Alpha paid attention towards the fact the last two experiments would soon be here, he had to be honest with himself, he was surprised to actually know now that all of them had somehow survived, he would have never thought all of them would have made it thus far, let alone converge at one place at the same time. Seemed to Alpha, Fate and Destiny was something tangible, and that made Alpha a bit more uncomfortable.

He wanted some questions answered by Bastien, but he wasn't sure if it would be best for him to ask them away from the rest, how much an interrogation may disrupt the group, if Cion was right, and Alpha grudgingly knew Cion probably was, they needed to combine and a work together. For a split second Alpha imagined how powerful they all could be together. It almost made him shudder at the thought, the hair on his neck standing up slightly, thinking how far they had come from the earlier experiments like Ryker and Alpha. To actually teleport matter, or change its density, what could this little Hibiki do? He couldn't begin to imagine, so decided not to bother any longer, and would confine himself to just try not to be surprised when he found out that he could stop time or something, hey why the hell not turn it back or something?!

As Bastien began to work on Masuyo, Alpha slipped back away slightly over to Chumana who had started whittling at some kind of piece of wood by the looks of things, he moved towards her side and spoke gently and quietly.
"I never took you for a coward!"
As he said it he held up his hand, whether in a gesture, to let him finish and for time, or ready to stop a slap he wasn't sure himself.
"You may have thought I looked at you, Thistle and Masuyo, as young defenceless girls, and that's not correct Chumana, that's far from it, and there is more to it than that trust me. I never saw any of you that way, especially you. But I also never thought of you as a Coward!"
His voice had an almost sadness about it, not accusatory or stern, but almost disappointed, he avoided her gaze however and shook his head slightly pausing.

Looking up as Alpha approached, Chumana frowned as he approached her specifically. How odd. Stopping her work with her flute, she moved to rest her hands on her knees. Meeting his eyes, the bright green ones watched him intensely. Sighing inwardly, the woman raised an eyebrow in question to his words. "Good, I don't want to appear to be a coward. Nor am I one, so you have good judgement." she said smoothly and then glanced to Ryker before looking back to Alpha. "Trust is something I do not give out like Ryker. It is earned, and with work." she added, and then picked up her flute and looked over it. "I am not social, nor do I find myself fond of white men, like all of you are." she said coldly, and met his gaze again. "It is all because of greed, that Mother Nature revolted against man. I therefore do not trust man either, it has caused man to die out, and we are what's left. If you want to prove yourself, then do so in a way of wisdom and strength." she said and then sighed softly. He would have more to say, many men did.

Alpha listened intently, with a slight smile on his lips, and gave a ever so slight nod once she was done.
"Indeed, you are a very brave and confident woman, and I couldn't imagine a foe that you would shy away from, but young spirited fighter, you shy away from your own feelings" Alpha glanced back towards Ryker too before turning back.
"I wondered myself a lot whether we, Humans I mean... Deserved a second chance, that we were the greatest threat to this world, and I saw the damage we caused, I saw the fall of man kind, and I thought I saw the fall of humanity too, but Chumana, Humanity isn't about technology, you know that. But it is more, I'd guess deeper, it's about our feelings and heart." He stopped and looked down trying to choose his words carefully
"That is why I wanted to protect the rest of you, because if we have a hope in hell of bringing Humanity back from the edge, for a future, then people like you Chumana, Frost.. Hibiki, even Ryker, those with passion... And Love. Must survive"
He looked up again and smiled raising an eyebrow too
"I'd never suggest for a second you couldn't handle yourself in a scrap! But if we find ourselves taking our last breaths at some point,...you should tell him how you really feel, you may never get another chance?"

He went to stand, and stretched looking over towards Ryker again, and spoke again casually about to walk away
"I'm not fond of myself either to be honest, I don't know if a new world for humanity would have a place for someone like me ha!"

"Monsters? Ha!" Sky struck a hero pose. "I'm not afraid of any monsters! I laugh in the face of danger! Muahahahaha!" She hopped onto a pile of rubble, pretending to flex muscles that didn't exist and laughing. It was fun until the pile of junk she was standing on caved in, making a loud sound. She fell a few feet with a little shriek. She face planted into the ground.

"Uh, ignore that." She stood back up, brushing herself off. "I think I screwed up our element of surprise. Sorry." The car lot wasn't far now, and she was sure she could hear voices. "I don't think it's monsters. Unless it's some that can talk, like Tony." she pointed out.

Leila couldn't help but google as Sky struck a heroic pose, she looked silly. "Oh? You laugh in the face of danger?" She said with a smile as Sky jumped onto a pile of rubble. Sometime during her flexing she seemed to have found herself falling. Leila raised up her hand in fear getting ready to catch Sky, but the fall wasn't too far, so she relaxed as Sky face planted. "Will do" She told Sky as she finished brushing herself off. "It's quite alright, between you and me... we can handle it I'm sure." Leila cocked her head to the side to listen for voices when Sky mentioned she heard voices, she was right. "If they are, lets hope they are oddly nice as well." Leila and Sky both soon reached the car lot and came into view of Hibiki's group, which seemed about six or so people and some time of robot thingy.

"Well I'll be, it's more people... like us."

Sky let out a squeal of joy when the group came into view. She took off like a bullet towards them, leaving Leila behind by accident. She jumped in, having no idea what the current conversation was. "Oh my gosh! People! Real people!" She ran over, pausing when she saw Cion. "Well, mostly people." She looked backwards from where she had come. "Leila!! Check this out! Real people and a robot from Terminator!" she called. She turned back towards the group. "Wow! I haven't seen so many people in one spot in forever! Where have you all been hiding?"

Now, seeing that she hadn't had human interaction in so long, Sky's response to seeing guy after so long was probably typical. She turned to Hibiki and her jaw dropped. "Wow, you're cute." she blabbed before quickly covering her mouth. "That is not what I meant to say." she said, her voice slightly muffled. She turned red as a beet and realized just how crazy she must have looked to the others.

