pain, and she welcomed to temporary coma.

[/Exit Bree]

Malik's hulking form skidded to a halt beside Vanessa while fire exploded and rained down from the sky.  As always Lisette's pyrotechnics were a beautiful sight to behold.  It was the alluring danger that shined as it did the job.  Creatures sizzled, burned, and popped.  They had managed to do it.  They killed the rift creature and its spawn, or so he thought.  He was completely unaware of the potential disaster he had germinating in his arm.  Blood seeped from the wounds in his arm, soaking his fur  With so much going on around him, Malik didn't even pay attention to his own injury.  Luckily he had Vanessa watching out for him. 

 

When she came towards him and began reaching for his arm, she saw his muscle wrinkle and fangs bared.  Even though she couldn't hear him, she knew it was a warning growl.  His massive head bowed forward, and then nuzzled against her.  Malik held no malice towards her, it was just an instinctive warning because the wound was very painful.  He trusted her.  The way he buried his head against her, and gave access to his wound said that implicitly.  Jaws clenched while she inspected his wound and his amber eyes reflected the dancing flames that he watched.  Orbs twitched from side to side scanning for movement.  There were none, but a shock of pain pulled his attention away from the monster's funeral pyre.

 

Malik turned his head to see the remnant stalks left in his arm by the tentacle begin to wriggle and move on their own.  His eyes went wide and his first instinct was to reach over and claw them from his arm regardless of his own flesh.  That was when he saw the strange woman that arrived with the beast approaching them.  He didn't know whether he could trust her, but she fought against the monster, and its legacy was now trying to be reborn in his arm.  It was a gamble to trust her, but he didn't have much choice.  His nostrils widened as he searched for her scent amid the stench of battle.  She smelled foreign.  Here she was in the city smelling of some other place entirely. 

 

His head shifted towards her, and his nostrils flared drawing in air and her scent.  The great maw of his muzzle opened.  He could have easily fit her in his mouth, and pierced her with fangs the size of her hand.  Carefully it closed around the thick wooden beam, and he gently took it from her grasp.  His fearsome appearance and ferocity in battle belied a gentle nature to him.  He understood what she wanted from him.  There were many times in the past that he had to bite down against pain to have bullets removed or a wound sewn up. 

 

Her hands touched his wound and power flowed into him bringing with it a renewed vigor.  It was like what he felt earlier but exponentially stronger.  The river had a waterfall and now it was pouring into him.  At first it was pure ecstasy but too much of a good thing eventually went bad, and Malik understood why she gave him the wooden beam to bite down on. The magic that was a very part of who he was, was being amplified by Gabby's aura and it was starting to have physical affect on him.  The magic was responsible for causing his body to change, grow new tissues and features to mirror the beast within.  The muscles of his arm were the first to be affected.  They began to bulge and squeeze the growing stalks, causing them to writhe in pain. 

The wood between his jaws creaked in silence as Malik endured the pain.  All aspects of his being were being augmented including the rate at which the magic that made him what he was, caused him to heal.  He could normally heal at a rate three times faster than a human, and Gabby's boost augmented that twenty fold.  It caused him pain, but it was also saving his life.  One of the roots from the original tentacle that attacked him had nicked the brachial artery in his upper arm.  The person was capable of eventually healing it, but they bled out long before such at thing was possible.  Surgery was necessary to close the wound and allow it the time to heal.  Surgery or an unnatural supercharge to the healing process.  


The vein healed, muscle tissues grew to crush and force the dead parasites out of his body.  Gabby suddenly withdrew her touch.  The influx of power stopped, but he was still filled to exploding with what had already been forced into him.  It felt like his sprit, the animal within, was going to leap free of physical confines and prey upon the entire world.  He needed to get away from there or else it would not end well, especially with authorities responding to the chaos after the fact.  They may try to deal with him as a threat instead of the civilians who acted to put down the true monster.  


Malik turned to look at Gabby.  He was a hulking monster even compared to what he had been.  Standing almost twelve feet with everything grown in proportion to match.  He let the ruined piece of wood which was now little more than a toothpick, all from his mouth.  Instead of attacking, he leaned forward, drew in her scent once more, and gave a meaningful shift of his head.  Malik didn't forget allies.  Suddenly he turned, and took gentle hold of Vanessa and Lissete if such a thing was possible with his deadly pawed hands.   Like precious cargo he tucked them in the crook of his arm and leapt upward.  Even together they weighted nothing even he weighed nothing with the power that coursed through him.  With that one leap his massive body cleared the first half of eight story parking garage.  His free hand slammed claws into concrete as if it were mud to catch hold, and then he leapt the rest of the way up, and on to the roof where the Mule waited.

<Lisette and Vanessa agreed to being carried off>

<Exit Malik>