Cion noted the approaching females as they came into view. When the one proceeded to make a fuss, he narrowed his eye a bit. "Excuse me, I am a highly sophisitcated work of technology" he crossed his arms. Bastien chuckled a bit, finding all of this amusing, the girl deffinitely had spunk, he would give her that. When she proceeded to call Hibiki cute, the young male's cheeks turned a deep pink color and he blinked a bit. Him...cute? He looked away a bit, "um...thank you?" he did not understand what was going on really. Suddenly however, it felt like an immense pressure was building up within his head.

"Ah..." his hand moved to it, as his eyes began to glow. A blue ring of energy was suddenly given off from his body, creating a ripple in the are around him like an invisible wall was pushing outwards. It brushed over the others, kicking up a bit of wind. As it did, the mark upon them with their experiment number began to glow and it left an odd tingle across their skin. Suddenly it was like they could all feel eachother's presence, able to pin point eachother without looking at them. It was not as strong as with Hibiki, but they were now able to catch glimpses of feelings and emotions coming off of eachother. The pressure Hibiki felt inside of his head, moving to one then another and so one, untill every one of their minds felt it.

He blinked a bit, mentally willing the pain to go away, and the throught was noted within each of their minds, he could suddenly hear their voices as well within his own. Bastien rubbed his temples, the pressure and the sudden intrusion of other minds on his was giving him a slightly nausiated feeling. His skin felt like little needles were lightly pressing him all over, and the number three located on the back of his right shoulder was burning from under his shirt. "Nnn...what the hell is going on?" he asked. The ripple passed over Cion, and for a moment the little robot seemed to freeze. His arms lowered, and his usual persona seemed to melt away. A robotic form of his voice took over. "Contitions 3976 met.....file commence" a light shot out of his eyes, creating a blue hologram before them all of someone they knew very well, Dr. Karnoff's image stood before them.

"If you are seeing this message, it means that the conditions have been met....all of you are together....and the world is in grave danger" he paused for a moment, clasping his hands behind his back as he had usually done when he was alive. "Each of you were chosen for a very special purpose....and one much bigger than any of you individually. I apologize for dragging you all into this mess...I wish it could have been under much better circumstances that I was able to meet you all. I am honored though...that my own life was graced with the knowledge of having known all of you" he sighed, "but now is not the time to speak of such things. I am sure you will all have noticed by now, that upon all of you being in close proximity to Nine, that a reaction has occured. This is due to the special bond that number Nine shares with each of you. In time you will come to understand it of your own accord."

The words washed over each of them. " For now though, that bond has sprouted into something that will be of great strength to your cause if you learn to use it and treat it well. Through Nine, all of you are now telepathically linked. You will be able to speak to eachother through your thoughts. You will sense eachother's emotions and be heightened to eachother, in a similar sense as Nine is to each of you...though the connection will not be as strong as his directly, it will be a powerful element in helping all of you work as a team and in sync" he paused once more. For a moment, his eyes seemed to fix upon Nine, "Nine will be the key...not only for the world, but for each of you as well...." He took a breath "you were each created as a hope for humanity....but even if humanity is lost, each of you has the power to survive and live on. You are stronger together than alone, but you must learn to trust in eachother as well as in yourselves."

The sound of a door opening is heard through the recording, "for now that is all I can say, take care of the nine, you are eachother's family now....you are the only ones who can stop this war...and save the Earth." The hologram flickered, before it went out. Cion blinked his eye a bit, before a metal hand moved to his main body "whoa....processor rush" he looked around at everyone, noting the silence that had fallen, and the looks on their faces "what....what I miss?"

A flood of emotions and thought came over him, the emotions, fear, pain, jealousy, guilt...Love, he could sense them all, but Alpha was accustomed to being in control of these, either a control freak, or simply had sadly gotten used to covering them as an automatic response even he didn't know. But hearing small, quick snip pings of thoughts from the others, made him pause, and it took a lot of concentration to filter out his own from the others minds.
As he saw Karnoff though his own emotions betrayed him, a sense off loss and melancholy crept over him, crawling up and across his chest, but again finally Alpha mentally pushed a dagger through the creature that was emerging, and soon listened intently the gears in his mind whirling.
When the apparition had ceased he had only a few thoughts, all tactical, none emotional, as though he was in an 'auto' mode. They needed to all agree on a plan and quick, emotions could come after he thought to himself, well he presumed to himself.
"Cion...Bastien, you too" <you know Karnoffs facilities, the locations, codes?> "that's where we should start" <we need an end game...Woah, am I talking out loud to you guys> "Or am I now?" It appeared difficult at first for Alpha to get to grips with conversing like this, the others hearing his thoughts and emotions, and perhaps thoughts he couldn't control, a slimy cold shiver worked its way down his spine, unlike anything he had felt for years...

Tony's staaap and light push drew a lazy smile from the plant woman. She tilted her head to the side, smile falling some as he continued talking. She blinked a few times grasping what he had said; the large cat-like male was always one that thought ahead. Belladonna had presumed that he could have been more human than most, but his patience with herself, Drip and plants alike kept her from pushing the male away for that reason. Besides, she had saved him and even though plants were ones to raise their young, she was curious as to when he would really show his true colors.

There was one part out of everything that stuck out and that was his notion at being hidden. "Hide?" She questioned as her palms rested against the male's stomach, her fingers having absentminded bent to contour his muscles. Drip shifted, his massive feet padding the ground a few times causing the ground around them to shake, gravel falling from the nearby buildings. "Hide," she then repeated, her voice seeming to hold more of a firm tone in it.

Drip began shaking, though his feet didn't more, nor did he cause anymore mini-earthquakes, not from the massive tree-beast anyway. The ground around them began to shake, cars on the far sides of the buildings quivering, their metal groaning in protest as the pavement began to crack around them. The line of grass and flowers that had sprouted as Belladonna and Drip had made their way to the mall, as well as the new pollen the beast was releasing and the shrub behind the woman suddenly burst into life.

Fragile walls of buildings cracked and crumbled as massive flowers, vines and trees suddenly sprouted in half the city, their growth stopping about half way to the parking lot where the experiments had collected. Ear splitting whines echoed through the desolate city as vines crept around cars, crushing them in hopes of gaining their warmth. It only seemed to be a matter of moments before a fairytale-esque forest bloomed all around them.

The shrub that lay behind the woman crept forward as well, its branches wrapped around the plant woman and her tall beast man companion. Belladonna reached up on tip toes to place a finger on the male's lower lip as if to tell him to be quiet. "Hide," she told him as the shrub's outgrowth grew up behind him as well as her, until her head on up to his, save for the top, were exposed. The shrub wasn't strong enough to actually trap either of them, but to Belladonna, it was a hiding place.

It was an interesting twist of events, that was for sure. What started off a single player game soon became a full-on team. It was fascinating to see the progress. How one became nine and nine because an army. He felt inspired. Proud. Almost human until he remembered he had super speed. And then the wave of truth washed over him. They were alone. Civilization was gone. Beasts and feral roamed this land. They, the nine sole survivors, were all that remained -- or so they believed for now.

The pain in his chest became unbearable. How was it that mankind had sunk so far in such a short period of time. Humans were once at the top. They had machines. They had power. They had everything -- space, stars, and planets -- at their disposal. And then, it all crumbled. Why? Was it God's will? Was it human's greed? Was it Mother Nature's revolt?

He didn't know what to think or feel, save for remorse. So many good people died. So much suffering happened. Even the lose of his love seemed so small in lieu of everything. It was disheartening to think and see so clearly. He felt tears, but they never made it to his eyes. All the sorrow laid in his heart. And it tore at him. He suppressed those feelings though, fearing that his mood would leak into the others and ruin the moment. He didn't want this glorious reunion to be overlooked by his reflection and mourning.

With a gulp, the feelings washed away. He found clarity in the sun and the warmth it and the team brought.

But that quickly fell when the earth started to shake and shiver. His green orbs fell all around him. What was happening? Was it an earthquake? A volcanic eruption?

When great plants and flora rose up around them, Ryker's jaw could only gasp at the sight. Such beauty was presented to his emerald orbs. Gawking at the beauty that came from the new growth, he rested a hand on his heart. He almost wanted to speak. He almost wanted to say the world was beautiful in green, but he knew it was poor timing. It was the wildness of the land that was causing the destruction of man. How could he support it. So rather than speaking or thinking, Ryker just gazed at the artwork around him.

Mother Nature. She was truly beautiful whilst being absolutely terrifying at the same time.

Women, he finally mused to himself. They truly are a mystery.

The overwhelming thought of more people had Chumana on edge, and then the connection happened. Feeling herself jump to her feet, she hand was grasping the dagger she was using to carve so tightly that her knuckles burned white. Her head pounded with the new sounds of people, and the feeling of other people's feelings had her stomach doing knots and flips all at the same time. Needing to move, she threw her things in the backpack and looked around at everyone. They were the only ones left, and if the message in Cion was true, they had a long up hill battle that they had to fight. Plus she had to learn to trust.

Trust.

It felt like she was going to be sick. Climbing down the car, the woman gasped as the plants grew and stretched out. Her eyes were wide with terror and awe, as this was how she lost her village. The earth had began to shake, and all hell had broke loose. Animals turned on their owners, strays and wild animals all attacked every human on sight. Their anger and all of the hate was poured out into killing her people before her eyes. She hadn't even been able to help, the scientist and his men had whisked her away from the damage and danger before she could jump in. Stumbling back so her back hit one of the cars, she shook her head and looked to the others.

"The animals will soon come... They will kill us if we don't move." she said and looked at all of them. Her eyes held a seriousness that could probably scare them to the core. <I've seen it happen before.>

Leila didnt like what Dr. Karnoff had to say, was he seriously for real that they read each other minds and speak to each other? Can someone say privacy invasion? Leila was abit confused when Alpha was talking-- wait or was he thinking? "I-I can't tell.. sorry" She looked around at the rest of them, burning their faces in her memories.

Leila turned to some woman who was talking about moving or be killed. "Well, then what are we standing around here for? Let's get moving, but where to?" Leila questioned everyone, and a moment later offered up her and Sky's names. "By the way I'm Leila and this is Sky."

Cion looked at each one of them. What had he seriously missed? The sound of nature moving, as well as the large creature, drew Bastien's eye. Alpha had asked about Karnoff's facilities and such. Going back and forth with talking and in their heads though was definitely new. He moved a hand to his head, everyone was so keen on moving forward, as well as seemed barely fazed by seeing a dead man. He shook off his own feelings, which were coming off of him as a mix of adrinaline beginning to set in and a mix of others that at the moment could not be read. He nods, looking at all of them. "There is a safe place very close to here....you can stay if you want, if you do not desire totrust me, or you can come and have a chance of refreshing and being safe for now" he turned away from them, walking along the rolls of cars.

Hibiki watched his receeding back, looking at the others for the moment. There was no point in standing here with the danger, and they needed to clear their heads. He trusted Bastien. Barley knew him, but the guy was one of them...he did not feel anything bad from any of them, and if he knew of someplace safe, they had to go now. He followed Bastien, glancing around at the vines that had come as a result of that plant lady and her companion. He could feel them heading towards the mall the two females had come from not long ago. He takes a breath, moving a bit closer to the other. He was heading towards an abandoned building it seemed. Cion looked at the remainders in the yard. "Whelp, lets go" he went zooming off after Hibiki and Bastien.

This woman was daft. No, beyond daft. She had no brains, period. Bella was a plant, so it made sense, but goddammit, why did she have to be so stupid?!

Hand falling into his face, Tony growled at the woman's pointless antics. Didn't he tell her to stop being reckless. WHAT PART OF THIS WASN'T RECKLESS! For heaven's sake, she was destroying everything. The little plots of civilization that managed to survive were now facing utter mayhem. Vines larger than his neck were squeezing the life out of the metal poles that once served as lamps. Flowers now coated the wooden benches, no longer allowing someone to sit and take a cat-nap in the sun. Trees, large oaks, pines, and spruces, now poked from the earth and rose to the clouds. Sure, the shade was nice but... BUT IT RUINED HIS SUNNY SPOT! It was the only place he could really soak up the sun. And she ruined it! Oh he was beyond pissed at this point! He was livid! Burning with passion and rage!

Hiding, as in being quiet. No, her definition of hiding was causing the world to scream around them as new plants sprouted and toppled buildings. Between the metal-on-metal sound and the crashing waves of weakened walls, Tony's own sighing couldn't be heard. Hell, his screaming at her was drowned out by all the forest noises.

The air around his mouth started to flicker and lose its clarity. The embers within his stomach were alive with frustration and anger. Hand reaching outward, his touch burned her plant-like skin. As he reeled her in as if she were a fish, his fuming gas-like breath started to choke her. Jaws opening to reveal the beginning flames of war, he screamed into her face. The fire that shot from his mouth moved around her, as if he did it on purpose.

"You are so reckless!" His claw-like hands ripped into her flesh. The more she oozed, the more he squeezed. "You're going to get up both killed!"

With each lashing blow and spout of fire, Tony saw something in Bella's eyes. The more he saw, the more he realized just what he was doing.

His siege was gone. Pulling her in, Tony wrapped his tail around her, keeping her from fleeing or fighting off his now-tender antics. Cooing as he stroked her chapped cheeks, he nuzzled her face between his paw-like hands. "Bella, no please. Bella, I... I didn't mean to." Ears folding back, a pout moved onto his face as his eyes shimmered with fear. "I'm so sorry. Bella, please forgive me." Tony's embrace trapped her, making it impossible for her to flee, unless she sprouted up a giant tree. Still, he knew she wouldn't. She couldn't. A kiss atop her head, he brought up a purr before his tail seductively stroked her back and thigh. "Bella, I'm... I'm sorry."

Sky went into a bit of a daze after Dr. Karnoff finished speaking. Her head throbbed slightly. She didn't like having everyone in her head. It must have been hell for Hibiki. Everyone talking, or thinking, she couldn't quite tell the difference, went in one ear and out the other. By the time she had come back to her senses, they were talking of moving to somewhere else. In fact, a couple of them were already on their way.

"Oh well, Allons-y, carpe diem, and whatever else you're supposed to say. What the heck, let's get outta here." She said, before heading off towards Cion and the others. "I'll take safe over danger any day." She added. Any place where you could stay without worrying was good with her. Obviously, she wasn't very good at finding safe hideouts, mainly after the incident with Leila and Tony. She could only hope Bastien knew what he was doing.

Everything was a bit much to take in. Being able to communicate through thought and feel others emotions. They were all that remain of humanity, but of course they already pretty much knew that. The woman unconsciously wrapped her arms around herself as she sat on the car, slightly curling up. There were times when she found it hard to keep her own emotions under control let alone feeling others on top of her own. Her body trembled slightly as she took in the emotions she felt from the others. Masuyo forced herself to focus, so that her feelings of uneasiness and sadness were suppressed and wouldn’t reach the others.

She kept silent, her eyes moving from one person the next. They were really all that each other had left in this world? She supposed that was correct considering how long it had been since the last time she seen another human before she was literally swept off her feet by Ryker. The sudden shaking of the car beneath her pulled her from her thoughts. Had they already been found out?

Her hazel eyes scanned the surround area. Masuyo stared in awe at the flora and fauna that rose around them. It was so beautiful, yet caused so much destruction. If only balance could be restored to the land so that nature and humans could co-exist once more. At this point something like that seemed unlikely, but just maybe they could do it. She found herself nearly laughing at the thought. They were the hope for what was left of this world, but who would they be saving it for?

Masuyo’s cheeks turned a bright red as the last question she asked herself led to some very unnecessary thoughts and answers. Some of which were slightly inappropriate as well. I’m so stupid for thinking that way. Gah, this is Ryker’s fault if he hadn’t said what he did earlier. Stop thinking like that. She just hoped the others couldn’t really pick up on her feelings. The woman scolded herself as she tried to keep her face hidden from the others. After a moment her face was back to its normal color.

The others were talking about moving on. The woman groaned inwardly. Her leg was finally feeling better and she didn't really feel like moving despite how gung-ho she had been earlier while in pain. Masuyo waited for most of the others to start following Bastien, Hibiki and Cion before sliding off of the car hood. With both of her feet on the ground she tested her injured leg a bit. It was in a lot better shape now, but it still wasn’t completely healed. At least now she should be able to keep up without having to rely on Ryker or one of the others to help her. She stood there for a few moments watching the other experiments before following behind them.

The others following his lead, Bastien was careful to keep an eye on things around them as they moved. He could practically feel Ryker and Alpha's eyes burning into his back, and the thoughts of trusting him swirling around. This new bond was not really telling him anything new, other than they really needed to get control. Hibiki walked by his side, and glancing within the other's direction, he gave a small smile. Hibiki could feel the mixed feelings after what had happened with Cion and the message back there. So that had been the doctor... His hand slowly moved over his heart, an odd feeling was there.

He pushed it out of his mind, as Bastien moved into one of the nearby buildings. All of them followed, and he motioned to them to be silent. Keeping as quiet as possible, the band moved to a small storage room in the back. He locked the door once they were inside. "Welcome home" he said, noting the look from all of them he laughed. He nudged a carpet out of the way, before the others would note a small insignia upon the ground. It was Karnoff's symbol. "Watch your step.." he said, kneeling down to place a hand upon the insignia. It began to glow, as if reacting to him. A slight rumbling heard, before the floor benieth them opened up into a large tunnel. Only about a foot boarder was left. "Ladies first" he teased, before he gave Ryker a light nudge into the hole. It was dark, and like sliding down a twisty slide. The only light by a blue circle of light that would be produced by little sensors along the wall.

As they passed through them, the light would flicker green for a moment before returning to blue. One by one, they would land effortlessly in a hall like room. It was lit well, and seemed to have no problem with power. To Hibiki, it looked like something out of a science fiction movie. All of this did really. When all of them had landed inside and were together, the room above would close back up as well as the tunnel. "We are to far underground for any of the creatures up there to sense or get at...as well as a protective structure and defenses to keep any wandering plants away" he looked at them, "this is one of the last safe places in the world.." With that covered, he might as well give them a tour. He walked straight ahead to the door at the end of the hall. The door slid open to reveal a landing that spanned the circumference of a large round room. A staircaise led down into a large area. It was all in silver, lit by large round areas along the wall. It did not seem like much on the surface, but Bastien knew better, it would be a big help in getting these guys into shape.

"This is the training room, when in use, the staircaise will lift...the computers will activate and be able to create real life simulations to train with and harness your powers" he turned back, leading them back into the hall. He turned left, moving down the hall as another door slid open. Walking down a staircase, they came upon a living area. From the stairs, they could not see the entire span of it all, but it was huge. the single landing was like two houses placed together. "It should be enough to cover your needs, everything works...This is the living quarters, there are two of these, another right below us. That makes eight rooms and four bathrooms in total...you should be able to get by. Four kitchenettes as well as four laundry rooms.tour." There was more than enough living space for them, though with nine of them, one would not have a room. He was mostly elsewhere anyways, so he would make due. he would let them explore later, moving back into the hall and straight across to the right. When the door slid across, a huge and beautiful greenhouse like room was seen.

Huge trees and plants of many kinds were within the room. There were colors all over, from flours and fruits. "I'm afraid it is not really meat, but it is food. Anything you can think of to grow...we can grow it here" he said, looking at them. "For meat, if it is desired...we will have to go above ground..." There was even a waterfall and what looked like little streams that fed into a lake. The room was full of beauty on many levels. "Last but not least..." a staircase nearby led them down into the last room, a lab of sorts. It was huge, and technically advanced. Things down here were mostly neat and seemed to have been a bit used. "Here will be where the work takes place...but for now that can wait" he turned to look at them all. "You deffinitely need some cleaning up and food....so take a look around if you want. One to a room, so choose wisely." he said, everyone would have their own space that way. "there are clothes for you to change into if desired, while the ones you have are washing."

That seemed to be about it. "When you are finished and ready...meet back here" with that, he turned away to a computer. "Whoa" Cion had moved around the lab a bit, looking at the tech there. He was impressed with the whole compound that they had been shown. He looked at the others "what are we waiting for lets look around!" with that, he went zooming out. Hibiki chuckled lightly, and followed the other. Getting cleaned and changed sounded very nice. Cion seemed eager to look around as well, so they would do that and get some food. His stomach was beginning to growl a bit. He was interested though, in what Bastien had to say, so he would try not to take to long.

The compound was astounding. After Bastien finished the tour, Sky decided she would go pick her room. She had wanted to hang around the lab a little longer and check out the computers, but the thought of a real shower was just too good to pass up. She left the room after Hibiki, heading towards the rooms that were shown in the tour. Not really caring where her room was, she picked the first one she came across. She slung the bag she had picked up the day before onto her bed. She looked around the room a bit. "I should have asked where the clothes were that Three talked about." she said with a sigh. She decided to ask later, but for now she would stick to her clothes she had already.

Leaving her clothes on the bed, she got in the shower. It felt strange to have warm water, but she enjoyed it. Not knowing how much water they might have, or if they could run out, she finished quickly, and dressed again. She pulled her hair into a braid to dry, and went looking for the greenhouse. Some fruit sounded good right now, and she wanted to know just what kinds they had here.

Leila couldn't believe her eyes at this little huge place underground, and apparently Three mentioned it was one of the safest places and that no creature nor plant dared or could come down here. She needed this, a break and not just that she definitely needed that shower. She had to wash her bandages and change them, she didn't want her would getting infected, as getting antibiotics and such were very rare to come by. Leila didn't want to chance it and find out if there were medicine here. Leila drifted away from the group after Skye, and picked her own room, the one with the Teal bed, as teal was her favorite color on the first floor of the two floor living quarters. Leila slipped off her maxi dress and set it upon the floor, as putting something dirty on a clean bed would not do. But she did place her backpack on the bed.

She slipped into the warm shower she promptly started as she entered the bathroom. Removing her makeshift bandages from her old dress she hand washed them before hanging them to dry on the pole that held the shower curtains. Leila checked her shadow stitchign she done with her powers, about a day or two more and she could stop using her powers, but she could use them for a few more days, as this particular stitching she did doesn't put put much drain on her. Leila also checked her wounds, and it seemed pretty clean, good. Leila finished up in the shower and wrapped a towel around herself before leaving the bathroom.

Once back in the bedroom, she closed her door before turning around. Where would those clothes be, the closet maybe? Leila ventured into the closet and found a few clothing options for both male and female. She shifted through the clothes until she found an outfit hanging up, it comprised of leather pants and a bra and surprisingly some new shoes that would fit her. Good thing too, as her old ones were just about worn out and start falling apart. And right next to it was some kind of strap thing, something like chest straps. She thought about how useful it might be went hooking things onto, like say a water cannister, small bag or something or other. Leila decided to grab the leather harness and she walked out into the bedroom with her choices. Once there she took off her towel and slipped into her clothes, pants and underwear first, which she found in a dresser before she went to the closet, followed by the bra and harness.

Once she was all dressed up, she went back into th bathroom to check on her bandages, they were still damp, and that wouldn't do. She'll have to wait or see if that one guy had any bandages or soemthing akin to it. Leila went back into the bedroom to grab her old clothes and walked out looking for the laundry room, which it took her awhile to find. She put in her clothes, and set the water level to small before adding the laundry liquid and turning on the washing machine. Right after her stomach was rumbling. Oh my... she thought as she grabbed her stomach. Where is the food that Three mentioned? Was it some type of greenhouse perhaps? Either way Leila went out to look for a greenhouse.

---

Combat Boots
Leather pants and bra
Harness
For hair style, just look at profile picture

It was as though the Earth itself had opened up and regurgitating life and fauna into the world, as the ruined distopia was consumed by writhing vines and plantlife that snaked along the pavements or exploded through panes of glass. A vehicle seemed to be enveloped by a rapidly growing trunk of a short squat tree, almost like a rather over large sumo wrestler rolling over a horse jockey. He heard Chumana's thoughts, and sensed her despair, at what must be her harrowing memories, they all had some of those he would have to imagine.
Alpha prepared himself, whatever was coming was going to end its day unhappy as far as he was concerned, ready to stop running as Cion had suggested previously, they were built for this. But as Bastien recommended that there was somewhere safe, Alpha still wanted answers, and he had been right before this chaotic event, they needed to make a plan, something to end any more fighting, any more running, or die trying.
He followed Bastien, looking over the two newer members to these nine experiments and one over engineered tamagotchi. He had walked through the complexes entrance and seemed unimpressed or at least indifferent, he had remembered places like this whee he trained or new ones speedily being built, as the first rampant creations had been lost control of.
As Bastien spoke of the facility Alpha thought in a reproachful tone <Safe? That's what every [i]safe[i/] place was... until it became unsafe. Nowhere is truly safe, I wouldn't want to underestimate our little planet an it's new inhabitants> He looked around at the training and research equipment as they walked "but it is safer than that cave, and a definite improvement than above" he conceded after seeing the quality of the living conditions.
The group appeared to separate as they looked for somewhere to bunk down, or whatever. He immediately went to find a shower, the first one he found, walking straight in not even bothering to close let alone lock the door, he leaned over and turned on the shower, putting the heat and power to full, steam quickly filled the room, and he stepped in still fully clothed. Blood dirt and grime seeped out continuously down through the drainage.
For a while he stood there still, before unzipping and unstrapping his gear, and dropping it all onto the floor, leaving his heavy athletic build unclothed, the battle scars upon his body showing clearly as his skin flushed with the heat, he put his hands against the shower wall and leant his weight against his arms, his muscles flexing. He was allowing the scolding water to flow over and down his neck and back, the pain burning away the dirt, blood and memories of the last few months that he had been travelling non stop back to this continent.
He put his hand up to his neck and rubbed over his tattoo upon his neck, he was Alpha and this Hibiki would be the Omega, the end, the end game, the final piece in Karnoffs puzzle. He chuckled to himself thinking 'this is not the end, it's not even the beginning of the end, but it is the end of the beginning' and finally began to grab something he hoped was soap and began to clean himself.

As they walked the woman made sure to pick up the spear she had dropped earlier because of Bastien. For the most part she stuck behind Chumana and Ryker until their reached their new ‘home’. She gave a slight laugh when Bastien nudge Ryker into the hole. The place didn’t really impress or disappoint her. It was no surprise that a few of such facilities had managed to survive the rampage that nature was on. They were built strong to withstand attacks and to remain hidden.

Following along she listened to Bastien as he spoke about what the facility had to offer them. <He’s right. In the shape this world is in now we can never let our guard down. Nature has more than proven where there is a will there is a way.> Masuyo thought in a cautious tone. After the little tour was over she looked around a bit at the lab before moving on.

Like many of the others she went in search of a room. The woman made her way to the lower living area since several of the others took the first room they came across. Going down the stairs was slow for her, but that didn’t bother her one bit since there was a bed and warm shower awaiting her. In the lower living area she glanced into the rooms. With a smile she picked the one side room with an oriental rug on the floor and olive green comforter on the bed. The thought of just flopping onto the bed crossed her mind, but she didn’t want to get it dirty with her soiled clothes.

Masuyo closed the door to the room before heading over to the closet. She stripped off her soiled clothing and replaced them with a crimson robe she found. For now she would wear it to cover up with until after she had a shower. Since the showers were all taken the woman took her clothes that could be washed in a washer to the laundry room. She placed them into the machine along with detergent and color safe bleach then turned it on.

Walking out of the room she looked around. “What to do while I wait for the shower to be free?” Glancing over she noted the kitchenette. Her stomach growled at her causing her to giggle lightly. “Let’s hope there is food in there.” Quietly she made her way over to the fridge, crossing her finger she opened it in hopes of finding some food. Seeing that the fridge was basically bare the woman hung her head. Food would have to wait since wandering around in a robe didn’t seem like a wise idea. For now she would just have a glass of water. It took her a moment to find the cabinet where the glasses were kept.

With glass of water in had she took a seat at the small table in the kitchenette. Sitting there in silence she began to get lost within her own thoughts. The look she wore serious and intense. It seemed so strange how everything played out. “Family huh? It won’t be easy to become one when most of us have been on our own for years. The thought of having a family again is nice though.” Masuyo mused aloud as she sat staring at the glass on the table in front of her. “Family…that’s what Ryker was wanting. Hibiki and I were just too stubborn and wanting to rely on ourselves at first to see it. Of course it seems he might be wanting one in more ways than one,” she laughed lightly, her expression changing from the intense one she had to a soft and gentle one. There was a hint of amusement and mischief in her hazel eyes. “Then again, don’t we all in one way or another?”

Without a word, he stepped in line with the others. Each dimple in the earth caused him to land hard on his foot, but the small knolls did just as much damage to his wary body. Even though he had rest the day before and had decent food, his body's nutrients were running low. Any lower and he would start to lose muscle mass and worse, his health. His throat itched and his calves ached. Oh what he would give for a cozy, pillow-top bed. Oh what he would give for a hot, steamy shower to wash away the blood, poison residue, and grim from endless nights of travel. Emerald orbs flickered to Ana's person. He wanted to smile at her, but fatigue was really starting to set in. Each step became a test of will and sheer determination. He had to make it to the bunker, or whatever they were going to call it, before he collapsed. Dehydration was becoming real and very serious. How the others were able to off-put such symptoms was beyond him. Perhaps they were more inhuman than he. The thought made him smile. Perhaps he wasn't as far-gone as he thought. Maybe his grips with humanity were still in-tact.

With each rumbling, sprouting bush they moved past, Ryker found himself falling more and more in love with this new, nature-ruled world. The flowers were breathtaking. Each carrying its own scent, weight, and place in the world. Once, or maybe it was twice, he reached out to stroke a blooming pink flower. Its golden powder falling onto his slender fingers, giving him a shimmering hue. Blinking, his green gaze watched the clouds above. All looked so calm when Mother Nature ruled the world. He inhaled sharply to the point of coughing. It was so crisp. The air was so pure. Pollution, filth, man -- none of it soiled the sweet scents of nature. Earth, freshly disturbed soil, and a plethora of ripening fruits and flowers awaited his every baited breath. It was so nice. It was so relaxing. He truly felt at peace and, for once, okay with how things turned out.

It all broke the second a man spoke. A cold gaze fell onto Bastien. He was breaking the perfect surreal world that was painted all around him. Sneering, he slid down into the hole and found himself at the bottom. Things were dark until the lights came alive and glowed an eerie green. The green soon faded to blue and all became rather normal, or at least normal in the sense of man's workings and designs.

Computers. God, when had he last seen those? Ryker smirked at the thought of using technology. It was technology that destroyed them and yet, they were still clinging to it. Not opening his mouth, he continued on as Bastien gave the tour.

As the tour came to an end, Ryker found himself fingering one of the plants nearby. It was so odd to see such plants. These were man's plants, not something Mother Nature controlled. It was odd to think that the beasts from above knew nothing about this place or what it held. He could almost see the plant lady (Bella) grinning from ear to ear at the plants down here. Stopping his thoughts, his brows furrowed. Why was he even thinking about her -- let alone the beasts at all. Rubbing his head, he looked up at Bastien. He was talking... again. This time, he words caused Ryker to grimace. No meat. That wouldn't do. His body was completely used to having diets that consisted of mainly meat, leaves, and bark. No meat would do wonders on his stomach. He would probably grow ill and, should he try to eat meat again, he might get sick. He would need to keep up his red-meat intake, even if it meant risking his life hunting down beasts.

As the tour ended and everyone started to do their own things, Ryker still found himself touching the plant to his side. Dropping his arms, he sighed. He needed to sleep. No, he needed to drink. Moving forward, he cupped his hands into the stream and brought the clear liquid to his lips. He repeated this about twenty-times. Each sip from his hands washed more of the mud from his face and, in due time, the numbness that came from the cool water went away. His insides burned from the new found source of water, but they welcomed it so openly. He died to drink more but he knew he needed to stop. It wasn’t good to consume that much that fast.

Jaw dripping with the remnants of water, he rose and almost looked as if he belonged to the outside world. He looked mingled and mange. Well, maybe not mange, but he did look very sickly and slender. His once sheen, glistening green orbs were now roughed by nature and had a feral look to them. His hair, once combed neatly, was now a mess of reds and browns. His skin bore tribal or war-like paint that gave him a wildman look.

Eyes scanning around him, his head moved toward a familiar voice. The untamed man became tamed, calmed and quelled by the voice of reason, of love and compassion. His gave moved to Masuyo and he moved toward the woman who sat at the table. Joining her, he lightly draped his limber arms across the arm of the chair he spun around. “How are you fairing,” he spoke in reference to her injured leg. His own eyes fell on his burned arms. “Hmmm, I should look for some burn balm.” With a laugh, his head bobbed. “But I should probably due that after I shower.”

Raising, he leaned across the table and placed a small kiss on the woman’s head. “Keep out of trouble,” he winked. Moving away from the table, Ryker found himself just wandering. He didn’t know where he was going to go, but he just needed to explore. Ultimately, he found himself outside a shower that, to his surprise, was empty. Without even checking to see if anyone was around, the redhead peeled his garments off and touched the water on. In second, steam covered him and, to his bliss, he let out a sigh of relief.

As he soaked in the warmth from the shower, he slipped into a nap, of sorts. When he flickered his eyes open from time to time, he would see a cloud of steam that embodied that of a woman. His woman. Hand reaching out, he tried to touch her wavering cheek. Tears rolled down his cheek, but were hidden by the burning water.

“I’m so sorry,” he wept. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you.”

Broken from her thoughts she looked up at the man who sat across from her. “I’m fairing ok physically. Emotionally I’m feeling conflicted by this whole situation.” Her hazel eyes studied Ryker while he sat there. Masuyo gave him a nod, “That would probably be wise.” When he leaned across the table and kissed her forehead her cheeks turned slightly red. Hearing his words she gave him a grin and laughed, returning his wink. “You know that’s impossible for me right?” To say that she wasn’t tempted to follow after him to prove her words correct would be an understatement. For now she decided it was best not to push her luck with the male. They barely knew each other, there was no need to give him encouragement or hope right now.

The woman was content with watching Ryker wander off. A shower would be good, a bath would be even better she thought to herself. Her injured leg could use a good soak. Taking one last sip from her glass she rose from the table. Masuyo wandered a bit before finding an empty bathroom. “Thank you lord,” she almost shouted when she spotted the bath tub.

She wasted no time shutting the door and heading over to the tub to start filling it with warm water and bubble bath. The woman giggled lightly to herself. How long had it been since she last had a bubble bath? The answer to that was probably right before her village had been destroyed. Masuyo hummed to herself as she removed her robe, hanging it on a hook near the door. With the tub filled almost the brim she turned the steaming water off before sliding into the tub.

She let herself sink, taking a breath and closing her eyes just before her head went under the water. Her body soaked in the warmth of the water. As she relaxed beneath the water her mind cleared. The past no longer matter she tried to tell herself. All that matter was the future and what she would do. Running out of air her head emerged from the bubbles as she sat up. Again she relaxed, lying against the back of the tub.

Hazel eyes stared at the ceiling before slowly closing. She let herself drift in and out of sleep. Cat napping the woman again sunk beneath the water only to be rudely woken by being unable to breathe. Sitting up she coughed up water, gasping for air. Can’t breathe. After a few minutes passed she managed to catch her breath. The woman’s body trembled and lungs burned. With one hand on her chest which was pounding and the other on her head she choked out at laugh. “That totally wasn’t a bright idea.” More coughing came from Masuyo as she finally started to wash. It was best to get this over with before she ended up nodding off again.

Once finished the woman rose from the grimy brown bath water. Reaching for a towel she stepped out of the tub, wrapping it around her. Pulling the plug the water drained from the tub. She grabbed a second one to try her hair with. The towels were soft and plush. A content sigh came from her. Now that she was dry she tossed the towels over to beside the tub. She would use them to clean it after pulling the crimson robe she had around her.

Finished she left the bathroom heading to the room she had claimed earlier. In the room she went through the closet again picking out a clean outfit to wear. She picked out something to go with her hair for a change. Satisfied with her new attire she left the comforts of the room again, but not before untying her dagger from the makeshift spear she had. This time she headed to the greenhouse that Bastien had showed them earlier. Some fruit sounded good right about now. Her stomach reminded her again how hungry she was. Masuyo wandered around, slowly making her way to the greenhouse.

Thistle had silently followed the group back to the cave, after witnessing a dead man talk she needed some time to think it over. She had been thinking in her head trying to figure things out when the group had stopped at the hidden entrance to their new home. She didn’t really like the idea of talking to people through her mind, that could complicate things, but the emotion thing threw her. When she noticed the others dropping into the hole Thistle quickly followed.

While Bastien was giving the tour of the place she was mentally memorizing it and looking at all of the things she had left behind when she left for her isolated village. When they arrived at the lab Thistle gazed around while she heard Bastien tell them they could go claim a room. When everyone else left she looked over at him saying “Thank you”, it’s all she could really say. He had brought them to a safer location and it appeared to be what they should have been in from their creation. At least then they would have had better training in her opinion. She turned to leave and when she reached they door she paused saying “There is only eight rooms… and nine of us.” She turned slightly then said “If your letting everyone else chose a room before you, you won’t have one. If you want you can share a room with me. I mean alternate who sleeps in there on certain nights.” Turning back to the door “It’s just an idea, but if you want a bed to sleep in at some point I’m fine with it.” With that she walked out the door back to the living quarters.

Thistle walked quietly down the corridors and down to the lower level of the living area and chose a room at the end of the hall. She placed her bag on the bed and looked around the room. It was a nice comfort, better then what the village had but to her it was still too much to think about. Reaching into her bag she pulled out her brush and brushed out her hair and took her red ribbon out. She then headed out to the closest shower and got washed. Returning to her room she looked around before finding a closet and opening it. There appeared to be a variety of clothes, both for male and female and of different sizes. She pulled out a pair of brown pants that were tight so nothing would catch on them and looked to be her size. A dark and light brown top that zipped up the front and tide up the back that came with a belt to store small things in, as it appeared it would fit her. Then from the bottom she picked out a pair of brown boots that came to her knees and had straps round them. After getting dressed she picked up her brush and brushed out her violet hair. Once done she picked up her red ribbon and twisted it into her hair so that her bangs were down but the two strands on both sides showed it.

Looking herself once over Thistle picked up her bag from the bed and took out her number and knife; placing these into a pouch on her belt she placed the bag on a table. Walking to the door she sighed a little, normally she wouldn’t leave her bag but she knew it was safe here, at least safer than it was elsewhere. Opening the door she headed back up to the top level of the living space before heading back out to the lounge like area. She turned to the kitchen for a moment before shrugging of the urge to go eat something. There was plenty of time to eat later, Bastien had said to meet him back at the lab when they were ready, and she was ready to hear what they were supposed to do now. With that she made her way back to the lab, opening the door she saw Bastien still sitting there, but no one else. With that she decided to pull up a stool and sit down close to Bastien, but not close enough to disturb him. Once settled onto the stool she began to take in her surroundings once more it was different from the village, way more advanced then what she could remember of her time in a lab with the doctor. But she remembered little of those times.

He allowed the water to wash away all traces of the soap, as he scrubbed hard, leaving his skin with a pinkish hue. Stepping out of the shower and grabbing a soft fluffy pink towel and wrapping a towel around his waist tight. He paused for a second in the mirror, and let out a disgruntled moan as he shook his head, turning around promptly and reached back into the still running shower grabbing the heap of what could now be seen as grey fabric as opposed to brown mottled, as it had been for a number of months now, he slung his now heavy, soaking wet suit over his shoulder with a damp thud. He only then turned to turn off the shower as the last dregs of grime were washed away.
Stepping out of the shower his skin goose pimpled over as the man entered the cooler air, before he found his way into one of the unclaimed rooms he threw his suit over a door ajar, and dropped his towel half hearted so it was lying beneath it, in some attempt to collect the rapid drips cascading from it. Opening cabinet and cupboard doors.
Alpha scrambled through the clothes messily, finding a pair of black combat trousers, and pulled them up leaving no time to search for underwear, and still damp, tugged on a tightly fitting white vest. Leaving a pile of unwanted clothing lying unceremoniously on the floor he padded along heavily through the corridors barefooted. Making his way to the Greenhouse, the sweet smells filled his nose, inviting memories and conjuring up feelings, and hunger. He almost had a smirk on his face as he stepped amongst the bushes and trees, he pulled off various sweet smelling citrus type fruits. Giving each one an inquisitive sniff, before pocketing a few, and holding the others, several in his hands.
Thinking to himself, 'best checkout this lab then' he set out to join Bastien, as he left he passed Masuyo who seemed extremely fresh, almost radiant, and smelling something that Alpha could only make out as floral. Alpha nodded as they passed, and even allowed a smile, since the surroundings of plants that weren't going to toxify you or impale oneself, seemed to calm his normally morose mood. He entered the lab to find Bastien and Thistle there, striding into the room confidently and giving a beaming smile, he juggled the fruit he held, and tossed one high and gentle to Thistle, "heads up", before turning to Bastien doing the same but pelting the yellow lemon type thing fiercely instead "Think fast" as he watched the third experiment react, he bit hard into another himself, not bothering to peel the leathery skin <mmm rather good>